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Hey, it's, uh, Vinnie at the Cousin Vinnie Network.
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:Ever have those senior moments?
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:Yeah.
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:Yeah, I had one, uh, couple of weeks ago.
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:I was recording, uh, a series of podcasts
talking about my life from:
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:1970, and I really didn't do any notes.
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:I was just, you know, generally
from the top of my head, things I
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:could remember that, that stood out.
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:And then, gosh, I got done with
it, and I go back and listen.
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:I go, "Wow, I missed
some other good stuff."
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:So, so I don't wanna bore you, here
are my leftovers from:
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:a part of my life It's not gonna be
very long, but it was just some other
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:things that, um, what's making me
aware of, of all of that I'm doing is
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:that I don't have children of my own.
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:I have nieces and nephews, you know,
and I've got friends and people who,
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:you know, have known me over the
years, but really don't know who I am.
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:They think they know who I am.
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:Um, they have suspicions of who I am.
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:And I, and I go back and look at those
first 20 years of my life and think,
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:"Wow, I had some opportunities that
most people don't have in a lifetime."
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:And that was just the
first 20 years of my life.
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:And then from, you know, 20 to now 76,
oof, those next few years of bundles
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:that I'm gonna put together, I think
some of you are gonna go, "There's
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:no freaking way he's done all that."
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:Well, I sometimes think, think about it
myself and go, "Did I really do that?"
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:Yeah, I did.
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:Um, you can't make this shit up.
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:Things occurred in your life that,
you know, you go back and look and
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:you go, "Wow, that was pretty wild."
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:So these are leftovers from 1950 to 1970.
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:In no particular order,
I, I try to classify them.
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:I'll put them into groups.
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:But there are a few people in my
life back then that I kinda forgot.
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:Um, I'll start with our deli.
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:We had a g- you know,
a deli on Long Island.
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:It was Pete's, um, Superette,
the name of the place.
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:And there was a guy that worked for my
dad, his name was Bobby, and I can't
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:remember his last name to save my life.
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:But Bobby was a young man, I think he
was either out of high school or just
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:graduated from high school and came to
work for my dad, and he had a younger
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:b- brother called George, Georgie.
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:And Georgie was about my age, and
he was going to East Islip, uh,
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:School, and I was going to St.
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:Mary's.
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:So he was pretty much my only really
close friend in the neighborhood because
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:I was going to Catholic school and
there weren't a lot of people from the
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:Catholic school in the neighborhood.
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:So Georgie and I became
really good friends.
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:And Bobby, you know, worked for my dad
in the grocery store until we sold it.
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:And unfortunately, the year that
we went to Italy, he and a few
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:others ripped my dad off pretty bad.
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:Uh, we came back, the shelves
were empty from our trip to Italy,
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:and, uh, that pretty much put
the icing on the cake and Dad…
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:when Dad decided to sell the, you
know, the business and, and concentrate
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:on his, his Florida adventures.
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:So that was kind of the negative
side of tho- those years of
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:having the grocery store.
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:But unfortunately, I get…
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:It was years later, uh, I took a trip back
up to New York, one of those few trips I
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:ever went back, and I didn't go back to…
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:I, I gotta take it, take it back.
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:I did return to New York in my, um- junior
year of high school, I had to go back
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:to New York, had to go back to New York.
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:I was living in Florida.
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:This was 1969.
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:Couldn't stand it here.
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:So I, uh, got two friends of
mine to drive with me from Golden
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:Hills, and unbeknownst to me, Mrs.
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:Castro, who owned Castro Convertible
Furniture, who owned the school, Golden
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:Hills, was in New York at the time, and
I happened to take her nephew with me.
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:So we drove to New York
and we stayed at Mrs.
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:Castro's, uh, house there.
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:And on the way back she goes, "Can
you take this back to Florida for me?"
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:And it was some stuff, and
we put it in the trunk.
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:Didn't pay attention to it.
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:She just asked me to, you know,
take it back, and we took it.
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:So we ran off to New York, and
boy, did I catch hell on that one.
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:We just, you know, got in the car, it
was a Friday afternoon, and we just
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:drove to New York City and got there.
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:And, and by then, you know, Mrs.
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:Castro found out that we were on our
way, and my parents found out, and,
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:you know, I caught hell at that end,
and I caught hell on the other end.
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:So that was that little escapade
back to New York, and that was
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:pretty much the, the clincher for me
about is New York out of my system.
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:Well, it's never out of your system,
but it became apparent to me that
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:it was a completely different life
environment, uh, attitude, and I, I
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:never had any other urge ever to go back.
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:You know, you hear a lot of pe- people
say, "Oh, I can't stay in Florida, the
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:heat," and this and that, and I go, "Yeah,
it's, it's, it's terrible sometimes."
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:The heat can be, uh, a little, uh,
overwhelming, and what you tend to do
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:is you, you, you, you work around it.
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:I'm putting a little background accordion
in here if you hear it in the background.
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:Uh, O Sole Mio
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:Um, yeah, you know, the culture
shock of moving, you know,
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:to, to Florida, Crystal River.
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:And, uh, and then going back and seeing
our old neighborhood and our grocery
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:store and our home and some of my
friends, and it made me really appreciate
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:and focus that I belong in Florida.
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:And other people have asked me over the
years, "Would you go back to New York?"
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:No.
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:I've been back, you know, half a
dozen times or so over the years.
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:Uh, had a young lady I was thinking about
dating in New York, went to visit her a
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:couple of times, and I'll, uh, you know…
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:That was in the early '70s.
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:When I get to that v- that section,
I'll, I'll talk a little bit about that.
