Category Archives: 10 Dates

10 Dates, Rave

10 Dates in the Past – December 15th 1945

It’s been awhile since I did this but this is the next installment in 10 dates. I thought it would be cool to if given the chance pick 10 dates to visit in the past. The next one is a personal one and although it is fourth on my list, remember the list isn’t in any particular order.

  1. December 15, 1945 – The Wedding of My Grandparents – South Philadelphia

My dad’s mom loved to tell stories and everyone loved to listen to them because they were always so colorful. She grew up a poor Irish Catholic in an Italian neighborhood in South Philly. Her father was a master plumber but like most Irish, he drank away all the money. She would tell stories of her father coming home drunk and putting a pot of spaghetti on his head and putting meatballs in his pockets. He would then proceed to walk down 9th street throwing the meatballs at kids because he was pissed his daughters were cooking Italian food. The way she told the stories made the absurd sound casual and through her I learned the art of storytelling.

I’ve never met anyone who was able to tell a story like my grandmother and I was thrilled when my aunt recently gave me a cassette tape of my cousin interviewing my grandmother. It felt like magic to once again hear her voice and have stories of her childhood come to life. One story on the tape that I had yet to hear was how she met and married my grandfather. They had lived in the same neighborhood and one day my grandfather asked her out on a date. She politely declined because she knew he was going with this other girl. That other girl threatened to cut my grandmother’s face with a milk bottle and she responded with, “honey this face is too pretty for you to scar.” My grandfather was persistent and soon they were going together and after the war they got married.

Their wedding took place December 15, 1945 in South Philly. Their wedding was no grand affair, they made sandwiches the night before and only had beer and whiskey at the reception. I do not know if my great grandfather showed up sober or drunk and caused some antics but judging by his track record I will go with the later. As great as my grandmother was at telling stories to be able to go back and see a story of hers actually come to life would be amazing. To finally see my grandparents young, to meet that man who loved to wear spaghetti on his head, to see the old neighborhood as she remembered it would be a sensory overload and I would enjoy every moment of it.

Their wedding picture, the one at the top of this blog, hung in their house for as long as I could remember. As a kid I could not comprehend that the people in the photo were my grandparents and I had wished for years that picture would come to life. This would be my chance and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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Reading of the Declaration of Indepence
10 Dates, Rave

10 Dates in the Past – July 4th 1776

On this historic day I thought I would go back and visit another historic day and add to my list of the 10 dates I would like to visit in the past:

3. July 4th, 1776 – Philadelphia – Independence Square

If I have to explain the historical, societal, cultural, any other –al of this date to you then get out of my blog. Philadelphia is where this country we call The United States of America began. Suck it Boston and New York. Our founding fathers gathered in Independence Hall to write what many believe to be the most important document in human history. Never before had colonies joined together and decided that enough is enough and it was time to take their independence from their mother county. Tired of taxation without representation and all that other exploitation the smartest men in the New World gathered together to declare their independence from the British crown.

The document was read aloud in Independence Square on July 4th, 1776, and the magnitude of those words were soon felt the world over. Who were these brave men who dared defy a super power? How could a ragtag bunch of rebels defeat the mighty red coats? These questions and more were proposed when the 56 men of the Second Continental Congress officially signed and adopted the Declaration of Independence. Although they were some of the finest minds in the New World, I doubt many of the men in that room realized the implications this document would have for years to come.

To be one of those people in the crowd and the first to hear those monumental words to the document would be astonishing. I would love to see the faces of those in the crowd; did they really understand what was happening? Not to mention I would be in the city I love the most at a time when it was the most important city in the New World. Not gonna lie, it would also be kind of cool to dress in some colonial garb. Who knows maybe even I would be able to catch a glimpse of my favorite founding father, Benjamin Franklin and shake the hand of one of the smartest men to ever grace this planet. I will leave you with a quote from my friend Ben at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

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10 Dates, Rave

10 Dates in the Past – May 13, 1975 – Game 7 – Flyers vs. Islanders

Adding to my list of dates that I would like to visit in the past:

