Under the Big Top # 40: “Odd Man In”

(Personal reflections inspired by Who songs)

Song: “Tattoo”
Album: The Who Sell Out
Release Date: December, 1967

I have often told the story of my earliest days in public school in September 1972 (after 4 years at St. Mary’s, a Catholic parochial school in my hometown which closed its doors the year before), when my 5^th grade teacher, Mr. Carrol, as dry witted a person as anyone I have ever met, reviewed a penmanship quiz we had all just taken from his desk in front of the class.  We sat quietly as he peered down through his spectacles at our longhand.  Finally, he looked up at us and stated “there are many examples here of exemplary writing styles.  Could I see a show of hands from all of you who have joined us from St. Mary’s School”?  A handful of us raised our hands and Mr. Carrol slowly scanned the room, nodding in approving fashion as he glanced up and down between pupil and paper, connecting each St. Mary’s transfer-student with his/her penmanship.  Finally he landed his eyes on me.  He stopped and stared a moment.  And then he stated….

“Well now, there are always a few exceptions to the rule, aren’t there?”

Despite that call out, I actually liked Mr. Carrol.  He kept us on our toes.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I was somewhat bemused at the time he made the comment; not traumatized as one would be lead to believe given the fact that I still vividly recall it.  And yet, why have I retained that memory all these years?  I’ll be frank:  Its part and parcel of my story.  This was not the only memory along these lines that I’ve retained from my adolescence.  I’ve got plenty more where that came from.  Along what lines you ask?  Well, what I am talking about here is the feeling of being different and in turn being signaled out as such.  And it’s a big reason for my interest in the Who.  Let me explain.

For a good part of their first decade as a band, The Who released numerous songs that keyed in on experiencing life through the eyes of the outsider, the misfit, and the odd duck.  It’s a parade of pop tunes.  “Happy Jack” tells the story of a free spirit who gets taunted by kids on the beach (likely someone Townshend knew in his childhood).  “Substitute” is about dating someone who is on the rebound.  “I’m a Boy” is about a child who’s Mom has made it clear to him that he was born the wrong gender.  “Boris the Spider” is about kids with extreme phobias (in this case Arachnophobia). “Sally Simpson” is about a girl with teen-idol infatuation, to the exclusion of all else. “Tattoo” (this week’s blog entry) is about two long-haired son’s trying to prove to their macho-man Dad that they can be tough too (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2LOMajSwM).  “Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand” is about the lassie who likes to hang around with the guys rather than other girls her age.  “Medac” is about a kid who is ostracized because of a bad case of acne.  “Little Billy” is about a boy who refuses to cave to peer pressure (in this case, smoking) and so is marginalized.  “Pictures of Lily” is about a kid struggling to comprehend his puberty.  The list goes on.

The two full-fledged Who concept albums were also about outsiders, and each takes the concept to ever deeper and darker places.  At its core, Tommy is about child abuse and the effect it has on the abused (Tommy), who shuts out the world.  Pete Townshend was very likely reflecting on a period of his pre-teen life, away from home (due to his parents breaking up for a spell) and left with a deranged grandmother (who apparently ran some sort of brothel), when he composed this story (at least that’s how I interpreted the tea leaves when I read his autobiography, Who I Am).  At its core Quadrophenia is about schizophrenia and the paranoia such a condition induces: Along with the standard fare of misfit adolescence (such as what I just described in the Who song meanings in the previous paragraph), the Quadrophenia protagonist, Jimmy, has to deal with his mental illness.  In both cases however - Tommy’s and Jimmy’s – their heightened state of confused awareness ultimately brings each of them to catharsis thru music. 

All of this outsider-music resonated with me, but not particularly for the reasons one would think.  I did not necessarily connect with the characters in these songs and the related lyrics so much as I connected with the general spirit of the music, and the way that spirit was expressed by the Who, in studio and live on stage (I believe I speak for all Who fans in this regard).  In other words, the music and how it was expressed is a perfect reflection of the meaning of these songs.  The lyrics are but a bonus. 