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:But I don't know.
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:Um, you know, I've had friends of mine,
you know, ask me here locally, "Well,
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:you know, what's the, you know, what
was the draw of coming back here?"
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:I said, "I don't know."
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:I think once you get it between
your toes, uh, you're here.
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:Now, look, not everyone loves Florida.
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:Thank goodness for that.
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:If it were, we'd be up the creek.
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:Uh, not everyone loves the state.
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:But I think once you have lived here
and, uh, assimilated, you know…
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:I, yeah, I get, I, you
know, I missed New York.
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:I mean, my friend Georgie, unfortunately,
you know, committed suicide
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:jumped in front of a train, uh, and that
was the last thing I ever heard about him.
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:Um, you know, and, and the grocery
store, you know, remained on.
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:It stayed on there for
years, and it's still there.
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:The building's still there.
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:I was up there recently within the last
couple of years and, um, but I, I look
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:at, you know, the lifestyle of there.
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:I can remember being in the grocery
store, and it was the day the
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:blackout happened in New York where
they had this major, major blackout.
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:I mean, the city just…
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:Everything went out, the lights, power,
everything went out, and it was kinda
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:funny 'cause that was the day my dad
had gotten a new dog for us called King.
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:It was a German shepherd, and the
poor little pup was just freaking out.
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:Had him in the grocery store in a little
box and, um, you know, just, just,
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:just thrilled to death to have him.
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:Uh, we had a, a dog before that.
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:Her name was Lassie.
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:She was a collie, and she was
basically the yard dog that stayed
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:behind the stores inside the fence
that protected the back of the store.
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:And then we got King, which
was, uh, um, a beautiful animal.
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:He, uh, he was really great.
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:We brought him, uh, to Florida
with us and, uh, uh, um…
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:The other things about the grocery
store just came in my head.
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:I remember wintertimes, the snow.
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:If you've lived in New York or out on Long
Island, you know, during the winter the
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:snow piles up, and back then, you know, we
didn't have the snowplow services that you
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:had back then, you know, today up there.
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:So my dad bought an old Willy's Jeep
with a snowplow on the front of it.
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:This just come into my mind
as I'm thinking about it.
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:And it's interesting about sitting
here be- behind a microphone and
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:having some crypt notes that some
of the things come into my head.
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:So if I wander, bear with me, because
I, I wanna get this on a recording
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:somewhere so that if my, you know,
nieces and nephews ever f- fondle around
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:and find it and hear it go, "Wow, I
didn't know that about our family."
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:So Dad had gotten this, um, Jeep
with a snowplow on it, stick,
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:and, uh, he let me drive it.
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:Uh, I was, you know, park- doing
the parking lot scraping it.
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:Scraped a little bit too hard
one time, took some asphalt up,
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:and he started screaming at me.
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:Our house was only 75 feet from the
grocery store, and before that, you
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:know, before we got the Jeep, to get
to the house to the store, there was
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:a sidewalk that went from the front
door of the house all the way over to
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:the store, and my job was to shovel
out the snow between that 75 feet.
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:Boy, that was…
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:On some of those days, you know, if,
if you grew up there in New York out
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:on Long Island, you know what the…
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:How cold, how the wind can just break
through your body, and you just go
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:"That's just terrible, terrible."
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:So the, the, the Jeep was really cool.
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:I, God, I don't know
whatever happened to it.
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:I know we had it for a couple of years.
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:I don't know if dad got rid…
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:I, I imag- well, he had to, 'cause we
didn't take it with us here to Florida, so
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:he probably got rid of it at some point.
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:But that was the first thing I,
I learned how to drive, was that
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:Wi- Willy's Jeep, the, the stick,
which was kinda, kinda neat.
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:And, um, the other thing is
my mom did a lot of the prep
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:work for cooking in our store.
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:We had sausage and peppers and, and
meatballs and s- stuff like that
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:we would have, that she would make
sandwiches, you know, in the store.
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:She'd make the, ro- roll the meatballs
at the house, and dad would make the
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:sausage, and we would cook them at
the house and then bring them back
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:into the store, making sandwiches.
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:And we had an intercom system
between the house and the store.
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:And I think I saw it in a box one day up
in, in our, in our, my parents' current
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:house here in Crystal River, in a box.
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:It was just an old antiquated intercom,
where you push down and you talk.
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:So we had an intercom in the house
and one in the store, and mom, if
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:she was in the store, would bark to
me, you know, "Okay, do this with
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:the meatballs or the sausage," or
whatever it was, or vice versa.
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:We'd come back and forth
across the intercom system.
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:So that was kinda neat.
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:I mean, we were ahead of ourselves.
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:We had a little technology that, you
know, a lot of people didn't even
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:know what that technology was like.
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:But it was kinda neat to have
that intercom so that mom could,
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:um, you know, kinda communicate,
and dad could, you know, let her
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:know what's going on in the store.
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:Um-
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:Another strange event
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:My first adventure with horses around
the corner from us, uh, not too far
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:from the store, a friend of ours
or a kid I knew in the neighborhood
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:had a, a pasture, and he had ponies
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:So one day I'm at his house, and
he goes, "You wanna ride my pony?"
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:And I go, "Yeah."
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:I'd never been on a pony
befo- I mean, a pony.
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:I was probably 9, 10, maybe 11 years old.
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:So I'm, I'm, I'm getting on this
pony, have no idea what I'm doing.
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:Got my foot in the left stirrup, saddled
up, sat down, and I'm just walking the
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:pony around the, the corral there or
the rink or whatever he had that was
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:fenced in, and the pony got spooked.
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:I don't know what caused it.
