My Dad becomes "The Man"
After Christmas in 1974 , Dad began looking for another job with new resolve. His last job as an exterminator ended the first week of January of 1975. Money started to become very tight. But Mom was a genius at convincing us that Tuna casserole and Pot Pies were treats to be appreciated.
When Dad made his change from drunk to sober guy I took it in stride. Maybe it was because I was just 10 and accepted things more easily then my brothers and sister, but I had no trouble with it at all.
The same could not be said of the others.
When Dad was drinking he really didn't mind if Geno and Steve were having one or two drinks of their own. If Geno came home a little drunk every now and then that was ok. Boys will be boys , my Dad thought. Besides Dad always said he never trusted anyone who didn't drink. He felt they were trying to hide something.
But once he stopped drinking and started attending A.A. meetings twice a week, things changed. Beer was now outlawed in our home. Dad expected everyone to follow his example.
Geno took it the hardest. He liked drinking. He also liked to do other things. Things that made his eyes red and also made him laugh all the time. Dad said that once he stopped drinking all that other "shit" had to stop as well.
No one really expected Geno to listen.
In early February Dad got a new job. He showed up at the house in a Police uniform. This was to say the least shocking. Dad told us he was really only park police. He would work second shift and drive a patrol car around the parks at night to make sure nothing was going on once they closed. As a bonus we got to go swimming during the summer for free.
The first night Dad showed up in his uniform he called a family meeting. During the meeting Dad told us that in order for him to change our life we were going to have to help. He wanted all of us to be on our best behavior. He told us he didn't want anything screwing up this job. The entire time we had this meeting his eyes never left Geno.
Time passed and Dad settled into his job. One of my little thrills was riding around with Dad on some nights and pretending I was a cop.
One night a month or two after Dad got his job I was alone in the house with Mom. Geno and John were off to see a movie, Dad was at work, and only the devil knows where Rose was. I was playing quietly in Geno and John's room.
While in there I noticed that John had bought a model of the Enterprise. At first I tried to ignore it. But the more I looked at it the more I had a urge to turn it into the more battle damaged Constellation.



I knew that John would be mad. But finally I couldn't resist anymore. I went over to the closet and started to look for the wood burning set we had. At the very top of the closet I found something else that I hadn't played with in a long time. It was a candle making kit. It had been about two years since I had used it.
I opened it up and looked at it. There were around 8 molds inside. Among them were a Owl, A Frog, A Turtle, and A Mushroom. There was a little heating tray with tin cup to melt the wax in. We still had plenty of wax of all colors left. Forgetting the Enterprise for the moment I decided to make a candle or two.
I took the tray out and found a little plastic bag under the heater. Inside it was a green leafy substance that looked a little bit like oregano. I opened it up and smelled.
It didn't smell like oregano.
Not sure exactly what it was for, I plugged in the heating tray and put some red wax in it. As it melted I threw some of the green leafy substance in it. I figured it was something to mix with the wax. When it was completely melted I snapped together the Mushroom mold and poured the wax in. When it had cooled down (it only takes a few minutes) I lit the wick and let it burn. It didn't smell quite right.
Not sure if I was doing it right I grabbed some green wax and poured in even more of the green leafy substance. Soon I had new Turtle and Frog candles.
I was in the middle of mixing it with some brown wax to make an Owl candle when Dad came home for supper. Mom called me downstairs to eat and say hello to Dad. I turned off the tray and still holding the bag in my hands I bounced down the stairs. I gave Dad a hug. Dad asked me what I was doing and I told him I was making some candles. I sat at the table and put the bag next to my plate.
I was about halfway though my supper when Dad asked me in a strange voice what was in the bag. I told him it was in the candle making kit. I handed him the bag and he smelled it. I told him I had already made 3 candles with it. In that same strange voice he asked me to go get those candles. As I was going up the stairs I heard him ask Mom, "Where exactly are the other boys?"
After I gave Dad the other candles he left. He drove to the movie theater and literally pulled Geno out of his seat. 5 minutes later he was back home yelling at Geno. He wanted to know where Geno had got the bag.
"Didn't it come with the candle making kit?", I asked Mom.
"No dear."
Geno had grown up much since he was a little boy. It took him 20 minutes to rat out the people he got the "Green leafy Substance" from. Once Dad got the information he needed he left. He did not seem to be in a good mood.
He was however in a vastly better mood then Geno. He stormed up the stairs yelling at me the entire way up.
"Why's he mad at me?", I asked Mom.
"You found his pot." Mom looked very sad.
"What's Pot?"
So it was at 10 years of age I got my first drugs are bad speech. I was a little shocked. Why would they be putting drugs in candle making kits?
Dad wasted no time. He gave his information to the "real " police and later that night they made a big drug bust. It was big news in our area for a while. Dad even had his picture in the newspaper. Geno was a laughing stock in school.
Two nights after the big raid Dad got a death threat while he was at work. He called and told us to stay away from the windows.
The rest of the night while we ducked around the windows Geno kept yelling at me that this was all my fault. At one point he even hit me in the arm.
I was so mad at Geno that when Dad came home late that night I told him that I thought the brown Owl candle next to the burned up model of the Enterprise had some more drugs in it.