Noel Nation
Opportunities to chat or confer about one thing or another arose regularly in our early days together at Steel Hector & Davis. Dennis’ keen insights on the tax implications of a deal were always a welcome necessity. We both enjoyed Interactions with our senior lawyers as they shared their experiences over a leisurely lunch. Occasionally we might even use a lunch break to check out a potential real estate opportunity nearby.
An outstanding memory from our law days is of a surprising shared interest in handicapping. We would often separately dash from the office to the track where canines were then running. Often we were given VIP lounge access for the evening to exercise our handicapping skills .
Dennis was the more skilled, with an uncanny memory for an animal's prior performance and a rigorous analysis of the competitive field. My most exciting of these outings saw us literally walking to the IRS window for the required cash declaration after picking 5 winners in a row on our joint Pick Six wager. We were so confident; we had the odds on favorite in the final race after having picked some fortunate long shots in the earlier races. Over 100k was the value of a single winning ticket. I can still recall the emotional surge as we moved to the window watching the dogs go into the track turn. Suddenly our favorite stumbles and is passed by the pack, barely finishing the race.
We both continued to enjoy the sport. A high like that never returned for me; but I had my suspicions about Dennis.
Farewell my longtime friend. Noel Nation