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:Reared up I'm trying to stop it.
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:I didn't know how to stop it.
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:I fall backwards, my right foot comes
out of the right stirrup, my left
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:foot gets stuck in the left stirrup,
and I got drug across the pasture.
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:I'm screaming, hollering, "Ah!"
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:You know, I mean it…
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:I didn't know.
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:Horse stopped finally, or he grabbed it,
whatever he did, and I get up and I start
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:wiping myself off, and I wipe my left
ear, and I got a wad of blood from ear.
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:Now, if you know your
ears, they will bleed.
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:Now, it's not like a main vein, but
there's blood coming out of there.
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:So I'm holding this rag on my ear.
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:He lived around the corner from the
store, so it was about, I don't know,
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:maybe a quarter of a mile maybe or less.
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:So I'm running to the grocery
store, and my mom's in the store.
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:I don't know where my dad was at the time.
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:He was someplace.
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:And, um,
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:she takes me to Dr.
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:Papa, who was our family doctor,
brings me into the office.
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:I got my hand over my ear
with this blood gushing out.
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:He lays me on the table face down,
cleans up the wound, stitches
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:it, and says, "Okay, you can go."
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:And I'm thinking back today,
shit, that ain't gonna happen.
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:You go into an emergency room with
blood pushing out your ear, they're
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:gonna come out with all the, the
shields and the scrubs and, and the,
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:you know, all the protection material.
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:You know, I mean, he…
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:I just walked into his office,
lay down on the table, let…
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:And he, and he stitched it up, and I've
got one ear that's got a little bit of
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:a funkiness to it on the left side of
it, but that was my pony experience.
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:You know, and it was really strange
that back then, the way medicine was
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:practiced, you had a family doctor who
knew everything about you and took care
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:of all this stuff for you, you know?
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:And Mom didn't even think about it.
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:Just walked into his office.
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:He looked at me.
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:He said, "Lay down."
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:Stitched me up.
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:And that was pretty much the
end of the, the episode with Dr.
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:Papa.
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:But I mean, you know, stitching
my ear back onto my head.
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:I mean, that was pretty
sketchy stuff, I mean.
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:And my dad also had a couple of houses
in the neighborhood that he bought for
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:rentals, and I can remember going into
one of his house, and it smelled so bad.
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:This is just coming to my memory, and
I didn't even write this one down.
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:It's just coming back to me now.
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:Lady had cats.
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:I don't know how many cats she had,
but there was cat pee everywhere.
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:The house stunk to high heaven
We got all the cats, got them
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:to wherever they needed to go.
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:Probably back then they just
killed them, which was terrible.
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:But we got rid of the cats and
we were close to a, um, a forest
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:or, um, out there on Long Island.
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:I can't think of the for- it was
right behind us, not too far from our
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:stores, and I should have looked it up.
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:But there was a, a state forest, and there
was kind of a road that went behind our
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:house that circled around, um, behind us.
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:And, uh, a couple of friends of mine,
like I said, lived in that area.
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:So my pony ride was a disaster.
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:Cats were kind of funky, you
know, clearing out this house.
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:And, um
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:Um, a couple of other things that kind of
reminded me of that era is, you know, if
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:you lived in New York, a lot of houses had
basements, and we had a basement in our…
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:And my dad had finished two-thirds
of it, and it had a, a sink and a
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:stove and a bar, and I've got pictures
of my uncles, Mike, Johnny, Otto,
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:and, uh, who was the other one?
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:Those are the three I can think of.
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:Mi-Mike, Mike, John, Otto.
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:Uh, who was the third one, fourth one?
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:Can't remember now.
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:Anyway, they'd be behind the
bar drinking their drinks.
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:Uh, I didn't understand it at the
time, but one of my uncles was an
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:alcoholic, and he was always snockered.
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:But we'd have mixed drinks.
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:And I gotta say that my
parents, as we grew up, and my
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:grandparents never tabooed alcohol.
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:They didn't make us scared of it.
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:We'd…
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:I'd be at my grandmother's
and grandfather's.
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:My grandfather made his own wine, and
my Vinnie, cousin Vinnie and myself,
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:we'd squish the grapes in his, his
barrel to squish the grapes, and
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:they did it for shits and grins just
to watch us get our p- purple feet.
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:And we'd get a little bit of wine, a
little bit of bread, maybe a little
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:slice of cheese, maybe some prosciutto,
you know, and that was a treat.
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:And, and I think that was one of
the things that I take away from
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:that era, where it wasn't taboo.
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:You know, the wine was not a,
a big, um, mystery, you know?
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:They'd let us have a little bit of wine,
a little bit of espresso, you know.
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:And, um, it, it, it was just, uh, y-
you know, I didn't, I didn't think
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:like some of my friends when I got
older, you know, had to get drunk.
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:I'd go, "What's the big deal?
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:I had a beer.
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:Okay, I'm done.
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:Thank you."
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:So that was kind of a, um, a little bit
different of a, of a upbringing that a
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:lot of people would ever even think about,
you know, in their, in their upbringing
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:The basement was kinda neat.
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:Uh, I had a band.
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:I was playing the accordion, which
you can hear in the background.
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:And, um, we had five of us.
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:We were called the Undecided Five
'cause we couldn't come up with a
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:name, so that's what our name was.
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:And we had a bass player and a drummer
and a lead guitar and a rhythm guitar,
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:and I played the accordion, which
eventually migrated into an organ.
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:So we had our own little, uh, neighborhood
band, and occasionally we would
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:pay at-- play at the, uh, American
Legion Hall or the fire department.
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:And I can remember my first time,
uh, playing at my high school at St.
