Note: Look how cool the border is on this photo of my Dad!! ....Oh and also I must mention, today marks the 27th anniversary of my father's passing. 1/18/1991.... Now on to the continued read....
"My first date?... I don't really remember. But men were more like friends back then. I took a neighbor to a prom at Wayland Square. It was a hotel that now I think are condos." My, how simple life could be then!
I asked my mother if she thought men were different back in her early days and she answered, "Guys were nicer back then. We'd say hello, meet, ....no one had cars".
I also asked her what she thought changed men and what made them different today? "Cars changed them! They were more polite back then. Then they got cars and they weren't as nice!"
I can see how cars brought freedom and some power. They were off and on their way in those beasts of vehicles and suddenly these simple hellos and meetups were a thing of the past. I say lets ban cars for a bit and see how it goes! ;)
She shared a story of her and her friend, Ruthie, going to meet some servicemen they knew in Westchester, NY. "We were dressed to kill", she says with fond memories, "I remember my sparkly Tam and my nice suit that I wore. And then we got there and it was like a hick town" LOL!
The men had a house there and they seem to think that Ev and Ruthie would sleepover! "We didn't sleep with them. We just left and went to a hotel". I've heard the story before and details have changed slightly here and there. Hmmmm... I am not sure if we'll ever know if she left out a few parts to it, but either way, she and Ruthie didn't seem too thrilled with these guys! lol
She does like to tell the story of how her and my father met! Her sister, Angie married my Uncle Paul who happened to be best friends with my Dad, Joe and of course, they'd pal around and Joe would visit Paul. My aunt and uncle lived in one of the apartments in my grandparents' house, and Ev started to get to know Joe when he visited her sister and brother in law.
"He was single, alone, good-looking", Ev said. Three basic checks for a pass to pursue a love interest. From a spark to dating, and eventually a marriage. "I remember having a plaid robe on and seeing him while he was visiting one night. I kissed him!" she said. Too cute! Once again, life seemed so simple then.
When I asked her about the marriage proposal her answer surprised me. "No proposal. We put the marriage together and got a ring, and we got married". That is beyond simple! LOL
One note of interest here is that Ev's husband's parents were of Polish descent. Raffaella and Giovanni were as Italian as they come, yet, were very happy with Joe and Ev getting married. That was a big thing in those days when some, especially of Italian heritage liked their families to stay within their nationality with the big "M"!!
Stay tuned for Part 6!