"Light 'em up" Charlie

I got a lot of time to think as I drive. And I'm just remembering a few of the characters in my life.

1985

"Light 'em up" Charlie. A black gentleman in his mid sixties. Well spoken and always sharp dressed. The only thing that seemed out of place was the patch over his left eye. One rumor has it that he lost the eye in the game of poker. Another claims he caught a finger in the eye as he was sliding into second base. No one knows the real story except his little brother, Jimmy, and he ain't talkin'.

Charlie would always light up a cigarette and hand it to you. I thought that's where his nickname came from until I saw him stand on a pitching mound. He could still throw a 90 mile an hour fast ball.

His best friend's name was Frosty. No one knew if that was his birth name or nickname. He was just "Frosty" to everyone. I think it was his snow white hair. There are legends that Frosty rode every train in North America (that includes Canada and Alaska). He claims to have met Casey Jones, Jack Kerouac, and a bastard offspring of Cornelius Vanderbilt. That would put frosty in his late 80s to his early 90s. But I tell you, he was sharp as a tack and could weave a tale.

I met them both under a bridge near a railroad in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

...more to come