BC discount

 BC discount

     We grew up in a system now called white privilege but in fact it was only certain whites with the privilege. BC was a street-wise man who went to the school of hard knocks on North Broadway where kids had no protection from bullies and future criminals. As expected, he was an aggressive and successful kid salesman when he peddled newspapers like the Los Angeles Exmainier or the Evening Herald. As a promotion the newspaper gave out fancy change aprons to top sellers with a battery attached that lit up the name on the front. BC says he kept it less than an hour before some thugs took it away from him and left him on the ground with a pain in his gut. He learned to make friends with "the right people" and that did not always include the most moral folks in the fold. He was not a bully but he knew tough guys who would protect him after he helped them sneak through an unlocked door for a big fight at the Vernon Arena or acquire some bootleg gin or Canadian whiskey. Prohibition ended and the Depression started about the time he left high school so his higher education took place in boxcars, city streets and hanging around events where money could be made if you had the nerve to take chances. Later on when he was supposed to be a family man with a wife and kids he still knew guys who could make small things happen with the right preparation when he had good tickets to a game or access to materials that were very tough to get during hard times. He knew people in Hollywood where he was an extra as a youngster and he knew crooked Union bosses down in Pedro who occasionally found bargains that fell off a loading dock into the trunk of their car. He also knew cops and had a guy in the records section who could make a traffic ticket vanish magically,  So this story is one of thousands describing his chicanery during my lifetime. My High School graduation was coming up and he always insisted that I have nice clothes. When others wore Penney's or Sears stuff I had to have Silverwoods or Orbachs. Typically I took  it all for granted. However, I did not have a suit that fit me for the big day and really had no need for a suit at that point. So we went off to Zeidler and Zeidler where the inventory was staggering and salesmen owed the slick ticket broker a favor. I had no idea what was up but a "gentleman" met us and escorted BC around the racks where a very nice dark suit was picked out, just right for a graduation. Very quickly, the apparel was tossed into a Z&Z  shopping bag with no cash exchanged and we were waved out the door without a receipt or sales slip. In the following week I was sent to a fine Italian tailor named Louis Visetti who turned the off the rack garment into my perfect graduation attire.