How We Met

Barbara and I met Wednesday night, September 2, 1970 at the OBI North, a disco, in Smithtown NY. The OBI was dead that night. I was talking to Danny Quail, a friend of my older brother, Rod, when Barbara's best friend and sorority roommate, Jane Barbato walked up to talk to Danny. While they were chatting, Barbara and I started talking. We hit it off pretty well and hung out together for the rest of the evening. When we were about to leave, Barbara asked me if I wanted to come back to her folks beach house in Wading River to hang out some more. Of course I did.

When we got to the house, I met her mom, her dad was in bed. Barbara and I sat on the couch talking until about 4:00 am.

At one point, I looked over at the stairs going up to the second floor, and I see her three younger sisters peeking, trying to see what we were doing. Of course Barbara got up and tried to chased them back to bed, but they wouldn't go. Barbara's mom came out to see what was going on, and did the chasing instead.

I got Barbara's phone number before I left and told her I'd call her. I finally called her after three days of procrastinating. I kept thinking, "Should I call her?" "Did she like me?" "What if she doesn't want to talk to me?", stuff like that. Her mom told me on the way to the cemetery, that Barbara was doing pretty much the same thing at their house. Until I called, she walked around almost the whole time saying things like, "Why doesn't he call?" "I thought he liked me." "Do you think he'll call?", all that sort of stuff. Her mom just kept telling her, "Barbara, if it's meant to be, he'll call. If he doesn't call, then it wasn't."

I finally got up the courage call three days later. It was after dinner and I got permission to make the call in my mom and dad's room where I could have some privacy. We weren't allowed in there without permission. One of Barbara's younger sisters, I think it was Debbie, answered the phone and it went, from what I can remember, like this.

"Is Barbara there?"

"Who's calling please?"

"This is Tony."

"Hold on please."

She puts down the phone and as she's walking, maybe running, to get Barbara, I could her her saying, "It's him! It's him! He called! He called! Where's Barbara?" Someone says, "I'll get her. "BARBARA! HE'S ON THE PHONE! HURRY!"

I just laughed.

I could hear Barbara say something in the distance, but couldn't make it out. She picked up the phone very calmly and we talked for I don't remember how long, but quite a while. I asked her out on a date that night to go horseback riding. Yeah, I know it's kind of strange for a first date, but I liked horse back riding. She said yes. I was very excited.

That is how it all began.