George Crossley Passes

[spenser1058]

George Crossley died yesterday, he was about 69 years old. Although I rarely agreed with George in either his far right or far left incarnations, he did make sure important topics got a hearing and, as Finley Peter Dunne put it, "afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted." Folks like George are an important part of the urban fabric and he will be missed.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-george-crossley-dead-20100909,0,4589870.story

Another passing I just heard about was the death of Jack Kazanzas, a longtime Orlandoan (he may have even been a native), who I first met while he was still at Valencia years ago.

"While you may not recognize his name, Jack was the force behind raising funds in 1984 to install a recreation of the original Christmas Star that hung over Orange Ave. for many years.

Years later, he led the charge to refurbish the star to what it is today. On the day that OUC staff would install the star, Jack would appear at the intersection of Central Blvd. and Orange Ave., wearing an elf hat, serving coffee and bagels to the OUC staff, delighting that the tradition carried on."

The star connecting the old Ivey's and Dickson-Ives departments stores downtown is one of the great traditions downtown and one we would no longer have without Jack.