Richard Milhaus Nixon
So it was, in fact, him.
In 1980, I was in my second year (of what would be a 23-year stint) as a PR guy in Manhattan, I lived on the upper east side. I was working on some project, and had to be in the office really early. Like by 5:30am early. I left my apartment around 5:00 and walked south, probably on First or Second Avenue, toward work. There was no one on the street. Except for two guys walking north, toward me, on the same side of the street. As they got closer I saw one was younger, one was older. They both wore crummy black trenchcoats. It was like the younger guy was taking the older guy for a walk. Which he was. At 5:00 in the morning.
You know when you see someone famous, and you think "hey, that's so-and-so... well, maybe not... no, it is... I think." Well, I had one of those that morning. I mean, it had to be Nixon... just look at that face, I thought. He was older, but it had to be him. Right? I wasn't sure. But the other guy sure looked like a Secret Service agent walking with him. Right? I didn't know. Who knew where Nixon lived in 1980.
I was trying to decide what to say, but then I thought, A) if it's not him, boy will I feel foolish, and B) if it is him, and I walk up in front of him and start yapping, Mr. telephone-cord-in-his-ear might just decide to "wrestle me to the ground" and ask to see my ID later. So, I walked on by. A quiet, peaceful morning. With Nixon taking his early walk, undisturbed. No big thing, really, but there's a big difference seeing someone famous give a speech, or in a crowd, versus walking right by them on a quiet street, close enough to touch, glancing eye-to-eye, then moving on.
Of course, he was a criminal. Let's not forget that. But it was fun to see him that morning anyway
Marc K.
My wife was born and raised in Saddle River, NJ. It was a quiet semi-rural suburb until celebrities discovered it. There was a season of odd gossip about Pat-which probably wasn't true but then Rap Artists started moving in and the gossip shifted to them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was lil' kid, as a cub scout, I saw Kennedy on the streets of NYC giving a campaign speech. It was a surreal sight because I've seen this guy on TV and the newspapers. It was like a statue came alive. I was kinda nuts as a kid though...thank goodness I'm not anymore though.
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