Dear Editor,
Way back in 1987, I came to Malibu after starting a new job in Oxnard. I was staying in a condo at the Malibu Bay Club and began looking for a home to buy in this unbelievably beautiful place. That’s when I came across Matt Rapf at the Rapf RE office in the middle of the Malibu Country Mart. Lunch at La Scala and then checking out homes for sale in Malibu became a once-a-week adventure.
Matt quickly became a great friend, spending considerable time showing me all that Malibu had to offer, including my favorite music place: The Trancas Inn (they tore it down to put up a Starbucks). Matt had a warm, friendly spirit that I admired, and to loosely quote that old line from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, the kid had spunk.
I didn’t get the chance to settle down in Malibu; business and life took me elsewhere, but I never forgot about Matt and would always look him up whenever I happened through town (on purpose). His passing hit me hard, as I’m sure it has for many of you who knew him way better than I ever did, but I will always remember him as my one Malibu friend, and I shall miss him dearly.
John Mahar
Chesterfield, MO