The following is an excerpt from my book, “Irene and Abe: An Unexpected Life.”
Sometimes it was hard to reconcile my daytime and my
evening activities. During the day, I quietly sat in my chair facing
each patient, one on one, as a non threatening therapist, using the
language of the medical and psychiatric worlds.
My night was the total opposite from the minute I stepped
into the noisy, throbbing, lights-flashing building that was Capital
Centre. I usually sat next to Abe watching our teams win and
lose, and then deal occasionally with the celebrities who came to
perform. Ordinarily, we did not meet and greet them, but some—
like Frank Sinatra—demanded more attention than the President.
The first time Frank Sinatra came to perform in our building, he
insisted that Abe and I meet him officially before the concert and
be there when his limousine pulled up to the entrance to welcome
him amidst press fanfare, with photographer flash bulbs going off.
The problem was that the arena was circular and there were four
different, equal entrances. Each time we approached a designated
entrance his car was at another one. The result became a circus.
We kept going round and round on the inside of the building as
his limo went round and round on the outside. We wondered
what was causing the problem, and discovered that every time he
approached an entrance and there weren’t enough reporters, he
would tell the driver to go to the next one.
Finally, Abe and I had had it.
We were about to give up when Sinatra finally found an
entrance he liked and got out of the car.
We were not too warm and kissy at that point.
–From “Irene and Abe: An Unexpected Life,” available from Amazon at this link.
From the Heart 