GOOD FOR THE SOUL!

A night out under the stars, listening to music I grew up on, and realizing that that music was what made the ‘old people’ nuts, was the same music now entertaining ‘old people’! Of course this was a special night, since I was spending it in my old hometown of Bellport Long Island, on the bay, where Louie Valentino and ‘Some Place in Time” was performing.

It felt like an episode of ‘Closed Case Files” where an old unsolved crime is taken out of the records and with new methods they try to solve it. Then you see a person walk by and he turns into his younger self! There was no crime other than getting old, but a great many people went by that did indeed come back to me as their younger self once more, recalling this one and that one, and enjoying every moment of it. Some I pictured walking by the very place I was sitting in, some came back to me in my memories of the halls and classrooms of dear old Bellport High!



Sitting with TLW (The Little Woman) in our lawn chairs, we watched people get up and dance, have elaborate spreads of food with candlelight’s, and just plain old talking and catching up! There even were some group homes, where the consumers enjoyed the freedom of the night air and the music that moves everyone and their universe! Some young couples strolled by, looking for once out of place in this magical land and moment of memories. I thought, how much you youngsters have missed, you could never replace our spirit and drive, our self-confidence and self-reliance. We didn’t have mom and dad to bail us out all the time, or give us what we give you!

I sat also with my classmates from that era! They helped the memories along, giving me tidbits of news and telling me who was married to who and what they did. Reconnecting with classmates is a beautiful thing, and if you can do it, it is worth all the trouble, since they are all a great bunch of people.

As I walked back to my car, I wondered to myself who I was standing next to. Who did I know, but not recognize? I do know I would have instantly liked them, once more connecting, and wish I had.

The night was poetic in many respects. The band shell was lit, and shadows from overhead lights facing the shell punctuated the big old trees that surrounded the very large crowd, the weather in the high 70’s a gentle breeze caressing the silver moon we all created in our minds and hearts.

Thanks classmates, thanks Bellport.