Matthew Farrell. Self-created raconteur,  impresario, dandy, sponsor of the arts, cheerleader of creativity,  perpetual inspiration. Our dear ice cream server Grace once jokingly  referred to him as “the winner, and only contestant, of  Charlottesville’s Oscar Wilde Lookalike Contest”, and y’know, she was  pretty spot-on. Matt (I was told at various times to call him Matt,  Matthew, or “just Farrell”, so to this day, I call him all those things)  had his own style that was clearly modeled on his platonic ideal of a  perfect gentleman. And this gentleman dressed like a Fitzgerald  character, talked like a continental aristocrat who summered in some  undefined New England coastal village, and walked like Groucho Marx. He  smoked unfiltereds, often two at once, just for kicks, which he would  hold when gesticulating excitedly as he greeted dear friends or total  strangers. Pretentious? Yeah, a bit. Sincere? Always. Distinctive? Absolutely. At some point, I think I recall him saying someth...
 
 
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