Being surrounded by Scots, Irish, and Welsh growing up in the Bronx, Uncle Tony was the first American in the family. As such Aunt Sandra's Mom, my Gran, didn't know what to make of him at times. I remember her saying to me, "Why does Tony only take Sandra out to dinner?" "Why doesn't he take her out dancing?" I explained to her that in America going out to dinner was a big deal; it was a special date, and it probably means he really likes Aunt Sandra.
I had aspirations to go to College. When I was a junior in High School, Uncle Tony was high up in management at the Continental Can Company in Queens, NY and he got me a job at the factory one summer. I made 25,000 cans per hour. At first, I thought I would never be able to keep up. One time I made 5,000 Canada Dry Ginger Ale cans inside out in the space of 10 minutes. The line had to be shut down, not a good thing. The foreman was giving it to me, as he should, but what I didn't know was that Uncle Tony in his pressed white button down shirt with sharp tie was watching me from afar. He came up to me with a grin on his face and said, " This is the reason you are going to College."
Lastly, I had the honor of serving at Aunt Sandra and Uncle Tony's wedding in 1965 as an altar boy at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.