No. 57 April, 2008
Dinner at Nonnie's
By Deborah Martin
My daughter announced 5 years ago that she wanted to be a hairstylist. We were sitting at the table with my Irish-Catholic-4-times-married-mother (no, that is not a typo) and her Sicilian-10-years-younger-one-time-married-husband, a.k.a. my step dad, and my husband Jim, who doesn't smile or talk much but says a lot with few
words. With us were our four children...Julianne (the would be stylist), Jim III ( handsome and funny, you wish you were him), Veronica ( smarter than you and she can prove it) and Mary Kathryn (who are these people?).
ANYWAY... Julie was getting ready to graduate from Notre Dame High School after four years of a P,B and J family diet and decided to announce at Nonnie's that she didn't want to go to college. She wanted to do hair.
"Have you lost your mind?" asked Nonnie. "They're all sluts or gay. They have no money, they all drink too much and smoke. You'll be broke and pregnant within a year!!!"
My husband's eyes now popped out so large I thought he'd lose his head. My step dad just kept eating.
"Excuse me, old woman," I said, "but have you forgotten what I do for a living?"
At the time, I made a living as a hair stylist, running the salon and spa at the Turning Stone resort.
"I rest my case," Nonnie siad.
My husband began to speak, but my dad stoopped him.
"Jim, grab your pie and follow me." Poppie and Jim left the room as my mother and I launched into a war of words that would melt your hair. Exasperted, Julie jumped up from the dining room "bench," forgetting that Nonnie was sitting next to her. You know how benches are when the weight on one end doesn't match the weight on the opposite end, Yep...BLAMMO!!!! Nonnie flopped onto the floor!
And as in any good Irish Catholic Sicilian family ... the fighting stopped, we picked up Nonnie, yelled at Poppie about the faulty bench, and made coffee.
copyright Deborah Martin, 2008
Deborah Christiansen Martin, was born in Utica, NY and attended Proctor High School as a member of the Class of 1977. Married to Jim Martin, she is the mom of four children and a full-time member of the Air Natonal Guard in Rome, NY. Debbie is a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, President of the Junior Enlisted Council and 2nd Vice Commander of the Leon R Roberts Post 161 in Holland Patent, NY. She describes herself as an ex-hippie, ex-hairstylist, ex-conservative, and ex-cranky person, but time will tell regarding the latter.