The Wise Novelist

A Motley Crew

Motley Crew Indeed.

Came across this old photo of most of the Riverdale friends and family that made the trip to Jamestown, NY, in July 1978 to attend Lisa and my wedding.

Most of them ended up as the basis for characters in Finding Jimmy Moran.

Not everyone who made the trip made it into the photo.

And some important people couldn’t make the trip or were not around to do so.

You weren’t forgotten. I know your were there in spirit, some figuratively and some literally.

For those that got there, starting back row, left to right:

Florence “Momma C” Collins, Theresa Collins, Pete McCarroll, Ralph Droz, Matty Burke, John Hughes, Mike Augustyni, Joe Serrano, Linda Behan, Ed “MacDootz” McCarroll, Jimmy “Apples” McEntee, Eddie McCaffrey, Mary Moran, Posie, Tara Sullivan, Octavio Narvaez, The Ginger.

Kneeling, left to right:

My Dad, Billy Collins, Jeannie Collins, Mary Collins, Michael Collins, Maurice “Moose” McGrath, Me. Tommy McQuillen, BC, Billy Dinome, Fr. Frank Nugent, Veronica, My Mom, Chrissy Tardibouno.

Lying down: Mark “Lenny” Lenahan.

Great group to grow up with. Lots of fun.

Early Bronx version of a destination wedding. People had to drive over 8 hours to get there.

Meant a lot that they all chose to show up. None of us had a pot to piss in, so it required sacrifice to make that trip.

Hell of a weekend. Drank a lot. Destroyed a hotel.

When we were all checking out, Moose told the man behind the desk how much he enjoyed his stay, and then said, “I’m going to recommend this place to my friends.”

To which the clerk nervously replied, “Please don’t!”

Anyway, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of these folks, both here and in heaven, for making that trip.

And for being my friends & family. Meant a lot.

Which is why most of your characters made it into the book.

Okay, time to cuddle the kitty, make my rounds and hit that dreadmill.

You fine, five readers go take the hump.

Interpret that line anyway you want.

But whatever you do, make today a great one.

And try to remember it.

13 Responses

  1. Great to see your friends and family faces, even if they are 35 years younger. I was most interested in Joe, BC and Eddie. I don’t know why. Where are the bride and groom?

  2. Look at all those nice Bronx boys (“Angels With Diery Faces,” circa 1978) dressed in grown-up First Communion outfits… Fr. Nugent must have been very proud.
    Hate to admit it, but some of these faces look very familiar, from running The Strip of Broadway bars (Greenleaf, Pinewood, Terminal, Dorney & Malone’s) below the soaring Bluffton campus of dear old Manhattan College…🙄😆☘️

  3. Petey: Father Frank was as big a character as anyone else in that photo. And yes, you surely saw each and every one of those faces in those bars.

  4. Pete: Eddie and I might have been in all those places … handing out religious brochures and flyers for a new library opening.

    1. There was a lot of sociological “research” conducted in the back booths of the Pinewood and upstairs at The Terminal.😉🙄😆

  5. Tommy, Lenny and Joe were probably either out on the dance floor doing their version of Saturday Night Fever or at the bar preaching some Bronx Irish Catholic gospel.

  6. It was a great time. The most I ever laughed in my life was the drive up with McQ and BC. We stopped in Friendship, NY for gas and McQ and BC started riffing on the gas station attendant, who bore a striking resemblance to Gomer from the Andy Griffith show. Couldn’t open the windows to pay because we were laughing so hard.

  7. Mary: In my defense, we had had an old fashioned Bronx Irish multi-grain breakfast that morning (hops and barley). And drinking alcohol before lunchtime always made me wax sentimental and get nostalgic for old TV shows.

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