Saturday, September 15, 2018
There is, and will only ever be, two people in the world with whom we shared no blood but referred to and addressed as family- Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jimmy.
People often recount stories from their youths about being piled into the family car, drug unwillingly, stuck, forced to spend time somewhere, under protest. I never had this feeling when it came to visiting the Curtis or the Mazzei homes. It was the total opposite. I couldn’t wait to be there. Point lookout equaled freedom, adventure, discovery and all the things that make childhood a wonderland. I see wide-open sand swept streets, on which I was allowed to ride farther, stay out, and up, a little later… Our young families helped one another. We grew up together. Aunt Lynn’s bright smiling face pulled up a in yellow school bus and drove me to Lynbrook avenue. From there Uncle Jimmy drove me to swim practice. Aside from my own parents, whom I cherish and adore, there was no one I felt safer with, no other houses that felt like homes.
I see beautiful Christmas lights and the sound of church bells, piano music. I’d give, literally anything, to crawl back in time and be there with all of you, all of us, young and strong with nothing but time ahead. I have been making fresh Sunday meat sauce for pasta, EVERY Sunday, without fail (unless away or on the road), for 3 decades. I channel Grandma Mazzei’s spirit into every single pot. I see Peter Mazzei playing cards at the dining room table, grinning larger than life.
Time is a conqueror, but as long as any of us are still here, then, in some way, we are all still here, carried on the waves of our memories, transported by the tides of our thoughts, to a place where it’s always Xmas, 4th of July, a birthday or a never ending day at the beach. Aunt Lynn, Uncle Jimmy, Tracey, Kim, Grandma and Peter Mazzie, thank you for everything, as long as I am here you are all here in my heart, I promise.
Kim and Tracey, we never had sisters, but you were our surrogate sisters, and we were your brothers from another mother. I cannot begin to imagine what this must be like for you, but you were raised in such a close, tight knit family, I know you’ve got more than enough strength to power you through this difficult time. Thanks for sharing your beautiful mother, your grandparents, and so much precious life and time with us. Let’s get together for some Marco Polo in the above ground pool in the backyard sometime soon.
With all the love and condolences a man can muster,
Brian
