All the Right Things
Here
are some ways that a short man got by:
Eric Allen was diligent, determined and headstrong. He was
so tough, so capable, that it would never occur to people
to look down on him, a 5-foot-5 tower of gym-rat power.
He knew how to size up potential trouble quickly and dodge
it adroitly. Once, while driving cross-country with his
buddy Joe Ruggiero, the two walked into a bar on the Texas-Oklahoma
border and, in the blinding daylight, saw half a dozen oversized
cowboys playing dominoes.
"Drinks for everyone on us!" shouted Mr. Allen, buying a
barfull of friends.
The short guy cast a long shadow: Mr. Allen, 44, was a ubiquitous,
modest Mr. Fix-It for friends and the elderly in his Bay
Ridge, Brooklyn neighborhood.
His
motto was "Do the right thing," which for him meant taking
extra courses to be eligible for the hazardous duties of
Rescue Squad 18 of Manhattan.
He was a sweetie with a crust, a shy man who loved acting.
As he drove on jaunts to the country with his wife, Angelica
(whom he nicknamed Schnauzer) and their 3-year-old, Kathleen
(whom he nicknamed Mouse) he would make up songs about how
much he loved them, yelping happily.
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on March 10, 2002.
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