Many people, including me, have written about how subdued Mark could be. He also had a goofy, wild side that came out from time-to-time. Last Christmas, my wife and I hosted a holiday party at our home. Somehow, I was able to convince Mark that wearing big plaid Christmas pants was important to my wife (right). So the evening of the event, Mark was taking forever to get down to our house—I always expected him to help me tap the wassail a little ahead of the crowd. Sarah called after the party started and asked if I had any tuxedo studs that Mark could borrow because he couldn’t find his—my wife did promote it as a formal party—and this is what he showed up in. Unreal, he totally stole the show.

We ended up walking down to the Sand Piper, aka, The Dirty Bird, later that night. When we walked in (I think Mark was wearing the first plaid tuxedo ever into that bar), a girl looks at Mark and says, “You’ve got to be kidding.” He didn’t even acknowledge her, using his best British snubbery tactics. We got our Sarahs some drinks, went to the dance floor and started slam dancing to a ska cover band. It got so out of hand that they had to close early. Big plaid can do that.

The paradox of Mark’s outfit is a funny metaphor for who he was—half goofy and half professional. Living life in Tuxedo Plaid.