Trooper York: Greetings from 1965

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Greetings from 1965

This was a photo that I love from my uncles wake. It shows the whole family. Grandma is in the middle. Uncle V is on one side and Aunt Rosie is on the other. My Uncle Angelo is directly above Grandma with his wife Aunt Marie.

That handsome Irishman is my Da who is standing behind Laverne DeFazio.

33 comments:

The Dude said...: You favor him, as they say around here.; December 28, 2013 at 9:48 PM
chickelit said...: Striking resemblance to your father, Troop. If they had the sort of life-saving response they have today, would he still be around? I may be misremembering but I thought you said once that he had a heart attack.; December 28, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Trooper York said...: He had the exact same thing I had.

The doctor said if I had it twenty years ago I would be dead.; December 28, 2013 at 10:22 PM
ndspinelli said...: You and your dad do look alike but I think he's much better looking.

How did the Irish/Italian thing go in your fam? You realize our parents were pioneers. The wedding photos of my parents wedding, held in the back yard of my father's parents house, are a hoot. You could see the tension, before the wine started flowing. But then his brother married a Scotsman, my mother's sister married an Italian, and it was all cool. Everyone liked both my parents. That's not rose colored glasses. They were flawed, but they were generous and gracious. Folks today just don't realize the big deal this was back in the late 40's/early 50's. It was damn near interracial.; December 28, 2013 at 10:44 PM
chickelit said...: It was damn near interracial.

I mean because of unequal endowments?; December 28, 2013 at 10:48 PM
The Dude said...: He did say his brother married a Scotsman - they were pioneers! He must have been the first Scotsman who married a dude, not a sheep.; December 28, 2013 at 10:53 PM
ndspinelli said...: I love that beehive hairdo!; December 28, 2013 at 11:44 PM
ndspinelli said...: Sixty, Do you eat those nits you pick, or just the boogers?; December 28, 2013 at 11:45 PM
windbag said...: Why do the Scots wear kilts? Sheep can hear a zipper from 100 yards away.; December 29, 2013 at 1:30 AM
MamaM said...: That's a good looking dad with the same watchful eyes and smile as the son wears. It's the Grandma I like. Appears as one of the smallest in size, yet in the center of everything.

Sheep can hear a zipper from 100 yards away.

Yeah and then they go into that group Nahhh routine posted at Lems.; December 29, 2013 at 1:36 AM
Michael Haz said...: Whoa. I thought that was you. The resemblance to your father is remarkable.; December 29, 2013 at 2:28 AM
The Dude said...: Sure, to a Y*nkee the ability to tell the difference between a Scotsman and a Scotswoman is a mere nit, I mean the are both wearing skirts, I get it, but for some of us it is of utmost importance.

Aye, a fine redheaded lass - tis more bonnie than the finest single malt in all the land.

Which should lead me to tell several Scottish jokes, but they will have to wait for the Troopski meetup - they are better told in person, mind you.; December 29, 2013 at 10:14 AM
ndspinelli said...: Sixty, I would love to sit down w/ you and hear some yarns. My paternal grandfather was a Scotsman. My mother always talked about the dark side of Scots. She would listen to Imus sometimes and say he was a classic example of a Scotsman. As a kid her father would get shitfaced[alcoholic] and bring over all his buddies to play bagpipes. For some reason the sound of bagpipes scared the hell out of her. Every time I see the great flick, Sling Blade, and the alcoholic boyfriend gets his band together @ the house I think of my mother.; December 29, 2013 at 10:26 AM
The Dude said...: I was in Scotland in December of '92 and everywhere I went there were pipers playing - frequently Christmas carols.

I like the sound of the pipes and drums. Makes me want to say rude things about the government.; December 29, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Cody Jarrett said...: how is that different than the days you don't hear pipes and drums?

asking for a friend.; December 29, 2013 at 10:54 AM
ndspinelli said...: I also love the sounds of bagpipes. There's an ice cream stand near a firehouse in Madison. on summer evenings you can sit outside eating ice cream and hear a firefighter practice on the pipes. I've done that several times.; December 29, 2013 at 11:20 AM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: Great photo.; December 29, 2013 at 11:23 AM
Cody Jarrett said...: There's an ice cream stand near a firehouse in Madison. on summer evenings you can sit outside eating ice cream and hear a firefighter practice on the pipes. I've done that several times.

What did you do the next evening?; December 29, 2013 at 11:43 AM
chickelit said...: Years ago, I installed outdoor speakers in my backyard. On foggy nights, I like to crank this piece and let the sound drift through the 'hood.; December 29, 2013 at 11:55 AM
chickelit said...: Nothing pierces fog like sound.; December 29, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Michael Haz said...: Do bagpipers ever play music that sounds happy?

My experience is limited. There were bagpipers at my brother the cop's funeral, and at the Fallen Officers Memorial every May. I heard them after 9/11, and on several other occasions. The music has always been drunk Scots/Irish weepy.

Wait. Let's ask Johnny Bagpipes.; December 29, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Michael Haz said...: Or maybe we need some punk piping.; December 29, 2013 at 12:17 PM
chickelit said...: AC/DC did a rather crunchy piece featuring bagpipes: link; December 29, 2013 at 12:24 PM
chickelit said...: The Bon Scott story, however, drags the AC/DC story back to drunk Scots/Irish weepy.; December 29, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Wow, you do have a striking resemblance to your father Troop.; December 29, 2013 at 12:53 PM
ricpic said...: Is Laverne DeFazio your Mom?; December 29, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Cody Jarrett said...: Is one of those links to the guy that plays bagpipes with flames shooting out of them?

That always seemed like a rather unnecessary risk.

Pipes are sad, even when they're playing jigs and reels. At least to me. It does something to the Scots blood in me I know.

Then I have to go listen to John 5's Welcome To Violence to make it stop being melancholy and go back to wanting to kill Englishmen.; December 29, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Trooper York said...: That is indeed my Mom with the beehive.

When I called her Laverne DeFazio she hit me with her cane.; December 29, 2013 at 8:40 PM
rcocean said...: Troop, your Dad is good looking. And then there's you.

What happened?; December 29, 2013 at 8:43 PM
rcocean said...: My Mom hid all her 60s photo's with the beehive.

Not a proud fashion moment for her.; December 29, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Trooper York said...: Hard living rc, hard living.

Plus my Dad was in his early thirties in that photo.

I am an old man in my fifties now.; December 29, 2013 at 9:12 PM
ndspinelli said...: I just noticed, my grandmother always had that slight tilt of her head in photos. Eyetalian affectation?; December 30, 2013 at 11:43 AM
rcocean said...: "Hard living rc, hard living."

Rooting for NY Sports teams will do that.; December 30, 2013 at 6:12 PM

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Greetings from 1965

33 comments:

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