I grew up a poor white girl, but I never knew I was poor. My heritage is Polish and Italian. My first best friend in this world was Roseanne Muccio. She lived next door.
Her father was pretty strict. I remember feeling sad that she couldn't come out and play with me. She always had to do her homework first. Her brother always had to practice his accordion. I loved it when it was summer. I'd sit on my back stairs and listen to him. He was really good. I loved listening to David play music. I always thought he was cool.
My friend Roseanne, she was the best. She loved to laugh. She was always silly. We made a good team because I was a good laugher. Ask anyone who knows me... I still am. I suppose it's a gift.
Recently, Joanne found me on FaceBook. She sent me a note asking me if I was who I am... of course I am who I am. About a month ago I was thinking of my first best friend, Roseanne. I started to look for her. I couldn't remember her married name. My internet searches were not very fruitful.
Since technology failed me I decided to use my personal power to find my friend. I sent out an intention to the Universe, I asked the Universe to find her... then I forgot about it. I was pretty excited when Joanne contacted me. She found me because I am connected with my cousin Louise who grew up in the same neighborhood. I love the internet. With out this awesome communication tool, I'd never be reconnected with my friend Roseanne.
She was an awesome first best friend. I cried my eyes out when she moved away. I think I was about 9 or so when her family moved to Salem. I was devastated. I can remember all those fun times we had, playing hopscotch, double dutch and my all time favorite, stringing beads. Sitting on the Mpelkas back porch, chatting away like old ladies, stringing beads that we bought in a head shop. I never knew it was a head shop... they just had freakin awesome beads.
Roseanne's dad was really strict, but he was my dad's best friend. They used to go fishing, cast surfing in Marblehead. All I remember from the story my dad told was "Baracuda in the watah!"
Oh, there was a story when Angelo (Roseanne's dad) knew some priest at some holy shrine not far from where we lived. They had some swans that needed to be captured and taken away. Angelo jumped on this and said, "I'll do it!"
He came home and told my dad about the swans. Next thing we all know, my dad is off to Lasallete shrine in Topsfield ready to capture the swans. I wanted to go REALLY badly. My dad wouldn't let me go. He did let my little brother Marty go. I was so pissed off. Not sure if Roseanne was peeved, but I sure was.
My dad did later write this in a daily journal that he was keeping, I've scanned the original document in my dad's handwriting. I have so many pages about Angelo, my dad wrote about him a lot. I need to share these writings with my very first best friend.... Roseanne.
So... What is my dear friend Roseanne doing now? She's retired from the military (thank God) and caring for her little grand baby with spina bifada. She has her own quilting business (my hobby!) and you can see her work or order a beautiful quilt from her here at this website.
I knew Roseanne as a child, she totally rocked, she was very creative... no wonder I liked her. I love the pictures of her quilting work. Definitely hire her to make you a quilt. She has wicked good energy (as we say in the Boston area.)
Wicked happy to have found my first best friend after 40 years. It's been a long time but now it feels like no time has passed. Yay!
I have so many more Angelo stories. My dad found him amusing and wrote about it.
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Ok... now I need to tell the real story. My father didn't want to write about this on paper. They captured the ducks and Angelo and my father killed them in Angelo's basement.
ReplyDeleteI have never been able to eat duck.
I remember those ducks... vaguely! I remember after my dad pluck'n them in the basement, he brought them up to the appartment... he lit one of the gas burners on my mom's stove & held the carcus over it to singe off what ever couldn't be plucked off! The stench was horrid! He wasn't very pleased when no one wanted to eat them.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy reading your posts! My Dad did bring home ducks, which we did pluck. Thank God I didn't see him kill them. We ate duck 500 different ways. I didn't like any of them. Too gamey.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother was 'much' stricter than my Dad.
I can remember being very young, maybe 5 years old (guessing)when your Dad and mine were standing outside Sears (under cover) in a thunderstorm. I was so scared of the thunder and was crying. My Dad told me the noise was just God bowling with the Angels and the rain was from the Angels crying because they were losing. Funny but it made me feel better and I always remember that.
ReplyDeleteRoseanne, you made me laugh out loud.
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I remember your dad telling me about the bowling angels who were losing there game too! Your father was very funny.
Do you guys remember the boxes of shoes that he got from Joe Carrado? We had shoes for several years, all of us!
Oh yes! I remember that! And I remember Joe Carrado!
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's because we always ate well so well, I never knew we were poor. Even when I got to be a teen, I didn't realise what a tight budget my mom must have been on. I just thought she had the most horendous taste in clothes. For an example, when I was about 13 she bought me three pair of these weird tan pants that had big purple flows from the knees down. To match these pants she bought me three shirts; one was red w/white pokadots, another blue w/white pokadots, and the third was some crazy colored flowers. Oh the horror! Now I realize how difficult it must have been for my mom to support four kids & a husband. (I don't remember all the details but dad seemed to be sick/hurt & out of work a lot & at some point he got a disability...)
Our parents may not have had a lot of money, but we sure did eat well! Dad had a friend that worked in a bakery who would bring us a box of day old Italian bread! I remember those huge blocks of cheese & powdered milk. Dad was buying bulk food long before there was a Sam's or Cosco!
I also have a memory of an annual adventure where my mom took the us kids to the city hall & we got new shoes!
Good Lord Sue! You really got me go'n down memory lane!