DWIGHT GOODEN - PEAKS AND VALLEYS

DICHOTOMY -
I USED TO TELL MY CLASSES THAT THEY COULD IMPRESS FOLKS BY USING THE WORD DICHOTOMY IN THEIR CONVERSATIONS AND THAT THE WORD BASICALLY MEANS, TWO IDEAS THAT DON'T SEEM TO GO TOGETHER AT FIRST GLANCE.
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SUMMER CIRCA 2002
MY FRIEND AND FORMER HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATE, SAM STERN, IS A MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE AT THE WELL KNOWN CARMINE'S RESTAURANT ON BROADWAY IN UPPER MANHATTAN - THIS IS A HIGH PROFILE EATERY.
A FEW YEARS AGO, DWIGHT GOODEN, THE BASEBALL PLAYER, CAME IN ON A BUSY FRIDAY NIGHT ---- PRACTICALLY ALL NIGHTS ARE BUSY AT CARMINE'S.
GOODEN HAD TWO GUESTS AT HIS TABLE - THEY WERE SEATED AT 7:30 AND FINISHED THEIR MEAL AND A FEW DRINKS ABOUT AN HOUR LATER. THE FRIENDS LEFT AND GOODEN REMAINED AT THE TABLE, WRITING NOTES ON A PAD AND NOT CONSUMING ANY MORE FOOD OR BEVERAGES UNTIL ABOUT 11 PM, WHEN HE WAS READY TO LEAVE AND WAS GIVEN HIS BILL.
NORMALLY, SAM IN THE ROLE OF MAITRE D' - WOULD HAVE REQUESTED GOODEN MOVE TO THE BAR AREA AND FREE THE TABLE, BUT BEING A CELEBRITY, GOODEN WAS ALLOWED TO HOLD THE TABLE UNTIL HE WAS READY TO DEPART. SHORTLY AFTER BEING GIVEN THE BILL -- GOODEN LEFT.
THE WAITER CAME BACK TO THE TABLE, LOOKED IN THE BILL PAYMENT FOLDER AND RAN OUT OF THE RESTAURANT IN THE DIRECTION GOODEN HAD GONE, A MINUTE EARLIER.
SAM WAS STARTLED BY THIS ACTION AND WAITED FOR THE EMPLOYEE'S RETURN TO ASK WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
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AUGUST 2005
Former baseball star Dwight Gooden turned himself in at a county jail Thursday, three days after police said he fled a DUI traffic stop. Gooden, 40, twice refused to get out of the car for a field sobriety test, then drove away suddenly, police said. He was being held without bond Thursday night. Gooden is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing to revoke his bond on a March domestic violence charge.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said Gooden's situation is sad."He needs to get his life in order," Piniella said before Thursday's game against Cleveland. "He's a good young man. He just needs to get his priorities straight. He's got a long life ahead of him and a lot of people that care about him. The only problem is he's got to help himself."
The 1984 Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while with the New York Mets, Gooden went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees.
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THE WAITER RETURNED TO CARMINE'S AND STOPPED TO EXPLAIN HIS ACTIONS TO SAM.
GOODEN'S BILL HAD COME TO ABOUT $125 FOR HIMSELF AND HIS TWO FRIENDS. GOODEN HAD PLACED $250 IN THE BILL FOLDER -- DWIGHT WAS COGNIZANT OF HAVING MONOPOLIZED THE TABLE AND THUS PRECLUDING THE WAITER FROM EARNING ANY TIPS FROM OTHER POTENTIAL DINERS. GOODEN HAD TIPPED THE MAN, 100% OF THE BILL AND THE WAITER FELT COMPELLED TO CATCH UP WITH MISTER GOODEN AND PERSONALLY THANK HIM FOR HIS GENEROSITY AND THOUGHTFULNESS -- FOR BEING A CLASS ACT. **********************************************
DICHOTOMY -- WHEN TWO IDEAS SEEM TO BE IN CONFLICT - WHICH DWIGHT GOODEN IS DWIGHT GOODEN.
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YEARS AGO, MY FRIEND, DLB, POINTED OUT THAT IT IS KIDS LIKE DWIGHT, FROM SMALLER TOWNS, WHO FALL INTO DRUGS. NEW YORK AND OTHER BIG CITY KIDS ARE NOT HYNOTIZED BY THE DRUG SCENE -- IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT APPEALS TO THEM LIKE A NEW FOUND TOY.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY THE CITY KIDS USE OR USED DRUGS, BUT THEY HAVE SEEN THE EFFECTS AND EARLY ON, FOUND A WAY TO DEAL WITH IT - THEY KNOW THE POWER DRUGS CAN HAVE OVER THEIR LIVES, IF THEY ARE NOT CAREFUL -- BUT AN INNOCENT, LIKE THE FAMILY PROTECTED DWIGHT - HIS DAD WAS HIS BEST FRIEND AT THE START OF HIS CAREER - HAS NO SOCIAL IMMUNE SYSTEM AGAINST THE BRIGHT LIGHTS AND THE BIG CITY VICES.
THIS NOT TO SAY THAT ALL SMALL TOWN PLAYERS WOULD FALL VICTIM TO DRUGS OR GOODEN'S ADDICTION TO DRUG OR ALCOHOL IS THE FAULT OF THE URBAN SOCIETY - BUT YOU DON'T OFTEN SEE CITY KIDS WITH CAREER ENDING ADDICTIONS - I SEE THESE ADDICTIONS AS AN INDIVIDUAL PROBLEM, THERE IS SOMETHING TO THE ANALYSIS OF DLB, THAT CITY KIDS SEEM TO HANDLE THE THREAT BETTER.