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Old 01-20-2021, 08:29 AM   #1
Teach
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Join Date: Dec 2007
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"I Led 3 Lives"


In the mid-1950’s, when I was a “yute” (not to be confused with Joe Pesci in “My Cousin Vinny,” or the University of Utah “Utes”) about to become a teenager growing up on Boston streets (that’s where I got my “real” education), I’d watch a lot of television on our family’s Zenith 17” black-and-white TV.

One my favorite shows was called: “I Led 3 Lives.” The drama was based on the real-life experiences of Herbert Philbrick (played by Richard Carlson), a New Hampshire native who worked for a Boston advertising firm. Philbrick was not only (1) a businessman, (2) a husband and the father of six children, but he was also (3) a man who infiltrated the Communist Party of America; he would later serve as an FBI agent.

As I look back at my own life of nearly eight decades, I too have, in a manner of speaking, led “three lives.”

Before I discuss my “three lives,” I will say, for the most part, my “lives: have never became intertwined, call it-co-mingled (“never the trine shall meet”). Sociologists would say they my “lives” existed in "logic-tight” compartments. I had erected imaginary walls between each. In fact, I took great pains to keep it that way.

I’ve been (1) a husband and father. I’ve been (2) a high school history teacher, and I’ve been (3) a gambler. Now that I’ve mentioned my three “lives,” where do I begin?

Let me begin with my teaching career. When I was a boy, I actually liked school. I know that may sound hard to believe for some, but I enjoyed reading and learning. After I graduated high school, I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. Because history was my favorite subject, I became a history teacher. As cited, I took great pains not to let anyone know -- especially my students and colleagues -- that I also liked to gamble (It was my little secret, sort of like an extra-marital tryst; it made gambling that much more exciting).

As I think back, I recall that on one occasion, a colleague, an English teacher, had just come back from Atlantic City. She was telling me about the slots and table games she had played. I recall she said that she had stayed at The Claridge. In any event, I played the dunce, like I know nuthin. In reality, I had been to Atlantic City. I recall staying at Merv Griffin’s Resorts casino.

When I was a teacher, the kids in school would sometimes ask me about my hobbies and interests. They’d ask, "What do you like to do when you’re not teaching." I’d say, “I like to read." If I were being perfectly candid, I would have said, “I like to read The Daily Racing Form and harness racing programs and books.”

Oh, as I think back, I recall one incident that could have cost me my career. No moral turpitude, just a slip-of-the-tongue. One night, several years ago, a couple former college buddies were in Boston for a convention. We got together. We took in the harness races at Foxboro Raceway. After the races, we stopped at the Red Wing Diner (Route #1, just north of the track) for some fried clams and suds. I remember getting home about 1 a.m. Five hours later I have to get up to teach school. I was tempted to call in sick, but it was Friday, payday, and I needed the cash for my weekend gambling activities.

Anyway, when I arrived in school that morning I was on “automatic pilot.” My first class was a group of what they called back then “general” history students. I remember we were discussing the French and Indian War. I recall that we were talking about how General Braddock and his British troops were ambushed by the French and their Indian allies as they marched toward Ft. Duquesne. I mentioned that some of the Indians had scalped British soldiers. One of the kids raises his hand and asked, “What’s scalping?" Without thinking,” I blurted out, "That’s when they cut off their f*cking heads” (Actually they slice off the tops of their heads; few survived).
As I think back, you’d think that these kids had just seen "Casper, The Friendly Ghost." They looked at each other. "What’d he say?" Thankfully, nothing was ever said. If that had been an Advanced Placement group, “my ass would have been grass.”

As for gambling, I started in elementary school. The bunch of us would play penny-ante poker down a friend’s cellar. As the years passed, that became “nickel & dime.” We had so many kids playing poker, we had two games going.

Later, when I was in high school, I’d go to the harness races. I was initially a $2 bettor, but, with time, that escalated. I gambled throughout my college days (you could say I majored in history, but I minored in gambling).
When I worked at the college library as a page, I have the Rockingham harness program folded up in my back pocket. Between getting books for my fellow-students, I’d ensconce myself in one of the “catacomb” alcoves and study the form.

After I graduated from college, I visited just about every harness racing track on the East Coast. Some of which don’t exist anymore like Hinsdale, Scarborough, Roosevelt, Liberty Bell, and Brandywine. I was such a degenerate that one summer I did a three-track "trifecta." Sort of like a triathlon without swimming, biking, and running. In my case, a friend and I left my Long Island apartment and visited Belmont Park for their early races, then headed across Staten Island for Freehold. We capped off the day by spending the evening at Brandywine in Delaware.

In more recent years, I’ve also visited casinos. Several visits to Las Vegas; a trip to Atlantic City; Casino du Montreal; and the Caribbean (Aruba). Then, there’s Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Remember the show "Paladin" (Richard Boone): "Have Gun, Will Travel." My motto: "Have Credit Card, Will Gamble."

Lastly, I’ve been married...hard to believe, for over 50 years. My wife’s been a saint to put up with me. She never realized what she was getting into (On one of our early dates, I did take her to Rockingham Park). For the most part, except for that trip to Rockingham, I kept matters pretty much under wraps both when we were dating and when we were first married. I also kept my gambling from my kids (now adults with families of their own) for many years. They learned when they were in high school that their Daddy likes to gamble. They would say:
“Mommy went shopping; Daddy went to the track.”

Oh, by the way, thankfully, neither my wife nor my kids like to gamble. My wife’s idea of gambling is to watch an item in a department store to see if it gets marked down, and then get there (preferably when the doors open) to see if she can be the first one to buy it (that has become most difficult in recent months for obvious reasons).

Yes, I truly have led “three lives.” Yet, one of those “lives” has faded away. No, not the gambling. Heaven forbid! Several years ago, I retired from teaching.

Oh, I’m still glued to the TV monitor, only this time it not Herbert Philbrick’s “I Led 3 Lives,” it’s to watch harness racing from Freehold or the Meadowlands on my ADW.
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Walt (Teach)

"Walt, make a 'mental bet' and lose your mind." R.N.S.

"The important thing is what I think of myself."
"David and Lisa" (1962)












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Old 01-20-2021, 10:00 AM   #2
grant miller
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Old 01-20-2021, 11:00 AM   #3
btexpress
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Thank you

Appreciate the history and the knowledge

What’s your favorite part of History to teach ?
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