Rory loved adventures. He joined Freddy Muller and me on one in 1966. Not sure who first discovered it, but starting at 70th Street near the FDR drive down by the East River, you could enter the New York Hospital complex down a flight of stairs into a sub-basement that had a series of walking tunnels that led through many areas of the hospital. The hair on the back of our necks stood up when we passed through the pathology area where every conceivable human body part was floating in liquid in huge glass jars. At first we went down the eerie tunnels because we could, but eventually found they led to the sub-basement of Olin Hall at 69th Street & York Avenue where we found a regulation size wood floor basketball court. This made Freddy & me very happy, and Rory indifferent. He liked getting spooked and had no interest in sports. Next time Freddy and I brought a basketball and Rory wandered around until it was time to leave or we got chased by doctors playing a pick-up game. Eventually, the whole neighborhood found out the secret of the buried court. That blew it for everyone, security now kept an eye out for us. Looking back, this was the best time of our lives, together.Rory died at 42, twelve years ago today. He was a fine artist but left little of his art behind because he gave it away to his friends. The three pieces shown here are Rory's work.
Here's one of Rory's favorite songs, "Baker Street," by Jerry Rafferty
And when you wake up, it's a new morning
The sun is shining, it's a new morning
The sun is shining, it's a new morning
You're going, You're going home.
Harold & Maude plant a tree for Rory
If you like, you can listen to last week's "Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts," radio show with my guest, Coree Spencer, at the Centanni link below:
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