Story Of Stu! Part 4!

Before I get into the business I started in high school, Electronics Unlimited I'm going to step back a bit to some of the great experiences I had thanks to working at the family deli. The deli was at 5th and Olney Streets in the Olney section of Philly. It was located across from the Transport Workers Union, they represented all city bus drivers and was a hot bed of political activity, I got to meet many political leaders and legendary Mayor Frank Rizzo quite a few times, besides being a giant in politics the guy made me feel tiny at 6' 225lbs and an active weight lifter! In conversations with Mr Rizzo I found out he use to walk a beat with my late uncle Pete when both were Philly cops, he related some great stories that ill take to my grave, suffice it to say policing is very different than it use to be! Another great experience I had there was my relationship with the district cops, one in particular, Norman was a mounted patrolman, my daily job was to take care of his horse while he ate or used the restroom, he'd have to goad me into doing it daily because I was scared to death of horses but became friends with this giant beast! The relationship I built with the local cops paid off many times when trouble would find its way to the store, at least 5 times they stormed in there and beat the hell out of the offenders before any questions were asked! Justice use to be quick in Philly! The first time I ever had a gun pointed at my face was in that store! One evening a strung out young lady tried to hold me up, next thing I knew was my uncle had a gun in her ear telling her go ahead and shoot him, can't say I agreed with his tactics but she dropped the gun then somehow fell into the ice cream freezer! But my favorite experience there was meeting Jimmy Young and his entourage, Jimmy went on to become heavyweight champ of the world, it's even said he won his bout against Muhammad Ali. Jimmy and his crew were great guys often inviting me to watch him work out at legendary Smokin Joe'S Gym! I had convinced myself that I could beat Ali, I use to run around a local track with a shirt that said "Ali In 3" Finally I accepted Jimmy's invite to stop at the gym, I believe on the third visit and in my mind convinced if given a chance I'd hurt Jimmy too, he invited me into the ring, at a time he was reigning champ! Just prior to the start of sparing Joe Frazier and his entourage walked by, Joe said,"don't hurt him" cocky me answered, "I won't" I will never forget the look on Frazier's face before he started laughing hysterically! Fortunately Jimmy was a great guy and only paralyzed my arms for about two weeks! Running into Smokin Joe several times over the years was always a treat, just an incredible human, treated everyone like family, in fact the last time was in January 2011, just prior to his cancer diagnosis, he spent about 15 minutes talking with me and the wife, telling us about every health problem he's dealt with and then comparing notes on various subjects! May they both rest in peace! Hopefully ill get to Electronics Unlimited next time! Thanks for reading and sharing! Stu