And so, the Who connection was made for me through numerous musical, visual and personality components, including Pete Townshend’s power chords, windmills, leaps and guitar destruction, as well as his spirituality and soulful acoustic guitar playing (see my last blog entry) and as one of Rock’s most gifted spokespersons for decades.  The connection was also made in Keith Moon’s unparalleled life-of-the-party persona, his showmanship-drawing-power (pretty amazing for a drummer), his yearning to please, and his mesmerizing percussive abilities.  The connection was made in John Entwistle’s musicianship (second only to Van Morrison in my book), his anchor-like presence, his rock and roll demeanor (“if I smile, tell me some bad news; before I laugh, act like a fool”) and his thunder fingers.  The connection was made in Roger Daltrey’s commitment to the band, his work ethic, and his incredible ability to sing touching lyrics with a rock and roll swagger.  Underlying all of this was an outsider mentality.

I don’t believe I have ever been mistaken for someone who could be referred to as an insider.   Over time I’ve learned to take pride in this, but in my teenage years, it could be tough on occasion:  There are moments when we all yearn to fit in with the ‘in crowd’.   However as I have told my children, being on the inside has its own set of pitfalls.  It can harden you, and sets you up for a life of hopeless conformity.  Being on the outside?  Well, yes it can be difficult early on, but it builds character and has a tremendous brand of liberating upside.  It allows for empathy with a broad swath of personality traits and also allows one to think in a creative out-of-the-box sort of way.

So I can look back and chuckle at other Mr. Carrol-like memories, including “Look at the potatoes!” and other insults that a group of punks in Southie hurled at my siblings and I as we walked through my Godfather’s neighborhood with our matching Irish Sweaters.  Or my Franklin-years crew of eight, unorthodox in our relatively intellectual makeup, being on the receiving end of three separate unprovoked fisticuffs with ‘rival’ gang leaders (several of whom were at least 2 years older than us).  Or the ragtag ‘Bad News Bears’ assortment of neighborhood kids I was part of (which also included Brothers Fred and Joe), being provoked in our pickup baseball games by bullies (my leader-of-the-pack image often put me in their crosshairs).  Or my skinny, lanky frame in high school.  Or my membership in the chess club.  Or collecting comic books.  Or driving used cars all my life (but hey, they were all economical!).  Or my Green alliances (which has often put me at odds with the conservative nature of what drives capitalism in our society).  Or my at-times quirky sense of humor. Or my faith focus.  Or falling in love with another outsider, my wife Nancy. 

All of this allowed me to relate to the “Losers Club” in Stephen King’s IT, and the four boys on the receiving and of bully abuse in the movie “Stand By Me” (based on another Stephen King novel, The Body).  Or Ponyboy in The Outsiders.  Or Conrad (Timothy Hutton) and his Dad (Donald Sutherland) in “Ordinary People”.  Or Ralph in the novel Lord of the Flies.  Or just about everyone in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”.  These odd ducks had characteristics that included kindness, comradery, courage, intellectual curiosity, and a beautiful sort of innocent naiveté.  Yeah, I could relate to that.

But most important, this outsider mentality related me to the Who; a band that helped define Rock in a way that, ever since their splash on the world stage has evolved to include not just the rebels; but the misfits, outcasts, nerds, and odd balls as well.  The Who opened the door for David Bowie, The Clash, the Talking Heads, Green Day and so many others.  They opened a door for me too.  Before the Who, I thought you could only make it to the top of the Rock and Roll mountain with band leaders that had either a pretty-boy image (Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger), cocky, rebellious confidence (John Lennon, Keith Richards) or solid musicianship (all four of them).  But the Who proved you could make it with a band of equals, which included 1) a long-nosed, lanky, often gloomy guitarist 2) an impish, hyperactive, Dutch-boy-haircut drummer 3) an emotionless, expressionless, plainspoken bass guitarist and 4) a blue-collar-tough lead singer who couldn’t write music for the life of him. 

