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Happy Birthday, Loser
I needed a drink on my 21st birthday. Not just because I was finally “legal” in New York State. It was also the day I lost my first election.
I never considered myself one of the “cool kids.” My inner circle read comic books and flew under the radar. I was never foolhardy enough to envision myself as any sort of group or organizational leader.
In high school, the only reason I hung around the weight room during physical education was to avoid physical education. The gym teacher would occasionally stop in, so we positioned someone as “lookout.” If the teacher appeared in the hallway, we started pumping iron like there was no tomorrow. That gave me entry into the “jocks,” who began acknowledging me in the hallways as “that fuckin’ funny guy.” But they didn’t start inviting me to their parties, like in some 1980s teen comedy. And I certainly didn’t believe enough of them would ever back me if I ran for student office.
In the meantime, I wrote articles. Lots of articles. In fact, I penned close to 400 articles for different college newspapers when I attended CUNY Queens College. My primary focus in those days, however, was on at the radio station.
I have no idea who chose the call letters WQMC. My friend Steve said the station personnel was aptly described as “We’re Quite a Motley Crew.” We were broadcast on 590 AM through 10 watt…
