Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The  Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and  do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff  or publishers)

Hello Somerville! Here is a great article from a good friend of mine who is a true Somerville kid, Anthony J Accardi Jr.  But before you read his story I just want to congratulate The Sunsetters, for who I have the pleasure of being the director. They performed on Fox 25’s Zip Trip last Friday and were a big hit! It’s too bad someone actually called the police on them while they were doing a show on Hall Ave. the Wednesday before. Maybe the irate neighbor would rather have had the teenagers hanging on the corner, or breaking windows, or drinking or doing drugs. For the past five years I have met some of Somerville’s finest kids who work their tails off singing and dancing, and entertaining the people of Somerville.  I would also like to thank Thalia Tringo of Thalia Tringo & Associates for providing pizza and soft drinks at Wednesday’s Sunsetters preformance on Hall Ave.  To the neighbor who called the cops I say…nay nay, they didn’t stop the show!

Between last year and this year, the alumni of Somerville High School’s Class of 1981 will have turned 50 years old. Last year my friend and classmate Angela Sperduto sent me a Facebook message suggesting we do something to celebrate this once in a lifetime event. I thought it was an awesome idea, so in March of this year I put the idea in a post on our Facebook reunion group. The responses were overwhelming. So, this past April a group of us from Somerville High School’s Class of 1981 met at Casey’s Bar in East Somerville. How fitting that the class of ‘81 returns to Somerville.

In our years since graduation, my classmates have had varied and storied tales to tell. Some of us have gone on to become quite successful and yet others have had life’s struggles dropped in their laps. Some have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, quality inspectors, printers, chefs and politicians, just to name a few. A few are also proud members of Somerville’s police and fire departments. Others, on the other hand, have dealt with divorce, the loss of a child, the loss of a spouse, cancer or other illnesses. Saddest of all is that there are 30 members of our class (that we know of) that have passed on. In other words, like anyone else, we’ve had our share of life’s ups and downs. Some of us have had it good and some of us…well, not so good.

So, on April 27 (to be exact) a group of us gathered at Casey’s on Broadway in East Somerville. I knew the turn out wouldn’t be like a regular reunion, but we got a good crowd. The majority of the crowd was my classmates from the old Northeastern Junior High. Some that I have not seen since leaving that school in 1978. We also had two teachers from that school (who also ended up at the high school) come down and celebrate their former students turning 50 years old. Ms. Rosemary Gormley (Mrs. Watson back then) and Mr. Larry Iamello came down, had a few beers with us and we all talked about that run-down and dilapidated school that we all had to endure back then.

It seems like yesterday that we crossed the stage at Dilboy Field to receive our diplomas and head into the next chapter of our lives. Our headmaster then was Mr. William Fasciano. In his address to our class, he told us that in all his years as headmaster at Somerville High he never saw a class with so much enthusiasm, vigor and ambition. He knew then that the class of 1981 would go out into the world and make a difference. I think he was correct. I also think we have made a difference. In a world that has changed so much in 32 years, the Class of 1981 has rolled with those changes. We’ve taken life’s curve balls in stride and continue to live life with that same enthusiasm, vigor and ambition that made us famous back in 1981.

So, to my friends from Somerville High’s Class of 1981, I raise a toast to you all. Happy 50th Birthday and lets all hope for 50 more, for all of us.