DrJohnAmbrose's Blog

The following were pictures I took during Thanksgiving celebration. I always have two regrets after Thanksgviving:
1. I probably didn’t attend to my guests’ needs adequately, didn’t check on who needed drinks, coffee, dessert or who needed to be made aware of special dishes they may have overlooked.
2. I didn’t spend enough time conversing with those relatives whom I see but once a year or less.
This year, as often the case I have a third regret:
3. I didn’t take enough pictures of everybody. So many of you are missing from the album, me included! (or should I say “excluded?”)

So, if anybody else took pictures, please, please,please send some to me to fill in the gaps, namely pictures of those whom I thoughtlessly neglected to photograph.
Nevertheless, and in spite of the shortcomings mentioned above, it was a great Thanksgiving celebration, with a great turnout, and we were ALL happy to see our extended family members on this joyous occasion!

This bizarre display occured in late November 2009 right over Union Boulevard in Totowa

How do like this cheerful little guy, Ian Michael Hughes, now three months old?

Johnny and Tina had Christopher baptized on November 15, 2009 at the Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church.
Tina’s brother and sister-in-law were the sponsors.

In attendance were Tina’s Dad, Aaron and much of the Ambrose clan.

Here are proceedings on the altar
After the baptism, the little Christian was returned to the family back in the church pews.

Atop the piano sits a little haunted village. Starting on the left is a tiny, dark graveyard in front of a sparkling blue-light tree; then a castle (actually an abandoned cathedral) lit from within. On a slight hill is a large pumpkin-shaped water tower adjacent to Dr. Frankenstein’s electrified laboratory. That’s the monster lying supine in the eerie blue-lit chamber in the front of the complex. Then there’s a merry-go-round on swings, with a witch, a mummy and a skeleton. In front of them is a haunted hayride.
Music provided by a ceramic Phantom of the Opera (not shown)

This past Saturday at San Remo I had the opportunity to renew the acquaintance of Mr. Rafaele (Ralph) Golzio, just turned 100 on October 20. He is a native-born Patersonian, raised on Beech St, Ralph attended school with Lou Costello and both were baptized at St. Anthony’s Church where my brother Dave and Ann Marie were married in 1990.

Mr. Golzio—Ralph, as he prefers to be called—graduated from Stevens Institute in Hoboken in 1932, and worked all his life as an engineer. He remains active in alumni affairs, particularly the “Old Guard” group which is composed of those who graduated in the 1950s or earlier. He even claims to have a surviving classmate from the Class of 1930 with whom he meets annually at “Old Guard” events.

His family traces its roots to the Piedmont section of Italy, but his most influential relative was an uncle-through-marriage who was of Neapolitan origin, and who was an accountant to bankers. He was briefly an associate of Bank of America founder, A P. Giannini. It was this uncle who encouraged and persuaded Ralph to for higher education and to go into engineering.

After graduation he worked at Wright Aeronautics until the end of World War II. Later Ralph founded Engineering Associates in 1947, qnd retired in 1987 at the age of 78!

Ralph actively pursued outdoor sports like skiing, snow-shoe hiking and mountain-climbing.

Presently he is plagued by bad knees, but gets around just fine employing a cane.
He has recently lectured at the Passaic County Historical Society on his personal recollections of the violent labor strikes that took place in Paterson in the first quarter of the 20th Century.

During outings to San Remo he is always accompanied by his admiring son-in-law, Tony. His current interests, besides his close family relationships, are mainly Astrophysics and Cosmology of which he does a lot of reading. He admits he is astonished by modern electronic technology including miniaturization of computers and communications devices.

Congratulations on turning 100, Ralph!

That’s me (right) having the honor to wish Ralph “Cent’ Anni !

You can read more about this amazing personality at this link, but wade through the advertisement first!

Here are a few pix from the Halloween Party held at Dr John’s and Marzena’s on October 30

First, me, the host! That’s supposed to be Barnaby, the villlain from March of the Wooden Soldiers, not “a pilgrim” or “Benjamin Franklin.” Sheesh!

The hostess Marzena and other Beauties

Then there’s the ever-beautiful wind-up doll, Laura Drager!

And…the ever statuesque living doll, Laura Drager, with Marcello in background.

Then Chris, the photographer as …?…”Autumn”… and beau

Eddie and the ever gorgeous Lisa

Nice shot of Marz’s costume with Chris who provided many of these great photos

Don’t think it was all fun and games! There was some serious dancing going on.

Dan used the latest in computer technology to test the limits of old-fashioned speakers

Making a grand descent, Frank (The Magnificent) Foti

For more photos of the event, go to Allison Casale’s Facebook album by reading the comment below and clicking on the link!