Ken Langone

I happened to be at a Mardi Gras ball in Washington.

And at the party, I met a fellow there by the name of Jack Height.

And he and I hit it off.

And he was telling me that he was partners in a company that was getting ready to go public.

And they had a hell of a record.

And I said to him, is there any chance I can get a chance to pitch my firm to be the underwriter?

He said, I want to see what I can do.

We had a good time that night, drank a little bit, raised a little hell.

Monday, he called me up, and he said, you got an appointment in Dallas at 11.30 on Wednesday.

Two things I want to tell you.

Don't be late.

You got 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes are up, leave, and don't swear, because I've been swearing like a sauce sailor at this party.

So I took two kids with me out of a club, and they asked why.

I say, kids, I was only 33 myself there.

And we went down to Dallas.

The scariest thing was exactly at 11.30, I got into his office.

And there he was sitting behind a big desk.

He's diminutive.

And he could have gone, Hi, fellas.