"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" - Tom Jones (1969)

This is one of those records which can transport me back to a time and place so vividly that I can still feel the raindrops pelting the car on the side of the road outside Miami in 1969. We were on a road trip to St. Augustine, and then down to Miami, to see my mother's cousin who owned a nightclub there. The music on the car radio ranged from rock to pop to folk to Broadway show tunes.

That's the way it was then. With only the AM radio for entertainment, and no "ear buds", families shared the time, and music, while in the car. It was a good system, and as I've said, I can still feel the rain pelting the car, and see and hear the thunder and lightning raging outside the windows of our 1966 Pontiac. This version of the Tom Jones hit differs only slightly from the released version, but when you watch him sing, it opens a whole new dimension to the song. He's really feeling it.

Although this Tom Jones song was over a year old when we made the trip, I do remember it coming on a few times, especially when we pulled over to wait out that violent thunderstorm. It's a very distinct and pleasureable memory, safe in the car with my parents. And I even remember the follow up song being Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay", which my Mom really liked. This was our last vacation together as a family.

This is another song from "Nashville Skyline" which my Mom enjoyed. She said he finally had found his voice. Funny thing was, I was wondering what had happened to it! Great song and great memories...

The Beatles Meet Cassius Clay - Miami February 18, 1964

This was the Beatles last appearance of their first 3 on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It was broadcast from the Deauville Hotel in Miami because Ed Sullivan wanted to see the fight between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay; soon to become Muhammad Ali.

One of the highlights of the visit to Miami was the introduction of the Beatles to Cassius Clay for some publicity shots. That was on February 18^th. Ali remembers wondering who the hell they were. His world and theirs were; well; worlds apart! But the funny thing is that the Champ later became a fan of the Fab Four. He once opined that while he was the greatest; they were the most beautiful.

Later on he even challenged them to re-form the band in 1970 for a concert to help fight hunger in Africa. This was 15 years before “We are the World” became the accepted concept for rock and roll benefit concerts. This was just after George Harrison had set the template for such concerts with his Concert for Bangla Desh in August of 1970.

The Beatles never did get together again; either for themselves or charity. But, tomorrow never knows and maybe someone else will come along and change the music scene again in the same way that they did. They still have a way of getting under your skin; making you want to grab a ticket to ride and sail across the universe. 

Dubrow's - A Brooklyn Legend

This colorful and bustling portrait of Kings Highway was taken around 1974. It completely captures the hustle of living in Brooklyn at the time. I can almost hear the traffic and the noise of the trains pulling into, or leaving, the elevated train platform visible just above, and to the left of, the Dubrow’s Cafeteria sign.

The double parked van gives evidence to the activity which defined Kings Highway, and still does so today. I was starting to write something about Dubrow’s when I remembered the story of the holdup that took place there is the 1950’s. So, I just decided to re-post the original article below. The first photo, below, of Dubrow’s in the rain, was taken by Michael Held, I think. Of course it may have been taken by John DiStefano; I will have to ask him.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Dubrow's - A Brooklyn Legend

Dubrow's was a cafeteria on Kings Highway and East 16th Street in Brooklyn, New York. It sat on the corner by the BMT elevated Subway line - an interesting combination in itself, an elevated subway. But that's Brooklyn for you. Along the BMT line were several stops going from Coney Island to Manhattan. And about every third Avenue was an express stop on the elevated portion of the subway. Kings Highway was one of those avenues and had lots of stores, just as the other express stops did. But it had one thing more. It had Dubrow's Cafeteria.

Dubrow's was a family owned chain of cafeterias, which were once in style all across America. You walked in, and got a ticket which got punched by a guy behind the counter when you got served. This was actually your check and you presented it to the cashier on the way out and paid for what you had eaten.

But really, Dubrow's was a place where people met and talked over coffee and pie in the late evenings, eggs and coffee in the wee hours returning from a concert, or occasionally, dinner. Their halibut was delicious, as was the creamed spinach.

Decorated in Art Deco style from the 1930's, it was the perfect place to hang out and kill time on a rainy night. As the establishment got older the patrons were treated to various activities that precluded food. Roach races were one of these pastimes. This consisted of sitting at your table, preferably next to a wall, and watching two roaches headed to the top of the wall. The stakes were small, usually coffee and pastry. Many a night I lost to Mike Held, who seemed to have a knack for picking the fastest roaches. I never figured out his secret...

It could also be the scene of danger and intrigue. Drugs could be purchased on the opposite corner from some shady and wasted fellows. I was warned very early in the 1960's to avoid "hanging out" on this corner. At that time it was a gathering spot for heroin dealing. This was about 1961. By the time the '60's had ended it was a place to meet your friends before heading to Manhattan for a concert, or just to hang out around the corner near Rainbow Shops and smoke one.

It also served as a place where politicians met the public. Being by a major train stop was great for meeting a lot of voters at about 5 and 6 PM when they came off the train in droves! JFK spoke around the corner on East 16th Street in 1960, opposite the bakery that sat next door to the Waldbaum’s Supermarket. You can see the Bakery sign in the photograph. I also saw RFK there in 1964 when he ran for Senator; Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968 when he ran for President; and John Lindsay both times he ran for Mayor.(He got booed one time for his handling of the transit strike.) There was so much to Dubrow's that it is almost impossible to write it all down.

