Couple of anniversaries we forgot....
….in the last few days. Yesterday, October 20, was the 29th anniversary of the day I left the Albany Times-Union and eventually moved to New York City with no job and $1500 to last the rest of my life. I didn’t actually move into the Times Square Motor Hotel until the early morning hours of December 1. This is way way before Times Square became a theme park/pedestrian mall. When I checked in, the, uh, bellman, said to me, “Stay off of 8th Avenue after midnight and you’ll stay alive.” Later that night, I had cleared out the last of my car, a 1973 Olds Cutlass. I remember walking with my 9-inch Sony black and white TV hidden under my windbreaker down 43rd Street and an old guy in front of the hotel yelling, “Hey, nice going, man!” as if I had copped it.
I will talk more of the early days in Manhattan in future posts.
Last Friday, October 16, was 14 years since I stopped gambling. My last bet (and everyone who ever stayed stopped knows their last bet) was a halftime wager on the Monday Night Game between the Raiders and Broncos. Yeah, you heard me. Halftime. I made two plays. Raiders - 4 1/2 and under 20. Basically, I was betting the Broncos would not score a touchdown in the second half. Three plays in, touchdown, Denver. Both bets gone in three and a half minutes. I turned off the game and knew I was done.
Good times….