This total package sold Rock and Roll for me for the long haul.  Up to that point I had certainly bought into it already through my formative years.  The Who transitioned my commitment to a lifetime.

- Pete

Under the Big Top # 39: “Disco Still Sucks”

(Personal reflections inspired by Who songs)

Song: “Sister Disco”
Album: Who Are You
Release Date: August 25, 1978 (hey, that was my 16^th birthday)

My freshman orientation at North Adams State College (now the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) in the summer of 1980 included a concert night in the school gymnasium.  The bands sharing the bill that evening were The Fools and The Blushing Brides.  The Fools were a local Boston party band who, truth be known, were hard to take seriously (the band name alone was enough to lower that bar, although I have to say I have always been impressed with their song “Life Sucks…..Then You Die”, because of a reverse-course from the song title in the final take home message of the lyrics).  The Blushing Brides were a newly-formed Rolling Stones tribute band from Canada (a very good one I might add) who went on to write music of their own.

The Fools performed first.  Included in their set was their hit of the day, “Psycho Chicken”, a parody of the Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”.  When the Blushing Brides hit the stage afterward, the first thing out of lead singer Maurice Raymond’s mouth before launching into song was “Psycho Chicken?  What the fuck?”  It was clear the Blushing Brides were not impressed with the band that preceded them.  These Canadians obviously took Rock and Roll very seriously and found it sacrilegious that The Fools appeared to be goofing on that spirit.

I agreed with the sentiment, but disagreed with such a public pronouncement of it.  Even at the age of 17 I knew this; that rock bands shouldn’t shit on each other, particularly when they are performing together.  It’s an unwritten rule or something isn’t it?   And so, the Blushing Brides were honoring one of Rock’s creeds, that being the underlying seriousness of its message, but at the same time they were breaking another; that being the homage one act should pay to a fellow Rock-music performer. These guys were young though, so perhaps should be given some slack for being just out of the gate in 1980.  They were still learning the ropes and it’s the type of slip that I believe the Blushing Brides would not make if the two bands were to perform together today (both are still active).  * Side Note: In hindsight, the cat was already out of the bag with the Fools goofing on the Talking Heads with their parody.  The Blushing Brides were compounding the problem by disparaging The Fools, but from this perspective it seems as if they were somewhat justified.

I lead off with this story to set the ground rules for this entry; that being the mentality that goes into being a Rock and Roll purist.  There was a reason why Rock music was considered a threat to the establishment when it was first rolled out in the 1950s by the likes of Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly.  These performers and their audience came out of left field but were insisting that they be taken seriously.  This was a different ballgame from many of music’s popular genera’s of the then-recent past, which evolved out of the main stream, such as Big Band, Swing and Jazz.  Rock music evolved out of black southern Blues and the ‘subversive’ beatnik Folk scene.  The big difference between Rock and where it came from was that Rock was popular with youth culture and so could be marketed (although that part took a while for the big guns to figure out).  This made the new genre a bit more formidable (and scarier to the powers that be).

The seriousness of how much the Rock purist believed in the art form cannot be understated.  Rock was Astral Weeks and What’s Going On.  It was Blood on the Tracks, The River, London Calling, All Things Must Pass, Exile on Main Street, My Aim Is True and Who Are You.  It was an endless parade of truth in musical form.  Pete Townshend, who pontificated early and often on the subject of the seriousness of Rock, once made an attempt to define the genera in an article he wrote for the British magazine NME in 1977:  "If it screams for truth rather than help, if it commits itself with a courage it can't be sure it really has, if it stands up and admits that something is wrong but doesn't insist on blood, then its rock and roll."  He would soon after put this sentiment to music and lyrics in the Who Are You classic “Sister Disco”. 

