One of the problems with writing this story is how it might
affect the survivors. Certainly there are scenes in the story that some
folks would prefer to forget, or prefer not to remember. Of course, for
those who haven’t survived, it’s less of an issue.
A few years ago, I found a comment on a post asking how I
knew ‘Uncle Keith’ and another time someone recalled my friend Scott as a guy
‘who I used to deal grass with’. Keith is not a survivor and Scott, if he
has survived, is in parts unknown.
Recently, I heard from the daughter of someone who,
unfortunately, is no longer here, and was deeply moved. It seems I’ve
shined a light into a dark corner that was somewhat kept hidden from her.
It should be no surprise that a lot of what we did back then
was done on the low-down and the hush-hush. However, even those who
weren’t participating, clearly knew what we were doing and that we were
seriously shattering some laws.
Today, some of the survivors are upstanding civic leaders...
one key player is now a successful lawyer and a young legal assistant even has
become a judge. The prosecutor became a criminal defense attorney.
What began as a way to buy an engagement ring, ended in an
entirely different place that noone... absolutely nobody... could have
predicted. And as I sit here 25 years down the road, my head is filled
with stories inside stories about unique adventures in the baby boomer
underworld. And I only hope I have the time to put it all down as best I
can remember it.
So to those who would prefer these stories remain untold, I
apologize. In most places, I’ve left names either incomplete or slightly
modified. For those who aren’t in that frame of mind, I hope the stories
are entertaining, exciting, and possibly bringing back some fond
remembrances. As for the ghosts, I hope they are all having a big party
wherever they are.
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6 comments:
Thank you Stephen for that acknowledgement. I took for granted that those close to these events but not directly involved, knew the details as clear as those participating. The story is great and thanks for sharing.
Well Abe, lots of people were 'aware' that things were happening without a clue of the scope and scale of things. Knowing that someone is selling large quantities is not quite the same as visualizing a fronted 24 foot Ryder truck filled with bales or the logistics that go into storing, packaging, preparing and safely converting those quantities into cash.
Hmmm, yeah and I remember some preparations included hundreds of pounds of carrots !
The carrots were a non-harmful way to re-introduce moisture into extremely dry product. And they worked perfectly. ;-)
Yep Steve, they worked perfectly. The product needing 24 hour round the clock care. Too much moisture and it smelled amoniated, good for the trash. It took 8 bushels of carrots bought at the Bronx Terminal Market. Had to slice the long ways, and carefully place in the large black bags of dry product and brought back to life. My wife's little brother was hired to assist in this task at hand. I remember the day well, you and JP showed up to inspect the recent delivery. After cutting, and smelling, and taping, bag after bag, following the trail of droppings from JP's inspection process, the assessment by all present was your brainstorm idea. CARROTS you said with your eyebrows raised high with that smile. JP agreed quickly. I'm not sure if that was the same day you guys decided to play heads-up basketball? He kicked your butt. Sorry guy! The pay was great and it was a great bunch of people I got to meet.
The recent pictures you discovered and posted brought a flood of great memories of those years I feel inspired to write them down and share those (behind the curtain) adventures that I had.
Wow, one story just popped into my head. Sir Steven Pheiffer would always call me when he decided to leave the Helmsley Palace a few days early. At check-in he would pay cash upfront for whatever days he anticipated he'd be in town. More than a few times he paid and decided to leave or had to leave. The suite is yours Abe, you got 2 bedrooms the room # is blah! blah! blah! on a top floor with a view of St. Patricks Cathedral and Rockefeller center behind it, 2 days prepaid on a weekend...geez life was good! So my wife, my son, & I packed our bags and off we went for the weekend. I paid parking and room service charges only. We had the suite off of 5th ave behind the church and some extra cash to enjoy ourselves. On that Sunday we were going to Bear Mtn State Park for the annual Gaudio picnic. A wonderful weekend for sure.
I offered to pay Pheiffer something towards the gift he gave us, but he refused like a gentleman with that smerk on his face. Never met anyone as generous as Pheiffer before.
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