See you down the river, Cap'n Pat

Lunch in the Gump mourns the loss of Richard T. "Cap'n Pat" Dozier, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 79.

Pat was an original, one of the great characters we are fast running out of here in the Gump. Owner of the Montgomery Marina and the benevolent king of our particular bend of the Alabama River, Pat spread more warmth and good humor through the decades than all of the ice cold beers ever consumed on his rickety deck.

This is just a blog, so there isn't room for all of the Pat Dozier stories that have made the rounds over the years. Some of these stories are God's honest truth. Others, like any Southern tale worth telling over and over, are mostly legend. Maybe somebody will compile them all into a big fine book one day.

I was never fortunate enough to be more than an acquaintance, but when I went to breakfast at the Farmer's Market I would sit close enough to eavesdrop on Pat and his cronies. If you ever needed to know the difference between mere friends and cronies, that was it. Man, to have been one of Cap'n Pat's cronies. That would have been something.  

Anyway, suffice to say that Cap'n Pat was kind, humorous and memorable... the sort of man you hate to see go, wish you had gotten to know better and won't ever forget. He was the arch-nemesis of the county health inspector and a man who saw the building code as a general guideline. Over the last few years the tenants have come and gone, but the stories will live forever. He provided us a place to watch the sun go down from upriver, surrounded by our friends, not really worried about much of anything.

Condolences to all of Pat's family and friends.

Picture of Cap'n Pat at the top is from the Advertiser.