If you take a course in creative writing the first assignment very often is to write a story about an unforgettable character. Our friend Larry qualifies. Larry put together a complicated multimillion dollar mining deal in Birmingham with the help of four hookers. Larry was born in a trailer park in South Florida, never finished high school. He worked in construction with a hammer and a saw. He wanted to do better and noticed a friend who was driving a dump truck being paid by the load. All you had to do was sign your name and you became an independent contractor, in effect an employee driver with no workers compensation coverage. Larry learned how to operate a bulldozer and then a dragline.
Larry’s success was the product of hard work, drive and creativity. He dredged harbors, dug canals, built roads and mined coal. He was a gambler but tried to beat the odds by “counting cards”. He gave his employees stopwatches and had them competing for his benefit, speeding up their work efforts.
Socially he was well dressed, very well dressed, with quality form fitting clothes. He was clean shaven, spoke softly and grammatically. He was well mannered and was comfortable dining at an elegant table. In fact, he used to enjoy one of my favorite restaurants, the Clipper Room at the Yankee Clipper Hotel and learned how to order good wine.
His personal life was something else entirely. He had a twinkle in his eye. He loved women and sex. In fact, he couldn’t get enough. He was married twice and had two children early on, but that never slowed him down. He chased women 24/7.
Larry died as a result of an automobile accident. He was a passenger in the back of a limousine. I had cautioned him not to drink and drive. He had been using a limo when it was T boned by a young drunk driver and died of brain damage. I helped carry his coffin to the grave.
He is a shining example of how effort and creativity can yield success.
We come and we go and usually there’s little or nothing to show for our lives. The maxim “Gone, But Not Forgotten“ is really untrue. Larry is gone. His business is gone. His associates are dead. His widow remarried and moved to New York City.
Larry, I’m telling your story. Rest In Peace. ~ Lewis