Reunion.

Went to a breakfast in Salado this morning to see my folks and meet one of my fathers long lost cousins.

He's the old gentleman in the middle of this picture. Turns out he wasn't really lost though, just living in California ever since he got out of the Marines after World War Two.

He grew up around Bell county, and had lots of wonderful stories to tell about growing up here, knowing my father and his other cousins back when they were all young, and my Grandfather and scary old Great Grandfather, nether of whom I ever got to see.

I wish I could have sat with him alone and taken all those stories down, but all these octogenarians kept elbowing me out of the way, wanting to reconnect with their long absent relation.

My parents last saw this man, James Wilson, when they drove through San Fransisco 57 years ago, when they were on their honeymoon. Dad was stationed in Moses Lake, Washington then, and they were on their way back there. He supposedly showed them a great time, taking them to a club called Finoccio's, which was a famous night club there from the 1930s to it's closure in the 1990s.

Found a blurb on the web talking about the place...

Joe Finnochio opened his famed San Francisco nightspot at 506 Broadway after a customer, drinking in his father's speakeasy, performed an imitation of the legendary Sophie Tucker. This gave Joe the idea of a nightclub with men performing with all the glitter, sophistication and glamor of sophisticated women. He opened the club June 15, 1936.

There was little trouble at the club over the years, though military authorities declared Finnochio's "off limits" for selling liquor to WWII military personnel outside of authorized hours. That temporary sanction was lifted New Year's Eve 1943 after Joe Finnochio and other bar owners signed an agreement to limit liquor sales to military personnel to between 5 p.m and midnight. Beer could, however, be sold between 10 a.m. and midnight.

Finnochio's was a favorite tourist spot in San Francisco from the 1930s to the 1990s, but as cross-dressing became less unusual, the crowds dwindled.

The nightclub was the long-time venue of LaVerne Cummings, and Lucean Phelps, the legendary "Male Sophie Tucker," who appeared there for 27 years.

Eve Finnochio, widow of the founder, decided to close the club in late 1999 because of a major rent increase and dwindling attendence. The club closed November 27, 1999. Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti's only comment upon hearing of the closure was, "What a drag."

Cousin Jamie served in the Marines, in the field artillery, until he was wounded on the island battle of Tarawa. When he got out he got married and ended up raising 5 sons there in San Fransisco. Two of them were there at the breakfast Friday. One is a diplomat serving in Afghanistan, and the other is a retired supermarket executive. The guy on the right of this picture is my dad's other cousin, Wilson Moon. He's another grizzled old vet. Guys like these lived really interesting lives, and I love hangin' around with them, tryin' to get some pointers.

I really enjoyed talking to this man. He told me a few things about my Grandfather that I'd never heard before, including his favorite dirty joke.

"A woman who had just celebrated her 100th birthday was being interviewed by a reporter. When asked how she thought she had made it to such an age, she claimed that she had always been blessed with good health. The reported asked if she'd ever been seriously ill or bedridden. She answered 'Oh yes, at least a thousand times, and twice in a buggy' ".

I tell ya, I really missed out on somethin', not being born early enough to to get to know and talk with that old geezer. He looks like a bear in all the pictures, strong and tough like the old farmer he was, though he really wasn't any taller than my father. Here's one of he and my grandmother in the 1950s.



Well, it was a great little get together today, and I hope I get to see these folks again some time.