Rick! Conman Extraordinaire!!! How one Man brought an Unsuspecting Family to the brink of Ruin! Story One
“That’s Bullshit! And you know that’s Bullshit!
Rick Malbeck, Sunnyvale CA 1968
Woe! I say unto you! Woe to All who do not heed my tale! Thy Great House shall Fall. Thy servants shall flee your doors. And your debts shall be many. Cover thy face in shame. For None shall heed your piteous cries of lament!
Anonymous 2019
Introduction
He wore shiny suits, and loud ties which he tied in a double Windsor knot. He swore like an exCon which he was – Two convictions. His smile was always present as his pearly dentures seemed to sparkle. His hair on top was mostly gone but he combed what hair he had left in a rakish manner. He was constantly onstage and he told the funniest stories. He was a ConMan Extraordinaire. He lied constantly – you always wondered if he was ever ever capable of telling the truth. But he could charm the heck out of ya. If you had Gold fillings in your teeth you’d gladly hand them over to him… just because. He always drove a Cadillac – no small economy cars for him! He had filed bankruptcy so many times I lost count. Because of him my Mom lost her house, furniture two sets of pets, caused her lose her credit and we had to move several times. Because whenever he came into our lives – sure as shit we going to lose something valuable. He was courageous and gallant. He was a font of information regarding what means to be a man. Everybody liked him . My friends thought he was cool and wished they could have had him as a Dad. He thought of himself as one Frank Sinatra’s missing Rat Pack members. He stole and he bullshitted his way to the top of every job he ever was hired to do. He’d bribe you and flatter you. If he bought my Mom a ring – it was a fake. If he bought my Mom a fur – it was a fake. If he bought Mom a new washer and dryer he’d make one payment on it and 6 months later it would be carted off repossessed. If he bought me a bike it was probably some swag bought out of somebody’s car trunk at the local race track – in other words Junk! He’d manipulate you into doing things you wouldn’t normally do. He was a consummate Salesman. He was fun with the capital F. And I absolutely adored him!
Now that I have set the stage about Rick Let me proceed to tell a few anecdotes.
STORY ONE!
Charlie 15 years old. 1971 Menlo Park, CA
This is me at 15 years old taken in Summer 1971 in Menlo Park CA. I was getting ready to start my final year at the Academy under the name of my Step Father which was Malbeck. Little did I know that 6 years later I would be wearing a similar uniform for my tour in the USMC 1977-1981. I have very fond memories of the Academy – albeit how I got into the Academy was quite a different story.
Unlike many kids I actually wanted to go to Military School – What?! Yes its true. Now let me tell you how this all came about and about one of the greatest “Sales Jobs” I have ever experienced in my life time.
If my recollection serves me correctly in 1969 I was set to fail my 6th grade year at Hollenbeck Elementary School. I guess I was just a Kid with ADD/ADHD although back in the day Teachers and Parents called it something else. Anyway, With my Scholastic demise a dismal certainty – things at the Old Homestead were definitely tense.
In his effort to “help” and to make things a little less tense at Home – my Step Father, a Salesman for Norelco, began one night and out of the blue began to tell me these really funny stories about his “Good Times” at Hargrave Military School back East when he was my age.
For several weeks and every night he would tell me another “Gut Bustin,’ Knee Slappin,’ Hilarious Story” about Hargrave until one night I blurted out “Gee…Military School sounds Cool! I wish I could go!!!” Whereupon my Step Father magically produced from his pocket an Admission form from the Academy and said “Well I just happened to be by this school the other day and I got an application from it – let’s ask your Mom and see if WE CAN CONVINCE HER TO LET YOU GO!”
Ah yes, my Step Father was quite the salesman and in the Fall of 1969 off I went to Good Ol’ PAMA – as happy as I could be. Convinced of my Good Fortune and how my Step Dad really, really had my back.The rest they say is History. PS. My unsuspecting Younger Brother was also enrolled – “just to keep me Company!” 😉
End of Story One
To be continued…
Me sitting next to The Man!
