I read to day about the passing of Bob Tomonto.

 I received an email from Elvis today.  Apparently Bob Tomonto has passed away.  I was very much saddenned by this.  He was one of those guys I would have liked to have met  and spent time with after we graduated.  In fact I did spent some time with him but that was really during College at the University of Miami and later at the fifteen year class reunion.  Both families sat together at the reunion.  It had already been a long time since even then.  I would have liked to have spent more time with him after we graduated.  

For some reason I kept thinking about him in the past week.  This is interesting since he passed on Sept 21 of this month, exactly one week ago.  I wonder... but then again I may have been thinking about him before and never would have thought about it.  I just wondered how he was doing and if he was still working at FP&L.  

The last time I spoke with him I was sitting at the Student Union at the University of Miami.  Both he and Chip were there and all three of us sat together.  We sat at a table outside.  It must have been close to our birthday since one of us brought up the fact that we  had a birthday recently.  All three of us were shocked since everyone at the table was born on August 24.  Bob and I on the same day and Chip a few years later.  I also mentioned that Gizmo was also born on the 24th.  I do not think Giz was there but it has been a long time and I may not remember.  Bob and I think also Chip were in the school of engineering, I was in Arts and Sciences.  I do not think we ever were together after that day at the UM. 

The one "Bob scene" I remember was in Koziol's class.  We were working on a play by Neil Simon.  the name of the play was "Plaza Suite".  The lady who was about to get married had some type of panic attack and hid in the bathroom.  Both her mother and father were pleading with her to get out of the bathroom so she could walk down the aisle at her own wedding.  The parents were in a panic.  They could not get her to go outside the bathroom and walk down the aisle.  Right at the end the parents decide to call the future son in law, played by Bob Tomonto, in our class.  He has one line, "Mimsy, this is Borden.  Cool it!".  She then comes out of the bathroom and goes on to marry the guy.   He did it in a traditional Bob Tomonto accent.  I think Giz played Borden in the other class but I am not sure.  It may also have been that Giz was imitating how Bob would have said it.  Right now I am not sure.  I hate getting old. 

The only time I saw Bob afterwards was once during one of the reunions.  We sat together at the reunion and had a wonderful time indeed.  

Bob, I wish we would have spent more time together.  Your friend, Moose. 

I watched an Elton John Concert on television today

 Around 1970, I think it was either in the Summer or sometime in the Fall, I spoke to Robert my brother.  I was going to go to Jackson Byrons in Downtown and I let him know.  Robert told me about this new artist whose name was Elton John.  I remember thinking, what a funny name, Elton.  When I got to downtown Miami, I was dropped of in front of the Burdines, and walked over to the J.Byrons across the street.  We would usually walk from North Miami Ave to NW 1st ave by going through the Jackson Byrons.  Halfway through they had what  I thought was a massive record collection, so I looked for the record.  I could not find it.  Reluctantly, I asked the person who worked there and he told me he had never heard of Elton John.  He told me to try the Miscellaneous section.  I looked for it there and I found it.  I was happy since I was able to get it for Robert.  At the time we lived in the same house so when one of us would get a record, we all would get the record. When I got home we played it.  He told me he liked "Take me to the Pilot".  And I know he liked "Your Song".  This was Robert's 

senior year and LaSalle.  He would stay one year and go to the University of Miami.  During his sophomore year the transferred to Gainesville.  Elton John was not a big name when I bought the record.  Slowly he gained popularity and then he was a big name.  As I think back on it I was happy I got the record.  I still have it since I inherited it. It has a couple of scratches on it.  I was only thirteen at the time. I still find it amazing that I would go downtown via bus on my own at the time. I was very happy I got the record. 

Robert Redford died today

 I remember Robert Redford from the first movie I had watched with him acting in 1969 or 1970.  I had gone to the Tower Theater at 8th street and around 15th ave.  This was around 5 years after I arrived from the old country so my English was not all that strong.  I particularly remember two scenes.  One was when Robert Reford and Paul Newman jump off a cliff to avoid being captured and said one word on the way down.  I think the word was Bullshit!  or something like that.  I do not remember many other scenes except Paul Newman and Katherine Ross riding a horse while "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"  was playing.  I remember another scene with Katherine Ross.  

I watched the movie with Robert my brother.  I am not sure if my other brothers or sisters were present or not.  Robert would explain sometimes what was going on.  For example I did not know what the work bullshit meant or why it was bleeped out.  He told me what it was. 

