filed under Daily Dose
sui generis
10:30PM ON
07/31/2008
BY
Beth Comery
The next time you step into the restroom at Julian’s, look down. That floor was the handiwork of Jeff Thomas who died this past week. A musician and scene-maker in the 70’s (the Fabulous Motels) he later became known for his tile work which could be quite fantastic. (I seem to remember that the floor of the chicken place next to Geoff’s had a rooster with a red eye that lit up.) But Phillipe and Jorge said it best “Jeff’s greatest work of art was his own life.” To those who only know him as ‘that guy in the pajamas’ (and in Julian’s that isn’t nearly specific enough) he was an eccentric of the highest order and everyone had a Jeff story or two. I couldn’t possibly touch P & J’s hilarious and lovely tribute in this week’s Phoenix. Here’s just one example.
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.
There was no one like him.
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