Memories of a Brother

Whenever the weather got bad, there was always a sense of excitement in the air. We didn't have the weather warnings back then like we do today. I can't remember how many times our home got flooded...and I DO MEAN FLOODED! Sometimes, 5 feet deep inside our home! The landlord finally raised the house and then we were able to come home before the water receded, by boat. We'd tie it to the front stairs and be able to get up and down the street without getting wet. He was always giving neighbors rides up the street. One storm knocked our garage down so dad made us a raft out of one the doors. We had a great time with that. When life dealt us lemons, our parents just made lemonade.

Our parents decided we'd move to RI to be closer to Dad's family. At that time we had a 42 foot boat named the "Uno". My father, a few uncles and Mike made the trip up to our new home on that boat. It was a great adventure for Mike! No one was ever scared when my father was in charge. They knew he'd get them there safely and he did! The highlight of the trip was when someone got seasick and grabbed the coffee pot. When he was done, it just got washed out and the coffee was on! Hey, what can I say....It's a GUY thing!

We moved to Portsmouth, RI which is actually on an Island. We were in our element to have water surrounding us and most of our family so close.

It didn't take us long to make new friends and start the next chapter in our lives. It was the fifties and if you've ever watched Happy Days, that's what life was like. All the guys wanted a 57 Chevy and the girl's had to have a Poodle skirt and saddle shoes.

Mike had met Steve Golda and they would become a dear friends for life. They were always up to something! Mom's still finding stuff out! LOL We won't talk about the day they sunk Steve's sail boat.

Steve, Janet & Mike

I was a junior in High School and Mike a senior when Dad had a major heart attack. He was 38 and we were lucky he survived it. Mom became the sole bread winner in the family and things were tight but we managed and life was still happy.

After Mike graduated in 1964, he enlisted in the Army. He became a paratrooper and then went on to Officer's Candidate School. In 1966 He married his childhood sweetheart, Janet Davis. Shortly after that, he was off to Viet Nam.