Re: Neighborhood Character

10/21/07 - posted by Frank Dunnigan

Ah, I KNEW someone would come up with that name. Good try, Will, but WRONG! BUZZZZZZZZZZ!!! It was earlier in the 50's and Mr. Nameless (he still has descendents in the Bay Area) was having a cash crunch. My father leaned on him to come up with at least enough to pay Theresa's health insurance (Nameless was in the real estate & INSURANCE biz after all), plus her Social Security contribution and the employer matching half. Dad threatened Nameless with a blind item in Herb Caen if he didn't go along with the plan. Surprisingly, all went well and the payments were made promptly, though Theresa did not collect several years of her back pay until she filed a claim against Nameless's estate after his unexpected death in the early 1960s. My father only told this story once, but Mom later figured out that all those birthday gifts of See's Candy were Theresa's quiet way of saying "thank you" for a lasting favor.