Nate Chura
03-01 2021 17:39
wrote:
Reading all of these beautiful memories and testimonials of the life of Paul Curtin, a.k.a. "Curtin," to distinguish between his lifelong tennis partner Paul Campbell, who was often around when you needed to call out his name, brings me great joy at an hour when I struggle to contemplate the loss of a man I was privileged to call a friend and mentor. Indeed, Curtin was all those things: a fabulous tennis player and coach...sensitive, patient, dedicated with an encyclopedic mind...but I think everyone here would agree, Paul was so much more. He had an extraordinary sense of humor and a wonderful laugh. His favorite tavern was "Ship of Fools" on the Upper East Side! LOL...He was also an immaculate house guest, who possessed a rare, modest charm. He could make sincere conversation with anyone who spoke English, and he would probably fancy Spanish, as well, for he truly loved and admired the Spanish approach to tennis above all others, I believe. But there was one other signature characteristic that comes to mind that has yet to be noted: time. To me, Paul Curtin viewed time like a sailor. That is to say, he had all the time in the world, therefore, what's the rush? Those who knew Paul understood this and never held time against him. But I do vividly recall a mutual friend once remarking in jest, "He will be late to his own funeral!" to which I wholeheartedly concurred, and we laughed genuinely hard and could almost feel Paul laughing with us. Looking back now, I wish he could have been a little bit later. RIP Curtin!
Nate Chura
03-01 2021 17:39
wrote:
Reading all of these beautiful memories and testimonials of the life of Paul Curtin, a.k.a. "Curtin," to distinguish between his lifelong tennis partner Paul Campbell, who was often around when you needed to call out his name, brings me great joy at an hour when I struggle to contemplate the loss of a man I was privileged to call a friend and mentor. Indeed, Curtin was all those things: a fabulous tennis player and coach...sensitive, patient, dedicated with an encyclopedic mind...but I think everyone here would agree, Paul was so much more. He had an extraordinary sense of humor and a wonderful laugh. His favorite tavern was "Ship of Fools" on the Upper East Side! LOL...He was also an immaculate house guest, who possessed a rare, modest charm. He could make sincere conversation with anyone who spoke English, and he would probably fancy Spanish, as well, for he truly loved and admired the Spanish approach to tennis above all others, I believe. But there was one other signature characteristic that comes to mind that has yet to be noted: time. To me, Paul Curtin viewed time like a sailor. That is to say, he had all the time in the world, therefore, what's the rush? Those who knew Paul understood this and never held time against him. But I do vividly recall a mutual friend once remarking in jest, "He will be late to his own funeral!" to which I wholeheartedly concurred, and we laughed genuinely hard and could almost feel Paul laughing with us. Looking back now, I wish he could have been a little bit later. RIP Curtin!
