July 26, 2020
Sunday has always been a favorite day of mine. In my youth it meant going to Brooklyn to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as our big Italian family would gather in the basement for a meal of epic proportions, which we later referred to as the feast of the gods. In the summers the feast took place under the grapevine in the backyard. As I grew and developed a love for sports Sunday also meant football, baseball and other major sports I enjoyed both watching and playing. Many Sundays were spent at MacLaren field on Loring road in Levittown, Eisenhower Park in East Meadow and Wantagh Park in Wantagh playing baseball, softball and flag football. In the winter months, Sunday was reserved for street hockey. In my elementary to middle school years I was fortunate to have a group of young bandits I called friends. I wish we had a cool name for our group, but we didn't. The thing we bonded on was sports and that was really all. The six of us would get together and play every sport, in all different ways, depending on the season. Whiffle ball in the yard, stick ball in the street, baseball on the diamond, basketball, hockey, football (both touch and tackle). On days we played multiple sports we dubbed those days Olympic days. Some of the crew lived in the neighborhood. I lived on Ridge Lane while John Scotto and the Milligan twins, Peter and George lived around the block on Shotgun lane. Two others lived on the other side of Levittown. There was Billy Murphy, an Irish kid who was one helluva athlete with one helluva Irish temper, and finally Jimmy Kranz rounded us out. We mixed teams all the time and mixed it up a bunch too. Yelling and arguing were pretty standard and even some punches were thrown occasionally. Summers could get boring without the sports so in a day or two someone would apologize and the games continued.
Us boys eventually just grew apart and I found a new gang to play with. The faces changed, but the games did not. As I entered junior high school I found new friends in Danny O'Rourke and Bobby Miller and later on Kevin O'Rourke (no relation just a popular Levittown Irish name!) and Mitchel Weinstein, who we called Zowie because that was his moms name and we found it utterly unique. In high school came some new players, Jimmy Sparrow, Doug Traenkle and others. After high school and one year of college (1985) I moved to California and soon became involved with a group of aspiring stuntmen and women. Our group was known as the Federation of International Stunt Technicians (F.IS.T.). It was created by two men, Rocky Paolucci and Michael Baron. They trained "athletically inclined people" in an array of stunt skills. I was trained and later helped train new recruits. Sunday was our day to train. We would spend those days training and honing our skills. Some Sundays were spent at Mount Rubidoux in Riverside repelling or at the stunt house in Santa Ana practicing high falls and stunt fighting.
After moving back to New York and finishing up college I spent my twenties vying for teaching jobs, courting young women and playing more sports. I played flag football with Dan O'Rourke and Mike Plienes for years. Phil Alba, who had started a league through church was first an opponent and then became a teammate and a friend. At the time I met Phil I was attending a Baptist Church and teaching at South Shore Christian School. Those days Sundays were reserved for church and spending time with family and more sports. After moving to Colorado I met and fell in love with Maren. Early in our relationship we dubbed Sunday "our day" and resisted making plans with friends and dedicated the day to us. We spent many Sundays taking walks, hikes or creating other urban and mountain adventures. It continued like that for years and even though we see other people on Sundays it still is our day to rest and reset. A day to reflect on the past week and prepare for the next week. To set some goals and support each other by being there for one another.
Sunday is still my favorite day of the week. It is usually quiet as it is right now sitting in the backyard. The sky is blue with white puffy clouds scattered about. You may notice less air travel these days due to the fear of flying and of course the U.S. being shut out of many countries.
I have not seen a single plane yet this morning. Sundays in America have changed through the years dating as far back as the Puritans of New England in the 1600's. Strict "blue laws" allowed nothing but church back then. Now-a-days Sunday is still a church going day amidst many other traditions like picnics, barb-e-ques and softball leagues. Spending time with family and resting are still popular in the 21st century. For more info on Sunday pasts check out this article from CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-history-of-sunday/
In pandemic news...the United States continues to struggle with the spread of COVID-19 (could it be from people refusing to wear masks?). As a nation we are far ahead of other countries in number of coronavirus cases and deaths. This chart is a testament to that:
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