| Pop was a child of angelic appearance whose looks belied his
ambitions. (Here he is gazing soulfully at his mother, Peg McGillan.) Notice the charming
babyfrock he wears in this 1915 portrait. He was fond of telling the story of his
life-changing encounter at the age of 4 or so with haute couture. Peg reportedly dressed
the fledgling Carey in a delicate little Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit that set off his
curls in the most engaging manner. On embarking on a promenade of the neighnorhood, the
diminuitive fop was set upon by a crew of neighborhood ruffians, soundly trounced and
traduced, and sent squealing home to Peg, to whom he confided his ambition to be never
again mistaken for a girl. |
 |
 |
Paddy was Pop's best friend for all of his life, until Paddy
died a few years ago. The two grew up in Buffalo together in the teens and 20s, went to
school together, went off to World War 2 together, got drunk, hatched schemes, told lies,
and shared dreams, sorrows, enthusiasms, and many a bottle of Glen Livet scotch. Pop
recounted the tale (possibly apocryphal) of how he and Paddy once went out drinking with a
old buddy who had just died. At the traditional Irish wake, while drinking scotch and
telling stories, Carey and Paddy decided to take the deceased on one last tour of his
favorite watering holes. They dressed the corpse in a large raincoat and floppy fedora,
and explained to a succession of bartenders that their pal was feeling "a wee mite
under the weather." |
| After his long-time partner Maggie died in 1996, Pop moved to
Seattle with his son Carey, Jr, to be near his daughter Alix. There, he established
residence on an estate with a backyard the size of Delaware, adopted a pair of Golden
Retrievers named Mike and Ditto, a prototypically self-possessed cat named Mehitabel, and
a couple of nieces named Jan and Sally, to whom he was continually promising sparkly
baubles from Tiffany's. To the horror and bemusement of his daughter Alix, Pop and Carey
Jr. developed an inexplicable fascination for professional wrestling, the Jerry Springer
Show, and Chinese Ya-Ya drama. |
 |
|
|
| |
The Life of Carey Wilber,
Sr.
|
