WHO IS STU COHEN.....REALLY!

There was a wonderful writer named Herman Wouk who died just ten days before his 104th birthday in 2019.  Some of the books he wrote were the Caine Mutiny, Marjorie Morningstar, The Winds of War, and Youngblood Hawke.  When I began teaching seventh graders, we were required to teach The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  I had read Wouk's book City Boy based on Wouk's own boyhood, which was published in 1948.  I would read it to my classes so they could contrast Tom Sawyer's rural small-town life prior to the Civil War with Herbie Bookbinder's life in the Bronx and Manhattan after World War II.  Talking to Stu, who was also born in the Bronx in 1951 I couldn't help but compare his life to Herbie's life.  They both had wonderful childhoods.  Growing up in a city can be as memorable as growing up on a farm or in a small town. 

Six months after Stu was born his parents bought a co-op in Queens.  The cost was $200 a room plus a monthly maintenance fee.  They paid $900 and the apartment then sold for $250,000 in 1995.  There were fourteen buildings full of apartments.  Stu's building was called Mitchell Gardens.  Stu's brother, Scott, was born in 1955.   The two brothers were always in the same group or gang growing up.

Before we get into Stu's childhood let me tell you about his father.  His dad worked for the post office but before he settled down, David Cohen was a boxer and a war hero.  His picture was found in an old issue of Ring magazine.  Like many dads of that time, he did not talk about his past and never mentioned his service in World War II.    

So back to Mitchell Gardens, picture going to a playground where there were fifty other kids.  They formed teams and participated in many sports.  Like Tom Sawyer and Herbie Bookbinder, they also got into mischief. The buildings had bike rooms where the kids could store their bikes.  Since no grown-ups would think of entering a kid's bike storage room, it was the perfect place to try smoking.  Later it could be drinking.  The buildings were six stories high.  What does that make you think of?  Water balloons!

A very special prank was making a dummy. They would stuff articles of clothing.  They would paint a face on the head part. They would also place a noose around the dummy's neck.  Perching the dummy on the edge of the roof would draw crowds.  Cries of "Don't jump!" would be heard.  Then the dummy would be thrown off the roof and would dangle a few stories down.  Doesn't that sound like great fun for a kid? There were also incidents with fireworks and accidentally starting fires.  It was just normal big city kid fun.

Stu went to Flushing High School and made the football team.  He ran functions. He learned to drink.  (This seems to be a common learning experience in urban high schools.  Good prep for college, right?) Stu's two close buddies at this time were Larry, AKA Tiny but pronounced Teeny and Ken, AKA as scurvy because he had no brains.  Their last names remain anonymous to protect the guilty.

From high school Stu went to Queensborough Community College.   He started out great, but he began to party when he joined a fraternity.  That is also where he met Debbie.  They worked on projects together and the attraction was mutual.

In the meantime , Stu started to work at the Post Office in the summer.  His dad worked at the post office so it was inevitable.  He managed to work part time on his return to school.  That was working beautifully because Stu could arrange his hours for school, but also for his social life. 

Nothing stays perfect for long though.   The post office made a rule that there would be no more part timers.  Stu was making good money by now.  He decided to give up school and go full-time.  Besides, he was ready to settle down.  There was Debbie to consider.  She did finish college so Stu was the only drop-out in the family.

Debbie and Stu married.  They lived in three different apartments in and around Queens before they bought a house in Hicksville, New York in 1992 which they did not sell until 2017.  They had two children.  Jarrett is a chiropractor in Baltimore and Morgan is a concierge at Sofitel.  Many of us were lucky to meet her at our Luau.

Stu worked his way up in the Post Office until he became Postmaster of Mineola, New York which was the Nassau County seat.  He had forty employees and three supervisors under him.  He retired in 2006 from the Post Office.  However, that doesn't mean he had nothing to do.  He already had another very active career going.

In 1997 Stu took a class and became a high school football referee.  He continued this for twenty-five years.  In 2004 he took on softball and added volleyball in 2006.  Now he is certified in Illinois for softball and volleyball.  You won't find him around every afternoon because he will be in some other suburb running volleyball games.

Many of you know Stu as a great bridge player.  In fact, when I was interviewing Gladys Hudson, she suggested I talk to Stu next because they are great partners in bridge.  I asked Stu how he happened to get into playing bridge.  He took the train to work and there happened to be a five-seat set-up where he was regularly in the fifth seat.  The other four seats were occupied by four regular bridge players.  Stu watched and learned the game.  He must be a natural learner.  If I was in that situation, I would be reading a book.  Gladys said he is a very good player.

This is not the end of the story.  I've saved the best for last.  Stu is really into 1950's music.  He loves doo-wop! Sha Na Na played at his college, and he was hooked.  Sha Na Na was formed in 1969 but performed a song and dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs.  They became famous when they appeared at Woodstock.  Yes, that Woodstock.  They are still performing today with three of the original members.  

Of course, Stu was in a band in college.  He sang.  Yes, our Stu is a singer!  I have been checking out doo-wop and I can hardly stop listening to it.  The harmonies are beautiful. Check out Sha Na Na, Vito and the Salutations, or the Earls.   I'm guessing there must be other folks here who sing.  I hope some of you get together and harmonize.  I can't sing unless there are twenty or more people surrounding me to keep me in tune, but I would love to hear some of our talented people blend their voices.  Go right now and talk to Stu..  He may be busy in the afternoons, but you can harmonize in the mornings.  Where is a piano when we need it! 

I also suggest you ask Stu what the number 28 means to him.  He has an Abbot and Costello routine that should be more famous then "Who's on First".  Stu is a great storyteller.  Be careful though, sometimes the story has a trick ending that will trip you up.   I think if the post office hadn't grabbed him so young, he might have been a performer.  

One final tip!  If you ever decide to play Trivia in the Bistro on Thursday afternoons at three, be sure to sit next to Stu or Debbie.  They always know all the answers.