The Real Adventures of Jack

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'sexiest 4th grade teacher alive'

Wow, 76 years of adventure; if only my 4th-grade teacher Mrs. Finklesteinberg could see me now?  Yes, I made that name up, but she was real.  It was that day she sat me on her knee she said:" York if you would just try". 

Well, I did try, they threw me out of the 4th grade twice then at 16 and in the 9th grade, after I threatened the mechanical drawing teacher with the t-square.  

I always remember the day; it was the day three icons of Rock n Roll died in a plane crash.  Yes, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens, we're special in the history of Rock n Roll. 

'It was called the day the music died'

There I was just hangin out at the local soda shop, being cool!  Yes; back in the day, there were no iPhones, no computer games, maybe if you were really cool you had a Dick Tracy watch?  

We were even so cool we ate Wheaties ' The Breakfast of Champions' and ate Wonder Bread, to build our bodies 8 ways.  Who could forget the Worlds Greatest Athlete Bruce Jenner on the Wheaties Box; what happened?

Yes I was cool, I had no job, no education and no money, with my hair, slicked back, and my sleeves rolled up,  and if I smoked, the pack of cigarettes would be rolled up in my short sleeve shirt.  The rolled up sleeves were, of course, to show our big muscles!

But as life has its way was changing; I remember two major obstacles, my mother was mad, mad, mad; my cool slicked-back hair with Vaseline, just like the Fonz, was making the pillows black. Maybe she forgot what being a teenager was about?

Then only my father could top this drama; you won't even believe, one day he had the nerve to say " son now you must start paying rent" $25 a week, WHAT? How could he?

Yea, raise your hand if you had a cool Dad?

Well, sooner than later my days at the soda shop were going to change, no more time for being cool and drinking 'cherry Cokes'. But first, let us step back 4 years to the start of my career as a cereal enterpuerner.

There I was my first job, away from home; I am sure you remember jobs like mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, washing dishes( if you were a girl) because you were to cool for doing dishes? Your Mom, every day, and I mean every day don't forget to take out the garbage! Yes, Mom. Did your mom have to ask you at least three times?

Wow, my first job, riding my cool bike delivering Newsday,  I think a famous L.I. Newspaper?

I will suggest no kid could have had a cooler job?  Imagine, you ride your BMX-like bike, with a Newspaper bag on the front; and yes it was great storage for ice cream sandwiches, cause we know kids hate ice cream sandwiches?  Don' t tell my mon but I would buy like seven!

There I was right a the foot of Randal Park, were I spent many a day, playing, fighting, ice skating, and more fighting, was Woodcleft Canal, in Freeport, L.I. on one side some homes, but the water side, boat yards, Restaurants, and bars, my daily route.

My training as a salesman and profession eater was just beginning?  Just imagine you step up the bar and get free clams and oysters on the half shell with, yes horseshoe radish, and hot sauce, then sell a newspaper to some over drinker for a dollar. Please let me tell you when your 12, that's a lot of money! That same guy was there every day, he owned a 1956 Lincoln Continental.

It was so cool!

If you knew anything about delivering newspapers, first you stopped at the newspaper office to pack them.  Now, this involved a 'top secret ' folding technique only know by us newspaper kids?  You delivered to homes, you reached down while riding grabbed a paper from the bag; if you had a throwing technique like Whitey Ford or Don Drysdale, you could reach the front porch with some accuracy.

But just because you were a kid you were just developing your throwing style, then many ( the papers ) landed on the hedges, and if you were really good the roof.  Yes, of course, there were complains but you just had no time to worry about such trivia?

 This enabled me to hone my sales skill, I sold lots of newspaper subscriptions, winning me trips to Coney Island ( world famous amusement park ) and baseball games.  Let me tell you if you loved baseball; we had The New York Yankees, The New York Giants and of course the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Best clam chowder ever

Oh, I all most forgot at the bottom of the canal was the Sea Breeze Restaurant,  with the real clam chowder ( Manhatten Style). Joe who worked in the kitchen feed me well, and he owned the most beautiful 1956 pink Ford Crown Victoria.  Surely you know boys that age loved cars! 

You could spend hours just looking thru Hot Rod, Car Craft magazines and that car stuff, just a dreaming!

Then at 14, I was offered a job washing dishes ( yea more food) at a seafood restaurant I delivered to. And you thought I was kidding about my professional eating career.  Of course, when I got home mon had dinner ready, she never knew why I was not very hungry?

Now I was Rollin in the dough with two jobs.  My bank account looked good, my parents never knew I was buying seven ice cream bars every day; after all that strain of throwing newspapers made me really hungry.

Ok, back to being cool at the soda shop; sometimes your life can change just overnight. I met Bob Riley. 
 Dick Riley, his father owned a lawn mower repair shop, just 3 doors form the soda shop.  I was told Bob needed someone to cut grass, well here is the irony as a kid I hated cutting grass, so 60 years later I retired from the landscaping business. 

Page 2 coming soon