Vendor David Testawich sits outside Trader Joe's with a banner he created in memory of Roger Gates. David describes the banner as a retirement jersey, like the ones athletes receive at the end of their career. Roger's customers are invited to sign the banner and leave comments. The banner has been out since Monday and is already filled with messages like, "Your smile made my day," and "Coming to TJ's will never be the same." David intends to give the banner to Roger's family at the end of the week.
While Roger went by many names, most of his customers knew him as "TJ's Roger." Some leave messages for "Sundance," which was Roger's pen name.
Some of the messages read "You were a good friend," "You always made me smile," "Thanks for the friendliness over the years," and most often, "god bless you" and "you will be missed."
posted by Sarah Smith