There was a famous holdup of the Cafeteria on January 7th, 1952.  I wasn't there, but here is the text of the newspaper article from the New York Times describing it;

$14,000 Taken In Hold-up    (New York Times, January 7, 1952)

An apparently intoxicated man staggered up to the manager of crowded Dubrow's Cafeteria, 1521 King's Highway. Brooklyn at 12:45 o'clock this morning, took between $14,000 and $15,000, reeled out, and disappeared.

The victim was Max Tobin, 48 years old, manager and part owner of the restaurant, which is at East Sixteenth Street in the Sheepshead Bay section. He said 450 customers and 50 employees were unaware of the holdup in a balcony office.

Mr. Tobin said he noticed a man reeling along behind him as he went to a balcony but thought he was going to a washroom. However, Mr. Tobin said, as he unlocked the door to the office, the man bumped into him, knocked him inside, then produced a small black pistol and told the manager to sit down.

After taking the money from the safe the robber bound and gagged Mr. Tobin, said "So long" and left.

Dubrow’s was a regular Magical Mystery Tour for watching people. All kinds came and went at all hours. I know - I was there at all hours along with some of my friends. I think we used to go and watch the people who were often there to watch us!

There were several Dubrow's; all owned by the same family. There were two in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan, and even another in Miami Beach for all those retirees who got homesick. Even today, long after the Kings Highway Dubrow's has disappeared (it was initially replaced by a Gap, but I'm not sure what's there now) people remember it with a fondness. Just Google Dubrow's and open your senses to a time and place we will never see again. (They even have a blogspot) I'm glad to have been a part of the tapestry that it was. Memories were made there.

"American Desperado" by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright

The very last thing which I expected when I began to read this book were lessons in morality. If this were an Inspirational Book it would not have caught me off guard in the way it did. This is, after all, the memoirs of a self-described very "evil" man. Jon Roberts learned long ago, from his father, that Evil is stronger than Good. And he took that lesson to heart as he robbed, killed and schemed his way through life, first in the streets, then in the jails, to Vietnam and then back to the streets.

Born Jon Riccobono, the son of a New York wise guy, Mr. Roberts had many opportunities to observe the evil in his father. When he was only 8 years old he witnessed his father shooting a man because he wouldn't back down off a one lane bridge. This incident sets the stage for the life Mr. Roberts would go on to lead.

The author has set the book up in an unusual way; it's almost a conversation. Mr. Wright asks a question, and Mr. Roberts tells a story in answer, often branching out into new areas. The book has a fluidity to it which makes it a very quick read at about 500 pages. Literally, the reader can turn to any page in this book and begin reading. The stories stand on their own, as well as being a part of a larger picture.

There are so many stories in this book, from robbing local drug dealers as a kid, to setting up his own drug operations, and eventually becoming a killer. The story takes the reader from Mr. Roberts’ beginnings in New York, to Vietnam, where he served in a LLRP unit, and then to Florida in the 1970's, just before the cocaine trade hit big time.

Eventually Mr. Roberts becomes involved in that cocaine trade, dodging the bullets of his rivals, as well as those of the American government. Only a secret deal with the CIA keeps Mr. Roberts from eventually paying the full price for all of the illegal things he has done.

To his credit, the author has no illusions about the "evil" things he has done. His beliefs concerning God and Satan are plainly expressed. This is no shallow, bullet headed mobster. This guy has his own set of morals, and is very adept at explaining them.

Extensively annotated with footnotes, this book throws a light on the failure of the drug war, and also explores just what it is that we seem to love about "gangsters." When Mr. Roberts, at the opening of the book, is introduced as the "Cocaine Cowboy" during a break in the game at Miami's American Airlines Arena, the place goes nuts! You would expect that the team had just won the championship.

A very engaging book which mirrors the society we live in, this book, with the careful guidance of the co-author, is at once a great story about mobsters and what they do; as well as a compelling look at ourselves and the human weaknesses which allow those mobsters to reign over a criminal empire; at times with the protection of our own government.

Tom Jones - 1968 on BBC Four

This is one of those records which can transport me back to a time and place so vividly that I can still feel the raindrops pelting the car on the side of the road outside Miami in 1969. We were on a road trip to St. Augustine, and then down to Miami, to see my mother's cousin who owned a nightclub there. The music on the car radio ranged from rock to pop to folk to Broadway show tunes.

That's the way it was then. With only the AM radio for entertainment, and no "ear buds", families shared the time, and music, while in the car. It was a good system, and as I've said, I can still feel the rain pelting the car, and see and hear the thunder and lightning raging outside the windows of our 1966 Pontiac. This version of the Tom Jones hit differs only slightly from the released version, but when you watch him sing, it opens a whole new dimension to the song. He's really feeling it.

Although this Tom Jones song was over a year old when we made the trip, I do remember it coming on a few times, especially when we pulled over to wait out that violent thunderstorm. It's a very distinct and pleasureable memory, safe in the car with my parents. And I even remember the follow up song being Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay", which my Mom really liked. This was our last vacation together as a family.