Tonight is Halloween.  As with any Halloween, there will be numerous little ghouls and gobblins walking our streets this evening.  For safety’s sake, please drive slowly and be watchful, so that it is a safe and enjoyable evening for the little ghouls and gobblins.

If you are giving out treats, be sure they are still in their original wrappers.

Sunday morning I went outside to pickup the Sunday newspaper.  As usual, I got out the Sports section.  The headline read “Red Auerbach Suddenly Dies”.  I froze.  It did come as a shock to me.  Originally from the Boston area, I still follow the Boston Celtics – they are my team.  As I tell people “my blood runs green for the Celtics.”

As a teenager I worked in Guild Pharmacy which was located directly across the street from the Lenox Hotel on Boylston Street in Boston.  My job at the Guild Pharmacy was working at the luncheon counter – some people used to call the job – a “soda jerk.”  For those that are familiar with Red Auerbach’s life in Boston know that he lived in the Lenox Hotel when he was in Boston, while his family lived in the Washington, DC area.  Red would come into the pharmacy for his breakfast on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.  I was fortunate enough to work on those mornings.

The first time I saw him come in, I was in mildly in shock.  Would I dare speak to him?  Or would I just take his order and serve him his breakfast?  Being a 16 year old, I started speaking with him.

Over the 2 years that I worked at the pharmacy, when Red would come in, my co-workers would allow me to wait on him and talk with him.  We did speak about basketball, but Red would also talk to me about life and impart his philosophy to me.  As a kid I did not realize how valuable the conversations were.  Over the years I became aware of the “gifts” or “pearls of wisdom” that he was imparting on me.  I only knew Red as person not as a coach, so how I remember him and see him, might be different than other tributes to him.  He was a real person.  He took the time to talk with just some tall, lanky kid.

It is now that I remember in the 2 years of talking with Red that I never once asked him for tickets to the Celtics games.  Maybe I was too awestruck with the fact that I was actually speaking with a “living basketball legend.”

I don’t think I ever said “thank you” to him.  Well, maybe by sharing my experience with Red Auerbach and openly saying what he imparted to me – it is my personal way of saying “thank you.”

Add to: Digg

Remember that tonight at 2AM, we change our clocks back one hour for Daylight Savings. We all get an extra hour of sleep.