It’s a sad week, this past week, with the passing of our friend, Ralph Nardell.
Ralph, an educator in his former life taught at Wyoming Area School District, but for me, he was just another counter buddy at Agolino’s Restaurant.
Being retired for many years, it was always fun to see Ralph show up at the breakfast and lunch counter with a few of the other regulars.
Before the 2011 flood that destroyed Agolino’s, the breakfast counter was filled with retired guys of various ages. When I joined the fray, I was the youngest and the only one still working.
Some of the men’s ages were as high as in there 90s, and sometimes I couldn’t keep up with them.
It seemed like everyone had an alias. Al Greco, a retired on the road salesman from Old Forge loved to golf, his first name was John. Pat Hudock, a retired PPL power plant worker, was born Stephen, and Sonny Marseco, a man who had tons of jobs, including working for the CIA in the Mid-East, was Anthony.
It took a while for me to get the names right at first.
A few years later, Ralph joined the breakfast club adding his dry humor and laughter to the mix.
Ralph didn’t have an alias thankfully, but the banter he brought to the counter was always interesting and thought provoking, with always a twist of humor.
Usually, Cindy “Blonde” Strelish served us and yes, she even had a nickname.
Blonde and Ralph would always go toe-to-toe, and it was always interesting what would happen every morning.
It was like walking into a live sitcom.
There were some others at the counter, but Al, Pat, Sonny and Cindy were the main characters.
Being the youngest, I had so much to learn from these guys and I did. They had so much knowledge and so much wisdom, I felt at times I was like a sponge just absorbing everything everyone had to say.
Sonny was the first of our counter friends that passed away in 2008 at the age of 73.
He stunned us in 2007 when he revealed he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and was given 12-months to live.
Honestly, the disease didn’t affect him for a very long time, and he ended up living for 18 months past his diagnosis.
He was a class act and he was Tuesdays with Morey. We spent a lot of time together and at 50 years old, I needed his wisdom as much as he needed friends after his diagnosis.
We keep in constant contact over the 18 months right to the very end when I visited him in hospice the day before he died.
Pat passed away in 2012 at the age of 89. He said he was going to live to be 102 so he could outlive a friend of his who passed away at the age of 101.
He was a Navy flyer serving during WWII who flew on nearly 30 missions while serving in England. He was a gunner that would be in some crazy position in a B-17 shooting at enemy planes.
Pat told me his squadron would share a plane and each squad would alternate every other mission.
On one fateful day, it was his squad sat out a mission and his plane was shot down, killing everyone on board. Pat always felt fortunate, feeling it could have been him.
Cindy passed away in 2014. Al passed away two-years later 2016 at the age of 93.
He loved golf so much, he kept his clubs in the trunk and he would play at so many golf courses while on the road.
Al was also a veteran and in his last days, he resided at the Geno Merli Veterans Center at Scranton.
Ralph and I decided to visit him one day at the home, and it was a sad visit for sure. Al had been so vibrant and always on top of his game and when Ralph and I got to his floor, he was sitting in a geriatric chair just staring off into space.
When we approached him, his eyes lit up like fireworks, and it took a few minutes for him to realize who Ralph and I were, he was thrilled we showed up.
We spent as much time as we could with Al before he had to be wheeled away.
Ralph, who always was quick with a quip or two, was pretty quiet on the drive home and I believe the reality of the situation got to both of us.
When at the counter, Ralph’s appearances were not as regular and he always had trouble sleeping being up half the night.
Poached eggs over dry wheat toast and coffee was his regular breakfast selection and always before he left, he’d order a take out for a family member.
He dropped some serious coin at the restaurant, and if Ralph did not do it there, before he began to slow down, he loved to take a quick trip to the casino.
Ralph loved life, he had a great career as a teacher (he even taught my daughter), had tons of friends and loved playing cards with many of them, but most of all, he loved his family. … They meant everything.
Nonno as his family knew him, will be sorely missed. I will forever miss them all.
Quote of the Week
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” – Chuck Palahniuk
Thought of the Week
“Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.” – Henry David Thoreau
Bumper Stick
“It’s not the length of life, but depth of life.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
