I had an interesting text exchange with a pal a couple months back.
Hi Tom. I read your recent blog entry about Trump and the assassination attempt. I know you hate Trump. I'd like to know what policies that Biden had you agree with and support.
What a strange request from out of nowhere.
First of all, this interrupted my favorite cooking program - The Great American Recipe - so I was mildly annoyed. If I had to hazard a guess he and another pal were hanging-out, enjoying adult beverages and spontaneously decided to poke the bear. Taking the bait I continued with a flurry of texts as he badgered me for a policy of Old Uncle Joe's that I supported.
Seeking to end the tedium I settled on the largely bipartisan policy that provided military aid to Taiwan and Ukraine.
Considering this is a bright guy I was surprised he didn't recognize a protest vote when he sees one.
To be clear, I don't hate Donald Trump. I happen to think there are plenty of normal stand-up Republicans that make for better candidates. There's history to my membership in the Never Trumper Club long before it became a thing.
My first impression of Donald Trump dates to 1983 or 84 (or thereabouts). Back in the day I had taken a promotion to supervise securities sales for the firm I was associated-with. This engaged me with a broker-dealer headquartered in Providence, RI who happened to be owned by a large insurance company with a home office in Newark, NJ. Long story short, I traveled regularly to Providence and because NYC was (and still is) a financial center across the river from Newark, on occasion I traveled there.
I stayed at the new Vista International Hotel for meetings. This was a Marriott property located at One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Back during COVID I picked a book from my library to read and lo-and-behold it contained a bookmark, a page from a hotel notepad. The Vista International. That sent a chill down my spine as this hotel is no more. It was destroyed in the collapse of the twin towers as a consequence of the terror attacks on 9/11. But I digress.
During my travels I came to know New York City - which happened to be a very different place four decades ago. Times Square was a collection of seedy porn establishments and boom box stores. There was petty crime to accompany the graft, corruption and garbage. It was during this time I learned of a brash, local real estate developer with an outsized libido who always seemed to be working an angle.
One of the stories making the rounds included this developer's pitch for a seminar or workshop. Attendees could expect to learn about his "Midas Touch"; and the path to wealth in the Manhattan real estate world would be revealed. It wasn't a cheap date as the price of admission was something north of a thousand dollars. A tidy sum back in those days but the hook was that there would be an opportunity to have a photo taken with the mogul himself.
As it turned-out, the seminar was supposedly conducted by a low level minion and the photo-op was with a life size cardboard cut-out.
I thought to myself; Huh? This guy is nothing but a con man. A con man from Queens. That was my first impression. And first impressions count for a lot. For me anyway. Whether or not this narrative was factual it sure foreshadowed the much larger scam later perpetrated by Trump University. Which makes the tale believable. And perhaps explains the general NYC animus for Mr. Trump that persists to this day.
By the way, you can purchase your own life size cardboard Trump cutout from Walmart. It will set you back $50 to $120; but that's a far cry from getting fleeced for maybe a couple of grand forty years ago.
With the passage of time Manhattan has cleaned-up its act. The porno shops and boom box stores are gone from Times Square. As a vibrant retail and entertainment district this was home base for a family vacation a couple of years ago. There is still garbage on the sidewalk; but at least it's bagged.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment