IDrew writes:

<<
 Oh to die doing something one loves,
 I never heard any one say "well at least he died at the office"
  >>
When I was restoring the 5th ave Presbyterian church (5th and 55) I got to be
a regular swell on the block .
We were there a little over 3 yrs (sans winter) so I got to know all the deli
men ; bar men , limo drivers, bell hops ; and "Boulavardier's" who held court
on sunny days outside upscale restaurants  like 'Le Coq Basque; or the King
Cole room  of the Ritz.

Pressed in their natty suits ,sometimes with the carnation
These Boulavardiers were usually locals that were retired or semi retired.
High maintenance guys who somehow were able to afford to live in the
neighborhood; they  spent most of their mornings scanning the racing pages
and telling ya how the neighborhood "ain't what it used to be "
One was a former detective who liked  to wear shiny suits with the Frank
Sinatra hats and show off  his gold shield and snub nose which he had
strapped to the ankle
His name was Charlie and said he was a bodyguard and button man  to Guv.
Nelson .Rockefeller until his death .
Well one day we got to yammering about the Guv and the old days; and he says
to me "Want to see his office ? I still had fifteen minuets so I said why not
and we went into a low residential building  which he said "was the back way"

We took one of those gilded three man lifts with the cage; with a uniformed
operator and got off on the top floor
The operator opened the door for Charlie and we went into a sumptuous  hall
way of well oiled paneling with an office  equal in beauty and old world
craftsmanship of a sailing ship
There was a collection of steam boat paintings on the walls which Charlie
said wasn't there in Nelsons time ; but the coffered ceiling was and it was a
beauty.

This  floor was  most unusual because it was connected all the way to the
next street over by galleria   "Where his secretaries lived".Charlie jestered
with his thumb

Now I knew the Guv was a modest man; the son of a Baptist;  John sr. who in
his dottering age like to befriend large bosomed women and pinch their
behinds in the back of his Pantheon   . .

I also admired his son Michael who was lost on New Guniea and to all accounts
probably was eaten; to which we now have the Michael Rockefeller wing at the
Muse "Natural History.
Nelson  was married to "Happy" but Im not sure that was the case ; as he
liked another leg to get close to once and awhile..
According to official records Nelson died in this office; a tireless public
servant and philanthropic to the people
However ;according to Charlie, and those in the know;his two secretaries had
him in bed across the way (via the galleria) where he died of massive
coronary. They dressed him and carried him all legs and arms to his
office;proped him up in his chair and dialed emergency service.
Within an hour investigators knew what had happened; but it was decided that
it would not be dignified if the public knew that this is the way the former
Vice President of the US and former Guava of the state had passed..The
secretaries were well taken care of by the "family" and dismissed.
I asked Charlie if he was "Smiling"  Charlie said the guv was smiling
We took the lift back down; I thanked Charlie for the "Tour of historical
sites" and he went back to his racing pages  and I went back to  cutting
stone.

--
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