Memoir: “Cheap Dates” -

Project Description

Bill is a father of three and grandfather of four. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and didn’t speak English until age five. While he faced many challenges growing up, Bill eventually became a successful home builder and community leader.

“Cheap Dates”

The Way It Was

When Barbara and I started dating in the mid-1950s I didn’t have much money, so I tried to find things to do that didn’t cost a lot. We used to go to these Off, Off, Off, Off Broadway theaters down in Greenwich Village, which were by contribution only. So, we’d throw in a dollar bill. They didn’t know if it was a ten-dollar bill or a five-dollar bill or a one-dollar bill. Nobody knew. I remember one night we went to night court in New York where they’d bring in all these derelicts, prostitutes, bums—all kinds of stuff. Fascinating night!

Barbara thought that was really interesting. She thought it was really different because, apparently, this guy that she was going steady with was the entire opposite of that. He had a job, and money, and cars, and they went to nightclubs. I guess that wasn’t as interesting as meeting some guy who had to be creative about how to take a girl out without a lot of money in his pocket. All I could really afford was car fare for the subway. Car fare, by the way, was only fifteen cents.