Letter from the Editor

The weekly childbirth class at Norman Regional Hospital required both parents to be on their best behavior. No class cut-ups. This was serious stuff.

The class was the third go-round for Mark Amspacher and his wife, Claire. They had two other children. The newest daughter, Bonnie, and our son, Patrick, were due around the same time in 1983.

So Mark always had a smile when we practiced breathing and talked about what to expect in labor and delivery. When it came time to talk about good eating habits for mom and dad, we had to give ourselves a name that reminded us of something good to eat.

Apple Andy sounded good to me. A friend was Jelly Bean Jamie. When it came time to announce our names, Mark was demonstrably proud to be known as “Meatloaf Mark.”

Amspacher, the owner of The Diner restaurant in downtown Norman, died Monday at age 56. More than 25 years after taking that class, he still addressed me as “Apple Andy” and I called him “Meatloaf Mark.” It was an inside joke that only our wives knew.

Mark will be sorely missed in Norman. He loved his family, hunting and fishing, cooking and eating. He was the first to tell you he served comfort food. The lines outside his place on Saturday and Sunday morning were evidence of customer loyalty.

He had forgotten more about Norman than most of us will ever know. His business was a mainstay downtown. There are some regulars who won’t know where to go for lunch or breakfast.

His restaurant was featured on a national television show this past year. They blocked off the street and filmed Mark cooking and customers doing what we did best: Enjoying a great meal in a casual atmosphere.

He had a mischievous streak, too. One conversation about early-morning star-watching in northwestern Oklahoma ended with me jokingly accusing him of being out spotlighting deer at that hour. He took offense and said he would get me back: He did by giving my cell phone number to all of his customers, encouraging them to call me at all hours of the day and night.

He got me back and we both had a good laugh over it.

Mark left us far too soon. Good-bye old friend. See you on the other side.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.