What Did Nick Kokonas's Father Say About Boats, Women, and Drugs?

Nick Kokonas's father told him no boats, no women, and no drugs. The line came after Kokonas drove a multi-million-dollar check to the IRS out to the house and put it in his father's hands. The biggest check he had written before that was about $3,000. His father had grown up in a grocery store, in a Greek family shaped by the Depression, and the first question was whether the trading was legal.

Told that it was, he said it would not last. Put the money away. No boats, no women, no drugs. Then pay the tax. He called the payment a patriotic duty, the reason the grandparents had come and the reason they had sacrificed. Kokonas had hoped for a little relief on the bill. What he got was dinner. His father said he would allow himself to be taken out, and that was the whole celebration. No cheers. Save it, skip the stupid moves, go home, and do the same thing tomorrow.