Road Trip Diary - April 2000
04/08/00 Throw the grill in the pickup, John! We’re off to NYC to feed Yankees and make good on a sporting bet we made with Curtis Sliwa of WABC radio over the Yankees-Braves match ups last year.
04/09/00 It’s snowing. Nobody said anything about snow. Snow was not part of the equation. Luckily, I’ve got my bulletproof vest to keep me warm.
04/10/00 Thanks to John Rocker, we had to ride the No. 7 train out to the stadium wearing full Braves regalia, including jerseys with Rocker’s name and number. To everyone’s amazement, not only did we step off alive and unharmed, it was “Hail, fellow, well met” in every car! Mostly people were pissed at Steinbrenner for postponing Opening Day a full 24 hours in advance—with no precipitation or bad weather forecast! In the studios of WABC with Curtis Sliwa for the 10-11 p.m. hour
04/11/00 Thanks to Steinbrenner, we’re stuck in the boroughs for one more day. Nothing to do but have our pictures taken with Rush Limbaugh, feed shrimp to the Guardian Angels, and take another subway ride in Braves attire, this time to Coney Island, to the home of Nathan’s Famous hot dogs. Still can’t find a disgruntled New Yorker. Back in the studios of WABC with Curtis again.
5:25 PM 4/13/2000 Gerald and John are on the road back to Savannah. Expected home by 10:00pm tonight. Still no cellphone contact, so no report on what happened before or during the game. All of us here in Savannah fell asleep during the Rush re-broadcast so we didn't hear Gerald and John on WABC last night.
Who would have thought that Gerald Schantz and John Purvis had LOST a bet with Curtis Sliwa, of WABC radio.
There they where at Yankee stadium, the house that Ruth built, doing what they say is fun for them, feeding people. From the Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, to the people that lived in the shadow of the hallowed field and from all walks of life in between. There were news people from all the major TV and newsprint outlets.
Gerald and John met Yankee fans, most having fun at the expense of the boys from Savannah GEE-AY.
Gerald and John went to Nathans Famous Frankfurters Cooking School on the Run, They learned that a Dog is cooked till it splits, and after cooking 500 of the tasty treats they think they got it down pretty durn good for a couple of Crackers and the Mayor and Curtis seem to agree.
Meeting Rush...what a rush! Gerald turns a corner in the offices of WABC-Radio and there's Mr. Limbaugh. Curtis introduces Rush to Gerald, standing there in his Braves uniform. What a nice regular guy Rush is. When Gerald shows people the picture, they ask "Who's that?" and Gerald says "That's Rush Limbaugh," their answer is "No Way! He looks great--how much weight has he lost??" He (Rush) got a good laugh out of the bet Gerald and Sliwa had. John showed up a minute or two later. Rush asked where we were from and when told Savannah GA. he commented he knew the area, and he was strong in that market.
