The Daily Goodbye

Good morning.

Fred Aldrich, who died of a heart attack while driving, then crashed his car into a sandwich shop, was a survivor of one of Philadelphia's most notorious attempted mob hits in 1993. We'll let you read all about it; suffice it to say he earned his living as an underworld operative engaging in loan-sharking, gambling, extortion, drug dealing, and prostitution.

Can you imagine working at a company whose motto is "All We Sell is Fun"? Roger Schiltz, co-owner of All-American Recreation, which makes motor scooters, dartboards, spas and trampolines, was a good pool player and a better customizer of billiard tables.

Here's an obit for baseball fans: James Fargo Lanier, batboy for Ty Cobb. Lanier was 93 when he died and worked for Cobb in 1925 and 1926, living with the Cobb family in Detroit.

Alma Burford's working life reflected the rise and fall of the clothing industry in Australia, the Age tells us; "From youthful hopes and dreams, to postwar growth and success, to the inevitable hollowing out of a once-great industry, Alma's working life and the clothing industry in Australia moved together."

While we're down under, we might as well note the death of an Australian patriarch of polo, James Ashton, who died in a fall from his horse while playing the sport in Thailand.