Despite it all, Reg still had a sense of humour

I was living in San Francisco during this time period, and a few times I was able to fly into Toronto and visit him. 

It was always good to see Reggie.  I could see that he was struggling, but he was happy, and my wife and I tried to help him as much as we could.  We bought him a laptop computer so that he could learn how to use various types of programs, write and to educate himself.

If one was to call Reggie during this timeframe, and get his answering machine, you might get a message like this:

 

Script message for his answering machine:

“you have reached my answering machine, if you would like:

to receive verbal abuse – press 1;

to make a racist remark – press 2;

to adopt a puppy – press 3;

to get directions to the nearest liquor store – press 4;

to donate blood – press 5;

to confess your sins – press 6;

for information on how to deposit money into my bank account – press 7;

to arrange a discrete private visit with a clergyman – press 8;

to be forwarded to the gay and lesbian hotline – press 9;

to volunteer for medical experiments – press 0