~ Malden Musings ~ Brothers on the Branch

By Peter Levine

Maldonia, raise a pint glass to the late, great Steve Moro, who went out like the champ he was: Hiram Walker Blackberry Brandy in one hand, resting comfortably on his favorite recliner, Scally cap tilted just right, letting those who loved him know his exit was just as he wished, no need to shed tears; I did it my way. Love you, Steff. Safe journeys and happy trails to you.

Steve’s brother Chris – the original “Keeper of the Linden Flame” – penned an epic ode to his late brothers, Steve, and Dave. His heart and soul poured out for all to witness transcribed from a sheet of paper with the letterhead from Saint Joseph’s College Online. Chris, you done your brothers proud…

“My brother Tom and I have most recently lost our two older brothers, Dave and Steve. Life’s one/two sucker punch. I’m sitting here alone on the start of the 12 Days of Christmas with heavy heart, filled with despair, loss, and hurt. Trying in vain to get my head around the emptiness that has swallowed me up. I have this book in front of me a friend gifted to me on this very day of life’s cruelest sucker punch. With knee on the canvas, hearing the echoes of life’s eight count my eyes are fixed to the pulp in my hands; ‘Twilight of the Gods.’ It’s the type of book you can random pick up to any given page and relate with, become immersed in it, immediately. Which helps so much.

“The hour is late. A new day is upon me. If only I can rise before the final bell. There in front of me in the written word a seemingly mystic hand pulls me up from the canvas. For me my eyes are clear to the letter, and I am again awash in emotion, ‘An old oak tree near his boyhood home has been recently felled. The tree’s absence fills him with dread. He then looks to the sky and is reassured that what is gone will live on. In those who are left behind we remain in the air, the empty space, in the dusty roots and deep earth. In the echoes and stories. The songs of the time and place we inhabited.’

“My clan, my blood, my people. See you in my dreams. To my brothers on the Branch.”

Simply beautiful, Chris.

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Chris, please know that you are in our thoughts and occupy places in all our hearts. The “Steve Moro Celebration of Life” gathering last week at the AOH was worthy of the wicked good guy your brother was and his popularity in Maldonia. MVPs and VIPs all joined together that night for a sendoff that Steve would have happily participated in and would have, no doubt, been the last to leave (LOL). Chris, continue to look on the sunny side of life, my friend.
• Breaking news…grandson Christian (Falzarano), playing in the Peabody Youth Basketball League, had a game for the ages last week – draining 18 points along with several blocked shots as well as altering many more with his Victor Wembanyama wingspan in full effect. At 14 young Christian is well ahead of Papa hoop-skill-wise at his age, and if CJ Falz keeps up the hard work, possibly will beat me one on one before I turn 75. Insert smiley face.
• Sorry I missed your milestone birthday, Nathan (Lamb), and thank you for the invite, my “old friend.” Those with long memories will remember Nathan from his glory days as Editor at the Malden Observer when that paper rocked Malden! Happy 5-0, dude! Yer aging like fine wine, big guy!
• Congratulations to Malden strongman Dan Ford’s son Hayden for being named Catholic Conference Football All-Star by The Boston Globe in their yearly rundown of the best and brightest in high school sports. Papa George must be very proud.
• Deb Burke is retiring. This is not good for Malden. Debbie Burke is a Maldonia Legend. Deb Burke will be seriously missed. Seriously! I’ll have an in-depth Deb Burke report in the very near future. All the best in retirement, Deb, from a huge admirer of yours starting way back in your Malden Evening News days.
• Can we have a big round of applause for PJ Bell from the Health & Human Services Dept. just because he is doing the Lord’s work!? PJ is giving back to Malden the only way he knows how, through his heart and soul. Thank you big guy, keep up the great work! It has not gone unnoticed.
• Just a heads up…MPD Captain Marc Gatcomb’s son Marc made his NHL debut with the NY Islanders last week. Way to go, young Marc! A chip off the old block – his pops, Captain Gatcomb, was a regular in the Girl’s Catholic parking lot way back in the day when street hockey and the Big Bad Bruins ruled. As a street hockey player, Marc mixed it up with hundreds of other like-minded hockey fanatics back in the glory days of Orr, Espo and O’Reilly. Details to follow.
• We lost another treasured piece of our shared Maldonia history last week. Rest in peace to Dorothy, Tiger’s wife and Joanne Settimio’s beloved mother, who graced this world for nearly 96 years. She leaves behind a legacy as Christian’s grandmother and a cherished member of our community. Dorothy’s memory will live on as long as we continue to speak her name and share her stories. Joanne, my deepest condolences to you, my friend. I promise to keep her memory alive with you.
• I met Sylvia Raffaela Cranfill last week for the first time in my (something, something) years of living. Must have walked by her house on Russell Street a couple thousand times in my life, but our paths simply never crossed. Sylvia is 86, full of life, has been in the same house in Edgeworth her whole life, and a hot (expletive deleted). A wonderful, engaging soul, she made quite an impression on me as we chatted about who knows who before we even got to her impressive longtime Edgeworth bona fides. I became friends with her son Mark shortly after. Mark, take it away: “My mom is a real firecracker! 86 years old living on the 3rd floor of the house we grew up in. Takes care of my 91-year-old stepfather with Alzheimer’s, goes up and down 3 flights of stairs daily, and drives to NH for her cigarettes every week. Raised three boys on her own in the 60’s when people weren’t kind to divorced women. She is a tough ole gal but a real gem. So, anyone who treats her well is a friend of mine who will have my loyalty and help forever.” Thank you Mark for sharing, and believe me, it was my pleasure meeting Sylvia. Stay well.
• Congratulations to three members of the Malden High School football squad for earning All-Star honors in The Boston Globe Schoolboy edition a couple weeks back. All-purpose everything Kevin Exilhomme (12 touchdowns), quarterback Aiden Brett and freshman running back (over 1,000 gained) Jayden McGuffie. Way to go, guys! Keep your heads up and thanks for representing Malden with class and dignity.
• Happy January birthdays to Malden celebrities Paula Cagno Maddaleni, Stan Langston, Carol J. Person Merletti, Diane (Fucci) Nuzzo, Bobby McLean, Johnny Cagno and (Harry Mehos’ little brother) Michael.
• Did I sense a little change in the stratosphere at the first Council meeting for the new year? Not exactly kumbaya but something akin to civility and cooperation? Time will tell.

