On the day we lose Mario Cuomo I wanted to share two stories youve never heard before and wont read in tomorrows paper. One day around 1987, then Governor, Mario Cuomo was speaking at a conference room in the Convention Center in Albany and since he liked exercise he planned to walk quickly back to his office in the Capitol about 300 yards away. We reporters were told if we could keep up we could fire questions at him as he made the journey back. I was a radio reporter at the time WTRY and one of my fellow journalists was trying to ask questions, hold his microphone close enough to Cuomo and walk backwards. Well he tripped and fell hard on the marble floor, his cassette recorder smashed open, his batteries and tapes flying everywhere. Mario Cuomo stopped on a dime, aplogized to the young man and made sure everyone got his equipment back in working order. He then stood so that poor guy, red with embarrassment, could ask a question. Class Act. My second story involves a reporter and old friend from a competing TV station. One Sunday afternoon she was cutting through Lincoln Park in Albany when she saw a man who looked just like the Governor sitting by himself on a park bench. She approached and sure enough it was Mario Cuomo. She asked, What the heck are you doing here alone Governor? He said, It drives my security people crazy but sometimes I just need to get out for a walk to enjoy nature and think. She sat with him, got an exclusive interview and I was struck by how cool it was that someone so important felt it was important to do normal things sometimes. It made me like him more. HIs politics were a bit liberal for my taste but his integrity was spot on. Next time you see some politician caught with their hand in the cookie jar or pants around their ankles, remember they werent all bad. This one had class and he loved this state. One more thing. When he graduated first in his law school class a teacher told him to lose the Italian name because it would be a detriment. The son of immigrants there was no way Mario was turning his back on his heritage so Cuomo (with a vowel at the end) stayed. I like that about him too. Loyal. He will be missed. -john
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:18:55 +0000
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