~ Chapter 22 - Great Guy was Dad ~

~ I was very lucky to have been born to my Father Michele and my Mother Rosa ~ As far as I'm concerned they were the best two parents any one could ever have as they were always worried and taking care of their young children ~ God Bless them wherever they are in Heaven ~

~ If it had not been for them naturally I or any of my siblings would be here on this wonderful earth ~ They always would put their children first and before themselves too ~ My Dad worked many times for 7 days a week without ever taking a day off or going on vacation ~ Speaking of vacation I can recall that he would arrange to get his family to the Rockaway Beach while he would continue to work himself ~

~ I also remember him picking up a 100 lb bag of coal, put it on his shoulder, than put a 25 lb bag of wood on top of that coal and than also pick up a 5 gallon can of kerosine and finally carry all of it up 5 flights of stairs to a customer in the Manhattan tenement buildings ~

~ When he knew that I did something wrong he would understand and try to explain to me the meaning of right and wrong without ever flying of the handle ~ Speaking of handle my father liked to drink a moderate amount of wine like one or two glasses each evening after working very hard each and every day ~ He learned how to make wine while living in Manhattan and than again while living in Astoria, Queens, NY ~ He taught me in the procedure of making wine and I would help him turn the 'handle' of the wine crusher first and than the wine squeezer second ~

While living in Manhattan the tenement housed on 1st ave allowed for a small compartment in the cellar of the building where he would store his home made wine that he made and kept in barrels in a cellar on 87th street ~ One day when he went down to the cellar in the building in Manhattan on 1st ave he found much of the wine on the floor of the compartment from someone trying to steal the wine by opening the spicket and drinking it from a straw ~ Naturally the wine just kept flowing on the floor as the thief kept the spicket opened until he had enough for himself ~

My Dad did not get angry with the theft of the wine but instead just built the compartment wall higher to the ceiling so that the theif could no longer be able to climb over the wall ~ Problem solved ~

In Astoria my folks had bought a house and on the ground floor den my Dad had built a small compartment where he kept the wine in barrels but since it was too warm in the compartment even with the window open he had to stop making the wine as the warmth turned all the wine to vinegar ~

On the funny side of my Dad was when we were traveling I believe to Long Island by car and we would always mention that the directions would take us to "two Guys" and after saying this comment about the two guys several times my father's curiosity finally got to him and he asked who these two guys were and so we had good laugh on him ~ You see years ago there was a department store with the name"Two Guys" and in his mind he was wondering who these guys were ~ lol