My old journal was still out this morning. It is fun to reread what transpired so many years ago. I’m going to transcribe a memorable St Patrick’s Day from 1990.
Sunday March 17, 1990.
Happy St Pat’s day!! Beautiful bright sunny warm day. Have big early breakfast. Don’t feel too bad! Get ambitious and wash the car. It was a mess. Looks so much better with 5 months of road grime off!! Went to West Ave and vacuumed it all out. Can’t wait till spring to do a real cleaning on it. Drive over to mom’s. Take her out for a ride to get Byes popcorn. Quite a line up and we were early! That place is really a gold mine. Came home the long way: Coomer Road and up Niagara St hill. You can feel spring in the air. Drop off mom and head home to get cleaned up. Get over to Joe’s. Tim and Daryl already over. Ride up with Joe and Gary. Daryl and Tim follow us. I make faces at them all the way up. Traffic into Canada is backed up all the way onto the Thruway. What a pain. Thank God we’re going against it. Got to Buddies and the lot next door was just emptying out. Were able to get a good parking space. Great crowd out. These women bitching because we kept bumping into the them getting drinks, they were right in the aisle, “We’re just going to get drinks, then blow this pop shop.” I tell them. Dennis out, Paul too.. big split again. Oh well…. Mike out acting very available. We are all wound up. Kevin shows up from Daryl’s Wally mess. He does not remember me. He used to hang on TC some nine years back when he was still chicken. Kept him guessing. Then told how I knew him. Years have not been kind to him. Marc was there. Had fun talking of the old Carol days. Rumor has it, that he has “it”. God, I hope not. Fixed up a buffet plate of corned beef and cabbage. Was starving. Food sure tasted good. The dance floor was opened up. It is really separated from the main bar. Perhaps it will work out. Peter joined our group. This guy at the bar kept staring at us for days. He was really hot after Gary. He almost broke his leg running to follow him to the bathroom. Tim and I started talking to him and filled him in on the marital status of everyone. Tried to get him to join us, but he kept saying he had to get home. Said he lived in Kenmore. I said, “Why go to that boring middle class suburb when you can have fun with us? Take off your coat!” That really scared him!! Carol O’Shaunessy was in for a show. She is so great, really like her. They were doing a benefit for Mercy Flight. Joe and Gary left early, poor Gary had to be into work early. I hung with Tim and Daryl. David showed up. He will have an earful to tell Richard.. HA! HA!! We left about 1:00. Glad Tim was the designated driver.
Happy St Pat’s day!! Beautiful bright sunny warm day. Have big early breakfast. Don’t feel too bad! Get ambitious and wash the car. It was a mess. Looks so much better with 5 months of road grime off!! Went to West Ave and vacuumed it all out. Can’t wait till spring to do a real cleaning on it. Drive over to mom’s. Take her out for a ride to get Byes popcorn. Quite a line up and we were early! That place is really a gold mine. Came home the long way: Coomer Road and up Niagara St hill. You can feel spring in the air. Drop off mom and head home to get cleaned up. Get over to Joe’s. Tim and Daryl already over. Ride up with Joe and Gary. Daryl and Tim follow us. I make faces at them all the way up. Traffic into Canada is backed up all the way onto the Thruway. What a pain. Thank God we’re going against it. Got to Buddies and the lot next door was just emptying out. Were able to get a good parking space. Great crowd out. These women bitching because we kept bumping into the them getting drinks, they were right in the aisle, “We’re just going to get drinks, then blow this pop shop.” I tell them. Dennis out, Paul too.. big split again. Oh well…. Mike out acting very available. We are all wound up. Kevin shows up from Daryl’s Wally mess. He does not remember me. He used to hang on TC some nine years back when he was still chicken. Kept him guessing. Then told how I knew him. Years have not been kind to him. Marc was there. Had fun talking of the old Carol days. Rumor has it, that he has “it”. God, I hope not. Fixed up a buffet plate of corned beef and cabbage. Was starving. Food sure tasted good. The dance floor was opened up. It is really separated from the main bar. Perhaps it will work out. Peter joined our group. This guy at the bar kept staring at us for days. He was really hot after Gary. He almost broke his leg running to follow him to the bathroom. Tim and I started talking to him and filled him in on the marital status of everyone. Tried to get him to join us, but he kept saying he had to get home. Said he lived in Kenmore. I said, “Why go to that boring middle class suburb when you can have fun with us? Take off your coat!” That really scared him!! Carol O’Shaunessy was in for a show. She is so great, really like her. They were doing a benefit for Mercy Flight. Joe and Gary left early, poor Gary had to be into work early. I hung with Tim and Daryl. David showed up. He will have an earful to tell Richard.. HA! HA!! We left about 1:00. Glad Tim was the designated driver.
I apologize for the quality of the writing, but this was never meant to be polished or for any one’s eyes other than my own. One of these days I will really get to work and polish and flesh my journals out.
It is really hard for me to fathom these events transpired 25 years ago. I have lost track of so many of the people I recorded. Our paths diverged or on a sadder note they were victims of AIDS. There are so many colorful characters in my past that really deserve to be remembered. Rereading the basic outlines I recorded, these friends and people come back full of life. It is kind of like reliving the closing scene of the movie “Longtime Companion”.
As my life slows down, being able to look back on my past makes my current slower pace seem not so bad. I can see in perspective how it would be impossible to live the life I did in my 20’s and 30’s in my 60’s. I like to reflect how I’ve grown emotionally and spiritually. The frantic socializing of those formative years has paid off in a solid foundation of friends and extended family.
