A man recounts his childhood in East New York, Brooklyn, where he learned to be resourceful and street-smart. At 13, he started working with his father, who owned a laundromat and had connections with local loan sharks and drug dealers. The man's first task was to deposit cash from the laundromat, but he got jumped and lost $1,000. His friend Jeff suggested robbing local drug dealers to recoup the loss, which they successfully did, but then had to return the money to avoid trouble.
The man's father, who was secretly involved with the loan sharks and drug dealers, took the money and used it to smooth things over. He later revealed that he had been setting aside money for his son's mistakes and misadventures, totaling $83,200, which he used to help his son make a down payment on his first home. The man reflects on his upbringing and the lessons he learned, concluding that it's possible to raise a good kid in a tough neighborhood with patience, love, and a spare $80,000.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator is from East New York, Brooklyn.
2. The narrator's father is a hustler who owns a laundromat.
3. The narrator's father was involved with local loan sharks and drug dealers.
4. The narrator attended St. Francis Prep School in Queens.
5. At 13, the narrator started working for his father's laundromat business.
6. The narrator's job was to deposit cash from the laundromat into the bank.
7. On his first day, the narrator found $12,000 in cash to deposit.
8. The narrator spent some of the money on pizza and other items before depositing it.
9. The narrator was jumped by a group of men who took $1,000 from him.
10. The narrator and his friend Jeff came up with a plan to rob the local drug dealers to get the money back.
11. The narrator and Jeff successfully robbed the drug dealers, but the narrator's father was involved with them and had to smooth things over.
12. The narrator's father had been saving money for him in a checking account, $83,200, which he used to make a down payment on a house.
13. The narrator's father had been putting money into the account every time the narrator did something stupid or got into trouble.
14. The narrator used the money from the account to buy a house when he got married and had a kid on the way.