by Michael Emanuele

Time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. As kids, we grew up in Irvington. Whether we were hanging out at Orange Park, Irvington Park, Olympic Park, or on the Giampino’s front porch following a game of stickball at Irvington Tech, we were from Irvington!
Doesn’t it seem like it was just yesterday that we were young adolescents going to St Leo’s Canteen on Friday night to dance and listen to the likes of Wilson Pickett singing “Mustang Sally” and then being disappointed when they played The Platters’ “Goodnight Sweetheart” knowing that the night was over? Can’t forget going down the street to get a quart of milk from the vending machine or hitting the corner store for a bottle of soda and some 5-cent candy bars. Which corner store? Didn’t matter it seemed like every block had at least one. And the Castle Theater…oh yes who can forget walking to the Castle Theater to catch a Saturday Matinee.

It wasn’t long before we hit the halls of Irvington High and blended from Greasers and Collegiates into Hippies, trading in our Leather and High Roll shirts or Sweaters, Chinos and Shitkickers for blue jeans and sneakers. Wasn’t it just a little bit ago that we packed into George Kleiner’s house uninvited on Thanksgiving Friday and started a tradition? Or drove around in his mean green machine to Burger King on Route 22 or to Jahns after the basketball game for an Awful Awful or the Kitchen Sink. Or maybe we hit the Pit for some liquid refreshments and stimulating conversation. And then before we knew it, it was Senior Cut Day down the shore and of course Prom Weekend.

And then…. we were graduating from Irvington High School and embarking on our new life, our new careers, and starting our new families. Again, it seems like it was just a stone’s throw ago, yet at the same time, it seems those days were ages ago. Where did all the years go? We know that we lived them all. We have memories and boxes of photos of how it was back then, and of all our hopes and dreams. We remember many of the milestones we achieved along the way as well as many of the mistakes and failures.

And now here it is….as each member of the family from our parent’s generation passes, we have the sobering knowledge that we are in the ninth inning.

How did we get here so fast?
Where did the years go and where did our youth go?

We remember seeing older people along the way thinking that becoming old like them was years away and that we were only in the first or second inning of the game of life. The last inning, the end of the game, was so far off that we couldn’t visualize it or fully imagine what it would be like, what would we be like? We recall being in the third, fourth, and fifth innings too and while we knew the 9th inning was coming – it was still a ways off. And yet, here it is.

Most of us are retired. We are grey-haired (unless we’re bald or we cheat) and move slower. When we get out of bed, we can feel every joint in our body – and they ache. No more stealing bases. More like falling down at the plate. We fall asleep at 7:00 pm watching TV or if we do go out, we are back home and in bed by 9PM. Wasn’t that just the time we were leaving to go out on a Friday night?

Some friends are in better shape than us and some worse, but we see a great change in them and in ourselves as well. They’re not as we remember them, young and vibrant. But like us, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we’d become. When we look into the mirror, we wonder how our grandfather or grandmother got in there!! Unfortunately for more than a few, the game ended early and they never got to the 9th inning.

Yes, it is now the 9th inning for us, but we still have 3 outs to go. We should be happy we made it to the last inning. And there are certainly some plusses for being here. We have the knowledge and experience that only comes with our age. We grew up in a much simpler time and in Irvington, a wonderful community. We have more time to enjoy ourselves and perhaps a few extra dollars to do the same. We had and still have the best music. And, we were taught by the best generation ever.

So, don’t end the game early. Play until the last out. Win the game! Don’t put off anything you would like to do or accomplish – it’s not too late. It’s never too late. Go on that trip. Spend time with family. Spend time with friends and with people whose company you enjoy and who love, like, and respect you. Mend fences, forgive, and ask to be forgiven. Have no regrets. Enjoy what you have accomplished and strive to accomplish more – whatever that means to you – not anyone else. Love yourself!

Ok, enough said, now let’s Play Ball!
Hope to see you at the Reunion.

Mike Emanuele