Late Night with Jerry Izenberg

Our Continuing Conversation: Tonight's Episode: Hiding Ballrooms and Pep Talks

Thought I’d call my second favorite Jewish nonagenarian tonight to find out how his induction into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame went over the weekend. As mentioned in our last episode, he was planning to bring along his grandson, Connor, to the event — if Jerry decided to attend at all because, again, as mentioned, the ramp to the dais he demanded wasn’t done — to help him maneuver around the enormous Resorts World in Las Vegas.

The real reason: he wanted his grandson to remember the night.

“How’d the ceremony go?” I asked.

Our conversations never include opening niceties — like Hello or How are you?

“It went well. My son, Sean, was there; my grandson, Connor; Aileen [his wife]. The organizers still don’t know what the hell they were doing, but it was good. Floyd Mayweather stood and applauded when I finished giving my speech.”

“Did you get your ramp?”

“I got it.”

“It must have been a great night for Connor.”

“I was so proud of him, too. When we walked into the place, it was enormous. There were no signs anywhere and when Connor would ask for directions, he was so polite — ‘Excuse me, sorry for bothering you, but do you know how we can get to the ballroom?’ and then he’d say, ‘Thank you.’ I knew right then he couldn’t possibly be my grandson.”

“Exactly, because you would have asked, ‘Where’s the fucking ballroom?’”

“No, I would have asked, ‘Where’d you hide the fucking ballroom?’”

In case you were wondering the difference between New Yorkers and those from Jersey.