We’ve all heard the saying, “Dance like no one is watching.” But I loved coming across this fuzzy photo of my mom doing her trademark Charleston step and seeing her in action. Mom was born in 1913, so coming of age in the Roaring Twenties, she must have loved a dance that had people flapping their arms, kicking up their heels and giving up stuffy, suffocating etiquette. My…
Today, my mother would have been 103. She’s been gone since 1992 and we still get “Mary” stories. Just today my sister forwarded me a note from our cousin’s daughter, Nannette. The note said, “One of my favorite memories of your mom is when my mom took us to the old Beaver Falls movie theater to see, “Ammityville Horror,” and she busted out the rosary and started praying…
My brothers were smart, they knew not to bring girls they dated home. The few times they did, Mom would be nice, unless the girl happened to touch them. Holding hands, snuggling, or showing any kind of affection meant she was a puttana and would never do for her sons. She never remembered names, only referring to them as, “datta gal,” as in, “Tella datta gal to eatta…