Paul Silberberg
Anyone who was fortunate enough or dumb enough to get into a poker game with Ray Mizik was about to experience a Master Class. Ray always played his cards close to the vest, he always had a plan and he had fun fleecing the sheep. Due to his sense of fair play, I was lucky enough to win back what I was down over the course of a night, but as the sun came up, I'd gained more than a few bucks. My friendship with Ray lasted 51 years. He made me part of his family. He was my wingman when I moved to California. He was the Best Man at my wedding. The guy will always live on. I've seen to that. He's been imortalized in the seventeenth chapter of my first published book, The Fairy's Tale, as the one member of the Seelie Court who backs the hero all the way. He's not the kind of person you mourn. He's the kind of man who stays with you always. He's there in every glass of rum you'll ever hoist, so have one and remember him. -- Paul Silberberg and Kathy Hinson, Los Angeles, CA, July 10, 2021.
