stereo – Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian

It’s time for another Friday Photo Flashback. While I was looking for Halloween costume pictures, I came across a photo I have never seen before of my brother.

From what I can tell, this was taken at my parents house and has to be fairly soon after we moved in. I am almost positive that it is our house because I recognize the yellow curtains on the basement windows.

I don’t know what event was being hosted in the basement, but it seems to be some sort of gathering. Maybe it was my communion party or something. My brother is holding flowers, so maybe it is a birthday party, I really don’t know.

Most of the paneling is still up in the basement at my folks house, though the basement is quite darker now as people rarely go down there. The man standing on the far left looks like my mom’s dad. He is standing in front of what used to be the “bar.” My dad had bottles of alcohol on there and those white mugs, which can be seen in the pitcure.

On the floor, to the right of my grandpa is a case of Towne Club! You used to go there with the crate and pick the flavors you wanted. It was a staple at all gatherings growing up. It’s awesome to see that in this picture.

I do not recognize the desk next to my brother at all. I don’t know where it came from or even how long we had it. It probably wasn’t long, as I don’t recall it being down there at all!

The craziest thing in this picture (beside the pants my brother is wearing) is the stereo on the desk. WOW! It is obviously a turntable with a tuner and the 8-Track player!! Whether or not this is the 8-Track recorder my dad made tapes on I cannot be sure. It is probably just a player. I wish I could zoom in closer on this picture because I’d love to see it in more detail!

What a find this picture was! The one thing I have to wonder is how much detergent my mom had to use to clean the stains on my brother’s pants!! It looks like he was playing in the dirt somewhere!

Ah, the 70’s!!!!

Time for another Friday Photo Flashback. This time around I’m taking you to my room….circa 1990.

The shelf you are looking at sat above my bed (a waterbed…lol). Above it was another shelf with the globe my grandmother had got me for Christmas, some ceramic pieces my mom made me and a few other things.

Just by looking at this picture, I can recall where everything else was in the room. To the right of this picture is the window that looks out to the front yard. On the wall opposite this one, my dresser sat in the corner. Directly next to it was a shelf that my cheap stereo system sat on.

(The stereo had a double cassette deck, turntable, radio tuner, and a place for a microphone. Long before I worked in radio, I made tapes for people with songs I recorded off the radio with me acting as DJ. I know I’d be embarrassed to hear those now!)

The closet was to the left of this picture. All along the walls were photos, posters, and your typical teen wall decor. The shelf pictured here was the focal point of the room.In a way, this shelf encompasses “me.”

Centered on it are the (now long gone) Three Stooges figurines. I really wish I still had them. I marvelled at the detail of the faces when I first saw them. They were fairly expensive when they came out. They represent “humor,” which has always been important in my life. To laugh and make people laugh … It’s a very big part of who I was/am.

Above the Stooges, a treble clef and music notes hang. Both were gifts from my mom. I’m sure the clef hung elsewhere in the house before she gave it to me. Music has always been important to me and continues to be.

To the left of Larry is an award I got in my senior year. I think it was for “Best Dancer” which is ridiculous. I probably only got the award because I did the Curly Shuffle once at a band party. I’ve never claimed to be a dancer. Perhaps when I hit my goal weight, I will think about a dance class with Sam.

To the right of Moe is my high school diploma. I always joke that I was in the half of the class that made the top half possible. I think if it wasn’t for band class, I probably would have done even worse. I was not the ideal student. That experience only helped me when we I finally went to college – I knew what NOT to do!

The two flags were something I got at Epcot one year. They represent my Italian and American heritage. There is more in my background on my mom’s side (English, Scottish, and German), but I tend to embrace the Italian more

The screwdriver on the shelf? I have no explanation for. I’m screwy, maybe? Yeah. That’s true in a lot of ways.