In many ways “Sister Disco” is the quintessential Who song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsilznEYQHs), which is probably why it’s one of Roger Daltrey’s favorites.  Everyone steps to the plate at one point or another.  John Entwistle’s bass lines are wonderfully melodic throughout the complex 3-part bridge (starting with Pete Townshend’s lead singing contribution at 1:14 of the attached, continuing with an instrumental portion – a rare opportunity to hear John and Pete playing in identical note progression, and concluding with a Daltrey lead stanza which begins at 2:10).  Keith Moon’s drumming belies the rock-media criticism at the time of his substandard contribution to the overall sound of the band (he would die soon after the album’s release from the cumulative effect of long-term self-abuse, and so I see the criticism as reaction rather than original thought).  Roger Daltrey sounds passionate and supremely confident from start to finish.  The synthesizer, absent in the band’s previous effort Who By Numbers, is intense.  And Pete Townshend’s acoustic-guitar playing is extremely soulful, particularly at the end of the song (more on that later). 

But the core drive-home messages to “Sister Disco” are in the lyrics; a fictional narrative about a dying “Disco” in her hospital bed and the loyal “Rock” coming to visit and comfort her.  After all, the year was 1978, and disco was fading fast.  As “Sister Disco” unfolds, the Rock character is banged up, but reinvigorated after a long period of battle with this adversary, Disco.  Rock steps out of the hospital into the cold, snowy air; adhesive tape on a bruised nose.  But Rock has survived.  The imagery is fantastic, and it gets better with that aforementioned Townshend-sung bridge:

“Bye, goodbye Sister Disco, now I go
I go where the music fits my soul
And I, I will never let go, I’ll never let go
‘Til the echo of the street fight has dissolved”

That last line says it all.  Pete Townshend is stating that Rock serves a purpose:  To be there for the lonely and afflicted until the day that the world is at peace with itself.  Heady stuff!  Yes, we can have fun in the process and marvel in the music when it’s done right.  But for the musicians and their audience, the more important part of it all is the deeper insights into the meaning of life (and our role in it) that can be conjured up as we listen, reflect, and contemplate.  The lyrics in “Sister Disco” continue and point out that Rock will “choose nightmares and cold stormy seas” over serenity until all_of_us can be serene.  The song concludes by pointing out that, because Rock has chosen the just path forward, Disco has no choice but to jump off its sinking ship and onto the Rock lifeboat to join the cause (“I’ve got you all looking out through my eyes, my feet are a prayer”).

It was not easy to articulate in 1978 for a young 16 year old, but Disco represented something somewhat sinister to me and my friends.  Disco wasn’t a threat of quality; it was a threat of non-quality.  It was the brain-as-mush, creativity-deprived purple dinosaur shitting in the tree-lined heart of soulful Sesame Street.  Disco was the Orwellian threat of conformity.  Here’s another analogy: If Rock is personified in any character in a movie it is that of the Jack Nicholson character “Mac” McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Disco was “Mac” at the end; an electroshocked shell of himself.  Disco was where the candy-assed Barry Manilow compromised halfwit turned to for entertainment. Disco Sucked! * Side Note: For anyone offended, I channeled my 16 year old self for that last sentence. 

Things were taken a bit far in Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1979 on “Disco Demolition Night”, a riotous evening that centered on kids bringing their Disco records to the Park and piling them up for one big explosion.  It all got somewhat out of hand which gives this event a small historical footnote of infamy.  But the real story is the fact of why this event even took place.  For any future generation to come upon this tidbit of a 70s event and try to understand will be quite bizarre for them unless they put it all into a proper context.  Rock and its serious message had been threatened by this misguided interloper.  Disco was a distraction from the focus and momentum of a youth culture heading in an empathetic and altruistic direction, guided at least in part by Rock and Roll.  It would take some time to right the ship.

