gregorio memorio
whew. the void that greg left is a painful one to put a grasp on. just reading through all the love, laughs and goodness that was and is greg puts a tearful smirk on this cousin's face. since greg is alive and well in our hearts and memories, here's a few of my own ...
late 70's - hawaii
a family jaunt to the exotic beauty of the pacific to visit the other betz family (and i mean other in the best of ways) is an early, yet vivid memory. as the only other boy cousin still kickin' it at the kids table, greg was the bee's knees in my book. not only was he a bit older than my sisters (and his) and able to wage some authority in the boy/girl rivalries, he had some damn cool stuff. i remember something of his with all kinds of patches, the iron-on type that was a clear sign of prestige in those good days.
early 80's - maryland
aunt chris and uncle chic had a place in ocean city that all the family congregated to on several wonderful occasions. one evening after a full day of beachness, the ice cream truck tempted our bellies with its sweet bells and chimes. in a scramble, all of us younger cousins begged money from whoever was giving and made a mad dash, running at top speed through the underbelly of the buildings on their salty stilts, all the while knowing that speedy greg was our only chance at satisfaction. he proved to be the hero of the day. mmmmm mmm, that ice cream was good.
one morning i was fast asleep in the back porch, comforted by the sounds of the rest of the family eating, chatting and doing whatever else people do in the morning. then a sudden bellow from greg's ass jolts me into consciousness. he ran off, showing his ever-present grin in satisfaction of doing the impossible - waking me before noon. as an aside, i do not recommend this technique, for it does come with the cold dish of revenge.
early 80's - georgia
the betz's come and visit us in hotlanta and we get to go to the kid's dreamland of six flags. however, this boy was a complete wussy and cowered in the thought of getting on one of those crazy contraptions. greg, in a beautiful and generous gesture, offered to ride a lame little kid ride with me. how could one refuse? it was a great ride, and if i remember correctly, was not as tame as one would think.
mid 90's - new york
my dad calls and tells me that greg and i are neighbors in new york city. having not seen each other in some time, coming together as grown adults (i use that term loosely in my case) was quite, well, cool. there was a definite connection between him and i, something in the blood that made us look at one another and nod our heads in silent agreement. what is interesting that, while betz boys like our fathers, there were a number of things from our mom's side, genetically and otherwise that were strong ties. i guess our dad's have similar tastes in their women. impeccable tastes, i might add.
i gotta tell ya, referring to him in the past tense sucks.
late 90's - maryland
this was another sad, sad day - the funeral for our mom mom, our mimi, our grandmother. greg and i stood together on that one. we talked about what a shame it is that we end up not seeing so many old friends and family members until there's a funeral. how true.
early 2000's - new york
sittin' at my desk one fine day in the city, i scooted out early to head to the river and catch the sunset (something that i should do more often). walkin' through the crowds of 14th street, up comes a pair of flip flops carrying gregorio on down the block. a sweet little encounter of chance that i like to think of a reward for deciding to slow down and enjoy things a bit. it somehow makes sense that he would be on the way.
then there was the time heather and i ran into him on the brooklyn subway in the wee hours. many laughs were had that evening (morning?), making good time out of what turned out to be a long journey on a train sitting idle on the tracks as the repair crews worked ahead.
mid 2000's and beyond - any ol' place
here's to all the times that greg will pop up, to that damn grin and the sparkle in his eye, to the low talk amidst laughs, and to all of the other amazing things that we have because of him.
late 70's - hawaii
a family jaunt to the exotic beauty of the pacific to visit the other betz family (and i mean other in the best of ways) is an early, yet vivid memory. as the only other boy cousin still kickin' it at the kids table, greg was the bee's knees in my book. not only was he a bit older than my sisters (and his) and able to wage some authority in the boy/girl rivalries, he had some damn cool stuff. i remember something of his with all kinds of patches, the iron-on type that was a clear sign of prestige in those good days.
early 80's - maryland
aunt chris and uncle chic had a place in ocean city that all the family congregated to on several wonderful occasions. one evening after a full day of beachness, the ice cream truck tempted our bellies with its sweet bells and chimes. in a scramble, all of us younger cousins begged money from whoever was giving and made a mad dash, running at top speed through the underbelly of the buildings on their salty stilts, all the while knowing that speedy greg was our only chance at satisfaction. he proved to be the hero of the day. mmmmm mmm, that ice cream was good.
one morning i was fast asleep in the back porch, comforted by the sounds of the rest of the family eating, chatting and doing whatever else people do in the morning. then a sudden bellow from greg's ass jolts me into consciousness. he ran off, showing his ever-present grin in satisfaction of doing the impossible - waking me before noon. as an aside, i do not recommend this technique, for it does come with the cold dish of revenge.
early 80's - georgia
the betz's come and visit us in hotlanta and we get to go to the kid's dreamland of six flags. however, this boy was a complete wussy and cowered in the thought of getting on one of those crazy contraptions. greg, in a beautiful and generous gesture, offered to ride a lame little kid ride with me. how could one refuse? it was a great ride, and if i remember correctly, was not as tame as one would think.
mid 90's - new york
my dad calls and tells me that greg and i are neighbors in new york city. having not seen each other in some time, coming together as grown adults (i use that term loosely in my case) was quite, well, cool. there was a definite connection between him and i, something in the blood that made us look at one another and nod our heads in silent agreement. what is interesting that, while betz boys like our fathers, there were a number of things from our mom's side, genetically and otherwise that were strong ties. i guess our dad's have similar tastes in their women. impeccable tastes, i might add.
i gotta tell ya, referring to him in the past tense sucks.
late 90's - maryland
this was another sad, sad day - the funeral for our mom mom, our mimi, our grandmother. greg and i stood together on that one. we talked about what a shame it is that we end up not seeing so many old friends and family members until there's a funeral. how true.
early 2000's - new york
sittin' at my desk one fine day in the city, i scooted out early to head to the river and catch the sunset (something that i should do more often). walkin' through the crowds of 14th street, up comes a pair of flip flops carrying gregorio on down the block. a sweet little encounter of chance that i like to think of a reward for deciding to slow down and enjoy things a bit. it somehow makes sense that he would be on the way.
then there was the time heather and i ran into him on the brooklyn subway in the wee hours. many laughs were had that evening (morning?), making good time out of what turned out to be a long journey on a train sitting idle on the tracks as the repair crews worked ahead.
mid 2000's and beyond - any ol' place
here's to all the times that greg will pop up, to that damn grin and the sparkle in his eye, to the low talk amidst laughs, and to all of the other amazing things that we have because of him.
posted by Reid Betz - Cuz at 4:53 PM
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