June 10

 

These are some of the things I remember:

 

1. When I still worked in New York, but started dating Nick, I would call him every day from my desk at about 5:30, knowing that he'd just gotten out of the shower. Sometimes I would call him while he'd still be in the shower because I liked to imagine him grabbing a towel and rushing to the phone because he knew it was me.

2. What Angelo wrote in my Junior HS autograph album: "To my favorite granddaughter: Best wishes on graduation & also learning to paddle a rubber boat & swimming with snakes in water with no fear. Love you always and if you have any troubles may they be little ones. From Bop, Boppa Angelo T, Dana's grandpa"

3. The first time I ever got drunk. I was in the 8th grade. We drank beer in Ft. Hamilton HS park. Tracey and I had to walk back to her house, which was quite far. When we got to the house, I knew I was going to be sick, so she brought me bucket, which I puked into, then promptly overturned the bucket onto her sister's bed. Needless to say, we got caught.

4. The only time I was ever hit in the face was by my grandmother, after I got caught shoplifting. She was furious, and even my mother just gave me the silent treatment, she didn't hit me. My bounty was a couple of Pink Floyd and Def Leppard pins from Spenser Gifts. To this day, I can't walk into one and not think that I'm going to get marched out by security.

5. My first trip to a casino - I was 17, and my mother and I were in Vegas. I didn't gamble much, obviously.

6. When I drove Ang to see his brother and sister, after his surgery but before he really lost it. It was nice and also sad. He was happy to see them, but so nervous to be away. We drove through places he'd spent most of his life and he remembered.

7. The last time I saw the World Trade Center standing was September 10, 2001. We were driving back from a trip to Atlantic City to celebrate Ang's birthday, and had dropped my mom off in Brooklyn. I drove up the West Side highway, and Ang spoke of how he worked in there for a while, and the things he used to do. Less than 24 hours later, they were gone. My grandmother swears it was so we could say goodbye, because I don't typically drive back to CT that way.

8. When my grandmother told me that Ang had a brain tumor. I wrote of this--it was the first time in my life i truly understood the expression "s/he went cold".

9. The first time I had sex. It was horrible. I don't regret it, though. The first time is almost never any good.

10. When I was old enough to remember hospitalizations, I was 21. I was very upset that I wasn't allowed to keep my underwear on, since the surgery was not related to my southern privates. After they gave me something to relax me, I told everyone who came anywhere near me that I wasn't wearing underwear, and after they woke me up, the anesthesiologist was leaning down over me. I said "hey there, you're pretty cute. Too bad I'm not wearing any underwear, cause I'd ask you out on a date!"

11. My first sprained ankle. It happened in HS, I slipped on a giant patch of ice. It was super painful and to this day my right ankle is one full inch bigger around than my left.

12. The first time I was fired from a job. I was working at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens outside of the new conservatory they'd just built. After an entire 4 months of working there, I got up to go to the bathroom (I had a co-worker), and when I came back there was money missing from my drawer. I was fired for that, even though I hadn't taken anything.

13. My favorite job ever was when I worked as a day camp counselor in Brighton Beach for the summer. I was paid a princely 250 dollars for two months of 7 in the morning till 7 at night work. It was wonderful, though. I got to swim and do arts and crafts and go on little trips, and I loved the girls in my group.

14. When my mom went through my desk when I was up in Boston for a week and she found a syringe and a bag of hash. She freaked out, even though she'd given me the syringe to fill fountain pen cartridges. The hash I have no excuse for. I was sort of a stoner back in the day.

15. When we got Grayson, before she WAS Grayson. We walked into the house of the people who were trying to foist her and they were pretending to ask us questions like they might not give her to us, and Grayson just jumped into my arms, and I basically said "She's ours, later." and we left.

16. When I was first coming up to CT, I accidentally let Jess get loose. He took off like a bat out of hell running down the block and onto the intersection down at the corner. I had to chase him for BLOCKS and when I finally caught him, I had to carry him back to the house. Nick was in the shower when this all went down and I just remember thinking "He is going to HATE ME. I got his dog killed!"

17. The last time Angelo and I went crabbing. We were out on Long Island, near Jones Beach. He'd packed us all of these sandwiches that the seagulls were trying to steal from our hands. I went off to the bathroom and as I was walking back towards him, I overhead him talking to people who were standing near us. He said "Yep, I'm here with my Granddaughter. We do everything together! I love her so much! And here she is! My beautiful Dana!"

18. How nervous I was at my wedding. I had the church giggles. Nick put the ring on the wrong finger. One of our nieces screamed out "THIS IS NOT AS MUCH FUN AS A BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!" which I guess it wasn't. She was right!

19. The first time someone called me AUNT Dana.

20. The very moment I was able to put into words my feelings for airplanes.

 

There are surely more, but I'm off to the casino.

 

the other day - home - email - soon