Little John Syvada – Conrad, Sea Lane and Tequila Sunrise
Written by mac meda on January 24, 2010 – 10:12 am -
L-R - Hawk (RIP) Little John Sylvada (RIP) and Judy ? his girlfriend at the time - sorry this is the best picture I could find
If there was ever a man that could defied the massive consumption of alcohol and chemicals it was Little John Sylvada. He would have been a medical sensation on any autopsy table. His morning consisted of pouring his first wine cooler at 4am, taking a 1-2 hour nap at 12, and after, getting into the beers and hard booze until he passed out between 7pm and 8pm. This was his 24/7 MO for almost all his adult years.
He was a good carpenter by trade, and after a few beers would climb to the roof, bend over the rafters and cut tails to hang Fascia Board. He never fell. He liked working high (pun intended).
Little John was one of the coolest people, loved by all and had that sparkled humor. When his mom moved out on the Sea Lane St house, Little John stayed. For a while Beachball and he were roommates, but Beachball lived in the garage. When he moved out, Little John’s motor-mouth brother Fred (RIP) moved in. The Sylvada brothers came from different ends of the spectrum. Fred was unique with many ex’s. (husband, cop, hippy, dealer, carpenter, writer, fishermen, boat owner etc) and could talk more BS than any politician. Little John would give you the shirt off his back and his general behavior, he did not give a shit! He was the perfect example of living life to the fullest.
When very buzzed, Little John would cock his head, his bloodshot eyes (he had the best set) would roll back and sloppily raise his drink, and scream between his teeth, Eeeeeee!, maybe it was his own version of Meda, meaning, “Neeeeed another cocktail!
His common dress was collar shirt, with either jeans or shorts, with either tennis shoes or penny loafers. And no, he did not put a penny wedged in the top. He had this tad of feminine; he always sway his drink in one hand, cigarette in another and juggle the two in one hand if he was in tow with his huge Great Dane, Conrad. Conrad’s, best friend was a blind dog dubbed Fog Dog” that has a mix of Wolf and Shetland, all three were a sight to see when he would take them to Sea Lane. Conrad ruled Sea Lane and dogs would run seeing this 200lb dog flying down the beach chasing seagulls or anything that threatened his territory.
Those little shitty lap dogs, Conrad always targeted and ran them off the beach.
The house on Sea Lane became infamous when Little John put together the annual Tequila Sunrise Services, a Meda drinking ceremonial that started with blenders echoing the neighborhood at 6am on Easter Day. It was not unusual to have cars parked out front an hour before sunrise from all-nighters who needed that last place to party. The front lawn becomes packed by 7am and by 8am the neighbors were begging for an end and afraid to call the cops.
One time Eber walked up late wearing a set of funky bunny ears. Dean Burristion, cried, “Look, it’s the Eber Bunny!” and the crowd went into a drunken hysterical laughter!
After escaping substance abuse a few times where he ended up in the hospital, his body just had enough, Little John finally died in late 2008.
All I can say, he is one of many we will miss …
Tags: sea lane
Posted in Marine St and Sea Lane, Meda People | 7 Comments »
By Jamie on Jan 25, 2010 | Reply
Additional…
1. Story was told that at age 7, Little John was hanging out at Jack’s house at 354 Vista de la Playa…reading comic books. Little John was thrown in the closet by the older guys. Mrs. Macpherson had decided to store the family skeleton (literally…the family had their own skeleton, affectionally named E. Hamilton Phipps) in Jack’s bedroom closet. Little John started drinking after the experience.
2. He adored his Aunt Steph…who had lived up on El Camino del Teatro…Aunt Steph and her gray Mercedes lived with him and then they all went and lived with his sister Fay.
3. In 1997, Jack and Little John decided to fire a potato gun off the end on Bird Rock…into the Mighty Vast…the neighbors called San Diego Police with the message that 2 lunatics in a red Porsche had launched something fishy…
4. One year on my birthday, he and Fay drove down from Rancho Santa Fe and delivered a white rose bush…’Pristine’… a stunning white rose with a fragrance like a gardenia.
5. I last talked to him in March 2007. He died a few months later…Memorial Day time 2007. Someone sprayed the Pumphouse with the words ‘Where’s My Cocktail?’…
By Chris Sylvada on Feb 7, 2010 | Reply
John and my father Fred were both classics – one of a kind. I would note that by the time cancer snuck up on Fred, he only drank an occasional Pacifico and hadn’t smoked a cig in a few years. He enjoyed his morning power walks in RSF and was a voracious reader. Further, John always wanted to stop drinking. I know this to be true. Even though he was a pro at it, it wasn’t his wish and it ruined the life of an incredibly kind and highly intelligent man. I’m proud to be a Sylvada but I prefer to celebrate the qualities worth emulating, of which there were plenty!
By Dan Dameron on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
Chris:
Splendid and Classy statement.Well Done
DSD
By Dan Talboy on Feb 16, 2010 | Reply
To Chris-
Little John was my buddy since elementry school, where we used to sneak down to his house on Sea lane, and have a smoke and one beer each, stolen out of the fridge from Fred, Stymie and few others from Bummer Beach crowd, when you could surf there.
Later in life, much later, after I sobered up, Little John called me, and asked if I could take him to a AA meeting, which I did, he went a few times, but could never stick it out with not drinking, but your right he did want to stop drinking, and your right he was a very smart dude, with many talents, art, surfing, and pure having fun in life, I’ll miss him may he R.I.P.
By Steve Gallagher on May 16, 2010 | Reply
The girl pictured with Little John is Judy Segal.
By Mark Lee on Jul 29, 2010 | Reply
I remember Judy Segal and she was always hottie and always nice.- Mark
By Bill Matthews on May 28, 2012 | Reply
John would often come into Alfonso’s to have “just one” and to see Judy his then wife. I was tending bar then with the Trenton brothers and John was unfailingly polite and interesting even when totally blitzed. He would leave and cross the street to the Bratskellar and say hi to “Willy Wonka” (William Walker) the bartender there. John was a good guy…