The end of “Sister Disco” is my favorite part of the song:  A rare Pete Townshend guitar solo (for a Who record), done in acoustic fashion over a 40 second span.  This is the drive home point, no lyrics needed.  It’s a sprinkle of soul dust at the end of a very well-crafted arrangement:   A gift to the rock purist who knows the deep recesses of the heart when he hears it.

- Pete

Under the Big Top # 38: “Fortunate Son”

(Personal reflections inspired by Who songs)

Song: “Heart to Hang Onto”
Album: Rough Mix
Release Date: September, 1977

“Heart to Hang Onto” is this week’s Big Top entry.  The song is about those among us who struggle to find their identity due to a lack of conviction, focus and faith.  I count my blessings that I have never had that problem.  I credit this to my upbringing, which set a solid foundation and opened up an endless array of doors for me. 

We are just a few weeks shy of my Mom and Dad’s 56^th wedding anniversary and so I thought I would roll out a poem I wrote for their 35^th (below).  It hits on many of the highlights of my upbringing, but more important it is reflective of a youth full of life and love.  My apologies go out to Pat’s wife Ruth, who was not in the picture yet (and so is not in the poem) along with the additional grandchildren who came after October, 1995; Joe (who was awfully close), Molly, Katie, Grace, Peter, Jack, Ryan, Abigail, Patrick and Anastasia.  Some of the poem will be nonsensical to those who were not there.  But that’s not the point.  The point is in the title “A Relationship Full of Life”.  However, to try and explain some of the characters, localisms and colloquialisms, I’ve added a Glossary of Terms at the bottom.

“Heart to Hang Onto” is such a beautiful song.  The version here was performed live on Late Show with David Letterman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjmtT-f7VY):  Pete Townshend accompanied by Eddie Vedder and the Paul Shaffer house band.  The original interplay was with Ronnie Lane (Lane singing the verses and Townshend the choruses).  In this live version Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder switch it around some: Very well done I might add.  The mid-section horns in the studio version were performed by John Entwistle.  The house band does a very nice job of recognizing that Who-bandmate contribution.

A Relationship Full of Life

October 15, 1960 that’s where we begin
Ike was on his way out, Camelot on its way in

And on the alter at St. Pat’s another Camelot had emerged
Here’s my humble attempt to put parts of that story into words

Franklin was a hick town, much, much smaller than now
“Gooey Louie” had the eggs, Brett had the cows

Mom and Dad spent their honeymoon up in Quebec
And picked up a pumpkin on their way back

To their new home on Mill Street where they placed it outside
Announcing to Franklin, the Steeves had arrived

Now those first years on Mill Street the thoughts I have few
For I didn’t come round until mid ‘62’

But I know happiness abounded and the laughs there were plenty
Visits from Jerry and Big Fred, Nandy and Grampy

And Margaret and Kenny who were back then still single
The Rappas, the Martins, Mr. Burke as Kris Kringle

Dad kept political signs off the lawn
Occasionally out of the woods leaped a doe with her fawn

In the meantime the family had started to grow
‘63’ Jen and Fred, and 64 along came Joe

Soon after my memory begins to take hold
What follows are some tidbits that need to be told!

The cigarette stool was where everyone wanted to sit
‘koya koya’ you never saw Jen without it

Fred rode a red tractor, dinner time Dad said grace
Jen’s nickname was ‘Missy’; Joe had mud on his face

Jack O’Connor took photos, Mush Mush was our Dog
Ginger hid in the tub and we all searched for God

We heard “I am the Ghost of Abel Gable”
And made sure we ate up everything on the table

After dinner sometimes Dad would have us all searching
For 4-leaf clovers: I’m sure he was laughing

In ‘67’ Mom gave birth to Amy, December 9^th was the day
Amz name would have been Santa if Joe had gotten his way

With Amy in tow many memories followed
‘Scuz cuts’ Jolly Cholly’s, Bubble-heads at the Mellos

Benson’s Animal Farm, Mrs. Doyle and Proovo
Dad never got their names right; he’d say ‘Boil’ and ‘Ghoulo’

