My last word of Mr. Ashford was not a great one, though we're talking almost a decade ago. I don't think I ever told this publicly, but I did meet up with him in person somewhere in the world for a day. In retrospect, my impression is that he was a highly intelligent individual with some psychological/identity troubles, or else he was simply a liar and opportunist. I prefer to believe the former. There was an ego that was very off-putting, but this could be attributed to intelligence or self-preservation, and I did not take offense to it. His story did not mesh with his reality in my opinion, and that is as much detail as I will ever share. I will say, he seemed to be living a life worthy of a Hollywood movie, globetrotting by the seat of his pants and sought after by so many enemies. I wish him no ill will and I hope his life is less chaotic today. |