This should have been a blog post instead of a regular post in the first place. That would have avoided a shitstorm.
It was the summer of 1991. I was walking downtown on Central Park West going home from the American Museum of
Natural History. It was a sunny day, so I was wearing a baseball cap to keep the sun off my face. It was one my
Brooklyn Dodger caps.
A man was standing on the corner of 73rd Street and Central Park West and he was asking everybody who passed by,
"Can you spare me some change? I'm trying to get enough for lunch." Nobody was giving him any money. He looked as if
he would spend the money on a cheap bottle of wine, if he got enough cash.
When I went by, however, he said instead, "Oh, Brooklyn Dodgers. I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan."
I stopped walking and took a good look at him. He appeared to be about 50, a not very healthy 50. I said, "You look
old enough to have been a Brooklyn Dodger fan. In the year they won the World Series, in 1955, the starting pitching
rotation was Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, Billy Loes, and Johnny Podres. The ace out of the bullpen was Clem Labine. Now,
you tell me who the eight regular position players were."
He said, "Roy Campanella was the catcher, Gil Hodges at first base, Jim Gilliam at second base, Jackie Robinson at third
base that year, moved there to make room for Gilliam, Peewee Reese at shortstop, Sandy Amoros in left field, Duke Snider
in center field, and Carl Furillo played right field."
He smiled as he finished. I reached for my wallet and took it out. "Absolutely correct," I said.
"Then you'll give me a couple of bucks for lunch?" he asked.
"Better than that," I said. "Have a good lunch today. There aren't many of us Brooklyn Dodger fans left." I handed him
a $20 bill and turned to walk home. It may have been spent on wine, whiskey, or crack cocaine, but I didn't care.
It was the summer of 1991. I was walking downtown on Central Park West going home from the American Museum of
Natural History. It was a sunny day, so I was wearing a baseball cap to keep the sun off my face. It was one my
Brooklyn Dodger caps.
A man was standing on the corner of 73rd Street and Central Park West and he was asking everybody who passed by,
"Can you spare me some change? I'm trying to get enough for lunch." Nobody was giving him any money. He looked as if
he would spend the money on a cheap bottle of wine, if he got enough cash.
When I went by, however, he said instead, "Oh, Brooklyn Dodgers. I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan."
I stopped walking and took a good look at him. He appeared to be about 50, a not very healthy 50. I said, "You look
old enough to have been a Brooklyn Dodger fan. In the year they won the World Series, in 1955, the starting pitching
rotation was Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, Billy Loes, and Johnny Podres. The ace out of the bullpen was Clem Labine. Now,
you tell me who the eight regular position players were."
He said, "Roy Campanella was the catcher, Gil Hodges at first base, Jim Gilliam at second base, Jackie Robinson at third
base that year, moved there to make room for Gilliam, Peewee Reese at shortstop, Sandy Amoros in left field, Duke Snider
in center field, and Carl Furillo played right field."
He smiled as he finished. I reached for my wallet and took it out. "Absolutely correct," I said.
"Then you'll give me a couple of bucks for lunch?" he asked.
"Better than that," I said. "Have a good lunch today. There aren't many of us Brooklyn Dodger fans left." I handed him
a $20 bill and turned to walk home. It may have been spent on wine, whiskey, or crack cocaine, but I didn't care.
I hope that there is some pizza at the party which I...