TTM Success - Alan Gratzer

This TTM success from REO Speedwagon founding member Alan Gratzer was decades in the making.  I used to be very close friends with his nephew, Max, and also knew his brother Gary very well.  Gary passed away in 2018; he was such a great guy.  I'm glad I went and visited with him months before he passed.  It was also nice that he remembered me.  While Max and I were probably best friends at one point years ago, we've lost touch and have gone our separate ways.  Max had told me a while back that I probably wouldn't get a TTM success back from his uncle, but I finally got around d to sending the above card out.  I was happily surprised when it came back signed, albeit on the back.

He also included a signed index card, which was nice.  He didn't respond to my letter explaining my connection, but that's ok with me.

Gratzer was a founding member of the rock band, REO Speedwagon, and played with the band from 1967 to 1988, then occasionally accompanied the band as a touring guest from 2005 to 2017.  They are known for songs such as Keep on Loving You, Take it on The Run, Roll With The Changes and Time For me to Fly.

One of these days, Max and I will reconnect. I really do miss his dad, though.  He was a great guy. While his brother was a famous musician, Gary was an accomplished record company rep and got me into a Starsailor concert for my birthday.  He was a regular customer back when I worked at the grocery store who would hang out at the customer service desk and hassle me. I later learned that this was his way of getting a rise out of people and I fell for it.  We ended up hitting it off and I hired his kid (Max) when he was looking for a job.  Max and I hit it off over our mutual love for baseball, and became good friends.  Man, that was a long time ago.

Anyway, I mailed to Gratzer on August 24 and got the cards back on September 11, for an 18-day TAT.