Apropos of nothing… my admiration for him knows no bounds. Yes, I am an unabashed Danny Meyers fanboy. For many reasons – but top of the hit parade – an inspirational role model during my most formative years growing up in 02148. He also got me my first grown-up job at Digital Equipment Corp. way back in 1985. But that is beside the point (insert smiley face). I heard from Danny when my piece about him ran a few weeks back. It was a pleasure to reconnect with him once again: “Great hearing from you!! I always love reading your columns…the names, the events, and places always bring back wonderful memories! I recently retired after 34 years in the pharmaceutical industry and am volunteering as an assistant basketball coach at Mashpee High School. I am a bit rusty, but the kids are great to work with…we are 4-5 with a tough game at Middleboro this week. I hope to get up to Malden very soon. Maybe for lunch. Take care, Happy New Year, and my best to all. I look forward to meeting that budding young hoop star grandson of yours!!”

We get letters…I take great joy in hearing from readers (as long as it is full of praise for my writing and me, pledging unwavering fealty to moi going forward). One of those missives hit all the right buttons recently and was from Malden’s brother from another mother, Meffa! Eddie Serino, this is your world… “Hi Peter, I’m an East Medford kid who used to go into Malden to Devir Park to dominate you guys in basketball! We’ve met before, I went to high school with Susanne Nasson – the fifth member of Extreme and I used to own racehorses with Steve Bellavia aka Eddie Bain!

“ I read the Malden Advocate every week and I always turn to your column first. It was very nice to see a shout out to Eddie. You must’ve known Mike Moriarty also; may he rest in peace. I used to sell Budweiser to Mike’s dads bar in Somerville on Broadway, and he would always call me a “limey” then I’d go across the street to Patsy’s and buy him bread. Keep up the good writing. Wishing you health and happiness, Ed.”

Thank you so much for writing, Ed! Your high school classmate Susanne Nasson is one of the nicest human beings to ever walk planet earth and her daughter Chloe is following directly in her mom and grandmothers’ sainted footsteps. Also, I really hated when you and your boyos would show up at Devir and spank us good on our very own court. You, (Bobby) Serio, (Mike) McCormack, (Dana) Cresta, (Jay) Sweeney, (Bobby) Maloney, (Ray) Buckland and (Mike) Hodnett were hard to handle. On the court, and off. But all we have of those days, Ed, are great memories of some serious ball as well as some serious friendships made, my friend. Stay well and thanks again for writing.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say “Just one more thing sir” – the passing of Ronny Luke last July brought much sadness throughout Maldonia. Who didn’t know Ron?! Whose life wasn’t touched one way or the other by Ron?! Yeah, I agree, too many to recount. Former Malden Police Officer with roots firmly planted in the old West End of Boston, Frankie Spinale, now living the life he so richly deserves in sunny Florida had these wonderful words about our friend Ron Luke: “Malden and the rest of the world lost another great one recently – Massachusetts Court Officer Ronnie Luke – who I’ve known since childhood. Ronnie had a huge heart and was one of the kindest men I’ve ever met. He’d drop anything to help his fellow man as he truly cared about people, wanting nothing in return. Ronnie could bring laughter to a crowd of people without even trying, just a naturally funny man. Ronnie was respected in the community and to honor him his name and photo were displayed in big bright lights on Broadway at Mix 360 [the former Town Line Lounge and Bowling] where we all gathered remembering when Ronnie held court tending bar. Fortunately, I got to speak with him via telephone a week before he passed. He’ll certainly be missed. God bless and rest in peace my brotha. You certainly earned a spot up there with the Lord.”

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.