MEMORIES - JO & HELEN - by Toby Sullivan
On Saturday, July 10, 2004, David and I went to visit Jo's friend, Helen, at her home in Waterford. Helen and Jo grew up together, in the Fair Haven section of New Haven, on Mill Street which was located adjacent to the Mill River. Helen said Jo was her "best friend".
As we drove up to her cute little house, just a block from the ocean, she was sitting on her front porch looking far less than her 92 years of age. Helen still looks fantastic... the red hair of her youth now a pretty brown. We chatted a bit, met her son Bobby, and then talked about Jo; her reminiscing sparkling a twinkle in her beautiful eyes.
BEST FRIENDS
As kids, Jo used to call Helen "Red" (a nickname based on Helen's red hair)... Jo would yell... "Hey, Red, come here...", a memory evoking laughter from all of us.
THE STORE
Helen talked about the little neighborhood grocery store that Jo's parents owned in Fair Haven, near the corner of Mill and Wolcott Streets. Back then, the stores didn't have names, but were known by everyone in the neighborhood as the place to get milk, bread, and most important (to kids at least), candy. Helen recalled that Jo would always give her candy... even though Jo would "catch it" from her father. But, you know Jo, always feeding people (even in her youth).
THE HAIRCUT
According to Helen, Jo's mother, Veronica, used to blame Helen for everything. Jo and Helen found Veronica's haircutting kit and decided to have Helen give Jo a haircut. The fashionable style of the times was a "shingle" cut. Let's just say that Helen's calling was not one of a hairdresser. She said the cut was AWFUL. Veronica was sooooooooooo mad.
THE GRASS RUG
Jo and Helen used to find stuff on the street (much as New Yorkers do when trying to furnish their apartments). During one of their jaunts, they found a beautiful grass rug, which they thought was real treasure. The neighborhood people didn't want outsiders taking their stuff (even if they had discarded it), so as Jo and Helen were carting it off, the neighbors chased Jo and Helen out of their neighborhood. No grass rug that day.
MI CASA ES SU CASA
After one of Jo's and Helen's adventures, Jo didn't feel like going home, so she went with Helen to her house. Helen's mother, however, set a curfew for Helen of 8:00 and if Helen wasn't home by 8:00 on the dot, the door would be locked. Then it would be off to someone else's house to sleep that night. They were tired, after a day of more adventures, so Helen's house was were they wanted to sleep.
It was just a little bit after 8:00 when they arrived, but they tried the door in hopes Helen's mom forgot to lock it. No such luck. The door was locked, and they couldn't knock (not after curfew!!!). Jo, determined as she always was, decided they should try to get in through the window of Helen's room.
Picture this. She climbed up to the window, quietly opening the window so Helen's mom wouldn't hear them coming in, with Helen following just behind her. Helen's bed was right next to the window, so it would be easy just stepping on the bed when they got through the window. When Jo landed on the bed, there was Helen's mom, whom of course awakened immediately. "Why did you climb through the window. You could have used the front door!!!", she cried.
NECTAR OF THE GODS?
Helen and her dad used to work on a lobster boat in Long Island Sound. The boat was owned by the Esposito family. The Esposito family lived in the same house as either Jo's or Helen's family (this is why I should have had a tape recorder when we visited Helen). Mr Esposito grew grapes, as so many families did those days, and made his own wine from them. Helen remembers Mr Esposito stomping on the grapes in a tub in the backyard (remember the "I Love Lucy" episode where she was stomping on the grapes? Helen said it just the way Mr Esposito would crush them.) One of Mr Esposito's young sons decided to sample some of his father's wine. Jo decided she wanted to try it, too. Helen said Jo got soooooooo sick from the wine. (I think we've all had that experience once or twice in our lives, eh!) Mr Esposito wasn't very happy with his son.
PEPE'S
When Jo & Helen had a few cents to spare, they'd take a walk over to Pepe's Pizza and according to Helen, they were among Pepe's first customers. (This must be why we all love Pepe's Pizza so much).
SPARERIBS
Helen then asked if we knew about "Spareribs". David said it sounded kind of familiar, but he wasn't sure. As it turns out, Jo had a dog (of the mutt variety), and its name was "Spareribs". Isn't that a great name for a dog! Spareribs followed Jo and Helen everywhere.
As money was very tight back in those days, Jo and Helen used to walk over to the National Folding Box Company where they would climb up on top of these huge bins and dig out the funny papers. Sometimes they were accompanied by another neighborhood girl, Mary Terry. According to Helen, Mary Terry "knew everything there was to know about anything", so she was quite an interesting person to have tag along with them.
Well, there used to be this guy that hung around those bins waiting for who knows what (Helen whisperingly referred to him as "a pervert type"). Not knowing what "the guy" would do to them, they never climb down from the bins while he was hanging around, but would wait until he left. However, on this one particular occasion, Mary Terry (who was mature beyond her years) decided to climb down anyway. After some time passed, Jo and Helen wanted to leave, but they had to wait for Mary Terry (need I say more?). As they knew discovered where Mary Terry and the guy were, they devised a scheme to get Mary Terry to come out, so they could go home. This is where good old Spareribs (who as I said went everywhere with Jo and Helen) came in handy. From their place at the very top of the bin pile, they mischievously picked up Spareribs and dropped the poor mutt down on Mary Terry and the guy...(please note, in the actual sequence of events, there was no harm to animals). This "Spareribs drop" apparently did the trick, as Mary Terry and the guy came running out sooooooo fast... Spareribs must have scared the heck out of the two. Needless-to-say, that was the last time they invited Mary Terry to tag along with them to the bins.
David and I so enjoyed our visit with Helen, recalling her wonderful adventures with her best friend, Jo. Though her sight is failing a bit, and she never felt quite herself after an automobile accident six years ago, at 92 years of age, Helen is truly amazing. Helen's memories of her lifelong "best friend" triggered a smile and a chuckle with each story she shared with us.
We hope to visit Helen, again, and recapture more moments shared by "Red and Jo".
Toby