SAVAGE VIEWS – 1986 A WONDERFUL YEAR
January 12,
2023
Mets fans are
in universal agreement that 1986 was a great year. For me and my family it was truly a spectacular
year. I had just been appointed Interim
President of the Rockefeller Insurance Company, a captive insurance company
domiciled in Vermont. My office was in
30 Rock overlooking St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
My wife’s avocation as a Belly Dancer was at its peak with gigs on most
weekends. Eleanor performed mostly at house
parties and special events. It was my
job to drive her and serve as bodyguard.
In March we
took a family trip to Clearwater Florida and then onto Disney World. We were able to attend a couple of Spring
Training games in St. Pete. Remember
talking to Barry Lyons. I thought he was
going to be the next great thing. Things
did not quite work out that way. In
Disney World, we stayed at the Wilderness compound. As a family we were left with nothing but
fond memories.
Come April,
Eleanor and I attended the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) convention
in New Orleans. It was like being at a mini-Mardi
Gras with a number of major insurance companies and brokerage firms sponsoring
a weekend of events. We enjoyed dinner
at Commander’s Palace and brunch including Banana Forster at Brennan’s. I Remember sitting by the pool on Saturday
afternoon drinking a Hurricane and listening to the Mets win a game.
The first
week in August we took another family vacation.
Friends let us rent their eight-room
house in Chatham on Cape Cod. The Cape
was a favorite destination and we made it a point to take an annual trip there
during much of the eighties. We loved
the beaches, fine dining and shopping along Route 7. Sometimes we were able to catch a Cape Cod
baseball game.
During my
tenure with the Rockefeller Family Office, I developed a close relationship
with Rock Resorts since we insured most of their properties including The
Woodstock Inn. We were invited to stay
at Caneel Bay in St. John’s. From our villa
we were able to step outside into the bay for some of the finest snorkeling you
could imagine. We shopped and dined in
St. Thomas and went swimming in the Baths on Virgin Gorda. Cannel Bay suffered major damages during two
hurricanes in 2017 and is now closed. When
they decide to re-open I want to first in line to go back there.
In October,
the first annual meeting of The Rockefeller Insurance Company was held at The
Woodstock Inn. Woodstock, Vt is one of the
most beautiful towns in America. We had
wonderful meals at the Prince and the Pauper, The Woodstock Inn and the Inn at
Woodstock. I was able to catch most of
the game between the Mets and Houston at the Inn but as the game dragged on the
way home listened to Jesse Orosco close out the win for the Mets.
Attended
game # 2 of the World Series against the Red Sox with my sons. Unfortunately, we lost with the “Doc’ getting
hammered.
The year
ended on a high note as the Giants and LT were on their way to winning the
Super Bowl. A wonderful year, indeed.
Now I have
those memories and looking forward to celebrating 60 years of marriage in
March.
Ray
1 comment:
Great article, Ray. It all sounds like a blast. Hope you get back to that bay. I went to Trunk(?) Bay on St John’s one with my wife. A partly sunny day, every time the sun cleared the clouds, the water lit up like a brilliant emerald.
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