From Mill Street to Martin Ave in 1969
Now we were in the center, no longer on the town line

There was Dean Junior College, St. Mary’s and more
Newbury’s Kearney’s, Jimmy’s Penny Candy Store

As the new decade rolled in the old one said “Top that!”
The new decade answered with a bang; it was Pat

Here’s where my memory really starts to cruise
Every statue was Dad; the ‘71 Bruins would …. Lose

Big Butch walked round town with a radio held to his ear
There were rabbits and turtles, white shoes I had to wear

Jen in the Brownies; Dean kids shining moons
Street hockey, tree climbing, water balloons

'Joshua Brown’ in the cellar, altar boys and ‘Boo Agway’
Driving to hockey at 5 am Dad would shout out ‘Woon-sock-ayyyy’

Mr. Rappa pulled a chunk of wood out of Fred’s wrist
Sister Margaret Ester had me on her negative list

Joe ran outside naked to bring the bathing suits in
With Jen and Phil in it the pools lining burst open

There was Falmouth and Ashland, Rocky Woods with the egg toss
Mom taking us to swimming lessons in the VW bus

After painting the Martin Ave house harvest gold
We got out of there quick and moved into Park Road

I must admit now I did not want to move there
There were holes in the walls; there were holes in the stairs

But Mom and Dad worked day and night, room to room
And turned a rickety old house into a beautiful home

This is where the memories really start to pile high
There was Mr. Lavertue, Lindy and Herm Bly

Dad’s mopeds, Jen’s green hair, Phil’s ice cream and Nicky
Whiskers played shortstop, there was Daisy and Chrissie

When Mom rang the dinner bell, no matter where you heard it
So much laughing at the table – “Bububububbit”

Jen and Amy, Julie and Liz set up haunted house in the cellar
Where Mrs. Tibbit’s corpse could be seen for a quarter

We had a puzzle room, and Charlie on the MTA
Flashlight Tag, Kick-the-Can, fire crackers, Croquet

Wacky Packs, coins, apple trees, Danny Leary
‘The Watergate’, Joe’s killer dance on Skittle Alley

When Dad read from the Bible on Christmas Eve, we were all ears
Christmas Day began at the top of the stairs

Soccer and baseball, Friendly’s and the New Store
Applebee’s, Welick’s, paper routes door to door

And then there were all the great times on vacation
The ‘Penalty Box’, the time Joe went hitchhiking

Williamstown, Ottawa, Quebec and the Falls
D.C. and Bush Gardens, it was a ball

And let’s not forget Camp Wind-‘n’-the-Pines
Mom holding the gas pedal, Dad trying to drive

By ’79 Jen was dating a great guy named Dale
Pat rushed over to greet him, Jen’s face went pale

Rolling into the 80s there’s a lot to be said
Emmett falls off the garage roof, Paul Smits under Jen’s bed

Mom was the best hostess for every occasion
Whether Thanksgiving or Christmas or just welcoming a friend in

North Adams and Lowell, Johnson & Wales, Keene, B.C.
There was Shannon and tailgates and Sucker in Lee

‘Mi Grabisin grabone’, the Scrubius Pip…. I just had to throw those in
Along with “Bird Lady”, “Oh Lamby”, “Nachos Grande”, Jason

Amy left behind after dinner; shopping at Heartlands
Mom running the Bellingham Branch for Ben Franklin

In late ’84 everyone got to meet Nancy
After she’d taken the Pike half way to Albany

In ’85 Ginger coordinated a great 25^th
’86 Jen and Dale….. Best Man must make a list

’87 “Party Summer”, the 1^st camping trip
Monica said ‘hi neighbor’, teeth under her lip

Lots of other things also happened that year
There was Lake Street, ‘Plum Dandy’, and more than one beer

It was the 1^st “Pete Steeves Open”, the Grinch with the Whos arm in arm
And ‘we can’t find the money for the mortgage on the farm’