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:John the Baptist with my band,
and we had our Nehru shirts
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:on and our bell-bottom pants.
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:And my hair wasn't as long as
some of my friends because it was
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:Catholic school, so I was kinda
restricted on the length of my hair.
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:But we played a, we played a, um,
a Friday night dance party and
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:we, we-- It was, it was strange.
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:Um, I had just started to convert over
to the organ from the accordion and
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:still having, you know, learning curve
on, on playing the, um, the organ.
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:But boy, I became the chick magnet.
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:Not.
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:The guitar players had all the girls.
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:You know, I'm in the
background playing the organ.
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:And it was really funny because there
was a place in Bayshore, and if any
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:of you are familiar with Long Island,
there's a place called Bayshore,
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:and there was a dock there that took
the ferries over to Fire Island.
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:There was a ferry port there that
would take you to Fire Island
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:where my dad had that deli or
that restaurant on Fire Island.
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:But there was a little bar
on the dock area, and it was
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:called Vinnie's Happy Landing.
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:Uh, maybe two or three cycles
before when I went back to New York,
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:it was still there in Bayshore.
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:And I wasn't old enough to get
in, so a friend of mine got me a
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:fake ID, and we, we would go in
there and, you know, get a drink.
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:And they knew we weren't of legal age.
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:They just, you know, kinda
looked the other way.
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:You know, we weren't
being rowdy or anything.
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:And I can remember
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:that there was a band in
there called The Rascals.
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:They were just starting out or they were
at a point, and there was an organ player
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:in there, and his name was Felix, I think.
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:And I was so memor- mesmerized by
his organ playing that I went up
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:and said, I just said hello to him,
and I played a couple of notes.
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:He goes, "Wow," and kinda gave me
the incentive to keep doing it.
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:But that was kind of a neat little place.
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:I went back out there maybe two
or three cycles before when I went
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:back to New York, and it was gone.
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:But it was right there at
the marina in Bayshore.
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:I can, uh
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:Also think of, of times,
you know, when the, when the
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:weather got inclement, snowy.
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:I can remember one of the first times
I drove my dad's Cadillac, uh, from
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:our house to the, to my school at St.
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:Mary's, and it came over this bridge
that crossed one of the roads.
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:And because I'm a new driver,
I didn't pay much attention.
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:I hit the brakes and I skid
right through the intersection.
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:Luckily, there was nobody coming
through it because it could've
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:been a freaking disaster.
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:So, you know, I learned to, you
know, take it a little bit slower.
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:You know, don't get
too crazy with the car.
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:Just, you know, take your time.
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:Take your time
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:Um, what are other things that happened?
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:In my number one category.
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:Let's see what else I got in number one.
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:I…
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:All right, so now I'm gonna go on
to my, uh, next version or bunch
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:of stuff that I can remember.
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:In the grocery store
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:At Christmas time, we had these
Christmas displays in the big
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:plastic things where you had G.I.
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:Joe, and the car, and the truck,
and the guys, or you had a cooking
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:one, or a doll set, or whatever.
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:They were in big, um, big displays,
and people would come in and,
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:you know, put a deposit on it
for their kids for Christmas.
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:And I think we had, like, three or four
of those things up there, and people
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:would, you know, come in and make
their payments on it for Christmas.
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:And I can still remember those
things, and I would always think,
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:"Okay, what's gonna happen to them
when, you know, Christmas comes?
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:What's gonna happen with these?"
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:Well, they were sold,
'cause Dad sold them.
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:We didn't get any of them, that I
can remember getting any of them.
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:So he sold all of them.
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:I thought it was kind of a bummer that,
you know, here I am looking at this
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:stuff and we didn't get any of it.
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:Um, another strange thing was back then
when we got our cigarettes, or we got
392
:cigarettes sold in the store, uh, the
state required us to put a tax stamp
393
:on the bottom of the cigarette packs
394
:So my job was, when I came home
from school, is take all the cartons
395
:of cigarettes, open them up, and
take the little sticker and put
396
:the st- state tax stamp on them.
397
:So if the investigator or the whatever the
hell it was came in and looked, we had the
398
:tax stamp on there so that, you know, we
wouldn't get busted for, you know, selling
399
:cigarettes that didn't have tax stamps.
400
:I may have said something
about this before, um, about
401
:putting the, uh, chickpeas
402
:in my pockets going to school as a snack,
and the little candies and stuff that I
403
:would sneak into the store, or from the
store into my pockets going to school
404
:I, um
405
:I, I remember also that,
uh, when I was going to St.
406
:Mary's, occasionally, you know, the,
I don't know who it was, somebody in
407
:staff or the school janitor or something
said, "We need some help out here."
408
:And they'd ask us to carry the
groceries in to the convent for
409
:the nuns, and you're only allowed
to go into certain parts of it.
410
:So, you know, they had groceries in the
car, and we'd get out and pick up the
411
:stuff and carry it into the convent.
412
:And I can recall, I think I was in
seventh or eighth grade, I can recall
413
:seeing beer or wine in the bags
that were double bag covered, you
414
:know, and kinda opened up and, aha.
415
:So I don't think the nuns and the
priests there were just, you know,
416
:not having a few drinks on the side.
417
:But I thought that was kinda
interesting that we, uh, we
418
:kinda caught a glimpse of it
419
:In that year of 60
420
:Five, six, someplace there.
421
:'56.
422
:No, '66.
423
:Yeah, '66, not '56, '66.
424
:'Cause we went to Italy
in the summer of '65.
425
:I had gotten and went to, uh, summer
school to get my driver's permit.
