Chelsea Wildness - This Ain't no Holiday Inn: Down and Out at the Chelsea Hotel 1980-1995 - page 51

Bohemian Physical Fitness
You might be under the impression that Chelsea residents did nothing but sit around drink-
ing, taking drugs, and creating art when they could cram it into their busy schedules. But
many residents took physical fitness seriously. Not everyone could win gold at the Chelsea
Olympics, so intense training was key.
Paul Volmer received some self-defense training from two guys named Terry and Eddie.
ROBERT CAMPBELL
For about two weeks, this guy Terry went into the lobby every night and did some
damage. I don't know what his story was, but for some reason Terry hated the
night desk clerk, and he would go up to the front windows of the hotel and smash
them. Every single night for two weeks he would smash the windows. And then
the next morning he would go down there and give them a check to pay for the
windows.
PAUL VOLMER
Terry lived on the first floor, actually in Sid Vicious' old suite, which probably
had the worst vibe in the whole hotel. Terry was a complete, raging alcoholic.
Someone would call the police because he was such a screaming lunatic, and one
timewhenthepolicewentinhisroom,Isawthemtiehimupinastraitjacket. The
guy was so defiant that he spit into the police sergeant's face as they were tying
him down to bring him to jail. He would also break the front desk window every
couple of months. And as long as he paid for it, Stanley just looked the other way.
When I came on there as the security guard, I didn't want Terry's window
breaking to continue, so I stared him down and told him it wasn't going to happen
anymore. One night I was sitting at the desk as night watchman. The desk clerk
was talking to a potential guest who wanted a room, and that person then went
away. A minute later— crash —the window breaks again! Of course I thought that
it was Terry who broke the window. I was totally annoyed. I jumped out from be-
hind the desk into the lobby, thinking I was about to confront Terry. But it turned
out that the desk clerk had said something that pissed off this potential guest, and
he had smashed the window. This guy was an even stranger maniac than Terry!
He clocked me as soon as I stepped out. I found myself fighting this new guy in
the lobby!
Now there was a little old lady named Marilyn who always sat in the lobby of
the hotel with her walker next to her. She always had a wig on, but it was a cute