(2/3) “My mother brought me to New York City when I was twelve...

(2/3) “My mother brought me to New York City when I was twelve years old.  We lived in an area of Long Island called ‘five towns.’  The first four towns were economically mobile.  But my town was the service community for the other four towns.  Our parents were the maids and chauffeurs.  I got myself a newspaper route when I turned thirteen.  There was one older man on my route who’d always give me a big tip if I could tell him the news.  So every morning I’d read two newspapers.  And every night I’d listen to Frankie Crocker on the radio.  He was ‘The Black Disc Jockey’ in New York at the time.  Every night from 4 PM to 8 PM, he’d play ‘R and B’ on 1600 WWRL , and you were a punk if you missed it.  One night he announced a contest to choose an honorary DJ.  I wrote an amazing letter because I listened every day, and I ended up winning.  I was sixteen years old.  The prize was supposed to be fifteen minutes on the air, but Crocker was so impressed that he gave me forty-five.  Before signing off, he asked me what I planned to do after graduating high school.  I told him: ‘I’m going to be the next Frankie Crocker!’”