MEGhead Mark Mavrantonis, the Executive Chef at Mike Ditkas of Oakbrook terrace had invited me, Linda and her staff to his restaurant for dinner. You know when the manager greets you, takes you to the best table and says, “no menus. Chef Mavrantonis has planned something special for you,” that this is NOT the night to start that new diet. Mark is no longer at Ditkas but I’ll bet they miss him there and everywhere he has landed since because that was the BEST meal I have ever had in my life. I was with Linda and her team of women and Mark took care of the entire bill. The ladies handled the tip and we walked back to the hotel, stuffed as Sharkman might say, to the gills. Mark came by the bookfair the next day. I had secured a pass that allowed him to enter the bookfair and do a little “shopping” (pubs give away copies of their books, authors do a scheduled signing for an hour or so. I stayed the entire time, signing and taking photos with the jaws. I remember the guy in the booth next to us had life-size cardboard Bill Clinton and Dubuya. So we posed in the jaw with the Presidents.
Sadly, that was the last time I saw Vito. A short time later he was alone, working a river in Georgia for MEG teeth and went missing. I was on the phone with his Kim when she got another call – and I could hear her screaming… they had found his body.
I’ve gotten to know a few MEG tooth divers over the years. Pat McCarthy was the first who reached out and we did a photo shoot in his big jaws. I had just been certified to SCUBA and he wants to take me to a place with near-zero visibility and bull sharks –wrong. Jim Pendergraft has stories of being held in some South American country that doesn’t like the gringos from the states taking their MEG teeth. Steve Alter is my go-to guy for teeth and he’s not mshuga (Yiddish for crazy).
Thirty-four days until MEG-2: The TRENCH opens in theaters… enjoy.
Steve
