Sunday, July 18, 2010

Eponymous; RIP Phil Mosley

My heart is heavy and sad tonight.

It has been 20+ years since a good friend of mine died so I am not accustomed to this type of shock and dismay.  Today, Portland lost Phil Mosley, the much loved and revered proprieter of Phil's Meat Market in NW Portland at Uptown Shopping Center.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, loved Phil.  Phil was the embodiment of what it means to be a small business owner in our little hamlet of Portland Oregon.  He was a true entrepreneur in the best sense of the word, and ran his business in a most informal and friendly way.  Forget your wallet?  No problem...Phil would put it on your "tab" and then try to convince you the debt was paid upon your next visit to the store.   My perception of Phil is that he always strived to be a kind and generous boss, in addition to being a truly great man.  He succeeded.  Phil was a young man when he died today, far too young to leave his wife, his son, and all his customers and friends who can't imagine Portland without him in it.

I met Phil many years ago when my father would bring me along with him for the sacred selection of meat for Sunday dinners.  Phil was always friendly, funny and warm.  He also had a masterful sense of how to pair wine with food (don't worry, I didn't figure that out until later in life), and I always relished joining my dad for those trips into his store.

Years later after I started a family of my own, I became one of Phil's most loyal customers; not only because he had the best selection of meat and seafood and wine in town, but because each trip into his store was a cheaper version of a visit to a therapist.  Phil always knew what to say, whether you were happy, stressed, down, whatever.  It was ineveitable that if you came into Phil's Meat Market, you left feeling better than you did when you walked in.  Can you say that about many other places?  Do you go to Zupan's and feel like you have interacted with family?  I mean "family" in a good way, of course...

Over the years, business after business disappeared from the shopping center.  First to go was the Uptown Broiler, then Baskin and Robbins, and the flower shop called Stems Uptown.  Still, Phil and his incredible wife and partner Becky Mosley hung in there, knowing that the association people had with the Meat Market in that particular location was a strong component of their success.  The film store, the real estate agency, the blues bar Dandelion Pub all faded away, but Phil's Uptown Meat Market stayed, and prospered.  Thank goodness, so did the liquor store.  I have often noted how convenient it is to be able to make one stop for vodka, Marlboros, and tenderloin.  If you have those three things, what else could you possibly need?  Besides a very good doctor, obviously.

I spent the day today feeling sorry for myself, having suffered some sort of bizarre back injury that kept me in bed and sleeping all day.  What a waste of 8 hours, because who among us knows when our time will be coming to a close?  When the call came from Becky Mosley today, I simply could not believe it.  "He's gone," she said, and all I could say was "no."

No.

Mark Knopfler wrote in a song once that death would be a sweet release.  Well, it isn't.  Perhaps it is for those who pass, but for those who remain in the wake, death is an enigma.  I miss Phil.  I grieve for his wife and his son and everyone else in this city who knew and loved him.  My visits to his market were at least 3-4 times a week, more when Tom and I handled a legal matter for him (we were paid in steak and wine, and as a result became very fat, but that's another blog).  Tonight my son and I stopped by his store to deliver lillies and a card and I simply broke down in tears.

How is there a Phil's without Phil?  For those of you who knew Phil and frequent his store, this question is likely on your mind.  However, I urge you to be a continued loyal patron to this family-owned Portland landmark.  Phil's will go on into the future, under the guidance of Becky and her family, who include not just those people related by blood, but the family that is the Phil's staff.  It is inevitable when people hear about a death, especially a sudden one, they ask, "what can I do to help?"  This is what you can do.

Recent musings of mine have focused on a disbelief in a higher power and an afterlife.  But if there is a heaven, please tell me Phil is playing a fabulous round of golf, cooking a Kobe rib eye, and enjoying a bottle of Owen Roe.  His health in recent years had limited his enjoyment of simple pleasures such as these, and I hope that in the hereafter, God always sets a full table, cooks the meat medium-rare, and decanters the Burgundy

We all love you Phil.  May you rest in peace, my friend.

My heart is heavy and sad tonight.

7 comments:

Melinda7834 said...

Beautiful thoughts and so sad. I will never forget going there when we were kids either. And funny how, even though I am now almost 43, I still felt like a little girl when I talked to Phil. For all the hassles life threw at him, he always had a smile and Becky was his beauty smiling right next to him.

Rosa said...

I'll never forget the first time I met Phil. I was a 25 year old who just moved here from Barcelona, Spain. I walk into his store and it was a soul trip to my country, where the butcher knows you by name and they remember what you had for dinner the night before.I'm now 40 with 4 kids and they all have had their share of lollipops at Phil's. He was a wonderful human being, generous, thoughtful and humorous. I know he still laughs at the way I make my "Catalan" sausages,and Yes he improved my recipe! And my kids liked his better than mine, so I had to buy his version of "Catalinas". I'm going to miss him as will my family and friends in Spain. My heart goes to his family and loved ones. His spirit and smile will forever be in memories of the thousands of people he touched.

Kendall said...

I never met Phil but I know I enjoyed several delicious meals and glasses of wine at his recommendation. And I know how much you cared for him. I'm so sorry to hear about this loss.

Rosa said...

I'll never forget the first time I met Phil. I was a 25 year old who just moved here from Barcelona, Spain. I walk into his store and it was a soul trip to my country, where the butcher knows you by name and they remember what you had for dinner the night before.I'm now 40 with 4 kids and they all have had their share of lollipops at Phil's. He was a wonderful human being, generous, thoughtful and humorous. I know he still laughs at the way I make my "Catalan" sausages,and Yes he improved my recipe! And my kids liked his better than mine, so I had to buy his version of "Catalinas". I'm going to miss him as will my family and friends in Spain. My heart goes to his family and loved ones. His spirit and smile will forever be in memories of the thousands of people he touched.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for introducing us to this wonderful human being. I feel better knowing that he was here, and that he touched lives like he did.

Anonymous said...

I am sad that this world has lost such a genuine soul. Always a smile, a kind remark and generous advice for meals and wine ... Phil you will be missed by so many and my heart goes out to your family. Though you will not be behind that counter when we come in, your memory will never be forgotten. We miss you Phil.

Coby Gerstner said...

Everytime I've visited Portland, my family has gone to Phil's. I'm from Utah and we would visit my aunt's who live there. Some of my oldest and fondest memories of Oregon are tied with this place, and I'm grateful for such a great man. What a wonderful tribute to him.