I have been in the insurance and financial services business for the last 40 years. I have had several different positions within the industry, most in management. Prior to that, I managed a traveling sales crew for seven years. Recently retired.
The beach parties, playing on the basketball team, sex-ed in religion class with Sr. James (I know she offered this up and got lots of souls out of purgatory and prayed for me...a lot...I told her I thought the hippies were right...we should just be nicer to each other and God would be pretty pleased with that!), I had crushes on most of the girls in the class of '68 and probably as many on the girls in our class. Entering a dance contest (freshman year) with Karen White. The party at Brian Mannix's house junior year. The retreat on Shelter Island. The last quarter of senior year...I think I had 28 absences. And graduation.
The other great memory occurred in 2002. I took my three older kids back to NY on the anniversary of 9/11. I took them to all the places I hung out while growing up and they were old enough I could tell them the truth of what I did. We went by Mercy to see Sr. Thomasina and had a really nice visit. From there we went directly to the airport. While waiting for the plane, I got a funny little smirk on my face and my daughter Kary asked what was up. I said, "I got kissed by a nun!" When we said goodbye Sr. Thomasina give all of us a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was a wonderful woman and after Mercy we got to know each other better. Going back to Mercy now will be a little "less" than it was. I miss her.
Tell us about your memories of MHS, such as: secret crushes, embarrassing moments, funniest thing you did in high school (or someone else did), favorite hang out, etc.
I remember when Sr. Carmelita was new to Mercy and she told a story about spending a summer with a family in Mexico. The punch line to the story was she said to the family right before their first meal together, "Tengo mucho hombre" (I have many men) instead of "Tengo mucho hambre" (I am very hungry).
Evil Knievel (jerk), Peter Fonda (nice guy), Cher, Jack Nicklaus, Tony Larussa (great guy!)
Cool things you've done:
In 1994, I started down a new path in life, discovered a deeper spiritual connection with God. Finished raising my three older children as a single parent...the spiritual renewal helped a lot with this.
I didn't really have a least favorite, but Sr. Louise Sheehan used to get under my skin when we had discussions about there being a "hierarchy" in heaven.
Did you ever get a demerit at Mercy? How many? For what?
None I can recall. I was a stealth-like offender.
Where did you go for our Senior Retreat? Any comments?
St. Gabriel's on Shelter Island. I came home and told my mother I was considering becoming a brother. Then she pointed out something that might stand in the way...I really liked girls.
