ch 8.part 2..SEPT.1, 1939-A DANCE

            All I have is a Voice. I am watching and listening more closely this time, to the movie, Tuesdays with Morie.  The first fifteen minutes I sat with an achey lump in my throat. During this part Morie played by Jack Lemon has his own funeral so he can hear and see his friends for the last time and at the end of his funeral he tells his friends that, "now I have something to say". He recites in part the title, September 1, 1939 which I just read. When you get to the last two stanza's you can feel the words as "Morie" starts, all I have is a voice... That part comes at the next to last stanza
      
            I've seen this movie four times before, the first with Jenny, my daughter who said, you'll love this mom, and then she gave it to me. She knew it reminded me of Mr. Vitalo, and this time, tonight, I felt like I went to his funeral. When Mr. Vitalo's time was coming I avoided it. I knew it would be about a certain time.
     In this movie Tuesday's with Morie, Morie loves to dance, and that alone, when Morie was thinking back, I too went back to our dance, mine and Mr. Vitalo's. As I listen to the movie in the background, I see myself in the seventh grade walking to school, all dressed up. I was going to my first and only dance.

             That day I wore my hair in an up sweep with long dark banana curls touching my almost bare shoulders. My dress had a square-cut neckline, fitted at the waist, puffy sleeves, and flared out from the waist down with a crushing skirt slip underneath.  I noticed all of the autumn colors in my dress, hues of yellows, browns,  and orange. I heard my high patent leather heels click as I walked with a  sense of pride. I carried with me an old Argus seventy-five box camera, yet I never took pictures. As I neared the school I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window. Honestly, I thought I looked beautiful without any buts, and faults and felt happily anxious wondering if Mr. Vitalo will see me, notice me. Yup a silly school girl crush.
               I walked into the building and music could be heard coming from the second floor gym. The second floor, his office, and I was about to pass, but slowed down waiting to hear that familiar, Hey Mac! But nothing came, nothing . I looked back and his office was empty. Where was he I thought, and suddenly my feelings of happiness withered. I went into the gym and could smell adult perfumes, and colognes. That great big gym clock with the wrought iron was covered in balloons. Girls looked like women overnight, beautiful, made-up, stylish hair, lipstick, heels and standing in circles, waiting. The boys were also waiting on the opposite side of the gym. They looked so grown up, and some were with shadows of a beard on their faces. Suits of stripes and sport jackets with well pressed slacks and ties against stiffly starched shirts. Then there was the hair. Where ever you looked, hair was up, down, slicked back, parted, curled, shiny, greased, teased and all for the dance.

              Kids went to the punch table, sipped, grabbed cookies, talked and listened to records on the old phonograph. Girls giggled as they would nudge one another to ask a boy to dance. I stood in one of the circles across from the entry door. I don't remember giggling, but doing those polite smiles, a fake laugh, acting happy. I really just wanted to leave. Mr. Vitalo wasn't there, so what good was it, what good was anything I thought. One of the girls said something like, hey Nance, what would you do if Mr. Vitalo came in and danced with someone? I think I just shrugged my shoulders and said, so,  so what? Then, right then at that moment he walked in carrying something in his hand, and he walked straight to me. Now I heard the girls giggling in whispers saying oow, here he comes. He stopped, bowed, looked at me and asked hand outstretched, may I have this dance Mac?

            I thought I was about to choke and stuttered until a kid in back of me said, say yes, say yes! YES! I said too loud. He smiled, walked away to the record player, and put on an old record titled Someone Who Cares, by Perry Como. We danced and I smelld some cologne he wore, felt the faintness of his tweed suit jacket brushing against my chin as I dared to get just a little closer. I loved this man. I knew that then, I know it now. At the end of the song he danced me back to where I stood earlier, and stepped away, bowed, said thank you and left. I was never the same. As years passed I would hope, wish and wonder if one day I would get to see him again once school was over for me.
          This movie is now over and I will end this chapter with one of the last statements Morie made to his friend Mitch...Death ends a life, Not a Relationship.
P.S. Dance as if no one was watching, always dance.
    

