In Memory......

[Railyn]

Of Nick and Mary Yankovic.

I finally managed to find a backdoor in to Al's site. Here's a small tribute:

Here's an early childhood family pic. Al was born in 1959. His parents were in their late 30's. They were told they'd probably never have children.



Here's a slightly later Christmas photo.



Here's two pictures from an ad campaign Al did for Sam Goody in the mid-90's for a back-to-school sale.





This was the most recent one I could find - it's from 1999. This was from his Weird Al Live video, but due to time constraints, this piece was cut out. His mom and dad are giving him a pep talk, and his mom tells him to "rock the house".



If I had a scanner, I could post more, but I think this serves it's purpose.

Try to keep Al in your thoughts. As a fellow only child, he's going to need a lot of positive energy over the next few months or so.

[djdave]

I'll always be praying for Nick and Mary.
Great photos, Railyn.
Stay strong, Al.

[SAT-I need more room!!]

A very nice tribute to the parents of a hilarious and what seems like, down to earth guy.

[Dawn]

Thanks for posting these photos, Railyn - you can see the love Nick and Mary had for him, and he for them. I'm an only child also, and I know I would be devastated if I lost my parents. I will be thinking of Al.

[Ken]

Very nice tribute Railyn - I'll keep Al in my prayers.

[Laura--I wuv u all :)]

Very nice pics! Railyn, have you ever met Al? He sounds like a nice person, from what I've heard about him.

[Railyn]

Laura--Jonathan's said:

Very nice pics! Railyn, have you ever met Al? He sounds like a nice person, from what I've heard about him.

Yep - I thought everyone heard that story. It's kind of become idiot legend.........

Al did a concert in 1999 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College (on the campus of Penn State). We went. My best friend works at Wal-Mart (the same one I used to work at) and the 2 State College stores are in the same district. Apparently there was some kind of contest and the winner got Al to come to their store for a personal appearance. She told me before it became public that Al would be at the Montoursville Wal-Mart the day after the concert. (They always won everything - the district manager was based out of that store).

So we got up early and went. There was already a ton of people there, and we waited almost 2 hours before he came out. Wal-Mart were kind of jerks about the whole thing - no personal autographs, no posed pictures, etc. At first, they wanted you to only get stuff autographed that you bought there (and that consisted of cd's - nothing else) but those of us who brought other stuff griped, and they conceded, but only one item per person.

My husband got to meet him first. They had a nice chat about how he's a big fan, that he always knew of Al but I really got him into his stuff, and we always go to his shows, and how good the concert was. They shook hands. Then it was my turn........

I wanted to say that I've been there since the Dr. Demento days. That I've been going to concerts since 1987. That the first thing I ever bought with my first real paycheck from my first real job was his Boxed CD set (which I brought along the book to have him sign). I FROZE! He was SO nice. He looked up at me and smiled. I set the book down. He said "Wow, you must be a really big fan to have bought my boxed set". Set up perfectly.......

I looked at him - got a goofy smile, gave the thumbs up, and said........"Al". Nothing else. By that time I was being moved along by Wal-Mart personnel. To top it all off, I handed the camera to my husband, who got lousy pictures. You can either see part of me and all of Al, or none of Al and all me:






My best friend went after me, and she's shy and doesn't talk much to people until she gets to know them, and she talked to him like she was an old friend.

So I've been dying for a meet-and-greet ever since to rectify that situation. I haven't lived it down to this day. I still hear "at least we said more than 2 letters to him".

But yes, he's an absolute doll. I've never met anyone nicer - except for maybe Charlie Daniels, and I'd say that's really a tie for niceness.

[Railyn]

DJ said:

I'll always be praying for Nick and Mary.
Great photos, Railyn.
Stay strong, Al.

Thanks Dave - I think Al will be ok in the long run, but I'm sure it's going to be tough for a while.

[Railyn]

SAT-Sissy's said:

A very nice tribute to the parents of a hilarious and what seems like, down to earth guy.

Yep, he's a down to earth person, definately, and if you ever get the chance to see his Behind The Music, you'll see where he got it from.

[Railyn]

Dawn said:

Thanks for posting these photos, Railyn - you can see the love Nick and Mary had for him, and he for them. I'm an only child also, and I know I would be devastated if I lost my parents. I will be thinking of Al.

He took such good care of them. Frequently sent limos to take them out, etc. He doesn't have any siblings to help, but he says his family is a close one, and from what I hear his wife is an angel (she's pretty enough, that's for sure) and his little girl to help him through.

[Railyn]

Ken said:

Very nice tribute Railyn - I'll keep Al in my prayers.

Thanks Ken. I think I'll make a donation to the veterans home in their name. We're Legion members, and we sponor the VA home below Lancaster. I know those guys are happy to get whatever you can give. Puzzles, books, toiletries, etc. And I know Nick was a proud Army vet, and would most likely want his comrades well taken care of.

[KittyKat - RIP Luciano]

What a nice tribute Railyn. I too am an only child and as I get older I realize that it can sometimes be a burden because you feel a tremendous weight of responsibility, especially dealing with a parent's death especially one that is sudden and accidental.

Al's definitely in my thoughts and prayers.