Hello, it's me again... a heck of a lot has gone on since I last "spoke" to you and I ask your forgiveness once again for not staying in touch. As you know, I went to New York to work the US Open Tennis tournament. As you also know, an earthquake and a hurricane visited the area along with me. Due to circumstances beyond my control...(thanks, Mother Nature), I did not receive the one day off as promised as the tournament was extended until Monday the 12th and I flew back on Tuesday the 13th. So I did not get any time to visit and for that I apologize. It was, however, a working trip, and believe me I worked this trip. I was in charge of security for the hospitality pavilion and the indoor tennis courts and there was much activity during those days. My day began at 5am when I woke up, showered, dressed, and went to the deli on the corner for my daily bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a toasted everything bagel... (God, how I missed those bagels). It was available every morning except Sunday (damn them!) and with breakfast in hand we took the hotel shuttle to the tennis facility. I then began the day at the ITC (Indoor Tennis Center) and posted guards and checked credentials and met quite a few celebrities (I will drop some names in the next paragraph). This went until 3pm when I restocked the deployment with fresh guards for the evening shift and turned the ITC over to the evening supervisor. When guards were plentiful (a rare event), the day flowed smoothly, but there were a few days when I had to supervise my ass off because of lack of staff... But all in all, the USTA folks running the ITC were pleased with my group's performance and the head of security was happy also.
Some of the people who came to the facility... Michelle Obama and her daughters (and a bucketload of Secret Service agents), Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, John Isner, Patrick and John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova, Tracy Austin, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, Mr. Williams (Serena's Dad) and a host of Foreign tennis players I didn't recognize. I got a chance to talk to John McEnroe for a few minutes and it was very cool. I was a big fan of his back in the day and I admit it was a thrill to meet him. I escorted Alec Baldwin to an art exhibit in the book store one night and kept the public at bay while he perused the collection. But mostly my job was to make sure that only those with the proper credentials made it into the parties at the hospitality spaces. I have to admit that my staff of guards did a great job and I want to share the credit for a job well done. And now we come to the frustrating and not so good part of the trip...the hotel we stayed at.
Don't get me wrong, a free room is a great room, but after hearing the shuttle driver talking about how other hotels don't measure up in customer service and quality to them, I'm glad I didn't stay somewhere else because they must be beyond nightmare accommodations. The first night one of the guys we were with had his a/c break and the room was about 97 degrees. Then they put him in a single room with a cot until they fixed it. They shuffled around other people in our party because of various other problems. Twice, the cleaning staff took the used towels and didn't leave fresh ones. The elevator broke down numerous occasions and we had to hoof it up to the 7th floor after a 12 hour day. I gave up on the return shuttle after the 3rd day and walked over to the subway and took it back. I made it back before the guys who waited for the shuttle, and my commute included a seven block walk from the station and a stop at Dunkin' Donuts! But all that aside, it remained standing during the hurricane and the bed was comfortable. After 12 hours walking around the tennis center, I usually went up to the room and had dinner in the bar downstairs and then went to sleep. Exciting times, eh?
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