Les Talent

Hi all. My name is Jim and Les was my best friend for just a few short years. Les Talent was one of the most versatile musicians on the face of the planet. That is not my opinion but, a fact in which you will find no argument from ANY MUSICIAN who encountered him. Les died on July 19 2007. He was 49 years old.

I would like to write a huge piece here in attempt to describe what he meant to us and all who knew him. Those who did, would understand my loss for words. There really is no accurate way to describe the man or what flowed from his soul into our ears and hearts. So, I will just give a brief history of our friendship.

I knew Les for a couple years before we actually took the time to talk together. We became close friends. Both of us had our “problems” and were there for each other always. A couple years later Les totaled his truck and he broke his neck++. I was at the hospital every morning with him during recovery until I had to leave to pick up kids at the bus stop. I would then return to the hospital when my fiancée Stephayne came home from work. I would stay until I had to leave.

When Les started moving and seemingly becoming coherent, I snuck his cat Marmal into the hospital in a gift box. I placed her on his chest and his arms embraced her. Although not really “there yet”, he knew his beloved Marmal was there. The next day Les was talking. The power of love is amazing.

When Les was to be released from the hospital, he would need a place to live. His old place was not available and I had moved all his stuff over to our place including Marmal. I gutted our utility room and made it into a bedroom. Before the HALO came off he needed assistance performing daily tasks we all take for granted. Les lived here with us for around two years. We already had our huge family of seven (5 kids) here with the (now) three bedrooms and one bathroom. Eight people co-existing in a 1200 sq foot home is close quarters for anyone. We all got along with no real problems. However, Les did need more privacy.

To blow off steam, Les would often go skateboarding with his frend Paul. I always would skate on a 30 foot long kind of quarter pipe with some variables I had set up in my back yard. I also went to 688 Skatepark. Les was into speed where I like ramps and freestyle. I eventually built a board designed for speed and went to a couple hill bombing sessions with Les and Paul. I had fun. Here is a video of one of my runs. Notice Les and Paul at the bottom of the hill watching me.

Here is another video. This one is of Les with Paul hot on his tail.

I have very fond memories of the few times I went skating with Les. Paul told me he had gone to the above spot after Les had passed and was basically overhhelmed with sadness. I feel the same and I have not been skating anywhere since Les has passed. Almost two years later and I just cannot bring myself to skate again, yet. I think I will try soon though. Maybe I will call Paul and suggest a session. Paul and I have really not been in contact since we cleaned out his room. We relate each other to Les I guess and it is hard for me to think of Paul without Les being in constant thought. Sorry I have not been in touch Paul.

OK, back to Les and I. As soon as Les started getting back on his feet financially (around a year), he started contributing a hundred bucks a month for “rent” which really helped and I think made him feel better too. About a year later he found a real nice place to live near the Mad beach inter coastal. Sweet place.

Les died a few months after he moved out. We took in Marmal. She was not well. Marmal had FIP and was severely depressed. We gave her a prescribed electrolyte IV daily to keep her hydrated and to help “flush her out” we were told. We catered to her every whim and gave her tons of attention. She was regularly “squozen” as Les would say. I would let her out to visit her favorite scratching tree twice a day. After her scratching fest, she would saunter over near Les’ door under a bush where she had always waited for him to come home. I would let her stay there while I found things to do around the yard. When I would walk around the side of the house on Les’ path to the door, she would perk up to her feet until she saw it was just me. Then she would return and wait under her bush.

Marmal slept with us. I noticed her health failing more and more. If she got too bad, where it seemed as if she were in pain, I knew what would have to be done. One morning she just did not want to eat. I tried even tuna juice with boiled chicken which was her favorite. I stayed on the bed with her and held her as she passed. New years day morning, 2008 at ~9:40. She is now with her daddy. Although her wait is over, she is buried under her bush.

Our lives have never been the same since Les passed. We hardly ever go out and seem to only exist in this human storage facility. This getting “older” stuff isn’t much fun at all either. Hard to walk, can’t chew food and the eyes dwell in View/Text Size/Larger even with glasses. Hopefully, when all this is over, I will find my friend, my father, Marmal and my cat Aurora waiting. The list keeps growing.

I realize there are many of you out there who had a history with Les. I have heard some incredible stories If you would care to share your story, type it up, spell check it and try to get the punctuation/structure as close as possible. Send it to me in an email and I will post here as time permits. (Send to: les at lestalent dot com)

Jim