The Corner Man

The resurfacing of the Jimmy Hoffa mystery recalled to mind the following:
Some years ago we put on the pier payroll a young man named Arnold G. as a combination gofer/chauffer. He grew up in South Philadelphia and his boyhood friend became a prominent middleweight boxer going by the name Joey G.  Arnold would disappear for weeks at a time and the next time we would see him would be on TV from Las Vegas working the corner at one of Joey's fights - wearing the white sweater and carrying the bucket and sponge - he was advising! By and by Joey retired from the ring but Arnold kept his hand in the business and we had heard he was managing several Puerto Rican fighters. One day Arnold disappeared for real and they found his Cadillac at the Philadelphia Airport. The rumor was that something had gone "awry" in the ring and that our friend had taken up residence in the Tinicum Wildlife Preserve near the airport. Baffling and chilling. The Arnold I knew wouldn't hurt a fly.
tjs
(Reprinted from The Eagle Blue Chronicles No. 28 - April 27, 2006)
Next -Doe, a Deer.