Ever wake up to find something you love trapped in the past?

My Uncle Bill was a fireman. My dad’s dad was a mailman. My mom’s dad was a mechanic. They are all gone and with them, the stoops of Astoria, the basement bars and beach bungalows have disappeared from my life.

My immediate family moved from Astoria while I was still a baby. I grew up in Wayne, but that wasn’t the sum of my expireences.

In younger days, my parents loved to party and the New York accents of their friends and relatives filled the house throughout my childhood.

Whenever the New York contingent came out for a party, they blew away the more subdued Jersey neighbors. The New Yorkers stayed late and their voices boomed across the yard. Ever wake up to find something you love trapped in the past?