Posted 18 March 2007 - 12:39 PM
A good friend of mine, from the time we were about 3 or 4 years old (sunday school, etc...) moved to Miami in 1974 and overnight became very, very rich. While the rest of us were long - haired hippies, he trimmed his hair, bought expensive clothes and began moving large quantities of drugs up and down the east coast. Byt the time the rest of our group of friends were entering medical school, he owned 3 houses, including an estate in the upper Keys that, by 1978, already had an eco-friendly pool (green alternates to chlorine) and grounds keeping system. He sponsored several large businesses, including a nascent health food store chain, etc. My point? He used to say that his biggest problem was what to do with the cash. Most of it got funneled through "legitamite" lawyers in Miami. What was so fascinating was his awareness that he was addicted to the "deal". He was smart enough to know that he had more money than he would ever need in his life, but having foregone an education or profession, he had no idea what to do with himself, and so, out of boredom, he would pull his gang together and make yet one more spectacular deal. One of our last conversations was right after I had finished a month of 24 hour on 24 hour off shifts in a hospital and all I wanted to do was curl up and die. He was sitting there in a Panama suit, a brand new Mercedes parked in the driveway, saying how much he envied me that I had "something" in my life and, poor him, he was vapid.
He was found dead of shotgun wound in his chest in a hotel in a major Northeastern city. No one knows to this day if it was drug deal related or self inflicted.
mm