2. May 13, 1975 – Game 7 – Flyers vs. Islanders

The Broad Street Bullies were terrorizing the NHL on the way to their second Stanley Cup Championship. The Flyers were up 3-0 against the New York Islanders in the best of seven series. Remarkably, the Islanders won the next 3 games to force a game 7 at the Spectrum. Starting in 1969, the music director or whatever he is called of the Spectrum asked if he could play “God Bless America” instead of the National Anthem before the Flyers home games because he felt fans were ignoring the National Anthem. You see, the Vietnam War was raging on and Americans were dissatisfied with the country and he hoped to jolt some patriotism into the building and played Kate Smith’s God Bless America. Well the Flyers won that night and continued to win just about every game the song was played and a good luck charm was born. Kate Smith performed live before the games just a few times in her career and the one I want to see is the one before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semi-finals.

In the previous round the Islanders had battled back from down 3-0 and won the series and the Flyers were not about to let that happen again. They flew Kate Smith in and wheeled the organ out as she belted out the song in front of a raucous crowd. I don’t know where I read or heard this but the entire performance lasted just about 10 minutes and many Islanders thought the game was over before it began. The Flyers went on to win the game and then go on to beat Buffalo and capture their second consecutive Stanley cup. I cannot imagine the atmosphere in the building as the organ was wheeled out and she made her grand entrance. I listen to the song now as it is still played before big Flyers game and her voice is remarkable and I want to see her live.

Not to mention I would see the entire cast of the Broad Street Bullies in person. My dad and the entire city of Philadelphia fell in love with hockey watching this rough and tough band of brothers play a foreign sport. When hockey came to Philadelphia in 1967 a parade was held and just about 2 people showed up. Seven years later after the first cup was won, over 2 million people flocked to Broad Street to watch the Bullies on parade. I believe it is still the largest victory parade in the city to this day. As you can probably tell I am a huge Flyers fan and you might be wondering why I didn’t pick a date when they actually won the Stanley Cup and the answer is simple, I want to witness that live for the first time not knowing the outcome. There is nothing like playoff hockey and there is nothing like Kate Smith and the Broad Street Bullies.

Disclaimer: The video is not from the date I want. Apparently that video doesn’t exist on YouTube, more reason I want to see it live.

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10 Dates, Rave

10 Dates in the Past – December 15th, 1975 – Philadelphia – The Spectrum

So I had this idea in my head that I’ve been tossing around and basically it goes if you could pick 10 dates and places to visit in the past, where would you go? I picked 10 because apparently that’s the most popular number that there is when it comes to making lists. So over the next 10 or so days I will write the day, the place and explain why I want to go there. Now I am ignoring the butterfly effect and simply choosing events that I would like to have witnessed firsthand. Also just to keep things grounded; I can only name specific dates and places and not be vague and say that I want to go back and see a dinosaur cause I don’t; shit is scary. Please also be aware that the dates are not ranked in order.

So without further ado:

1. December 15th, 1975 – Philadelphia – The Spectrum

Believe it or not the first concert I ever went to was The Who in 2002. It was a month or so after beloved bassist John “The Ox” Entwistle died and I wasn’t even supposed to go to the concert. My Dad introduced The Who to my neighbor who got tickets to the show only after my Uncle had promised he got a ticket for himself and my dad. Low and behold Uncle P was lying and there were only 3 tickets. I told my Dad repeatedly to go but he made me go instead and I am forever grateful. He turned me from a casual classic rock and music fan into a concert junkie. Even with only two original members the godfathers of punk rock put on an unbelievable show. The show was also memorable because I saw my Uncle get chased by security and smoke a bong with a guy in a wheelchair.

Since that day I’ve been to many concerts and I’ve seen The Who each time they stopped in Philly for a total of five times. Unfortunately I will never get to see all four members together on stage as Entwistle died in 2002 and the drummer Keith Moon left us in 1978. The last time that all four band members played together on stage in Philadelphia was December 15th, 1975 at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Now I’ve seen two shows at the Spectrum and they were amazing and I cannot begin to fathom the energy that was produced on stage that night. Watching videos of the four working together on stage, Moon pounding away on the drums, Roger belting out each line like it was his last, Entwistle quietly but powerfully keeping the band on beat and of course the unmistakable sound and playing style of Townshend on guitar will never compare to seeing the four playing together live.

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