Tommy the bookie

Priming the Pump

Tommy Mendetta was the main Butter and Egg Man on the Upper East Side for most of the mid-20th century. His myriad insights into the pluralities of multiplicities were the result of a severe beating by suspected mushrooms that left him in a coma for 27 days. His recovery was swift and he soon delighted in his newly-acquired skill. Some of the elder numbers guys recognized his talent and quickly promoted him to the top of the racket, despite the bulbousness of his ridiculous nose.

Twenty Seven on Red

Fevered gamblers would pay good money for his ability to quickly summarize a parcel of data and find its inherent patterns. Although Tommy conducted his business mainly with scoundrels and malefactors, he was highly sought after by members of the AA for his occult insights. Stimes Addisson provided Mendetta, or "Tommy the Heavy" as he was called back in the neighborhood, with endless pages of integers combined in both symbolic and random equations, many taking the form of epic number poems, and eagerly awaited the gifted yet doltish numerologist's interpretation. Addisson gave up on his relationship with Tommy when Tommy found out about Addisson's obsession with the number 27. Even though the endless phone calls drove Addisson to change his number several times, he did not regret publishing their collaborative masterwork For a Good Time Call in Tallow Tunnel.

Dry Heat

Tommy the bookie lived with his elderly mother after her second stroke and was working the "dirty" business from her kitchen, much to her dismay, when the feds busted down the door one August night and carried his ass away to the big-house. Tommy played out his last years acquiring a vast amount of cigarettes from his fellow inmates. His "friends" told him that they named a race-horse after him but he knew it wasn't true. His current whereabouts are unknown. Some say Tommy died late in 1969 but Addisson insisted he was still alive shortly before his own untimely death, never deigning to explain why or how he knew.

See Also

• Koose Muniswamy Veerappan
• Marijan Rubesa

Tommy the bookie crunches some numbers for breakfast

Desiderata

Tommy couldn't touch his toes -- because he found them terrifying!