New Yorker Jerry Needleman became a widower in his 80s in 2008 when his wife of 40 years passed away. The couple never had children, and now at his late age, he settled into a quiet and lonely life. Meanwhile, in Florida, a woman named Sylvia was pursuing a relationship with a retired man who had already spent thousands of dollars on his younger girlfriend. Once they got engaged, the man’s son stepped in and, in 2012, the man’s family successfully sued Sylvia for fraud.
A year later, Jerry went on one of his daily walks when he stumbled upon a distraught woman crying on a park bench. Yes, it was Sylvia. The old man with a good heart asked her if she was okay, which, in retrospect, was the wrong move. What he should have done was keep on walking.
He Just Wanted Some Munchkins and a Coffee
The story begins at a Dunkin’ Donuts. On a warm October afternoon, a young man in a baseball cap sat alone in his convertible – top down – in the drive-through lane. He was waiting to order some Munchkins and a coffee. He didn’t seem to notice, though, that behind him, a man was approaching,
carrying a baseball bat.
Suddenly, the stranger smashed the bat right into the back of the young driver’s head and fled. The driver was left there, dazed and bleeding. He managed to steer his car out of the drive-through lane and proceed onto the street. It wasn’t long before he crashed his convertible into another vehicle on Bergen Boulevard.
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