Dear Mr. Vitalo ch 8.Part 1

Childhood Memories, One More Wish

   Wax looking, red delicious apples

Chiquita yellow, Sunkist orange and

Goose bump fuzzy peaches

Ma ! Hurry, hurry

Clippity-clop, clippity-clop

Domenic’s vegetable and Victor

With blinders on, proud with his golden main

And thick tail, clippity -clop

Fading off, ten -cents a pound!

Sitting on stoops, large cements blocks of white

Pretending it was my stallion

War games, helmets of green, broom sticks for guns

Hiding angry ten-year old boys

Pow ! Bang ! Got em’

Circles of friends playing marbles

Green cats eyes gone mad

Little girls playing jacks, jump rope

And hopscotch, I win! I win!

Not a care in the world, only a wish,

A wish for one more dance

Adolescent yearning, a crush

An eighth grade dance

Autumn- colored dress of gold’s, red, and brown

Butterflies in my stomach, the sun shining

Dizzy with glee, knowing he’d be there

Praying he’d be there

A perspirant-filled room

Now transformed into a ballroom

Ablaze with color, red, yellow, green and blue balloons

Yucky boys, now handsome men in suits-

Wearing old spice, and aqua velvet

Tomboys now dazzling in earrings , heels

Up do hair, and shapely dresses.

The music, the music remains, forever

Sillohouette on The Shade, a great song

With a yellow rose he was before me

Bowing, may I have this dance?

Yes! Oh Yes!

My Principal’s old-fashioned wool jacket

Gently brushing my neck

With flecks of pink to match his tie

Dancing, dancing, the music,

 Over too soon, much too soon

My crush was sealed forever

Walking home, the yellow rose still

Held tightly, picking the fragrant petals

He loves me, he loves me not, He loves me

Oh, If I could only have one more dance!

Mr. V.

Written prior to re-meeting him again in 97

These Rotten Kids Today....

     How many times have you heard people say that? Too many times.. In my experiences I have met many, many, nice and hard working kids. Sure there area lot of rotten kids, but there are also a lot of rotten parents. Many kids who come from bad homes turn out well because they see who they don't want to be like. It also works the other way around. We end up being who we are because it's who we want to be, and yes, it really helps to have a positive foundation. If you grow up with a mom and dad who are decent, moral people, with possibly a spiritual connection and strong beliefs, the chances are higher you will come back to that should you decide to find your own way in life weather you take an express track or the slow track.
    You too may have strong beliefs but unlike your parents. No matter how hard you strive to be independent of their thinking, I bet you end up, maybe years down the road, very close to your parents way of thinking. Maybe I feel this way because I came from a foundation of being sent to church. What I learned at church appeared to be so opposite of how my parents raised us, it left me with a lot of confusion, that is until...
     Until I met a few people who represented to me what I learned at church. Those people were three men, (like the trinity) these men and I used to talk about "these rotten kids today". These men came from an Educational point, a Spiritual point, and a worldly point. Saying that as a description, all three men are alike in  a worldly,  educated and spiritual way.  Every generation is like the one before- is close to how our chats ended-sound familiar?

Harden Your Heart?

