The man in the blue jacket takes a sip from his drink, a Black-Eyed Susan. “Say,” he says, “there’s supposed to be booze in here! You don’t see anybody with one of those little flasks in their hip pocket, do you?”

An old man goes to a doctor. “What’s the problem?” the doctor says. “I can’t pee,” the old man says. “How old are you?” the doctor says. “Eighty-four,” the old man says.

 Rick Violette Jr. thought about becoming a lawyer or entering politics when he was a student at Lowell University in his native Massachusetts. When he wasn't studying or attending class, he showed hunters and jumpers for a client who also owned racehorses. That was how his romance with the racetrack began.