’88 the second annual camping trip to Moosalaukee
Where Nancy and I stuck out the rain with Fred and Kippy

’89-’91 was all laced with weddings
Joe and Mon, Fred and Kip, Pete and Nanc…. Amy singing

“Big Mac La Fry La O” & “I’ve been hornswaggled!”
Bachelor Party police escorts, a bus driver frazzled

Getting Nancy dressed up as a clown
My face in a cake, and then dancing around

Meanwhile the annual camping trips continue in earnest
Out of all the fire side chats “I love you guys” one of the best

Dale cooking chicken over nuclear heat
Dad heaved rocks in the river; Nancy dropped a cake meant for Pete

Then there was the trip to Prince Edward Island
And the rain cloud that followed us from the hills to the beach sand

Finally into the picture came Paul
The rooftop party on Beacon Street sure topped them all

Johnson and Wales at Pat’s graduation
Seeing Mom sobbing, overcome with emotion

And the grandchildren arrived, first Kelsie then Kelley
Then Charlotte (with Mom’s help), Meagan and last for a short time, Lily

I say for a short time because Jen and Dale are expecting
The news was enough to have Mom summersaulting

Here it is ’95, Mom and Dad’s 35^th
They get to spend part of it overseas with the Irish

When I read between the lines of these words that I’m writing
I see a story that I find O Quite Fascinating

Because it reflects a relationship that is So-Full-Of-Life!
That started with Dad and Mom alone…. Husband and wife

Glossary of Terms

The Characters in order of appearance (not including Mom and Dad and their 6 children):

Big Fred and Jerry > my grandparents on my Dad’s side

Nandy and Grampy > my grandparents on my Mom’s side

Margaret and Kenny > two of my Mom's siblings

The Rappas > Nancy and Bob Rappa; my parents earliest of friends in Franklin

The Martins > Mom’s oldest sister Marge and her husband Bill and their children

Mr. Burke > another of my parents earliest friends in Franklin

Jack O’Connor > Dad’s best friend growing up (also my Godfather)

Ginger (Sister Virginia Smith) > another of my Mom’s sisters, who became a nun (a great one I might add!)

The Mellos > Dad’s sister, Nineen, her husband, Arthur, and their boys Peter, Eric and Andy

Big Butch > a kindly, very large war veteran who hung out downtown.

Mr Lavertue > a carpenter who spent a lot of time repairing our Park Road home

Lindy > a kindly elderly man who befriended my parents. 

Herm Bly > another elderly man who spent a lot of time on the phone with Dad planning the bicentennial parade: He talked so incessantly, Dad once put the phone in the freezer for 10 minutes.  When he took it out Herm Bly was still talking.

Phil > my neighborhood friend in grade school: Noted here in several ways, including for making his own ice cream

Nicky > my wonderful old faithful mutt

Whiskers > Phil’s dog:  One of the smartest animals I have ever known.

Daisy and Chrissie > our very bright rabbits

Julie and Liz > Our cousins the Gilligan’s (Mom’s side)

Mrs. Tibbits > the elderly woman who lived in our Park Road home alone before us

Danny Leary > another neighborhood friend (of Amy and Pat)

Dale > Jen’s husband

Emmett > our cousin (Mom’s side)

Paul Smits > an over-exuberant New Year’s Eve victim who temporarily found a place to pass out until he was discovered when my sister went to bed

Nancy > my beautiful wife

Monica > Joe’s wife

Kippy > Fred’s wife

Paul > Amy’s husband

Shannon:  My grandfather’s young golden retriever handed off to us.  She kept Nicky alive for an extra half decade I am sure

“Sucker in Lee” > Dad never wanted to conform to campground rules and celebrations, particularly at the trailer park in Lee, NH.  Some people took a while to accept this

“Bird Lady” > A colorful character on CB radio.  Amy and I ran with it


Definitions and Events (in chronological order):

“koya koya” > Jen’s tangled up torn and frayed pink and white tiny blanket

“The Cigarette Stool” > Fred, Jen, Joe and I named this stool after a round burn indentation in the seat, about the diameter of a quarter.  The story goes that Dad used a cigarette or cigar to intentionally put the mark there, which has never been substantiated

“Missy” > Uncle Bill used this nickname for Jen, but no one else did!

