This Is All Their Fault

My parents, Jack and Gloria Tolley, were truly a love at first sight relationship. Growing up across the street from each other in the 1950's, my dad says he first noticed my mom in a little polka dotted dress taking pictures in front of her house. And he wanted that girl.

As my father was, how you say, a little "rough," my mom's parents were concerned. My dad was the stereotypical greaser teenager of the 50's, complete with leather jacket, cigarettes and attitude. Dad later admitted that he used a switchblade to threaten any other men wanting to date my mom. That's how he rolled.

But Grandpa Maza was soft on my father's charms, probably because he himself had some adventures under his belt. Most notably, Grandpa Maza once got caught breaking into a church and playing "Hold That Tiger" on the church organ. That's how he rolled.

So, under the watchful eye of the Dragon Lady, as my dad fondly called Grandma Maza, my parents dated throughout their high school years. 

My dad turned out okay, and he is the first one to give credit to that girl in the polka dotted dress. After getting married, my father became a Chicago Police officer, eventually retiring from the boys in blue as a lieutenant. He also went on to get his Bachelors degree in his spare time (ha! sparetime!) if my dad wasn't working a second job over the weekend, it was quite common to find him listening to a football game on the radio and watching another one  on tv while reading a textbook. I believe that he was the original inventor of multitasking but was too busy to notice.

And while dad was arresting Martin Luther King Jr. and breaking up the riots of the Chicago Democratic convention, that cute gal in the polka dotted dress was busy putting creativity and magic in our lives. My mom is like those kids decorating the Charlie Brown Christmas tree - she can make something fabulous out of nothing. And at a moments notice, too! Mom was an expert at last minute patron saints costumes, school banquets and third grade art projects.  Many a St. Nicks student remembers her fondly with origami and fingerprint mice.

Mom is an accomplished artist and nurse, but her real talent is finding bargains. She kept our family going by being able to combine discontinued products and coupons with generic food. In fact, the term "To Pull a Gloria," means to get an even better deal than you had set out to get in the first place. Senior discount day, an in-store special,  and paying with credit card points is a triple-play-hat-trick in the game of saving money. And mom is the best.

While not a big as the Ringling Brothers, these crazy kids from the South side  raised their own little circus. Much like the professionals, there were always several acrobatic acts being performed simultaneously, some even death defying. (at times there were broken bones and broken windows.) Juggling bills and after school activities, they walked that tightrope between what we wanted and what we needed. Surrounded by an assortment of animals, you could always find a clown or two sitting around watching tv or playing Pong on the tv. 

And sometimes there was fire.

And more often than not, a great story came out of everyday adventures.