JoAnne: What direction do I take once I get to Route 70 to go home?
Uncle Tony and Aunt Lorraine, simultaneously: WEST - EAST
Bring back any memories?
Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours with Uncle Tony and Aunt Lorraine Fastuca at their home in Whiting, NJ. We chatted like we had just seen each other a couple of months earlier, instead of what was probably more like the 30 years since we had the chance to sit down with each other. We caught up on their grandchildren (three boys and a girl) and children -- Mike is in Guam this week, Gary lives about 45 minutes from them in Florida and is doing well, Lorraine and her family are living in Perth Amboy and make the trip south for Sunday dinner each week, and Maureen, who lives in Bedminster, will be bringing home my camera for me (more on that later).
Aunt Lorraine shared with me how she and the family first got involved in the corps. After Mass each Sunday, she would have Mike and Gary help to gather the missalettes to neatly stack them back at the beginning of each pew. Ray Chmieleski, an usher at Our Lady of Peace at the time, stopped her one day to invite her to participate and her sons to join the corps he was beginning to organize.
Fast forward a bit to the famous Spaghetti Dinners ... as Anne DiGaetano got ready to move her family to Florida, she passed the ladle (so to speak) to Aunt Lorraine, and she became our Executive Chef in charge of Meatballs. Ever the devoted husband and father, Uncle Tony got involved as well, and the corps gained a Treasurer, Quartermaster, and Bus Driver.
Speaking of driving the bus ... maybe undeservedly, but certainly part of the corps folklore, Uncle Tony is well-remembered for missing exits, even on the way home. He was immortalized at one of our Christmas parties with a sign to be worn around his neck which read something like, "This is Tony Fastuca. If lost, please return him to the Saints Drum and Bugle Corps of Fords, NJ." Have things changed? Not too much ...
In calling them on Monday, I asked for directions from south of their location on the Garden State Parkway. Uncle Tony confidently shared with me that I should take Exit 88, and then gave me more instructions from there. About 5 minutes later, Aunt Lorraine called me back with a new set of directions, including getting off the GSP 30 miles EARLIER than Uncle Tony had suggested ...
Luckily for all of us, Uncle Tony and Aunt Lorraine still find their way back to NJ each year from their other home in Florida. They are both very excited about connecting with their Saints nieces and nephews and would love to see everyone -- I did warn them to be careful what they wish for, because I know so many former members would love to have the chance I did yesterday. They asked about so many of you, it would be impossible to list you all. They'll be in NJ until September, and then heading south once again.
After I got home, I pulled one last message from my cellphone. "Hi JoAnne, it's Aunt Lorraine. Call me to let me know you got home safely." My own parents don't even ask me to do that -- and that's just one of the many reasons I love the Fastucas ... I also feel honored to share an anniversary with them -- Uncle Tony and Aunt Lorraine were married on January 19, 1952, while Richard and I were married on that same day in 1990.
In the excitement of seeing them, I left my camera at their house. Once Maureen brings it back to Somerset County for me after Sunday dinner, I'll share a current picture. While you're waiting, make sure to check out the posting for Mrs Fastuca's Famous Meatballs here in Saints Stories!
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