“The Ghost of Abel Gable” > A neighbor a few years older than us claimed to be this persona while crouched unseen outside the kitchen window while we ate

“Scuz  Cuts” > Whiffles/buzz cuts.  Usually me

“Jolly Cholly’s” > An amusement park, I believe in North Attleboro

“Bubble-heads” > a great video exists of one of these soapsuds episodes in the Mello’s pool.  I looked like Confucius

“Every Statue was Dad” > Dad used to claim the statues in town were all of him.  This claim did get me in trouble one time with a neighborhood bully

 “Joshua Brown” > A brilliant horror poem told in the dark to a bunch of us kids on Halloween as “body parts” were passed around (i.e. grapes for eyes):  Scared the daylights out of us

“Woon-sock-ayyy” > Woonsocket Rhode Island, where we would travel to on early weekend mornings for hockey at Mount Saint Charles.  Dad was never a big fan of Rhode Island in those days

“Boo Agway” > A hardware store Dad did accounting for early in his career.  When he switched to a competitor, we booed them every time we passed the building

“Rocky Woods” (Reservation) > in Medfield MA:  Annual family reunions (Moms side) were held there

“Bububububbit” > Dad’s unique style of belching

“Charlie on the MTA” > Fred, Phil and I put a nice skit together to this tune

“Apple Trees” > Amy and Cousin Linda had 2 baby apple trees planted in the yard named after them

“The Watergate” > Dad named our inflatable boat after this infamous Washington D.C. hotel break in

“Skittle Alley” > a kid game show hosted in Boston that we all appeared on

“Welick’s” > a very busy local restaurant Fred, Joe, and I all worked at

“The Penalty Box” > the area in the far back of our VW Bus

“Joe went hitchhiking” > ….with a straw hat and pants pulled up to his ears.  Our vacations were where Joe became the hilarious Joe we all know and love

 “Mi Grabisin grabone” > just a saying I made up and used when I had nothing in particular to add to the conversation.

“Scrubius Pip” > a great childhood storybook

“Oh Lamby” > when Joe and I landscaped for a summer, a pestering new homeowner repeated this line over and over to his pet poodle.  We ran with it.

“Jason” > we also ran with the lead character of the Friday the 13^th movies

“Best Man must make a list” > I was Jen and Dale’s Best Man, and so I came up with a list of my duties

“Plum Dandy!” > a store in Kennebunk, Maine:  Everything was purple.  We admired many of the items by exclaiming the stores name as we shopped: Too funny

“Lake Street” > Fred’s and my first owned home (in Waltham).  Later Nancy and I.

“Pete Steeves Open” > Dad’s annual golf tournament, all done in fun (and everybody got a trophy!).

“Grinch” > Jen hosted an annual Grinch-watching party the week before Christmas

“Amy singing” > Amy sang (in spellbound fashion) at all our weddings

“Big Mac La Fry La O” > While down south, a friend of Joe’s heard a local yokel order at the drive thru using this exact term.  Joe’s friend tried it after to see what would happen and received a Big Mac, large order of fries, and a large orange soda.  It was the hit saying at Joe and Monica’s wedding

“I’ve been hornswaggled” > another hit term we used frequently on a camping trip (it seems we had a hit term on every trip)

“Nancy dressed up as a clown” > the girls brought a clown suit for Nancy to wear around Boston for her Bachelorette party

“My face in a cake and then dancing around” > my bachelor party ended on a sweet note

“I love you guys” > Dale uttered this

- Pete