YOU STEPPED OUT OF A
DREAM
A few years ago a picture of my
college friend, Ray Durante, appeared in a Stevens Alumni publication. He had
been an excellent student, a member of Theta Xi fraternity and a varsity
basketball and baseball player. Shortly afterwards, a different Stevens
publication ran an interesting story about Ray’s impressive work career, first
as a V.P. of a major international manufacturer of electrical products and
currently the owner of a consulting business (food radiation) in Washington,
D.C.
A day or so later, an alumni
friend told me he had spoken with Ray recently. In the course of their
conversation, he said that Ray mentioned that his wife, Dorothy (Dottie) Murray,
had dated me while we were in high school. Why Ray found it necessary to
divulge this information is beyond me, but there you have it.
I felt compelled to phone Ray and
Dottie. I had not spoken with them in over half a century. How would they react
to my call, barging into their perfectly wonderful and successful lives after
so many years?
With some trepidation, I dialed
their number. Someone answered. I recognized Dottie’s voice.
"God, I can't believe it's
you," she said with great enthusiasm. With Ray listening on the
speakerphone she added, "Joe, I dreamed about you the other night."
I tensed, wondering what she might
reveal. "Doing what with whom?”
"You were being as funny as
ever,” she responded. "Would you like to know exactly what I dreamed?”
Mentally, I flinched, not knowing
where this conversation might be headed.
She continued, "I recalled
the time when we went out on a date and you taught me how pronounce your name
backwards. It sounded like “Phesoj Ytrennif.”
I about fell out of my chair,
laughing. Here I am, talking to Dottie for the first time in a half century or
so, and she recalled this occasion. As soon as she spoke my name that way, the
memory of that particular date came to mind. We had attended a dance and then
went for a coke at the local ice cream parlor where I told her with great
solemnity that this is how she should address me in the future.
Teenage dating in the early '40s
focused on dancing. During those years, I could attend jukebox music dances every
night of the week at various high school gyms and church social halls
throughout Hoboken , Jersey
City and Union City .
I danced with Dottie numerous times during those pleasant years, performing the
“Jitterbug” to swing tunes or the “Peabody ”
to really fast numbers. If Sinatra, Crosby , or Como
crooned a ballad, everyone did the “Montclair ,”
a slow gliding dance that forced couples to embrace for hours. No wonder we
loved dancing!
During my Stevens days, many Hoboken
girls attended our fraternity parties. We did not spend all our time drinking
beer. By golly, we danced between sips. Dottie
met Ray at such a party and married him shortly after he graduated.
Ray and Dorothy (she no longer
uses the name, Dottie) told me they had moved eighteen times during his early working
career, and had traveled worldwide. He spent years representing his employer in
D.C., and had come to know many politicians.
To my very great surprise, Dorothy
told me she had become an avid golfer and had served as a volunteer at famous
professional events. She had met all the game's big names.
Dorothy and Ray had moved up the
ladder of success. I wondered if she anticipated her future life while we
danced. I doubt it. I am pleased everything turned out so well for them.
Memoirs are sweet. When you go
backwards in time, be certain you reverse the spelling of your name. It is a
lot more fun that way.
Don’t you agree, “Yarrum Yhtorod?”
▄
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