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I
was born in Rome, NY on
Griffiss Air Force Base in
1952 in the hospital that was
formerly on the grounds where
the new RFA is
now. I lived on
the base in two different
housing areas - Air City until
age 9, and Skyline Terrace at
age 10.
While
in Air City, I attended Bell
Road Elementary School
(currently named Jerry C.
Clough Elementary) from
kindergarten through fourth
grade. When I lived in
Skyline Terrace, I attended
Bellamy Elementary for most of
fifth grade.
When
my dad retired from the Air
Force, we moved less than a
mile from the base into Tuxedo
Trailer Park. I then
attended the rest of fifth
grade and all of sixth grade
at Columbus Elementary.
This is where I met Phil
Domenico, Susan Sutter, Candy
Knudsen, Bob DiCaprio, Jo Ann
Gotti, Joanne Dandino, Mark
Tagliaferri, Dennis Ceklovsky,
Jimmy VanDresar, Dianne
Bartolotti, and Paul Andrews -
all of whom have connections
to RCR.
I
continued on to Staley Junior
High for seventh, eighth, and
about a week or two in ninth
grade. We also moved
from Tuxedo to Acchino's
Trailer Park for my last year
in Rome, which is behind
Bucky's on Floyd Avenue.
I
moved from Rome
in 1966 just after starting 9th
grade at Staley when my dad got
a new job in Philadelphia,
PA
and I have lived in this area
since.
When I moved I kept in
touch with friends from Staley,
but as the years passed, keeping
in touch faded with many with
the exception of my best friend
Jimmy Peterson.
I always had a passion for music
and started playing guitar at
age 12. I taught myself a
lot of popular rock for the next
8 years by listening to
records. But at age 20, I
heard an album by the world's
most known classical guitarist
Andres Segovia which changed my
musical direction. I got
serious, took classical guitar
lessons, and began college as a
music major at age 24.
I was married in 1979 and
divorced in 1995. My ex
and I have always remained
friendly. We have two very
musically talented children -
Krista age 30 and Corey who
sadly died after his 21st
birthday in 2008. I'll never
quite get used to typing that.
Krista's website is here:
https://kristaparrish.com/
In 1990, though
I had never attended RFA as a
high school student, I wrote
to John Mastrangelo
and asked if I could attend
RFA's 20 year reunion. I
knew I would be able to see
old friends from Staley.
I attended and had a great
time which continued
throughout that weekend.
I mostly hung out with Val
Catalano and Liz Rocco at the
reunion and later that
weekend.
I have currently been
working in the computer field
as a systems analyst and have
been in the computer field in
different from 1989 until I
retired in 2016.
I played in a
few bands along the way, but
I'd have to say one of my most
memorable musical moments was
being picked as a volunteer to
sing "Ebony and Ivory" in a
live performance seated right
next to Stevie Wonder at the
Valley Forge Music Fair
December 4, 1983. You
can read the whole story at
this link:
https://parrishmag.net/fame.html
Music is still
a passion for me and I often
play in my daughter Krista's
band in and around the Philadelphia
area. I compose music
now and then which can be
heard on internet radio:
http://indiemusicpeople.com/artist.aspx?ID=62981
Any and every song
I've written is available to
anyone in RCR in MP3 format at
no cost if you email me and tell
me the title. If you'd
prefer a CD, that is fine too
and also free to RCR members.
I married my
current wife Maria June 20, 2013
after a very long immigration
process which began in May
2009. With that marriage
have come two beautiful
daughters - Airish 26 and
Maricriz 22. We are still
trying to have Maria's son Mark,
age 31, come to the U.S
permanently.
I am thrilled to have
reconnected with my Roman
friends and to also meet some I
hadn't known back in the day,
but feel mighty close to them
now!
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