Frank

This is my friend Frank.  He went away last month.  As he was climbing up to put the last bits of his "junk" on top of his van he either passed out or fell.  And then he left.  He was at his favorite place, Fremont Sunday Market, he had had himself a day of visiting and selling, it was a good time for his exit.

I loved the Frank, he claimed to his dying day that I stole the idea of having a flea market every month at Mag park from him.  I knew Frank for 15 years and he always called me "that God Damned Linda morrison".  He hated me at first site, and I was determined to make him a friend.  In the end, or towards the end we had to let each other go.  Frank had demons that I wanted no part of.  But there are a few things I know for sure about Frank Olivo, he was a great junker.  A true original.  He was tidy beyond anything I could ever understand, he was proud of his kids, and he loved Virginia.

Last week end I was in Southern California doing Remnants of the Past, and I was thinking about how much Frank would of loved to have been there.  A bit later as I was helping a couple with their purchases I saw someone who looked like Frank, small hispanic men are not unusual in S Cal, so I continued what I was doing and then a second later looked again.  And it was him, Frank, in his pressed chinos, blue work coat and collared shirt and baseball hat.  He gave me the stink eye that always proceeded, that God Damned Linda Morrison and faded into the crowd.

Frank has left the market.