Openthedoor-man

Imagine walking through Times Square circa the 1980‘s when you notice a small crowd gathered on a side street cheering someone on. You see a gentleman standing behind a table throwing three bent playing cards over one another, spitting out his well rehearsed spiel: “Come on, come on, let’s go. You ready? All you have to do is find the red ace. Remember there’s two black cards, one red ace, find the ace and you win.”

“Me puedes dar las llaves del siete hache, por favor?”

Can doormen become the object of someone’s fantasies and desires?

Sure, the older roly-poly gentleman manning the door for ages who doesn’t want to retire isn’t quite the man of your dreams.

But what about the younger guys? Clean cut, a little muscular, desk area always smelling like cologne, a real live papi chulo in your lobby.

I started working the door in my early twenties. I’ve always made sure my appearance is up to par, tried to be polite and funny. I also stick to the adage, “Don’t [fill in the blank] where you eat.”

The saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure" rings true on many levels in a building setting.

Very often, a resident offers one of the staff guys something they have no need for anymore. Items can range from a sofa, refrigerator, television (the big bulky kind), VCR’s (have collected a few in my time), DVD players and movies, clocks, radios, printers, toys, books and make-up.