louis33705
BSB Addict
My grandmother was one of eight siblings, four girls and fours boys. They were in their prime when the great depression hit. My grandfather owned a small cafe in Ybor City where my grandmother was the cook and my mother served ice cream at the soda fountain. However, the cafe was shut down due to foreclosure during the country's economic fall. My grandmother's youngest sister, Maria, was a dancer. Her aspirations were to go to New York and dance on Broadway. During her early teen years she worked various small jobs saving up the little money she made. One night at the age of 15, she crept out of her house with one suitcase in hand and took a bus to New York City. Maria never returned. She had a rough time surviving in the city working odd jobs. It was during that time she met a young man and they married when she was 17. They settled in Newark, New Jersey and had two children. I would sit around the dinner table at family gatherings listening to the stories about Maria. She never did dance on Broadway, but she was happy with her family. Her dreams had partially come true, to be near to the city and culture she loved.
I was enamored with her history and life. My grandmother had always taken me to the Sunday matinee at the Casino Theatre where they showed musicals, many of which were staged in New York. I started singing in the fourth grade and became part of the church choir by the time I reached middle school. The older I got and the more singing I did, the more I wanted to follow Maria's dream to make it in the big city. I sneaked out one night and told my family I was spending a long weekend with a friend. I was 17, had been working with money in my pocket. I got in my car and drove straight to Newark. When I knocked at my great-aunt's house she was shocked to see me but yet overwhelmed by my determination to be there. The next day, she and my cousin drove me into the city and introduced me to land of my dreams. I stayed there with her for three days before I returned home. That was in 1963, three months before President Kennedy was killed. I graduated from high school in 1964 at the height of the Viet Nam conflict. I joined the Air Force immediately after graduation. The following year I returned to New York on one of my furloughs. I continued these pilgrimages to the Big Apple every year and sometimes twice a year until 2001. Then on that frightful day of 9/11, I felt as if someone had stabbed me through the heart. I have not returned since.
I had always thought and dreamed that when I grow up I wanted to sing on stage on Broadway. Although, my expectations as I envisioned never came to pass, I did have a fulfilling life on "stage" doing what I loved the most, singing. I devoted my life to the musical ministry of my church as soloist as well as being part of the Oratorio Society and opera. I am retired from all that now, but I do spend many hours alone, sitting at my keyboard playing the music I love.
I have yet to grow up as long as there is music and aspiring young people to enrich my heart and soul through their God given talents and gifts.
Louis
I was enamored with her history and life. My grandmother had always taken me to the Sunday matinee at the Casino Theatre where they showed musicals, many of which were staged in New York. I started singing in the fourth grade and became part of the church choir by the time I reached middle school. The older I got and the more singing I did, the more I wanted to follow Maria's dream to make it in the big city. I sneaked out one night and told my family I was spending a long weekend with a friend. I was 17, had been working with money in my pocket. I got in my car and drove straight to Newark. When I knocked at my great-aunt's house she was shocked to see me but yet overwhelmed by my determination to be there. The next day, she and my cousin drove me into the city and introduced me to land of my dreams. I stayed there with her for three days before I returned home. That was in 1963, three months before President Kennedy was killed. I graduated from high school in 1964 at the height of the Viet Nam conflict. I joined the Air Force immediately after graduation. The following year I returned to New York on one of my furloughs. I continued these pilgrimages to the Big Apple every year and sometimes twice a year until 2001. Then on that frightful day of 9/11, I felt as if someone had stabbed me through the heart. I have not returned since.
I had always thought and dreamed that when I grow up I wanted to sing on stage on Broadway. Although, my expectations as I envisioned never came to pass, I did have a fulfilling life on "stage" doing what I loved the most, singing. I devoted my life to the musical ministry of my church as soloist as well as being part of the Oratorio Society and opera. I am retired from all that now, but I do spend many hours alone, sitting at my keyboard playing the music I love.
I have yet to grow up as long as there is music and aspiring young people to enrich my heart and soul through their God given talents and gifts.
Louis
