Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passsed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

My mother had two sisters Zia Philomena and Lucia, and two brothers Vincent and Luigi. The two brothers were singers and so was my mother. They had beautiful voices. [Ed: both brothers were barbers. Vincent went to Suffolk School of Law and became a lawyer in the mid-1920s. In the early 1960s, he was appointed a judge to the East Boston Municipal Court]

Aunt Philomena married and lived down the street from us. Uncle Mike was a good in-law uncle. When Mario [ed: kid brother] and I were in our early teens hanging around the tin store [ed: corner newstand with corrugated tin roof] in the evening. Uncle Mike had a shop in Lexington and by the time he got home via buses and street cars, it would be 7:30 or 8 pm. When he saw me or my brother, mostly my brother, he would say, "Come with me." He would take either Mario or me, whoever was around to his house and have dinner. with him.

His children would be in bed. The aunt ate with the children and he did not for some reason like to eat alone.

Zia Lucia lived on Paris St. not too far from us. Just over the bridge. She had two boys and three girls. She was the oldest of the sisters and if anyone asked her who was the oldest she would point to my mother or Aunt Philomena. Her husband, Uncle Tom was a wonderful man.

Uncle Louis had two sons. One was born defective and Louis, my cousin grew up to also pass the Bar. But he did not dare to be a trial attorney. He tried but he would have stomach trouble. He made out alright. He got a job at a bank and moved up the ladder.

Uncle Vincent had two boys and a girl. The oldest boy named Vincent. We called him Junior. Then Rudolph and Gloria.

At some point, Aunt Amelia got sick and the two younger children needed to be cared for. None of the aunts wanted to care for two more [ed: remember this was during The Great Depression and many families were having trouble making ends meet], but my mother took them in. And she had trouble with Rudy. He wet his bed at night alseep.

Lucia's children were named Carmen, Nedio, Phyllis, Bette, Mary, and one other. It's been so long that names escape me at times.

We were a pretty close family with all the aunts and uncles close by. They visited often and so did we.

One year, Uncle Joe took us to Revere Beach for a picnic.

Uncle Fred's wife died and he had his children to bring up. I made the rounds as I grew older.