SPARE CHANGE: For Peter Slom, parole board nod is part of his triumphant second act

Mazel Tov, Peter Slom.

From what I can recall, I first met him at a wedding in 1988 or so. I liked him right away. He was smart, friendly and funny.

He was in his early 30s, a member of a well-known Newport family (parents Aaron and Rita were prominent in public life). Peter was a Providence College grad and helped run his family business, Franklin Printing.

His was the middle-class life. If your idea of drug dealers is some sleazy street creep working the shadows, then turn off the TV in your mind for a second.

As unlikely as it seemed, Peter sold cocaine and has been 31 years in recovery.

Last week, Gov. Dan McKee appointed him to the state Parole Board ... the first former inmate appointed.

More: Gov. McKee names first formerly incarcerated person to RI Parole Board

Years ago, Peter was convicted for dealing, served time and reentered the world a much changed person — a man who'd seen hard things, suffered public humiliation and came out on the other side to start a new life.

I'm telling this in shorthand. Peter went back to school to become a social worker and spent time working in a rehab center, the state Department for Children, Youth and Families and eventually the Rhode Island Training School, where he recently retired as associate director.

He is a family man living in Charlestown these days with passions for music and PC basketball.

OK, no story is that tidy when it involves serving time. I'm sure he has stories that are painful, maybe too painful, to discuss.

Say this much, he's never shied away from his past. About 20 years ago, he campaigned successfully to restore voting rights to ex-inmates.

Thanks to Gov. McKee for thinking creatively in appointing Peter to the Parole Board. Slom will be the only board member to know what it's like to be on both sides of of parole decisions.

No one would want to undergo Peter Slom's life in the late 1980s. But everyone would love to celebrate such a triumphant second act.

ODDZNENDZ: Last week, I mentioned the late Mayor David Gordon, who died from cancer two weeks ago. David was a brilliant, organized and a man devoted to public service.

He made money in banking, retired young and moved to Newport. His lengthy resume includes three terms on the City Council and three years on the School Committee (cruel and unusual punishment?).

We bonded as book fans. He'd regularly recommend something he liked.

Two David Gordon stories: One morning in the pre-cellphone era, he and I played phone tag about some forgotten story.

I happened to spot him later across from City Hall. I'd just missed an empty parking space. I drove around the block and there was the mayor standing in the empty space, saving it for me ... so I could ask a presumably annoying question.

Two, he sent me an email congratulating me on my induction into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame. It was brief and kind, and I was touched.

The email was dated Sept. 25, 2021. That means just a handful of weeks before his death, David was still sending congratulatory messages.

• I heard a radio station a few weeks ago promise live coverage of the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving Day.

Who listens to a parade on the radio?

• R.I.P. Madison Bailey. The former Portsmouth Police Chief believed in hands-on police work.

As chief, he once led a group of officers on a manhunt for a suspect along the banks of the Sakonnet River. Bailey sported a Rambo look as police captured the guy.

Bailey knew Portsmouth well, and he knew where all the bad guys lived, where they worked, where they drank.

• Steve Bishop and wife Vicki Garcia Bishop have a Go Fund Me account (opened by Sarah Bishop) in the event they find a new location for their 4th Street Diner.

Spare Change: Bishop's Fourth Street Diner closure leaves a bad taste

You probably know that the outfit that owns the land on which the diner sits wants them out by the end of January. Right now it's taken in just $6,600 of a projected $400,000.

Search 4th Street Diner on gofundme.com to help.

• It's a sad day when a longtime local business is shoved out in favor of a chain operation. At least Newport City Councilors Angela McCalla and Jamie Bova realize this.

• From Facebook, a guy posting "This Omicron is fake news. The government just wants us to keep getting vaccinated."

Sure, we've never had regular vaccines until now. Again, when is that ignorance vaccine showing up?

• I was all shook up when I pulled into the parking lot of CVS in Middletown and spotted a guy sitting in a parked car ... dressed as Elvis.

Though I'm guessing Elvis never bought his drugs at a pharmacy.

• If they catch the guy who vandalized several Broadway businesses, maybe we can install the "rack" in Washington Square to stretch him out for a few hours. Kidding (sort of).

Jim Gillis is a Daily News columnist. Send him email at jimgillis13@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: SPARE CHANGE: For Peter Slom, a triumphant second act