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Teenage Humiliation
When I was really little, I used to have a huge crush on cousin Bud.
(He's actually my Mom (Irene's) cousin...Aunt Louise's son.) Even though he
was often referred to as "Little Bud" he certainly was not "little" to me.
In fact, I used to love it when he would scoop me up in his big arms, and I
would give him a giant kiss and hug around the neck. I looked forward to
seeing him at every Feronti gathering.
Well, as time went by, and I got a bit older, Erin (Bill's daughter) and I
found more important things to do, especially at Grandpa Chuck and Grandma
Sylvia's house...like play "ship" on their bed which was upstairs, right
above the dining room table. Of course, we usually got in trouble for doing
that, because it sounded like we were "coming through the roof" as Grandpa
Chuck would say. So we would have to sit on the steps as our punishment.
Needless to say, I was more interested in playing ship and talking about
boys with my cousin Erin than my childish crush on my 2nd cousin!
Anyway, I remember one Christmas Eve at Gramma Donna's house, Bud
approached me and with a pouty, puppy dog look on his face asked me why I
never made a big deal over him any more. "What, no kiss? No hug? Are you
too old for that now, or what?" He asked. Well, I gave him a quick peck on
the cheek, just as any embarrassed pre-teen would do, and went back to
plotting with my sister Shelley on how to sneak upstairs even though we were
scolded several times by Aunt Louise not to EVER go up there.
Well, several years went by, and I did not see Bud for a long time. But
then, it happened. It was Christmas Eve, and of course the whole Feronti
family was gathered (well, rather squished) into Gramma Donna's house. The
smell of macaroni and oil filled the air, and everyone was in pretty high
spirits. I spotted Bud through the crowd and thought to myself, "I'll show
him! I'll never be too old for that big Bud kiss and hug!" So, as I pushed
my way through the swarm of Feronti's, knocking over the little ones, and
spilling drinks out of relatives' hands, I finally approached Bud. I threw
my arms around his neck, and planted a giant kiss right on his lips. "MERRY
CHRISTMAS!!!" I merrily proclaimed as the room suddenly became awkwardly quiet. Strangely, Bud did not seem to enjoy this display, but was very eager to pull away from me. As I nervously giggled, and backed up a few steps, my sister Shelley whispered in my ear, "Stacey, what are you
doing?!?!" As the noise level of the crowd rose once again, and the awkward
moment passed, I told Shelley about my little plot to prove to Bud that I
had not gotten too old to give him a kiss and hug. I knew I went a little
bit overboard, but I wasn't expecting THAT kind of a reaction! Then Shelley
said, "Well, that WOULD have been really funny, and you WOULD have really gotten Bud good....if only that man was actually cousin Bud." I laughed and said, "Shelley, what are you talking about...of COURSE that's Bud! He
probably just didn't recognize me because he hasn't seen me in years!"
Well, then Shelley proceeded to point out the woman that was standing right
next to the man whom I thought was Bud, as her eyes kept a close, steady
glare in my direction. "Who is that woman?" I asked Shelley nervously.
She replied, "That is KEVIN'S fiance." "Who's KEVIN????" I asked. "Kevin is another one of Mom's cousin's whom we have never met, and whom you practically knocked over with your dramatic display of Christmas affection.
He has no idea who you are, and now everyone else in this room thinks you
have gone out of your mind, and his fiance probably wants to take you out
back and kick your a##!"
Well, needless to say, I slunk downstairs, placed myself in a corner, and
hid for the rest of the evening. I'm glad I can laugh at it now, like the
rest of the Feronti's, but back then, that was probably one of the most
humiliating moments of my teenage life! I'm sure that will go down in the
Feronti history books!
Oh, and now whenever I see Bud...I make sure it really is him before I
give him a hug and kiss!
Story From Irene
One of the highlights of my week as a child was waking up Sunday morning and getting all dressed up for church. The highlight was really what would happen after church. Bill and I and sometimes we would allow Heather to drag along, would walk to Gramma's house. My mouth begins to salivate as I share this story. As you walked in the front door, that wonderful smell of meatballs frying, spaghetti sauce simmering and bread baking would wind it's way right up the steps and greet you at the door. Well, we would only be stopping for a visit and usually everyone was hustling around the kitchen trying to get dinner on the table. I can remember thinking, if I could help I could stall long enough to stay for a plate of that wonderful spaghetti. The cheese grater was attached to the end of the table and I can remember being allowed to grate the cheese. That of course, earned me the privilege to stay for dinner. No matter what, without fail, even when there were 50 people there, it was never too much to set one more place at the table. Well of course you had to eat in shifts but it just seemed the best place to be for Sunday Dinner. Gramma would say, "Do you want to stay for dinner"? Before I could respond, Grampa would say in his gruff voice, "Don't ask her, just give her a plate!" I always counted on that and they never disappointed me!
Story from Amy Hansel
When I was a little girl, Christmas was always a very special time for us. In the days preceding the big event, my mom would make dozens of cookies- gingerbreads, nutrolls, fudge, etc! For the kids, she would decorate sugar cookies and hang them on the Christmas tree, which was in the basement family room.
On Christmas Eve, Uncle Jim and his family would come to our house for dinner- bakala and macaroni and oil. As kids, we weren't too interested in the fish and pasta, so we generally indulged in a few extra sweets to supplement the feast. The biggest culprits of this activity were Tommy and Jimmy, who often ate so many cookies (and were so excited about Santa's arrival) that they would entertain us for most of the night! Each year, the pinnacle of the evening was the reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas by Uncle Jim as we gathered around him on the family room sofa, surrounded by the scents and sounds of a family Christmas
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