Teach
01-06-2008, 09:55 AM
I can just see it now. The "boyz" are at the "Big A". Their horse is leadin’ by city block. I can hear them now: "Just don’t fall off the horse!" Then, suddenly, out of nowhere they hear this voice. It's the voice of the biggest loser in the neighborhood: Eddie Mush. He’s rooting for the same horse. Their horse. The "boyz" starting cursing. They collectively throw up their hands. They know they’re "dead." They start ripping up their tickets. But the race ain’t over, and their horse is leading. "Fuhgettaboutit!" When the loser Mush starts cheerin' for your horse, it's like a prophesy. You ain't winning'. Not in a million years. The horse the "boyz" bet on, the one that was leading, the same horse that Eddie Mush was yelling for; well, he stops in his tracks like somebody just attached a 1000-pound weight to his tail. The horse finishes up the track. The "boyz" walk out.
You may remember that scene from the movie, "A Bronx Tale" with Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri. Mush, as he was portrayed in the movie, is what we call around here, a "Jonah." You know the name Jonah. He's that Biblical dude who the sailors blamed for their plight and decided to throw overboard. Well, he gets swollowed by a whale, and while in the whale's stomach, asks for forgiveness. He was later vomited onto shore by the whale.
Well, in these parts, we have a woman who we call: "Sally, the Jonah". She's known not only to me but to many others. She has the power to empty out whole rooms at the racetrack.
One day, "Bucko" and I are at Suffolk Downs. Suddenly, we hear this familiar voice. "Oh no," I say, "it's Sally." At the time, we had just seen a race go off, not unlike the scene from the film,"A Bronx Tale," our horse is on the lead and racing comfortably. We should be happy, but we know we're in trouble. We each start saying prayers. "Bucko" crosses himself and starts clutching his Devil's Horn amulet. It's as if we have both been just visited by the Evil Eye. We look at each other. We’re dead. Logic would say we have a good chance of winning this race, reality, on the other hand, is saying that we have "a snowballs chance in Hell" --- "Sally, the Jonah" is rooting for the same horse. In the end, we're losers. We shoulda known. It was destiny. Our horse ends up fading in the stretch and finishes off the board. We both walk out of the track.
Thankfully, I haven’t seen "Sally, the Jonah" in months. I don’t know what's happened to her, or where she may be. I wish her no personal ill. I just want to go to places that I don’t frequent — like Antarctica.
Oh, by the way, the real Eddie Mush was a real-life character (Eddie Montanaro) who apparently was a loser and bringer of bad luck. In fact, De Niro was worried that Montanaro's presence on the set would cause problems for the film. Wouldn't you know it. On the first day of scheduled shooting — it rained.
You may remember that scene from the movie, "A Bronx Tale" with Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri. Mush, as he was portrayed in the movie, is what we call around here, a "Jonah." You know the name Jonah. He's that Biblical dude who the sailors blamed for their plight and decided to throw overboard. Well, he gets swollowed by a whale, and while in the whale's stomach, asks for forgiveness. He was later vomited onto shore by the whale.
Well, in these parts, we have a woman who we call: "Sally, the Jonah". She's known not only to me but to many others. She has the power to empty out whole rooms at the racetrack.
One day, "Bucko" and I are at Suffolk Downs. Suddenly, we hear this familiar voice. "Oh no," I say, "it's Sally." At the time, we had just seen a race go off, not unlike the scene from the film,"A Bronx Tale," our horse is on the lead and racing comfortably. We should be happy, but we know we're in trouble. We each start saying prayers. "Bucko" crosses himself and starts clutching his Devil's Horn amulet. It's as if we have both been just visited by the Evil Eye. We look at each other. We’re dead. Logic would say we have a good chance of winning this race, reality, on the other hand, is saying that we have "a snowballs chance in Hell" --- "Sally, the Jonah" is rooting for the same horse. In the end, we're losers. We shoulda known. It was destiny. Our horse ends up fading in the stretch and finishes off the board. We both walk out of the track.
Thankfully, I haven’t seen "Sally, the Jonah" in months. I don’t know what's happened to her, or where she may be. I wish her no personal ill. I just want to go to places that I don’t frequent — like Antarctica.
Oh, by the way, the real Eddie Mush was a real-life character (Eddie Montanaro) who apparently was a loser and bringer of bad luck. In fact, De Niro was worried that Montanaro's presence on the set would cause problems for the film. Wouldn't you know it. On the first day of scheduled shooting — it rained.