Pee Wee

Like Pee Wee says, "everything happens for a reason."

First, I tried to strike up a conversation with a guy in a hooded sweatshirt who asked me how much I was willing to pay him for the talk. I told him that all he would get were a few minutes of chatter with me. He wasn't interested in doing it for free. Forget about it, I thought. But as the minutes ticked by, I second guessed myself and wondered if I should have offered, at least, a cup of coffee. The guy in the hooded sweatshirt was not interested in talking to me but he did not mind yelling out to a few fellows who stopped by McD's soon thereafter. They caught up for a few minutes and they all left except for one of them.

Bill (Peewee) Scheidt was the man who stayed behind and he was willing to spare a few minutes. In fact, Pee Wee was so generous sharing his stories and anecdotes that the minutes turned into an hour and regrettably we had to cut our conversation short and save some stories for the next time we meet. Pee Wee introduced himself as the NY Yankees Number One Fan. And this was a first for my mcbreak. I finally met and spoke to a celebrity! Ok, he may not have been the paparazzo sought after type of celebrity but a local personality who's been on the David Letterman show and Regis and Kelly ... and who was greeted by at least 4-5 passersby during our brief encounter. Pee Wee is known for his undying 68-year loyalty to the Yankees. He has seen some of the greatest players in the history of baseball like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. His favorite players today are Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. Pee Wee has witnessed history being made at the old and new stadium and naturally, it may be a while until he grows fond of the new stadium because "there's nothing like the old one." I wonder what he thinks of all the steroid related drama. I doubt it would affect his passion for the team. There's more about his Yankees ways in a recent CBS news article: http://wcbstv.com/local/yankees.world.series.2.1292334.html

Pee Wee may be a popular, if not the most popular Yankees fan, but since I am not a huge sports or Yankees fanatic I focused more on Pee Wee's stories about the people he's met and ability to crack practical jokes like: (1) what are the two words that have the most letters? no, it's not pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis and some other obscure term, the answer is: post office, (2) how many seconds in a year? don't bother about doing the math because the answer is simple. There are 12 seconds in a year, January 2nd, February 2nd and so on and so forth. Pretty funny I thought and these were only two of the many jokes he told.

Per Pee Wee, people need to pay attention, use common sense and listen more. Pee Wee is 85 years old but you would never guess it because of his spontaneity recalling and telling stories and the detailed and inspirational ways in which he tells them. Pee Wee attributes his well being to several things like: (1) learning something new everyday; (2) paying attention and listening more; (3) being grateful and appreciating the most basic things in life, like being able to see, (4) helping others (4) enjoying his five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild, (5) walking at least 10 miles per day and (6) keeping himself busy. This last one became a priority after his wife of 60 years passed away seven years ago. No-matter how busy he stays, things are not the same without his wife. He still remains grateful for all the blessings and definitely tries to make the most out of the simple and greater joys of life like following his favorite sports, doing a thing or two for strangers who often end up becoming friends, and giving his grand kids the "tips" he makes at the young age of 85, because he has not just one, but four different jobs. I did offer Pee Wee a cup of coffee during the course of our conversation but he politely declined.