426
:You had to go take a driving course
at the school and, uh, I can remember
427
:taking it at, uh, East Islip High
School or maybe someplace li- or
428
:Islip Terrace, someplace like that.
429
:W- I went to go in and take the, uh,
class and, uh, you did the driving.
430
:The instructor was usually a
coach or one of the coaches, and
431
:they taught the driving class.
432
:So I got my learner's permit so
that I could, you know, go and
433
:take the, you know, take the, uh,
test to get my driver's license.
434
:And it was really funny because my dad got
me a driving instructor so that I could,
435
:you know, get my license when I turned…
436
:The learner's permit at 15 and
then a driver's license at 16.
437
:So I was kinda in the tweens
getting ready to get my license,
438
:so I had to go take the…
439
:I took the written test and
did fine on that 'cause that's
440
:what you did in that class.
441
:But the driving test was, I think, when
you turned 16 is when you could legally
442
:drive with a car without an adult.
443
:15, I think you had to
have the adult in the car.
444
:So I'm, uh, in the driving car, and this
guy that came in, it was a two-controlled
445
:car, so it had duplicate controls on the
driver's side and the passenger side, so
446
:the instructor could, if he had to, take
over the driving when you were driving.
447
:And it was kinda funky because he
had, you know, all the same, the,
448
:the brake, the pedals and all that
stuff on the other side of the car,
449
:but it wasn't really the exact parts.
450
:They were kinda, um, rods or metal,
you know, kinda like, um, the
451
:things you q- used to grab shit
off the s- shelves, the little
452
:clippers or the clamps or something.
453
:It was, it was funky.
454
:It wasn't a complete steering wheel,
but it had the ability to steer and stop
455
:the car if something happened when you
were driving, and that's how I started
456
:to learn how to drive, and that's how I
took my driver's test and, and passed it.
457
:And that was kinda, um, kinda
really, really funky to, to have
458
:that ability to, to, to do that
459
:There was another, um
460
:The thing that was in the community.
461
:Where our store was located on
Connetquot Avenue, we were at an
462
:intersection of Connetquot and
Lowell Avenue in North Great River.
463
:We were on the east side of the road, and
then there was the west side, then there
464
:was a spur off that went up Lowell Avenue.
465
:So we were right there at the apex
with our, our store and our house.
466
:And, um, my dad had, um, a customer whose
kid, I guess the parents took the car
467
:away from it, was a 1975 Buick Grand Sport
468
:And it was a two-door
stick, high performance.
469
:I had no clue what it was.
470
:It was a white one.
471
:And he says, "Now, once you get
your license, you know, and you go
472
:through the class and you pass, you'll
have a car that you can drive to
473
:school with my, my sophomore year."
474
:And I go, "Great."
475
:So apparently he got the Grand
Sport from one of our customers
476
:because he took it away from his
kid 'cause his kid screwed up.
477
:So I'm, uh
478
:I'm at the store working.
479
:My parents, I think mom and dad, yeah, mom
and dad both came to Florida on another
480
:inspection before we moved, and I decided
to take the car out of the garage, and,
481
:um, came out of the driveway no problem.
482
:And then I was heading
north on Connecticut Avenue.
483
:I was gonna go to my Aunt Ava's house,
which was down the road from there, a
484
:couple of miles on the left on a hill.
485
:I was gonna ride that way, and I rode
out that way and, and she was not
486
:there, I don't think, at the time.
487
:So I came back, and in front of
our store, there was a, um, like a
488
:little patch of dirt in the middle
of the road that cut off the two
489
:roads, so it was kinda like a Y.
490
:So I was on one side and there was traffic
to my right, and they had a stop sign.
491
:I had the right of way.
492
:And so I was going through and I was
gonna make a left into our driveway, which
493
:was right at the apex of this corner.
494
:I mean, not too far.
495
:And another car was coming at me.
496
:There was a car to my right coming at
me, so I hard righted it into a telephone
497
:pole right in front of our garage
498
:Holy shit
499
:I was able to drive it into the
house, into the garage, parked it.
500
:I knew I was gonna catch shit
when Dad got home, and I did.
501
:He came home, saw it, they sold it.
502
:That was the end of my car.
503
:Boy, did I screw up on that one.
504
:But I learned a valuable lesson, I think.
505
:Maybe.
506
:I don't know.
507
:But it was one of those times in
your life you go, "Phew, at least
508
:I didn't hurt anybody," you know?
509
:And I didn't do a lot of damage
to it, but I, I looked up that car
510
:recently, a 1965 Buick GS two-door.
511
:It had, like, a 400-plus horsepo-
I mean, this thing was a beast,
512
:because I had taken it out a couple
of times and went down to a local…
513
:Uh, it was before McDonald's.
514
:There was another little
place on, on, on, um…
515
:God, what was the road?
516
:No, it was on the Sunrise.
517
:Oh, gosh.
518
:It's just another place in, on, on
Long Island out there in Islip Terrace,
519
:and it was a little burger joint.
520
:And we were doing the circles
like, you know, you do, you
521
:know, like back years ago.
522
:You used to do the, uh, um…
523
:Gosh, what was it?
524
:There was a place where we'd do
circles and drive, like they did
525
:in American Graffiti pretty much.
526
:And, you know, we did the circle,
and everyone was looking at this
527
:car, and I, I had no clue what I had,
but it was a beast of a car, and I
528
:really, really screwed up on that one.
529
:But, you know, I wrecked it.
530
:I wrecked it, and that pretty much
was the end of that first car.
531
:Um
532
:At that intersection in front of
our stores, uh, on Connecticut and
533
:Lowell Avenue, there was a piece
of dirt, not very large, but it was
534
:treed, and you couldn't really see
across the intersection really well.
