By now no doubt everyone has heard of Bruce Springsteen’s arrest for DWI. And, the headlines with riffs on his songs left no mercy; DANCING IN THE DRUNK, BLUNDER ROAD, BORN TO RUM and our favorite GLORY DAZED. And, we’re not here to kick a man when he’s down. And, to tell the truth we thought he was driving drunk in that Super Bowl commercial and that was why he was arrested. But no, we were wrong. So other people could be wrong too and maybe The Boss wasn’t even under the influence. It wouldn’t be the first time some story got out of hand. Or as Mark Twain put it. “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.” Besides this all happened last November. That kind makes us wonder why we’re all just hearing about it now. But that’s not why we’re here today. No, we’re here today to give a little story with a good lesson in it. And, that’s because every time we see some celebrity, One of The Beautiful People of The World get arrested for driving under the influence, we always think of one Bobby Ray Mercer.
Now New York Yankee fans will all remember Bobby Mercer our one-time center fielder, former MVP and overall fan favorite, as Bobby Mercer always played the game the way it was supposed to be played. But for those of you who never heard of him, as mentioned he played center field for the New York Yankees and that made him a celebrity. And, this little tale here is also about an old friend of mine named Kevin who was a member of the NYPD. Kevin made detective in his long career but this goes back to when Kevin was just a Patrolman. Back then, Kevin and his partner were riding in their patrol car when they see a guy flagging them down. They can see the guy is jiggling something in his hand. When they get close enough, Kevin can see what the guy has in his hand and its keys, car keys to be exact. Then Kevin notices the guy is familiar very familiar, in fact the guy is Bobby Mercer, New York Yankee.
Bobby Mercer smiles and says. “When I was a little boy my Mommy always told me that if I get in trouble to go to the Policeman. The Policeman will help you. Now I’ve had a little too much to drink and I can’t drive, so you guys have to help me.”
And naturally after Kevin and his partner stop laughing, they did just that. They took Bobby Mercer and his car and drove both of them back to the Precinct. Bobby Mercer then spent the night in the 115 Precinct till he sobered up. And, Bobby Mercer was not out in the streets driving his car into something like a tree or a lake.
So, every time we see one of The Beautiful People of The World get pulled over because they can’t speak without slurring their words, walk a straight line and have no business behind the wheel of a two-ton vehicle even if it is a Prius, we always think of one Bobby Ray Mercer. A former New York Yankee and all-around good guy, who knew that when he had a little too much to drink, to hand the car keys to someone else.
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