Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
The first place my husband and I lived together, was a Garden Apartment in Queens. There was nothing about the apartment or the area that would suggest a garden. I have no idea how old the buildings were when we lived there, but the kitchen especially, was antiquated and so tiny that two people couldn’t be there at the same time. All the other rooms were a good size. Even the closet space wasn’t too bad. One huge problem was that the whole development had 4 seasons of bugs. Even the exterminator couldn’t seem to control them.
We had been there about a week, when we heard right through the walls, a guy singing at the top of his lungs, “Yes sir, that’s my baby. No sir I don’t mean maybe. Over and over. Being playful we knocked on the wall and finished the stanza, “Yes sir, she’s my baby now.” We told them to meet us in the front of the apartment. That’s how we met the Kanes!
Talking (loudly) through the wall, we decided to go out front and meet in the street. It was the start of a long friendship. They were a stunning couple.
He, Mark was funny and quirky. If you think of the actor Dudley Moore, you have a good idea of what Mark was like. He didn’t try to be funny, it was just part of him. It was nice that someone else had the target on his back! He and his wife were Italian. True to form his spoke with his hands. Wild gesticulations accompanied his speech. For example , one day in a restaurant, we were sitting in a booth, he had the aisle seat. He was emphasizing something, and unfortunately as the waiter walked by his threw his hands wildly hitting the waiter ( below the belt) while he carried a full tray. The waiter obviously did not think it funny as he doubled over, but seeing Mark’s face in disbelief coupled with the tray dropping and the grunt from the waiter, just had us doubled over laughing. So embarrassing for him. Then there was the time we were eating, and I want to say at someplace like a stand where you order your food and then go an find an empty seat. Anyway, we found a seat, he took out a corn on the cob and sank his teeth into it. Unfortunately the corn was so hot that he had a mouthful of kernels and had no idea what to do with it. Not wishing to make a scene, the tears starting coming from his eyes, and the smoke from his mouth. Poor guy burned the inside of his mouth, which was not funny, but the expression on his face was priceless. His wife just said, “You never learn!”
Eventually, he received his doctorate and he was a Psychotherapist. They had moved to a house in Roslyn, ( yes, we followed them) and had added on to their house to create an office. He concurrently had an office in Manhattan. He went to buy furniture for his Manhattan office. Preferring a modern look, he was looking at Swedish furniture. In the showroom, he sat down on one of the couches and leaned back. There was no back support, just a low cushion. The force of his movement caused him to flip over the back of the couch and onto the floor in the showroom. The salesperson seeing him on the floor asked him what happened. Instead of just telling him, he showed him. He hadn’t learned his lesson and flipped off the couch a second time. He was too embarrassed to stay there another minute and whatever he ended up buying was not Swedish!
Probably the worst one of all was back in his house. There was a little entrance created for patients to sit while waiting for their appointment. It was always just one person at a time. In the little front area was also a powder room that could be accessed from both the house interior and the waiting room.
One typical day, Mark was waiting for a patient to come. He had to use the rest room. No problem! He locked the bathroom to the waiting area and accessed it from the house. He also had the therapy room locked. OK, so he goes to use the toilet and as he goes to sit on the toilet he throws his back out! He couldn’t move, he was in pain. At that moment, the patient, perhaps a little early comes into the waiting room and takes a seat. He is totally stuck. Trying to sound as nonchalant as he could he yells out into the waiting room that something has happened and he will reschedule the appointment as soon as he can. The patient, not being an idiot, asks if he’s Ok and can he help! Mark tries to calm the person by saying he’s fine. The patient leaves and Mark has to wait there till he can either move or his wife comes home. He even burnt off his eyebrows and a rim of hair around his face when he attempted to light a Barbeque Grill. Thankfully he was fine, but with the halo of the hair burnt and redness in his cheek, he looked like a cherub!
They eventually moved and after another move relocated in Florida. Everytime I do something klutzy, I think about him and how many laughs we had. He passed away several years ago. He is sorely missed.