535
:And, um, my dad got the, uh, the city
or the county to put a memorial there
536
:for Vietnam veterans and World War
II veterans back in:
537
:And he got them to donate the land, and
it was a, a memorial to, to veterans.
538
:And that, that's something I'm gonna talk
about in a later episode about veterans.
539
:But there was a fighter pilot,
his name was Philip Vampatella.
540
:He was one of the first
pilots to fly over Vietnam.
541
:I have the book in my hand right now.
542
:I found it.
543
:And he lived in our neighborhood,
and he used to come in our store.
544
:So the dedication was the monument
to those who passed and those that
545
:served and, and, uh, Phil was there.
546
:And at the time I was in a group
called the Sea Scouts, and we were in a
547
:parade, and I saw some videos years ago.
548
:I was…
549
:My dad, I guess, caught a picture of
me in the parade with him behind me.
550
:But that was my attachment to
Vietnam back in:
551
:Vietnam was just getting cooking
552
:So the monument's still there,
uh, when I was up there a couple
553
:of years ago, still maintained.
554
:And it, and it takes me to something else
that I'm gonna talk about in a future
555
:episode about monuments and memorials.
556
:All right, a couple of other things that,
uh, were pretty interesting at the time
557
:The World's Fair, 1965, in
Queens, in Flushing Meadow.
558
:I saw my first Mustang convertible.
559
:Or no, it wasn't.
560
:Maybe it was a coupe.
561
:1965 Mustang, that's when
they debuted at the, uh, the
562
:World's Fair at Flushing Meadow.
563
:And at that point I said,
"I want one of those.
564
:I want one of those."
565
:And it was just such a cool car.
566
:Not high performance.
567
:It was a Mustang.
568
:It was just, you know, just the
beginnings of, of the, um, the,
569
:the, the fancy, fancy cars.
570
:But, um, speed cars.
571
:And then the Camaro came
out shortly after that.
572
:But, uh, I can still, I can still
remember there was a road between
573
:our house to the school, St.-
574
:St.
575
:Mary's.
576
:Can't think of the name of it.
577
:It'll come to me.
578
:But there was a Chevy dealership there,
and I'd walk past it on the way home,
579
:and I saw the Corvette in there, the,
the split window '63 and '64, '65.
580
:You know, the, the Corvettes
that were in there.
581
:And I said, "One day I'm
gonna have one of those."
582
:Well, I did, and we'll talk
about that one later on, but I
583
:did have a Corvette at one time.
584
:I had the Opel Kadett, which
was a freaking disaster.
585
:I had a Vega, which I don't know
if I talked about it yet or not.
586
:But I had a Vega, Chevy Vega.
587
:I've had all kinds of funky cars
in my lifetime but, you know, that
588
:was, um, that was part of the…
589
:Part of life.
590
:Uh, what else did I have here?
591
:Oh, you know, when we went to Italy
that summer of, of '65, it was, it
592
:was another one of those things where
593
:Um, it was a different adventure.
594
:And I'm thinking about, I, I found a
picture of, of a group of us that hung
595
:out on the ship together, and this
girl I met was, her name was Beatrice.
596
:Beatrice.
597
:So everyone called her Trixie.
598
:And, um, you know, we said, "Oh,
we're gonna keep together," you
599
:know, "Keep in touch, keep in touch."
600
:And pretty much, uh, after getting home,
I think I sent a letter or two somewhere,
601
:never heard back from anybody, and pretty
much that was the end of my, uh, uh,
602
:romance, long distance romance with Trixie
603
:Why am I doing all of this?
604
:I don't know.
605
:I, I just felt like I had to say some of
these things because they're in my head.
606
:Uh, like I said, I don't have children
to, to tell stories to, and most people
607
:will hear this and go, "This isn't true."
608
:Well, yeah, I lived it.
609
:I lived 99.99%
610
:of this.
611
:You know, life is one of those
things where you either are a
612
:doer or you're just a watcher.
613
:I'm, I'm not one that likes
to sit around and just watch
614
:You'll find this out as we get
further into the, into the '70s,
615
:into the '80s, '90s, 2000s, recent.
616
:You know, my life has
had many ups and downs.
617
:Lost a few friends over the years.
618
:And, um, I'm just trying to think of
anything else that was really a, a major
619
:impact on me growing up those first 20
years before we moved here to Florida.
620
:That was-- It, you know, it's, it's
been a whole different lifetime.
621
:I mean, I was 20…
622
:Oops.
623
:Oh, shoot.
624
:I didn't turn that down.
625
:That was terrible of me.
626
:Sorry about that
627
:You know, I, one of these days I'm gonna
learn to turn the thing off when I'm
628
:doing a recording like that, 'cause I know
it's gonna buzz or do something crazy.
629
:All I can say is that if, if,
you know, you've had a life
630
:That, uh
631
:It doesn't have to be glamorous.
632
:It doesn't have to be exciting
633
:You got children.
634
:You know, they probably would
like to hear some of the things
635
:that you did when you were a kid.
636
:You know, some of the screw-ups you made.
637
:Um, I did tell, you know, my stepkids
about some of the things I did,
638
:and I said, "Just don't repeat them
'cause some of them are pretty bad."
639
:Not bad, but they're…
640
:You know, we lived at a
different time back then.
641
:You could do things and there weren't
so many people looking over your
642
:shoulder saying, "Oh, that's bad.
643
:That's bad."
644
:Yeah, you, you screwed up,
but you didn't have the, um,
645
:I'm not saying the word guilt.