    This morning on the way back from somewhere, I listened to a young preacher. His subject was, well I'm not too sure, but I do know he spoke about Moses and Jesus, who was more believable, and of course Jesus is. He mentioned something about doing it now, making a decision now. He went on with talking about Dwight Moody and the Chicago fire, how Moody gave a sermon and told people to come back tomorrow if they weren't sure. Then the fire happened and more than half of those same people who went to his tent revival, died. They didn't have a tomorrow to become saved or whatever was Moody's intention.
     Somewhere in his preaching he talked about how we harden our hearts to things. Here is where I got lost as I listen to people something about their voice will grate on my nerves. His voice was okay, but not captivating enough for me to keep my attention. Now I'm sure his voice was fine for most. We all, or most of us have some little quirks that stop us from doing what we know we should be doing, listening.
     I know about hardened hearts,and know enough to know I have been responsible for terminating people from my life for whatever reason, and not looking back. It is definitely a learned process. I thought about this yesterday, thought about myself, how I am, who I am and why. Well I know why but never thought about it during a process of cutting people from my life. Some were very good and decent people, most were not. I know why I cut these people out, and I know maybe it's time to try not to do that anymore. It really doesn't make sense, yet it doesn't bother me, still I might try to do better with terminating people.
    A hardened heart can be lonely I would think, yet I am not lonely at all. To go further, I think my heart is not as hard as it could be, because I have people I care about very much beside my children and a few old friends. Those people I don't even know, like st. Jude kids, MDA kids, hurting people. So if you think you have a hard heart and it bothers you, look again, and think more about it. Talk to a pastor, a good friend, even a stranger. Sometimes those who know you less, know you more. But as the preacher said this morning, if I received anything in his message, it's this, don't wait!

Contin/Colgan airlines outsource lives#3407

           Tonight, right now I am listening to what I don't believe, and I can say now, if I didn't want to fly before this program, I really don't want to fly now. I am watching PBS/Frontline, and hearing about how Continental outsources to Colgan airlines.

          In February 2009 Colgan/Continental crashed because not of pilot error as a number one crime, but because Colgan and Continental didn't do their jobs in background checks, resulting in pilot error. On top of that both pilot and co-pilot were tired. The co-pilot flew at least twice the day of her last flight, knew she needed sleep and stated according to the black box, she couldn't afford a hotel. She flew a year before to gain experience?

            The PILOT IS WHO AMAZES ME... Colgan did not do their work and should lose their business. That pilot had five strikes against him, failed many tests, had only 618 hours of flying to become a pilot, half of what is needed. Colgan airline with a snap of a finger gives promotions like I dye my hair. If you are tired or sick, Colgan will tell you according to a former employee, you are then stuck where you are, but we can change the records, shorten your time so you can get home-all according to a former employee.

        REGIONAL CARRIERS -which is what they are know as ! Make sure you ask when you book a flight, if you are getting the true airline carrier or  a regional carrier. The contracts read-code share carriers are responsible for anything that goes wrong. So should a small carrier contract with Continental, crash, Continental is not responsible, but the small carrier is. The big airlines make this so in contracts. In addition these planes have the contracted airlines  name all over it, in the seat, on your tickets, on your baggage, anywhere which looks like it is the carrier you called and booked your flight with, or I should say booked your life with!
      Who is regulating your life? Ask . It's your life. The FAA has less than 4000 inspectors and over 20, 000 fliers a day.
                    Value Jet, safety issues-1996 flight 592 Miami. 110 people-another company known for problems with safety.
   Mr. Pena  stood immediately after the crash and stated how safe Value jet is. Would he say that if his son or family member died that day?
          REMEMBER WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR FLIGHT YOU BOOK YOUR LIFE! ASK QUESTIONS WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

    THE Q-400 ANOTHER COLGAN PLANE WHICH CRASHED IN BUFFALO- another trip, Colgan was short on pilots, more warnings in 2008 about this company-they have to calculate weight and was over the limit, was told to list three adults as children, refused, and his manifest was taken away and altered by someone else.
     This program should be on every day at all hours so more people will see and hear in disbelief. All to save money and lose lives. Why is Colgan not closed down? Maybe they are right now, but worth asking  or checking into
this corporate culture. The report I am watching was sent to Washington for an investigation and months later it was 3407 that crashed in addition to other crashes which caused this investigation. The owner of Colgan was in Washington at the senate hearings. Randy Babbett is the FAA in charge and talking doublespeak saying, things are already in action before we did anything, really? Sounds good doesn't it? We know Washington...and they know money and power. Let's put Colgan out of business and even Continental by not using them. It's an industry problem. Drastic, sure, but aren't 110 people worth it?
      Look for the Life of a REGIONAL PILOT on PBS