. To Forgive is Devine." (sic) And believe me there were a lot of errors.The Great Hair Piece-E-O
A man has a very unique relationship with his hair, because deep within his DNA could be a chromosome waiting to strike him bald
. Gerry Devine was one of these people. For several years Gerry had been bald and never once mentioned it bothered him. Then one day in his 60s he invited a bunch of his clients out to dinner. Holding court with Gerry was a unique pleasure and no one wanted to miss it. Gerry being Gerry was late, so we all bellied up to the bar and talked about the day. A few beers in, in walked Gerry in a brand new toupee. We were hysterical. Some of those at the dinner had known Gerry as a bald man for 20+ years and no one expected to see Gerry with hair. It was my boss who chirped up first and said, “Introducing the Great Hair Piece-E-O!” It was a nickname that lasted for the next 10years.
The War Department
Devine International survived completely on the charisma of its founder Gerry Devine. It was not unusual on a slow day for me to call in and chat with Gerry at length about the good ole days. Being a younger guy on the desk it was great hearing about the history of the market and the people around me. It was much like talking to your grandfather. Well one day in the midst of our conversation Gerry got a ring on another line. This was common as customers would call him to do business. When Gerry clicked back on the line he apologized and said he had to go the War Department was calling. Baffled, I hung up the phone and asked the guy next to me why on earth the War Department would be calling a man that never served a day in his life. To my friends great amusement he explained that Mrs. Devine (his wife) was the War Department. It was several years later when I met the woman that I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at this memory. She was a slight woman and one of the most forgiving ladies I have ever known.
Red Whips
Gerry loved to throw down a few cocktails
and we used to joke that his other office was the bar down the road from Devine International. On more than one occasion we had to call him there to sort out a trade problem. When Gerry was enjoying a cocktail he drank one thing, Red Whips
. A Red Whip is a vodka and cranberry juice, but the way Gerry drank them it might as well have just been vodka. Gerry always ordered the same way, “I’ll have a red whip with just a splash of cranberry juice for color.” He was never shy about sending them back if it had too much cranberry juice either.One of my favorite Red Whip stories was at a steak house in NYC. My colleague and I had taken Gerry out to dinner for his birthday. As the dinner wound down, Gerry decided he needed one more cocktail before the ride home. When the waiter approached he ordered another round of Red Whips with just a splash and he shouted at the waiter “And this one is on you!” Apparently the cocktails had been too weak for his liking. The waiter staring at the angry, nearly 70 year old Gerry quickly complied. We were hysterical with laughter.
Lawn Bowling
Gerry was notorious for driving everywhere he went (even in his 60s), despite having offices in White Plains and all his customers being in NYC. After a few Red Whips with a splash, and before car services became common place, this was a very dangerous combination. On more than one occasion Gerry made it home, but not before some “lawn bowling
”. One evening after a late night out with customers Gerry awoke in his car in his front lawn. There were tire tracks across his lawn and his neighbors. Gerry being Gerry, he simply drove into his driveway, went upstairs, and went to sleep. The next morning when my boss called him at the office to make sure he made it home alright, Gerry responded that he had done a little lawn bowling (off road driving) last night but had made it home safe. “Lawn bowling” quickly became part of our lexicon.
