Tuesday, April 30, 2024
My Aunt Annie doted on me as her sister Mary’s first child. It helped that she just lived upstairs at 242 Bay 22nd Street in Brooklyn. As a toddler, I was forever showered with jokes, laughs, silly stories, and books of all kinds. I remember a remedy she gave me for hiccups: imagine a horse walking through the fields, then trotting, then galloping, then jumping in the air! Well, I think that was it - bet she told varieties of it
As I got older, she taught me the rock and roll of her day - doo-wop, mostly — laying the groundwork for my own love of music. Our favorite song was “At the Hop” by Danny and the Juniors. It was a rockin’ tune and I remember the cheesy old purple and gray 45 record label to this day, We also danced to “Zorro” (from the TV show), “Little Nash Rambler,” and many others. She was a swingin’ partner! [links below if you want]
It was also around this time Aunt Annie introduced me to eggplant parmigiana heroes. My family and I had gone to the hospital to help wait for one of Anthony’s test results (hope I got that right), and she went down to our car with me to have some food while my parents stayed inside. She had an eggplant parmigiana sandwich and I was hungry, but yuck, I wouldn’t eat a vegetable! Well, she convinced me to taste it - and it was delicious! Been eating them ever since.
In my teens and young adulthood, I remember the many occasions we spent at the Staten Island house with the big pool in the back, which Uncle Joe was constantly filling, emptying, or swearing at (forgive me kids if I misremember!) Great big dinners in her dining room after which Charles and I would tease Anthony and Joseph but otherwise treat Lisa quite fairly (and forgive me again!).
When I moved to the Midwest and around the DC area, we kind of lost touch except for the occasional card or phonecall. I wish I had done more. But I’m happy knowing she had a great life with her kids and grandkids, and those are the most important things after all. Bye, Aunt Anne - see you at that great Big Hop in the sky!
-- Michael Pino
[Links]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEPvoNA1OGw - At the Hop, Danny and the Juniors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7hch0wQD1w - Little Nash Rambler, The Playmates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxbUQBIHhXs - Zorro, The Chordettes
