Chapter 7 - Change of Events
Chapter 7 - Change of Events
There would be some negative and positive events that would trigger major changes to me, and for West 7th Street.
My Cousin Joey´s new band had made this instrumental record which was very impressive called, "Last Stop". When I heard it, I knew it was a great instrumental and going to be a hit. But before their record company had time to release it, another company suddenly became aware of it and quickly duplicated it under another name with a different group artist. The rival company quickly released it and it became an instant hit. Joey´s band and company were taken by surprise, and thus my Cousin Joey and his band became extremely depressed.
My older sister Rosetta got married to this very nice man named, Sal. They had a great and fun wedding. Shortly thereafter, my brother Tom was drafted into the Army. My family and I went to visit him at Fort Dix were he was stationed, and he looked great in his army uniform. A few months later, my brother was shipped overseas to be stationed in Germany. My family and especially myself, missed him very much and the next 17 months would be very lonely for me. We were very close, and we shared the same bed...and I was very dependent on him being there. I think his departure in the Army became a surprizingly dramatic experience in my life, as well as for my family.
Now my sisters Marie and Jeannette would share the same room, and I would have a bed in a room all by myself, but it will be a single bed. That is a dramatic experience by its self. I began this new life by working out in my bed. Every night, I did 50 sit-ups. When I shared the bed with my brother, we used to wrestle almost every night. My brother used to put me in a headlock or twist my arm until I screamed, and still sometimes, he refused to let me go even if I begged him. Wrestling was a big craze, and many people mimicked it including my brother with me. He used all these different types of wrestling holds on me. I decided to workout so that when my brother returned, I would be a match for him. In any case, this is a new drastic era change in my life.
You may recall, that Jackie and Mikie had begun hanging out together. Well, about a year later. I heard that something seriously happened to Mikie. I do not know the true story, but from what everyone is talking about, Jackie and Mikie were doing the drug LSD, and Mikie sort of flipped-out perminantly. That is what we all, on the block, had heard. We also heard that Mikie was in the hospital and it would be along time before he could possibly come home again. That was all anyone knew. Someone did occasionally bump into Jackie and asked him what had happened to Mikie, but he played dumb and denied any knowledge or involvement.
In addition, not too long after Mikie became sick, Mickie´s father began acting very strange and this went on for about a year. He would occasionally dress up as a woman, and storming-out of his house and began walking up and down the block talking and laughing with the neighbors dressed as a woman. It seems that Mikie´s family is taking a big hit! First, Mikie takes LSD and flips out perminantly and then his father starts dressing up as a woman. Mickie has two of the most sexy sisters on the block. Very Sexy!
After a bit, my cousin Joey graduated Lafayette High School and started working full time with my brother-in-law Sal in the drapery business. I have also been helping my older sister´s husband Sal with the installation of draperies every Saturday morning since he married my sister Rosetta. He would give me five bucks, but now I hear that Joey is working with him full time.
And finally, I was offered a part-time job through a friend that worked with this cabinet delivery man. My friend no longer wanted to do it anymore so he offered it to me. It was an opportunity to make some extra money so I took it. We delivered cabinets for this cabinet store on Avenue U, located on the corner of West 8th Street. The job was from 6pm to 8:30pm and the delivery man, Tony, was a great person and he gave me five bucks each time he asked me to go deliver with him. It was an easy job and Tony made it a lot of fun. It was not everyday that I had to work, it was mostly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The job had no schedule and I never knew if Tony needed me or not. I just went about my kid-life and when i was needed for delivery, Tony used to pass by my house to look for me or ask my family where I was. Then, he would track me down, find me playing somwhere, and I would join him to work. It´s always nice to have some extra cash. I enjoyed it, and Tony taught me how to move cabinets through small spaces, without scrtching them, which is a difficult feat if you don't know how.
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