646
:You didn't…
647
:You knew that it was wrong.
648
:You did it and you go, "I
ain't doing that again."
649
:And, and, you know, you learn from your
mistakes, and we all make mistakes.
650
:You know, even as des- as adults,
you know, I'm still making mistakes.
651
:Everyone still makes mistakes.
652
:Um, I'm, um, I'm waiting for some results.
653
:I went in today for my, um, cancer
and did blood work, so I'll get
654
:results probably later this week,
and I maybe talk a little bit about
655
:it, you know, down the road on it.
656
:But as far as, you know, as far as my,
my health is concerned, it's, it's pretty
657
:good, and it, it goes through its phases,
and I have good days and bad days.
658
:My vision's better and, uh,
life has, has thrown some, you
659
:know, wrenches against, you know
660
:Am I going to, um, do a woe is me?
661
:No.
662
:No.
663
:No.
664
:Oh, just a moment.
665
:Um, the band, Undecided.
666
:I, I did talk about the high school dance.
667
:Yeah, we, we played at St.
668
:John the Baptist.
669
:Oh, I, and the band, I
tried to get in the band.
670
:That did…
671
:You know, I talked about that too,
and, and a little bit about my
672
:athletic paralysis, which is zilch
673
:Um, I think I did bowling pretty good.
674
:My dad got me on a bowling team with the
cadet group, and we went bowling and did
675
:the bowling thing, which was kind of fun.
676
:Did a little bit as an adult, but, uh,
my, my main focus over the years has
677
:been, I see an opportunity, I analyze it.
678
:Sometimes I don't do enough homework
on it, and I just jump both feet in
679
:and then go, "Okay, now what do I do?"
680
:And you'll see that…
681
:You'll hear that as we get
further into my, my, uh, my life
682
:cycle the next 20, 30 years.
683
:God, I can't believe.
684
:I mean, I'm 76.
685
:We just talked about the first
20 years of my life, and there's
686
:probably some other bits and
pieces that I don't have in there.
687
:Uh, did I have some girlfriends?
688
:Yeah, I had a couple of
girlfriends during that period.
689
:Um, you know, like everyone does.
690
:You got a girlfriend, you know, going
steady, whatever that meant, you know.
691
:And back then, you know, you didn't drive.
692
:Uh, your parents either dropped
you off or there was a, um, a
693
:local, um, burger joint, you
know, that everyone hung out at.
694
:And, you know, the older kids who had
cars would drive around, and you'd sit on
695
:the bench and kinda look and ooh and aah
696
:Uh, the high school dances.
697
:Uh, again, my cadet organization,
I was active in that.
698
:You, you-- We grew up differently.
699
:Most of the kids today, you know, you,
you see with their faces in their phones.
700
:And, and I'm guilty of it, too.
701
:You know, I get on a, on a, on a, on a
roll on some stuff on, on, on my phone.
702
:If it's not, you know, looking at
crypto or, or, uh, weapons or travel.
703
:Travel's been my big bug lately is,
is, you know, how you think, "Well,
704
:I'm gonna go do that one day."
705
:One day, one…
706
:Well, one day may be gone.
707
:So that, that's gonna be coming up.
708
:That's one of my, my, um, hotspots is
I've done a lot of things, and I'm in a
709
:g- I'm in a better place now health-wise.
710
:And, um, I think travel with
my businesses, you know.
711
:And, and people ask me,
"You're not retired?"
712
:No.
713
:Can't afford to.
714
:I mean, geez, who can?
715
:I mean, I, I really feel for,
you know, kids and, and adults my
716
:age who, you know, tough times.
717
:You know, we're, we're, we're
in a, you know, a not a great
718
:point right now economically.
719
:A lot of people are really hurting.
720
:And when I get into the, you know, the
'70s and the-- or the '80s and the '90s
721
:in real estate, and I start talking
about the, the turns that occurred
722
:during those two cycles, and we're in
a third or fourth cycle that I've been
723
:through since the 1970s, that it's scary.
724
:It's really scary.
725
:So I don't wanna leave on a bad note.
726
:I wanna, I wanna leave
this on a plus note.
727
:Um-
728
:I think today, coming out of that,
uh, exam feeling pretty good.
729
:With the blood work that was done
earlier in the week that came back not a
730
:single one out of, out of, out of line.
731
:Uh, I'm feeling good.
732
:My eyesight is doing well.
733
:My hips are healing.
734
:Um, you know,
735
:this is the reason why I'm doing
these recordings, is that I've been
736
:blessed with a lot of opportunities
and I, I want others to think
737
:that, "Oh, I can't do that."
738
:Look, you can do it.
739
:Yeah, it may not work.
740
:You may fail, but you know what?
741
:If you don't do it, you're
gonna go, "Shoot, I…
742
:Why didn't I do that?"
743
:Now, don't say, you know…
744
:I'm not telling you you gotta go out and
do everything 'cause some, some things
745
:out there are pretty freaking stupid.
746
:Um, just don't do anything that
will hurt you or anyone else.
747
:Think about it before you do it.
748
:Yeah, there have been times when I
did things like drive the car, which
749
:I shouldn't have done, and, you
know, put it into the telephone pole.
750
:At least I didn't hurt anyone
else except me and my ego and,
751
:and my car that got taken away
752
:I was just making a mental note of
just anything else I could think of.
753
:I don't wanna come back and do another
leftover, but I think I got pretty much
754
:most of everything that's grown up.
755
:I mean, my first 20 years of
my life, that was quite a bit.
756
:When I get into the, the '70s
and the '80s, you're gonna
757
:go, "No freaking way, man.
758
:There's no way this dude did this stuff."
