Of the dozens and dozens of Jeff Thomas stories, the most outlandish tend to be true. I was there at 6 am at the Standard Tap on Richmond Street when he bought a $1000 winning scratch card and sold it to the bartender for $900 (Jeff was leaving town the next day). Little did the bartender know that the tax on the winnings would make him a loser.
One night, Jeff had two automobiles parked outside of Leo’s on Chestnut Street, his and his mother’s, which he needed to drive home to Riverside in East Providence. His unique solution? Drive one about 1000 yards, get out, walk back and drive the other 1000 yards, and then alternate until he got both home, about five hours later. He played inspiring blues guitar and lap steel guitar, and did beautiful tile work (such as the inlaid tile work at Geoff’s Sandwich Shop on Benefit Street).
Jefferson Thomas was a person of great personal integrity. His friends loved him because he was honest, loyal, the real thing. One never had to worry about bullshit or evasion from Jeff Thomas. He was always as good as his word and he lived without apology or compromise.
Personally, we miss Jeff terribly. He was sweet and kind, and a real inspiration. His was a unique life-force, and we are richer for his presence among us.
Exit Eileen
On the opposite side of the planet resided the doyenne of the Rhode Island Republican Party, Eileen Slocum, who passed away at 92 this week.
Known in these pages as “Jurassic Spice,” the Newport socialite for whom not even a caricature could do justice, Ms. Slocum provided plenty of fodder for us, with her cloud-piercing nose in the air and her occasional wild declarations, such as how she kept a loaded Derringer in her nightstand.
The Urinal’s front-page story mentioned her “impeccable manners,” “refined elegance,” and “social graces,” and it cited her approach to keeping Newport society strictly among those of the upper crust: “By being rather fastidious about the people in the club, we’ve managed to control the particular atmosphere of the community.” (Take note, Tyrone, Paddy and Shlomo.)
Ms. Slocum takes with her many of the vestiges of that past institution of American royalty that has made Newport fascinating not only to Rhode Islanders, but to those worldwide who flock to see the mansions every year. Thanks for the entertainment and for what you brought to the City by the Sea, Eileen. It will definitely be missed.
Send propane torches and Pulitzer-grade tips top&j@phx.com.
