A loyal RadReader once tried to get Kendrick Lamar to sign up for this newsletter.
100% true.
Kung Fu Kenny lives in Manhattan Beach. They were lifting next to each other.
But Kendrick didn’t bite.
Nonetheless Paul was relentless in his quest to recruit this distinguished subscriber.
This past Wednesday, we said good bye to Paul.
Good bye to The Colonel, Pop-Pop and Dad.
Earlier this year, I lent Paul my copy of Infinite Jest.
A totally appropriate request for a 72 year old grandfather of seven.
This exemplified Paul’s life ethos. Brilliant, curious and determined. (Sprinkled in with bouts of unreasonableness.)
When I saw him a few months ago, he had done the unthinkable: He finished it!
(Admittedly, without reading the footnotes – but we’ll let that slide.)
No one actually reads Infinite Jest!
Ladies and gentlemen – that was Paul Manley for you.
Paul lived a rich life, full of accomplishments serving in Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom flying C141s. He worked at the Pentagon.
And more recently in his happy place – up in the clouds – as a flight instructor.
But what I’ll remember Paul most for is his devotion to his family.
He loved his wife, four kids (plus four in laws) and seven grandkids more than anything in the world.
The grandkids would collapse into his massive frame as he regaled them with (sometimes inappropriate) stories.
He would randomly call his kids, seeing who’d pick up to shoot the shit about life’s questions – both big and small.
He’d cozy up with his wife Linn to watch the Yankees, Giants or the latest season of Succession. (All while frantically looking for his hearing aids.)
Paul’s heart was big. He welcomed you in. Chatted you up. It didn’t matter if you were a gym attendant or the founder of a high-frequency trading firm.
He wanted to hear your story. He genuinely cared.
There are so many things I’ll miss about Paul. Him scouting out the gym on our vacations. Drinking Southsides together after swimming laps at the Seabright Beach Club. Paul grilling me about the structural unfairness of capital markets.
(There are also a few things I won’t miss: The way he watched the NFL on tape-delay so he could fast-forward through everything but the plays. And him stealing my leftovers when I wasn’t looking. But I’m letting those slide, Paul.)
Paul, I know you’re still reading RadReads up there. You probably already recruited some new subscribers, so thank you.
We’re all so grateful for the beautiful time we had together.
We love you so much.
We miss you so much.
