OT: My Email Exchange w/Larry "Fenwick" Gotterer on the Final Gong Show

sonovista, my friends…  so this is totally off topic, but i was having a conversation with a friend about the Gong Show and i said, "did you know that the last Gong Show wasn't hosted by Chuck Barris, but by one of the writer/producers who was basically shoved on stage and did an amazing impression of "Chuckie-baby"…  and my friend said, "how do you know that?" and i said, "because i found the guy and wrote to him and he was nice enough to write back!" and my friend said, "cool… you should put that up on Wikipedia®" and i did and then it was pulled because i didn't provide any supporting documentation (fair enough)… so, here on the official Schnauzer Logic Podcast blog, i give you supporting documentation…  its actually a sweet note about things that happened almost 34 years ago (sheesh!) so thanks, Larry, for marking the beginning of 2013 and allowing me to use your story to mark the end (i guess you'd have to say, "its the year of Fenwick!")

A Belated ThanksChanukah Story...

in 1983 i started my legal career at the small NYC patent firm of Blum Kaplan Friedman Silberman and Beran... at that time Alex Friedman, the oldest of the surviving partners, was still coming into the office most days to handle a few trademark matters and sort through, and often deliver, the firm's mail…  Alex was a very sweet guy and took a liking to me, offering advice and telling me the most unusual stories (the one about having insomnia one night, and coming into the office at 3am to get a start on the day and finding two members of the cleaning crew 'schtuping' on his leather couch, still sticks in my mind)… 

somehow, early on, Alex took to calling me David, asking me to do small personal favors (change the battery in a digital calculator, that sort of thing) and being both respectful, and fearful, of his longevity and position, i deigned to correct him… this went on for many months, until the spring of 1984 when Alex was planning for his annual pilgrimage to Israel to see his daughter and grandchildren… 

Alex summoned me into his office and said, "David… I need for you to buy me a razor." "Uh, what kind of razor, Alex?" "An electric razor that will work in Israel" and with that he put his head down and went back to work.  i went into the office of the junior partner who had hired me and said, "Alex just asked me to buy him a razor.  What should i do?" to which he said, "Buy him a razor, idiot"… so i did.. i found a speciality shop that sold Norelco razors (the firm represented Remington and i even got to meet Victor "I Bought The Company!" Kiam, but it needed to be international and preferably not German) and returned to the office pleased with my success.  "Here's your razor, Alex… The receipt is in the bag."  "Thank you", he said, and again put his head down and went back to work.  

I wondered how I would broach the topic of payment (i was a first-year associate, making 'bupkiss') when I was summoned back to his office, "David…  thank you for buying me the razor…  here's a check for the purchase…" and with that he handed me a check made out to David Goldberg… i stared at the check thinking about how i might cash it, what i would say to the teller at my bank, whether i could go back to the junior partner who had hired me, and ask his advice…  i stood there, frozen, for what must have been an inappropriately long period of time when Alex said to me, 

"Is there a problem?"

"Alex", i said, "I'm afraid i can't accept this check…"

"No", he said, "I insist on paying for the razor…" 

"No, Alex…", i said, "That's not the problem… the problem is my name isn't David Goldberg…" 

"It isn't?", he said, "huh…  I thought it was… I think I knew a David Goldberg…" and with that he wrote me a new check and sent me on my way…  

i had forgotten this 30 year-old story until last night when i received a ThanksChanukah card from my friend (and old Blum Kaplan officemate) Peter…  i'm fortunate to have started my career working with folks like Alex, and fortunate to have friends like Peter who won't let me forget the embarrassing moments of my life...

Schnauzer Logic Episode 86 Is Online (pssst… act like nothing's wrong)...

Sonovista, my friends!  Just a short note to say that on Saturday, November 30, 2013 (exactly 2 years since the last time we all were in the studio for a legitimate show), Sheri and I sat down at Schnauzer Studios to record a new podcast!

A bit of fluff (there's too much of -me- talking, and the audio isn't up to my usual anal-retentive standards, since my DBX-266XL Compressor/Limiter/Gate done up and died), but its available in all of the usual places and should be showing up in the show's new(ish) RSS feed:

http://www.almostradio.com/schnauzerlogic/podcast.xml

lemme know if that isn't true.

(also, the Penn and Teller off-Broadshow i was thinking of from 1983/1984 was Penn and Teller Go Public)

more later… until then…

show up
pay attention
tell the truth, and
don't be attached to the outcome

namaste
robin