Honoring the 'Magical' Life of Fallen Tour de Fair Haven Cyclist Cole Porter

People pass through our lives for different, sometimes random, reasons.

Sometimes there’s a connection and they stay around for a while, even a lifetime. Sometimes they flit in and out through acquaintance, and their faces, names, smile or something they said or did in that microcosm of a moment somehow becomes a part of us.

Sometimes, too, total strangers are in and out of our lives at a moment’s notice and we never forget them.

All of the above fit the psyche when it comes to the life of enigmatic triathlete Cole Porter, who died on Wednesday after succumbing to injuries he sustained after an accident at the Tour de Fair Haven a few weeks ago that rendered him comatose.

The journey of the Shrewsbury family man, fireman and stranger with an untold purpose touched the hearts and lives of those who knew and loved him deeply just as it did fleeting acquaintances, even strangers from all around the world.

The flood of tributes, walks, rides, runs and swims dedicated to him on the PorterHouse Support Group on Facebook told and continue to tell that story.

The common thread in the Porter tale is one of the magical meaning one life can end up having on so many.

Cole Porter, by all accounts, had that special something, played out in so many ways.

"It's so fantastic and no mistake that these types of people enter our lives," longtime friend and area singer-songwriter Karen Mansfield said. "It's such a gift."

Mansfield met Porter and and his wife Megan in Porter's pre-Iron Man era and said both saw her through many milestones, good and bad.

They fell out of contact, but his effect on her endured, just like the hearty, mystical silver spray-painted leather jacket she was wearing when they made that first life connection that was revisited out of the blue one day not so long ago.

Mansfield's story, as she told it to friends on Facebook after finding out about his passing …

"It was during the time when I was doing very well with my music, gigging a lot and gaining interest in recording opportunities, etc. He had seen me at a show and when we met through mutual friends almost a year later he told me that seeing me had changed his life!!! That he was inspired!! He said he was so taken by my energy, vibe and style and remembered exactly what I was wearing when he first saw me!!!

"I was dressing the part of rocker, letting my freak flag fly with thick bright yellow stripes in my hair!! I had on ripped jeans, vintage white platform clogs, but what stood out the most to Cole was that I was donning an outrageous leather fringed biker jacket that I had spray painted silver!!!

"When I moved the fringe would shimmy and tiny silver particles of paint would fly into the air...like pixie dust!! He told me that he thought I was the coolest person he'd ever seen or met, and he wanted to be just like me!! He said he had never seen anything as fantastic as that jacket in his life!!!

"Years later, after having my daughter and not feeling the desire to dress as I once did, I wrapped up the jacket and gave it to Cole for his birthday!! He LOVED it!!!! Megan, Cole and I and all our friends, laughed our heads off!! He instantly threw it on and was beaming!!!

"We ran into each other about a year ago and I didn't recognize him at ALL!! I hadn't yet encountered the transformed Cole!! He joked and said slyly, "I believe I know you."

"I was nervous because I seriously did not think I had ever met this person before. So Cole said, "Does a silver spray painted fringed biker jacket refresh your memory?" I freaked out!! I was so happy to see him and that he remembered our bond!! I asked if he still had the jacket!! He said he was sure it was somewhere, maybe in the attic!!

"I am filled to the brim with tremendous sorrow. Total sorrow for this devastating loss. Yet, I am so happy to have shared life with my friend, my Leo buddy, Cole Porter …"

Mansfield's story is a microcosm of the bigger picture shown in the past few weeks of Porter's infectious nature and told mutual appreciation of and "soul" fondness for those in his life.

It's everyone's story about Porter, in one way or another.

Electric is how Mansfield continued to describe him, knowing and appreciating the irony that he was an electrician and carpenter — one who cherished his daughters and wife, friends and extended family.

Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli more recently became friends with Porter through cycling — in his rebirth era.

"There was something about the gentle smile in his eyes," Lucarelli said. "We went on a couple of rides together and we'd chat in the bike shop with the kids. He was such a special guy — always there for people. Here I was, this overweight smoker trying to ride and keep up. I'd always turn around and there he'd be, right there, coming back to get me and move me along."

From all told, he was always there, moving everyone with whom he came in contact along. His spirit, friends, family and strangers said on the Facebook page, will continue to do so.

No one has yet mentioned the irony of his name being the same as that of the classic musician and lyricist.

This deeply touched stranger will.

Of all the Cole Porter songs, it just seems that You Do Something to Me suits the memory of this Cole Porter best.

"You do something to me … something that mystifies me … you've got the power to hypnotize me …  let me live 'neath your spell …"

And, by all accounts, so many will.

Porter's viewing and funeral will be held on Monday, Oct. 7, starting at 9 a.m. (both) at Church of the Nativity on Hance Road in Fair Haven.