Rocco DiGiovanni

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The brain is a weird thing.

Evidently it was time for me to dream about a guy I knew 29 years ago when I was working in New Haven, Connecticut.

The names of the people in our office?

Joe DeGaetano, Rocco DiGiovanni, Billy Talamalli and Cliff Fazzolari.

We were loud!

We ate pasta for lunch.

We laughed a lot.

I don't know why...I hadn't thought of that crew in awhile...but clear as day, when I woke, I saw the face of Rocco in front of me.

Perhaps it's because I was thinking of my nephew, Rocco, or maybe it was on the heels of having seen old high school friends, but I saw Rocco D as clear as if he were standing right in front of me.

I was 23 back then. Everyone else in that office was closer to 30.

They're all pushing 60.

(Hopefully).

We were extremely thrilled when we finished that job. I remember the topping-out party.

Joe, as the leader, had a rule:

You couldn't leave the office unless you had one beer with him to unwind. Sometimes, we didn't feel like having a beer with him, and now, beer on the job would result in the yanking of coverage...

...but not back then.

I really wonder what all of them are doing now.

I hoped they had happy, healthy days. I know that they were all married back then and Rocco had just started his family.

He's probably a grandpa now.

In my dream, though, he was just 30.

And he was eating a big bowl of rigatoni with peppers.

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