That picture is absolutely hilarious SV. I wonder if those guys knew years later a bunch of mafia nuts would be dissecting this photo.

That is hilariouos SV. Wouldn't you just love to have heard these guys set this up and listen to what they were saying? Assuming you're correct and they are just horsing around, they sound like some fun people.


TIS

Nice one, SV!! I was hoping you were OK after seeing the news footage on yesterday's weather.

Luckily, the twister missed my neighborhood. It hit the Bay Ridge area, a mile or so away - I'm pretty much in the center of Brooklyn. Bay Ridge got the worst of it - lots of downed trees, flooding, and the roofs were damaged on (or torn from) several homes.

The rain was very intense, with lots of lightning. The thunder was so bad (and incredibly loud) that at one point it sounded like a bomb went off on my street.

I can't remember something like this ever happening here before.

This gives a whole new meaning to our minor league baseball team being called the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Signor V.

I used to see scenes like that in my Brownsville neighborhood at least once a week--and they weren't posed!

I just saw one 2 weeks ago up close and personal

And thank heavens you came through it in one piece and are here to talk about it! (BTW - your kindergarten picture was adorable! We were all so innocent back then, weren't we?)

Just this evening I found a box of photos that I had hidden too well in my hallway. Some "missing" photos were there (even the lost "Little Gangster Vitelli" picture), and some surprises. I'm going to do some scanning and then conclude the story of my mother and her friends. (All I'll say right now is that one of those women became my favorite aunt.)

Also, I've rescanned the photos of my mother's hitch-hiking trip at a much higher resolution. I've edited my original posts and reposted much larger pictures with far greater detail.

Signor V.

Looking forward to seeing some more, SV!!!

MUCH better now! Thanx for re-scanning them.

I think Turnbull was right; that department store photo from 1945 was probably the Smith & Morgan store in Montreal. Here's a more recent photo of it:

You think Turnbull was right??



Best laugh I've had all day!

Signor V.

Hey... he was wrong once before.

He once said the 1932 WO6 version of the 770 Mercedes Benz engine produced 145 horsepower. Everyone knows it was 150!!

Some of us still are.

I can't get over how Turnbull actually knew that department store. I thought he was kidding. I'm amazed.

I'm not! I'm still waiting for him to tell us how many miles were on the odometer of that 1954 Ford I was driving!

Before I begin my posts concluding the story of my mother and her friends, here's a photo I just had to share. It was taken around the Fall of 1958.

And the Godfather connection? Simple. If you remember in GF2, there was this fellow in Havana...

On second thought, skip it.

And that's why we call Signor V "Superman."

It ain't a fake, either.

SV is the superhero of the bb.

What about Sphincter Boy?

Or PizzaBoy, for that matter??

It's all about the tights, pb.

I would guess because of the costume and not because of his kryptonite.

I was so preoccupied with basking in the warm glow of everyone's compliments (well, almost everyone ) that I forgot to post the two photos below. They will have some bearing on my next posts.

This is my Uncle Phil (born 1923), my mother's younger (and favorite) brother. Uncle Phil was the relative with the best sense of humor, and everyone loved him. Both photos were taken by my mother in 1939 or 1940. The bottom one shows him clowning at the NY World's Fair.

Do they still have the NY World's fair?

Not since 1964.

It's one of my very first real childhood memories.

I want to give postscripts to the story of my mother and her three girlfriends.

First, Sabine:

Sabine was, I believe, the first one to marry. In the late 1940s, after the birth of her daughter, she and her husband moved to New Jersey. In the early '50s, she had a son. My mother didn't see a lot of her and her family anymore, but they kept in touch by phone and spoke regularly. Sabine died of cancer in late 1971 or early 1972; she was about 49.

Top: Sabine and her husband c.1947

Bottom: Sabine in August, 1971. Already quite ill, she died several months later. My mother kept this photo on her dressing table mirror for the rest of her life.

Very heartfelt story SV. I'm sure that picture meant a great deal to your mother.

What a lovely friendship your mother had! How nice that you still have the photos to treasure.

Estelle married in the very early 1950s, and shortly afterward moved to Los Angeles, California. She had two sons, but seldom came back east.

Today, Estelle and her husband (now in their 80s) live in California at an assisted-living facility.

Top: Estelle and my mother in 1948

Bottom: Estelle in 1986 at her sister Gloria's 40th anniversary party. The little girl is Gloria's granddaughter. (Well, half a photo is better than none.)

Great, great stuff, SV.

We are so fortunate to have the internet nowadays to preserve and share these memories. I only wish my mother and my grandpartents could have lived to see this "magic."

Bravo!!

Our very own version of "The Golden Girls".

Here is the final installment:

First, my parents. They married in 1953. They lived in the New York area (Brooklyn, Long Island, then back to Brooklyn in 1962) until they retired to Florida in 1985. My mother suffered from declining health for over twenty years, and it showed. She died in Florida in May, 1987, at age 66. My father died in January, 1999, age 75.

Gloria married my mom's brother Phil in 1946 and became my favorite aunt. They lived on Long Island and we saw them quite often. She was one of the lovliest people ever put on this earth. Aunt Gloria and Uncle Phil had three nearly-perfect children (well, compared to me, at any rate...). Around 1985, Gloria was diagnosed with lymph cancer. She fought hard, but eventually died from the disease in August of 1989, just shy of her 67th birthday.

As for Uncle Phil, here the story takes an interesting turn. Remember Milton, his friend from boyhood? (He was in the Jewish Gangster photo) Milton also died in 1989. Not too long afterward, Uncle Phil married Milton's widow, Ruth. (It should be mentioned that Ruth also knew Phil and the whole "gang" since they were youngsters.) His health isn't the greatest these days, but Phil and Ruth live in New Jersey and try to stay as active as they can.

Since the 1960s, Phil was also well-known as an amateur magician. As Farvel the Marvel, he did a comedy magic act that would have people rolling on the floor. For his 80th birthday in 2003, relatives, friends and magicians came from all over to celebrate. And where was the celebration held? At Don Malta's favorite place on earth, Harold's in New Jersey!

From top to bottom:

Gloria and my mom, 1945

Gloria and Phil's wedding, 1946

My father and mother in 1984

Uncle Phil and Aunt Gloria in 1984

Aunt Gloria and my mother, 1986 (their last photo together)

Uncle Phil's 80th birthday party, 2003