Monthly Archives: February 2024

…………..I love this photo!…..My Dad, on the left, is with one of his best friends Tony Mafai….or to me….Uncle Bubby. It just so happened that he was one of my dad’s best friends who married one of my mom’s best friends….Aunt Sadie…….They were on a vacation, and I’m sure my Uncle Armond was probably taking the picture, as they were always together!….There was no date on the picture, but my guess is, because of the full head of hair my dad still had….it was probably 1939-1941….I always loved seeing pictures of my dad when he was a young peacock!…He looked so cool with his tight fitting polo shirt, his knickers and his white shoes and socks. I guess they had sneakers then?….and…..smoking a cigarette looked so cool back then!!…..I love the way he intentionally is wearing his belt buckled off to the side…very stylish!…I remember at a point in my early adult life when I did the same thing…..I thought it was such a chic look….My dad was certainly an influencer…….Growing up my hair was combed just like my dad’s…….As they say….”The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

………………….The photo has “Elmer Park, 1927” written on the back. I have no idea where Elmer Park is or if it even exists today? I do know my mom is on the right and her BFF, Nardi is on the left…..I have no idea who that shady looking character is in the middle with his arm around both of these 17 year old girls!…..I always new Nardi as my Aunt Nardi growing up. She and my mother were, as they say “thick as thieves”, and were always together….They were each others maids of honor at each of their weddings. My Aunt Nardi married first, and my mother soon followed.  At the age of 28 she married my Dad. We vacationed with my Aunt Nardi, and her husband, Uncle Armond, and their daughter, Christine often…….The four of them went to Hawaii for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I later found out that my Aunt Nardi had terminal cancer at the time, but was determined to be with my mom on this trip. She passed away a few months after their return……My mom was never the same. They had been so close for so many years that a piece of my Mom died with my aunt’s passing. They were closer than sisters, and shared everything……Even when we left Brooklyn and my Aunt Nardi stayed behind….they remained very close…..The distance and growing families couldn’t keep them apart………….They were one heart.

…………….HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to my Mom and Dad in Heaven!………….They were married for 66 years!….They married on October 15th, 1938…..My parents knew each other from when they were young children….My mother was born in September of 1910, and my dad was born the following March of 1911 in Italy……Their dads came to America together from Italy on the same boat. They were from the same town, Bari on the south east coast …..When my grandfathers were established they brought the rest of their young families to America…..My dad pursued my mom relentlessly, but she wasn’t interested….She was having too good a time with her girlfriends…..She finally relented after her BFF, Nardi married her boyfriend Armond…..Nardi and my mother were both 28 when they married, which in those days was considered late. Most girls married at 17, 18, 19 or 21…..but not my mother and her friends…..they were enjoying their freedom, and were enjoying their independent lives…..When Nardi got married first, my mother was her Maid Of Honor. Then the girls started falling like dominos, and they all started saying YES to their boyfriends!…..When my mom got married Nardi was her Matron of Honor and Armond was my father’s best man. You can see my “Aunt Nardi” standing behind my mother, and my “Uncle Armond’s” head peeking out behind my father…..My parents both passed away when they were 94 within  a week and a half of each other. My mom died two days before Christmas Eve, and my dad passed away just after the New Year………Jac and I were visiting him, trying to convince him to come and stay with us, but he wanted to stay with his friends in his retirement village….He told us…..”your Mom’s calling me”…..I thought he was kidding as he always did…..I guess she was calling him…..He passed away in his sleep a few days later……His heart just gave out……..I like to think he gave it back to my Mom……….Happy Valentine’s Day to my sweet Jac…..and to  all of you lovers out there…..Give each other a big hug and a kiss.

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……………..My mother comes from a family of NINE brothers and sisters. They are all present in this picture….except one……my Uncle Tom……From left to right……My Aunt Angie…….my Aunt Millie…..My mother who was named Lorita, but everyone called her Edith…..my Grandfather John Rutigliano,….my Uncle Paul…..my Grandmother …..my Uncle Vito….my Aunt Mary,….my Uncle Lou……and the baby, and tallest of them all……my Uncle Danny…….They all had two to three children except my Uncle Danny who married an older woman, and they didn’t have any children……..I’m guessing after being brought up in a house with so many they all decided to keep the amount of children they would have to a minimum! Only my Uncle Vito beat his dad, and had 12 children! I remember as a child all of us getting together in the basement of my either my dad’s parents house or my mother’s parents house in Brooklyn for the Holidays…..All the women cooking, and all the men playing cards…..and all the kids running wild! Sometimes we would split the time between both families. My grandparent lived around the corner from one another so it was easy to spend time with both families…..Some times just the kids would go from house to house visiting with our cousins!….It was the best of times…..When my grandparents died that all ended……The get togethers were much smaller, and basically everyone stayed home with their families. My mother used to invite some of her siblings over, but it was never the same…….When my brothers and I got older we rarely went into Brooklyn anymore……..It was sad to loose touch. Their children would never have the experiences we did growing up……Times have changed so drastically, and family ties aren’t what they used to be……though some still try to keep some of the traditions going.