The Excellent Escape
CASTLE WILLIAM
Governors Island NYC
PART 2 of Basketball is a contact(s) sport-
Castle William-Governors Island NYC
The Excellent Escape-
Sooo the first day of my stay at the Castle William is done and over, but for some reason I was not thrilled with what might come next after my basketball adventure. I have no intention of staying at the Castle, basketball being available or not
I am at various times assigned to manual labor work details, some of those outside the Castles gates , but fortunately a few days a week I am also a clerk in the Stockades main office, specifically because I could type, and knew the alphabet, best gig in the Castle I might add.
Most importantly gig gave me access to a phone. I wasted no time calling a couple of wealthy party girlfriends of mine out on L. I., Vicki and Ellen, from Old Westbury L.I.,, their dads are well known attorneys in Manhattan, seemed they however liked to walk on the wild side, hence our friendship.
Besides the stockade aka Castle William on the Island there are regular army facilities with housing for the officers and barracks for the regular army members, therefore family and visitors can come and go from South Street Manhattan by car ferry on a regular basis.
I surreptitiously arrange by office phone for the girls to take the car ferry from South Street lower Manhattan to Governors Island where the Castle aka stockade is located.
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I choose a day when I will be on a work detail outside the Castles gates, this day I along with one other grunt am sent to a Colonels residence to do his housekeeping, we had this detail before, and had a hoot trying on his uniforms, my workmate is Joe Patterson from Brooklyn, he looked very Colonel like I recall.
We are not under armed guard as the Island is surrounded by the East river and its ferocious currents, no one had ever escaped from the stockade alive, the few who had tried swimming to Manhattan never made it that far. In fact the stockade guards would dare inmates to try their luck, few did.
I have arranged for Vicki and Ellen of Old Westbury to visit the Island, supposedly to visit their boyfriends at the regular army facilities, the plan is for them to meet me at a certain area of the Island at a pre- arranged time to meet me, I sneak away from the work detail on schedule, Joe my workmate remains, as he preferred not to be involved in this particular escapade, after a brief hello how are you girls, thanks for the lift, ha ha,I hop in the girls Cadillac convertibles trunk, the girls think all this is?
I had my reasons, but theirs escapes me to this day. Another walk on the wild side I guess.
Anyway the car ferry returns to Manhattan with Jeff, Ellen and Vicki, as instructed the girls head for the Long Island Expressway with me still in the trunk undetected. Security world wide was different then.
But fate had a surprise in store for the three of us, kaboom is the sound as a garbage truck rear ends their daddy's Cadillac convertible,, luckily I am far enough back in the trunk that unknown to the girls I am not injured
Soon a crowd gathers along with a few policemen arriving almost immediately, the girls are betwixt and between as they are damned if they do and damned if they don't mention the fact that there was someone in that crushed in trunk.
I can see whats happening as there was a small opening caused by the impact, small enough to see out but not in fortunately. The police begin the usual procedure, license and registration all parties etc. This takes a few long minutes and I can see the girls expressions of damned if we do overcoming their concern for my condition.
After about twenty minutes the escape continues, the girls driving as fast as legally possible to get the hell out of Manhattan, as they still have no clue as to my situation, for all they know I could be terminated.
They hit the expressway just as I decide its now OK to show my face, I pop up thru the back seat from the trunk, singing one of the top Barbara Streisand hits of the time “Free again Free Again Independent me again” which I kid you not was just then playing on the radio, the girls smile and laugh sighs of relief.
However my freedom is short lived------------------------