The Big Apple

From the end of 9th grade until the middle of my senior year, it was just Dad and me. We were major Duke fans and had season tickets. Dad was also a member of "The Iron Dukes, " which was, I'm guessing, an expensive fan club. Sometime in 1977 we went to a dinner for fans. The guest speaker was Red Auerbach. Somehow at this dinner I met Jim Spanarkel's mom. I think she and I were 2 of about 5 females at the whole big event. Although she was from Jersey and I was an NC girl, we really hit it off. She was a bit tipsy and I was used to that from living with my Dad. Jim Spanarkel was new to our team (this was all pre-season stuff) but Dad had told me what an asset he would be.

Sometime later Dad told me about an idea he had for a fun trip. He said that Duke would be playing at Madison Square Garden for a holiday double-header and thought it would be a fun Christmas trip. I hadn't flown since I was 12 - and that was the only time - plus I had never been to New York City. In North Carolina, we all said "New York City" as one word. I was pretty excited about the trip.

I spent most of the plane ride staring out the window. Once, when I reached for my Pepsi, I nearly spewed all over the plane. Dad had poured some Scotch in my Pepsi. I was pissed, he thought it was the funniest thing ever. I don't remember much about the hotel or it's location, but I'm pretty sure we were in Manhattan near Times Square. From what I remember we were there between Christmas and New Year's eve.

On our first afternoon out we stopped in a classic bar. The kind that's one long thin dark room: a bar on one wall and some booths on the opposite wall. Before we walked in I said, "I can't go in a bar." (I was 16.) Dad said, "This is New York, just be cool." So this classic New York Bartender, probably 50 or so, asks for our order. My Dad orders his bourbon and Pepsi. I said, "You've never hear of what I want." The bartender said, (and picture this with a classic NY accent), "I've been a bartender hear for 30 years, there's nothing you can order that I haven't made." So, I'm thinking "cool" and said "I'd like a Galliano and 7-up." He froze in his tracks and just looked at me and said, "Okay, you got me there." Then he made it for me. (It was a drink I made up when I used to babysit, I'll tell about that later.)

At game time we show up at MSG. We were surprised how empty the place was, but you have to remember, Duke was NOT a winning team back in those days. Hell, we used to sit holding our breath just to see if we got invited to the NIT back then. So Dad and I are walking around looking for our seats and thinking about moving down farther when we hear "Geeeewits!" Well Jim Spanarkel's mom is calling my name. By this time, we LOVE Jim as we have already seen him play. So we go over to where she is sitting with some people and sit just above them. She introduces us to her buddy, Mrs. Tripucka and tells us her son, Kelly Tripucka, who's a year behind Jim, is going to follow him to Duke. So I looked like I fool the next spring when his name came up and I told everyone I met his mom and he was coming to Duke. He went to Notre Dame.

The next night (and New Yorkers would laugh at this) we grabbed a cab and Dad just told him to just drive us around. We hadn't been riding long and we saw the sign "Dangerfield's" with a line drawing of Rodney on it. Dad told the guy to drop us there. I was wearing my "suit" a black polyester vest/pants jumpsuit with matching jacket. I thought I was all grown up looking. I don't know if you've ever been to Dangerfield's or if it's even the same, but it was a very intimate setting. Not a bad seat in the place. We were seated on the wall facing the stage which was about as far away as you could get and we were probably only 30 feet or so from the stage. I must profess here that I suck at distances. I'll just say that if you were that close to a movie screen at a theater, you would have been WAY too close.

Well Dad, being Dad, kept saying "He just owns this club, he's not going to be here. He lives in Hollywood." So they introduce some cute broad and she sings. Then a young white guy (who knows maybe he's somebody big now) came out and did some stand up. Then some John Davidson looking guy comes out, plays the piano and sings. I was having a blast. I was in "NewYorkCity" and they were bringing me screwdrivers as fast as I could drink them. Well, all of a sudden in a booming announcer voice it was something like, "Ladies and Gentlemen you've seen him on the Tonight Show and blah blah blah, Ladies and Gentlemen RODNEY DANGERFIELD!"

We just looked at each other, both thinking, "I do not fucking believe this!" So Rodney comes out and talks to the crowd. He asks everyone where they are from and then refers to them as "Wisconsin" or whatever. My dad pulls out his camera and sets it on our table. A scary looking guy runs up and hisses, "No pictures!!" So in a lull as Rodney is addressing the crowd, my Dad says, "I don't get no respect in here." Rodney says, "Hey that's my line, whattaya mean you don't get no respect in here?" My Dad says, "I pulled out my camera to take a picture for my daughter and one of your goons threatened to break my arm." Rodney says, "You want a picture with your daughter? Come on up on the stage." So we walk up there. The stage lights are in my face. Rodney says, "Your daughter, eh? Back in my day we called 'em 'my niece'." The crowd cracks up. Rodney throws his arm around me and Dad takes the picture.

About 7 years ago I sent that story and the picture to Rodney's website. I got a nice response from him. He was a really great comedian. I still can't believe how lucky we were to randomly find that place and have such a great outcome.