759
:And I started doing a sketch of
it, and I'm going, "Holy crap-o
760
:Now, for those of you who are not aware,
from the year:
761
:when I turned 70 until this last August,
it's been six years, and I'm just
762
:gonna give you a hint of the future.
763
:These last six years I dealt with,
uh, loss of sight in both of my
764
:eyes, went blind, had two cataract
surgeries, a cornea transplant.
765
:My vision has now been restored to where
I have 20/30 vision in my good eye.
766
:My bad eye has actually gotten better from
the cataract surgery, so I do have vision.
767
:Now, if I don't put my lens in, eh, it
goes crappy, but right now I'm sitting
768
:here with vision that's clearer than
it's ever been in the last 50 years.
769
:So that was my vision issues.
770
:Those are now better.
771
:Uh, the other is the cancer.
772
:Uh, had a colonoscopy in those period
of:
773
:Had a colonoscopy at the VA.
774
:They discovered cancer, told me that they
were gonna go in and, you know, get it
775
:out and put me on a bag, but I had to go
through chemo and radiation and, and we're
776
:gonna talk about that at some point again.
777
:Ugh, chemo, radiation, and then surgery
for the, uh, cancer, and I, I went
778
:in today to have blood work for my
cancer, and I've been free now, and
779
:I'll see what the report says this next
week when I see the doctor, and I'll,
780
:I'll talk a little bit about that.
781
:Then I had my first hip replaced, and that
was the first thing that started with me
782
:was my hips, and I couldn't get it done
until I had a lot of this other stuff done
783
:'cause it was such a strain on my body.
784
:And then I had my other hip,
so now I have two bionic hips.
785
:I've got a cornea transplant in my
other eye, and I've got, um, no poop
786
:bag on me 'cause the doctor said
there was a way to do it without it.
787
:And, uh, I've got still some neuropathy
in my feet, working on that, which is the
788
:next, not major move, but it's, it's big.
789
:And then I gotta deal with my teeth.
790
:Uh, neglected the last five years.
791
:I couldn't go to the dentist because the
dentist wouldn't touch me 'cause I was
792
:going through all this, so now I've gotta
make up for the last five, six years of
793
:my teeth, and I've got issues with them.
794
:And I know it's gonna be a pain,
but I'm gonna deal with it.
795
:And you kinda wonder,
"Why, why do you care?
796
:You're 76 years old."
797
:Why?
798
:Because I don't wanna
think that I can't do it.
799
:Why can't I do it?
800
:Is what I feel like.
801
:So I, I put myself through it, and, uh,
if this helps someone else think about,
802
:you know, "Oh, I'm too old to do that."
803
:No, you're not.
804
:You're still breathing.
805
:You still have something in you.
806
:You have a story to tell.
807
:You got people you can
help or guide or train.
808
:Uh, this is not a, a woe is me.
809
:This is a wow, it's me, and
anyone who comes around me
810
:Uh, can feel it.
811
:And there are some other things that
are in the works that as time goes on,
812
:I'll, I'll talk a little more about it.
813
:But I'm gonna give you some insight
as to, to where my, my life could
814
:have been, should have been maybe.
815
:I don't know.
816
:I can't tell you.
817
:Right now, I am happy where I am.
818
:Yeah, it's a little lonely sometimes
because a lot of people don't
819
:understand, and a lot of people…
820
:And I, I don't say a lot of people.
821
:I-- There-- You have friends, and they
have lives, and sometimes you, you don't
822
:f- you feel alone, but you're not alone.
823
:And I, I don't expect people
to, to be at my beck and call.
824
:Everyone has their own lives to deal with.
825
:A- and my focus right now is myself and
a, and a few others that are close to me.
826
:And the rest, if you're
there, you're there.
827
:I'm not gonna go hunting you down.
828
:And I'll make myself available
if you make yourself available
829
:So where are we?
830
:Well, that was 1950 to 1970-ish.
831
:It's, it's been an interesting 20 years.
832
:I probably won't add any more to this.
833
:This is pretty much it for now.
834
:And then we'll do the 19, oh, '80s.
835
:We're gonna break it down into 10-year
si- segments because there's so much stuff
836
:that happened in each of those 10 years
that, uh, you're gonna look at it or hear
837
:it and go, "Wow, it's been interesting."
838
:So I wanna thank you for, uh, listening.
839
:This is, uh, Vinnie, Cousin Vinnie.
840
:And I did talk to my other cousin Vinnie
the other day, and I think we're gonna
841
:do a little, uh, interview together as
growing up and maybe get my brother in
842
:'cause, uh, he's the same age as my, my
brother, and get all three of us and talk
843
:about their childhood and stuff like that.
844
:If you have a chance to do the
same thing with your family,
845
:sit down and have a chat.
846
:Record it.
847
:I, I have a few videos of my mom
and dad with audio, not many.
848
:You know, with technology today,
you should be able to get all
849
:this stuff on video with your
mom, your dad, your grandparents.
850
:Do it because when they're
gone, you know, they're gone.
851
:I mean, I don't have any-- I-- all
I have from my grand- grandparents
852
:or grandparents are their pictures.
853
:I don't have any audio of
their sounds, of their voices.
854
:I got some of my mom
and dad from years ago.
855
:Uh, just do it.
856
:I think you'd appreciate it at some
time in the future that you're sitting
857
:around going, "Geez, I miss them.
858
:I just wanna hear their voice."
859
:Well, there's no reason for
it today not for you to think
860
:about doing that for the future.
861
:Again, this is Vinnie DeRosa
at the Cousin Vinnie Network,
862
:and thank you for listening.
