Shoveling snow, the guy keeled over on the front lawn.
One of the last of the old-school bookies in these parts, he was a one-of-a-kind. Dealt with him for 24 years, and for 24 years everything was like clockwork without fail. When I first hooked up with the guy, I tried like hell not to get too close, because let's face it, he's trying to take money from me, I'm trying to take it from him. But you couldn't help but like the guy, and I actually looked forward to meeting him every Tuesday or so regardless of whether I was up or down money. The stories he told were legendary. Ended up being godfather to my son, and within the community he was one of the most generous, selfless individuals around. And like many Italians here, he made the best homemade wine which would rival anything bought on the shelves.
Crazy thing is, I was having an incredible run this week. After going 3-for-4 tonight I was already looking forward to a big payout next week. Not going to happen, but the much bigger loss is the loss of a genuine throwback who cannot be replaced.
Yikes, I don't even know where to turn to locally. I dread the thought of jumping back into the offshore world. Have accounts at numerous books, but I despise the thought of sending money to Joze Fernandez Opala Guiterrez in San Jose, and I hate even worse the thought of linking my bank account or cc to these books. :-(
RIP Chook!!