Donnie Cross
Chapter 2
I've had the pleasure to have known this great man for most of my life, I met Donnie and his brother Jimmy Cross when I was 16 at the Blue Knob Night Club, where my dad introduced me and my brother Kevin to them, and soon after, my brother and I acquired the job immediately cleaning up the Blue Knob and the poker room in the rear.
Donnie worked at G.E. and when it was time to play, we all flocked to Joe’s for a great time, it was the newest place in town right off the Bluegrass Parkway, where everyone came out to indulge in pool shooting, foosball playing, or just having great conversations with various eclectic individuals for whom I had the greatest gratification of knowing, and every soul who walked through Joe’s doors, I called a dear friend, and the coldest beer in the town helped too.
Don Juan(the moniker we used to name Donnie), was a breathing giant teddy bear who loved beer or wine, women, and song, and who had an infectious laugh that could calm a lair of lions, and if any person who stepped out of line Donnie was there to settle down any rambunctious drunk who over marginalized an inconvenience, one incidence I recalled, I was still in high school and Donnie had a hot tip at Keeneland, so, he asked me to ride to G.E. and pick him up around noon the following morning, I said, “sure,” and I drove my 1975 Grand Prix(this baby could outrun any new Trans AM too, and did), I was tresspassing, and never saw the inside of G.E. but Donnie gave the Security guards all a heads up as I walked right on in, Donnie was finishing up his piece work, throwing together screws on various parts of a washer, he moved like a robot, and I watched him finished up in a flash, his buddies clocked him out later that day. What was so incredible was that Donnie was finishing up a line for someone who wasn't there at the time, he finished his line hours before. We had an hour and a half drive to Lexington, while I was driving Donnie was reading the racing form, and we pulled into Keeneland and it was packed, we had to park a mile away it seemed, we got out and the walk did stretch out our 2-hour cramped legs, but some stupid jerk cut in front of me in a car, damn near hit me too, I was so quick and jumped out of the way avoiding death, this guy was flying, and Donnie was walking about ten feet behind me, and Donnie walked over to the now stalled car that was impeded by traffic and said a few words to the driver, and then the driver popped off to Donnie, and this pissed Donnie off and he reach over into the car window and snatched that big man out of his car seat, and it was over right there, the guy started apologizing right and left, Donnie was quick and strong, and this was justified, even the security guard at Keeneland saw this and agreed. Donnie was a great man and friend. I miss my dearest brother so much.
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