It Was 50 Years Ago Today....

As of the last few years I’ve made a concerted effort to live mostly in the present. This is a constant struggle as anyone reading this who has attempted the same would know. We often ponder the past and sometimes relive things that are really toxic to us. Also we project into the future and often in a negative way stirring up anxiety and stress.

With that being said, in the last few months I reread Eckhart Tolles , The Power of Now as well as Don Miguel Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge and The Four Agreements. Sometimes I need a reset to step away from all of the noise and extremely poisonous vitriol that surrounds us currently. Not the purpose of this short post however.

Some dates in our lives live on forever etched in our brain. Some for very good things, others perhaps not so positive. Many of you might not be reading this on the date I’m writing it, but June 19th marks a very important personal day in my life. I know it has come to be a much needed representative holiday for many, now known as Juneteenth.

For me however, June 19th, 1975 was a very important day in my young life. It was the June of my 8th grade graduation from my private Catholic School in Ozone Park Queens, Nativity BVM. The tradition of the school was that upon graduation, the class was treated to a day trip to Rye Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. The really cool thing is that the park still exists today. I did get to revisit a couple of times when working for WNBC and I would do a weather remote on location. That was always fun and I would reminisce.

So with all of that being said, I am going to briefly indulge myself and step back from the now and fondly look back an incredible 50 years ago today. The trip of course was marking the end of an 8 year journey with friends that many had become family. It also brought to mind how we would not necessarily see some of these friends again, as we were all heading off to different high schools.

The greater memory however, is something I have written about as part of previous blogs. By the time 8th grade rolls around, hormones are beginning to rush through the veins of young men and women. This leads to the first attempts at relationships and dare I say feelings of like/love.

As it was for me I had a crush on a particular tall lean brunette. When she would walk into the classroom or sit near me a strange feeling as if a butterfly field took flight in my stomach came over me. At first I thought it was something I ate (just kidding), but the persistence told me I was bitten by the love bug.

It was on this date, June 19th, 50 years ago when I made my feelings known to Nancy Scipione. We ended up spending most of the day together at the park. She gave me the nickname Doobie (not for the reason you might think). I remember writing it on the underside of the bill on my baseball cap.

As many of you know already, 9 1/2 years later we were married. We were together over 40 years(married just shy of 32 years) and made two beautiful amazing children, Jeremy & Carly. The love story took a turn in life that leaves one questioning why, as Nancy was taken from us May 21, 2016.

Again this is a reflection back. It’s almost not comprehensible to think this was 50 years ago. It had such an innocent and beautiful start and blossomed into an amazing life together. While I’ve learned to move forward and stay mostly in the present moment, I feel this day needs a bit of honor from me. Who knows the path forward if I never said anything and we graduated and never saw each other again. It’s that simple.

Thinking back makes me smile and feel a bit of that innocence once again. It’s worth looking back when you still appreciate and feel joy from a memory. It’s not about being sad or resenting what isn’t anymore. I have this discussion often with someone close to me. I feel if you’re going to look in the rear view mirror and it makes you smile then go for it. If it makes you angry or sad then DON’T! It does no good as we really are only living in the present.

So for me a nice reflection on a day which ended up playing a huge part in the next four decades of my life is worth the time. Thank you Nativity BVM, thank you class of 1975, thank you Dolores Rimi(the match maker) and of course thank you Nancy Scipione…….Nance. There’s still a little Doobie in me.

Sunshine Always