While I was in high school I also worked at the Hotels with my dad.  I would normally work on Saturday and would pull two shifts.  One was from 8am- 2pm and the other from 6pm-10pm, approximately.  Between 2pm and 6pm I had time to myself.  I would normally take a bus to Lincoln Road and watch a move. It was then that I saw Redford again in 1973 when I saw the Way We Were with Barbara Streisand.  This was the first movie I saw with Barbara Streisand.  There was only one scene which I remember.  She finally gets him to go to bed with her and he falls asleep in the process.  To myself I was thinking how is this possible?  

I did not watch much with Robert Redford after that.  I thought of watching "The Sting" but I still have not seen it.  I know my dad loved it.  I did watch "Ordinary People".  This one he got the Oscar for best Director.  I loved the movie.  I particularly liked the way Mary Tyler Moore acted in it and was disappointed when she did not get the academy award.  I thought she did a great job.  

I am getting old now. I am surprised I remember more about those actors from the past than actors that are still with us.  I often wonder, Were they that good? Or do I just judge on a different plane? 

Lourdes and I got married 45 years ago.

 

Elena was married yesterday.  I and Lourdes went to the ceremony at the Coral Gables Courthouse.  It was a rather simple place and it reminded me of when Lourdes and I were first married.  I actually married her twice.  

It was 1981, a few days before our official wedding date of 8/1/1981.  Seems like such a long time ago.  At the University of Miami dorms we would be given an apartment at married housing.  There was one problem.  We had to be married to get the apartment.  We were set to get married on that Saturday.  But to qualify for married housing, you had to be married.  We were now in a quandary.  The University would not allow us to get the apartment until we were married.  The church at that time was tightening the rules and we could not get married prior to the ceremony at the church.  That morning, Lourdes and I went to see Father O'Farril to speak to him, we told him about the problem, and he immediately told us to just get married by the state.  That is all the University cared about.  We knew that but we did not expect the church be so agreable.   

All we had to do now is find two witnesses to be able to speak to our marriage.  Luckily we went back to my house, mom's house and Turi and Pepe Blanco had come back from playing something somewhere.  We approached them about being the witnesses to the wedding. They were happy to do so. There was only one problem, we needed to be there before 1 hour had passed.  I do not fully remember why one hour but that was the time we had.  We then went to get married.  We drove from our house to the courthouse and we asked to be married.  There was this beautiful young lady who was going to carry out the ceremony.  We looked horrible.  I and Lourdes, and Pepe and Turi, who were still dressed as if they had just played basketball.  For around a minute I thought of calling Rocky, who I know could have and would have loved to marry us.  It would have been great for him to marry us. I did not call him since I believe he may have been working. And we only had one hour.  When I told him about it later, he told me he would have loved to do it. 

The ceremony was actually very nice.  The lady took her job very seriously.  All of us gathered in a room.  Me, Lourdes, Pepe, and Turi participated in the ceremony.  Turi and Pepe served as the witnesses. The ceremony was carried out and Lourdes and I were married.  I believe the young lady was more appreciative than we were.  We were just trying to work the system to be able to be married according to the University rules.  She really took her job seriously.  I frankly was impressed by the civil ceremony.  But, I cannot remember what was said, except that I thought the ceremony was more religious than I expected.  I was happy about that.  By that I mean that God was invoked in the ceremony several times.  

We did not take pictures, we could not get a camera in time.  I do not remember who the lady was.  If I saw her now I would not recognize her.  I think it was in el Cielito lindo, but I am not even sure of that. To me it really did not count at the time.  I do not remember what day it was.  I think it may have been the Monday or Tuesday before August 1st.   That would mean it was July 27 I guess. I probably have that marriage license somewhere.  But it may have been replaced by the one I received on August 1, 1981.  I will look for it.  

It is kind of nice however to have two wedding days instead of one.  In the first one we were accompanied by our witnesses, Turi and Pepe.  They looked horrible since they had just come back from playing football or basketball somewhere. In the other we were surrounded by family and other friends.  Halfway through the real ceremony, Turi asked me for my keys to the apartment.  He did not tell me why he needed it, I just gave him the keys

On 8/1/1981 Lourdes and I were actually married.  After the ceremony, we drove back to my parents house.  We drove Teresa's car, which we had borrowed, to behind my parents house.  There I drove my own car to our new apartment at Married Student at 1270 South Alhambra Circle.  Lourdes and I went into the room and Pepe and Turi and I heard later Noemi, had done a great job decorating our room. I may be wrong about Noemi but I know she helped somehow.  There was champagne in the freezer.  The refrigerator did not work so we used the freezer to cool it down instead.   It was cool. I do not know when the following happenned but I remember when I was about to leave to my new apartment, mom went to see me in my car.  Just thinking about this makes me cry a little.  Mom wanted to make sure I was okay and she just said good bye.  I wish now I would have acknowledge the effort better. 

I just found out as I was looking things up that 8/1/1981 was the day that MTV was launched.