SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The perks that you get sitting “up front” when crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a jet is the “reason” there’s a “curtain” separating First Class & the “common folks” relegated to Coach.
FIRST, THE “FIRST CLASS DON KING” STORY
A few people I have worked for over the years would fly me to venues in First Class and later Business. The first Don King “King Vision” TV broadcast I was hired for was in the UK. Over the years DK shuttled Pedro off to Colombia, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Hungary, Palm Springs, New York, St. Louis, Atlanta, and the list goes on!
MY BACK “GOES OUT” IN DK’S PRESENCE
On one of the gigs, I was “stiff” as a board after overdoing it in the hotel gym and the man I dubbed the “King of Nap,” Don King took me to get a massage. From that point forward, and unbeknownst to me, DK flew me around First Class.
BIG PRICE CHANGE “COACH TO FIRST CLASS”
You have to remember that airline tickets were “hard copies” (paper) and usually they were sent in advance via Fed Ex. One gig was “postponed” and I had to go the airline to have the date changed going to Europe.
AIRLINE PUTS EXTRA CASH IN HAND!
The ticket was around $1800. The chick says “No First Class. So, I’m going to ‘refund you the difference’ and seat you in Coach.” The difference was $1000.
SO I MADE A “HABIT OF GIVING UP FIRST CLASS”
Truth is, I could’ve bought a nice used car with the cash derived from CHANGING seats from First Class to Coach. BUT that all came crashing down when Don King called me into a Las Vegas Hilton office and said “Shut the door.” He had found out about my “Flying Coach” after he had been paying First Class.
GONNA GET FIRED FOR TICKET HUSTLE?
DK says, “I’m flying you First Class and you’re in Coach. WHY?” My response, “The airline did it a couple times, and I did it after that. Sometimes, it’s an extra $500” when in reality once it was $1900 as I “cashed in the ticket” and flew on Frequent Flier miles to Spain.
DON “CHOMPS ON CIGAR” & I’M SWEATING
King leans into the desk and says. “I admire the hustle Pedro. BUT Mother F*cker, if you are ever fuc*en late, you’re fuc*en fired.”
THE DON KING “FEW PEOPLE KNOW”
I am nearly shit-ing my pants AND in the next sentence DK says, “Do you have somebody to watch your daughter during the (TV) show?” I did, but HERE WAS the meanest man in boxing to many, Don King, and while I’m worried about being fired, DK’s “concerned” about my daughter Jackie.
BACK TO FIRST CLASS GOING NYC TO LONDON
Changing planes in New York City, I find myself sitting next to a British Physician. An hour in, he tells me he’s editing a paper on “maintaining optimum health & longevity” that he will soon present at a medical conference in his native London.
WHAT I REMEMBER MOST WAS….
“After the age of 45, you need to do some ‘Medical Mining.’ Nobody looks at their vital organs, the Liver, Pancreas, Gall Bladder, or even the Heart unless something is wrong. A lot of times it is too late and people die unnecessarily. I think that CT scans should be used far more. Pedro, this is what I call Medical Mining.”
SAID “COLON CANCER WILL BE NUMERO UNO”
And while he dropped these health bombs 22 turns of the Roman calendar ago in 2004, I remember his “spiel” almost verbatim. “Colon Cancer will be the biggest killer.”
DR. ANDY WAS “100 % RIGHT!
NOW in 2026, US Health officials say “Colon Cancer is the #1 cause of Cancer death between the ages of 20 & 49.” Dr. Andy was a Medical prophet!
FIRST COLONOSCOPY CIRCA 40 IS BEST!
I have friends that are Medical nightmares waiting to happen and as of now they don’t care. AND while I wish them the best, they’re both “Medically Illiterate” & at the same time “They know it all….while knowing nothing.”
SOME FOLKS “JUST DON’T GIVE A F*CK”
THIS is directed at those of YOU who are sharp enough to comprehend the message I’m trying to send. “Get on top of your health while you can AND before you can’t.”
NOW THAT YOU ARE HERE…..
One of the reasons I put “these thoughts to paper” per se is that “MARCH IS COLON CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.” AND if I had written a piece solely on that, far fewer of you would have read it. BUT WAKE UP, Colon Cancer is the #1 Cancer killer between the ages of 20 and 49.
Pedro Fernandez
Note: Pedro Fernandez is a multi-award winning writer whose career in journalism has taken him to 34 countries. He is also a former San Francisco Policeman and was a Nationally Ranked 4-time Golden Gloves boxing champion.
Pedro is the creator and host of “Ring Talk Worldwide” a syndicated radio talk show with 41 years of airtime on Sports Byline USA. You can watch it Sat & Sun @ 11:06 AM PT on YouTube or Twitch.TV
RING TALK Pedro-Pete Fernandez Ring Magazine