Did I Ever Tell You About When I Lived In A Crack House?

You've heard the expression... don't ever forget where you came from. Well, I'm from New Jersey and damn proud of it.  But my television career got started in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  It was market 51 when I was there.... for you non-TV people, that means 51st in size out of the 212 TV markets in the country. NYC is 1, LA is 2, Chicago 3 and so on. All things considered, Wilkes-Barre wasn't that awful a place to start my career, especially compared to some of the horror stories I've heard from friends.  I was less than two hours from home and I got to learn the ropes from some extraordinary people.

I made lots of sacrifices to get the ball rolling.  We all do, that's the way the real world goes... especially when you are young. Looking back it all makes for some pretty funny stories.  I had all sorts of odd jobs (which I've already told you about).  Then when I finally broke into TV, I made countless sacrifices.  I moved places where I knew no one.  I worked weekends. I worked overnights.  I worked weekend overnights. I did double shifts.  I made almost nothing doing it.  At one point I had two jobs simultaneously and no life.  I even lived out of my Jeep Wrangler while couch surfing with friends (Dave Weinberger if you read this, I still owe you money and I can't thank you enough).

But there is one sacrifice I made... that I will never ever ever forget.

Room 306... that was me.  Yup.  That's where I lived for about a month.  It was basically a crack house.  No, forget the basically.  It WAS a crack house.  I wish I was joking, but I'm not.  It was a one bedroom unit in an old building that was actually a looney bin before it was converted to apartments.  

I had a small room with a bed, a refrigerator, a chair, a shelf, a cracked mirror and a closet.  That was it.   The heat actually worked some of the time.  I had to share a bathroom with everyone else on the floor.  Nasty. 

I'm pretty sure I was the only one in the place that... 

A. Didn't have a substance abuse problem

B. Didn't have a criminal record

C. Had all my teeth

And this... was where I woke up... all alone... on Christmas morning in 1999. I'll never forget that feeling as long as I live.

I kind of forgot about this place, until I recently found these pictures. I'm kind of happy I don't have any pictures of my neighbors.

So why did I live here?  Simple.  I was making $8 an hour at my first job at WBRE and I couldn't find a place I could afford.  So I paid 50 bucks a week to live in conditions similar to where Akeem and Semi lived in Coming to America... complete with the shared bathroom.

I eventually found a place I could swing on my $8 an hour.  My rent was $300 a month, and that INCLUDED utilities.  It was the finished attic of a 2-family home. I remember feeling on top of the world because I finally had my own place.

That was 10 years ago.  It feels like 100.  

I guess my point is... don't forget where you came from... and I came from Wilkes-Barre.  I had to fight and scrape and claw my way out of this situation. It was the first hole I had to dig myself out from in the real world.  Not only did I make it out, but I think I was a stronger person for having survived that long, cold, dreadful month.

Now... I'm trying to dig my way out of the complete opposite situation.  I have a nice place to live... but no job.  Just like I did 10 years ago... I'll find a way to make it work.