rlfj: Blog

We’re getting near the end. Again, life is imitating art. The section on Judy breaking her leg and having issues with sex comes from real life. My wife managed to do exactly what is described while working at our local supermarket, and she was in a cast and a walker for two months. The sex involved was exactly as described.

The quote about the dangers of some cruise excursions comes straight from the Royal Caribbean website. My wife and I have been on eleven cruises and have another planned. Yeah, I’ve heard all the comments about floating Petrie dishes, but so what. Happy wife, happy life!

Enjoy!

My wife and I have similar shirts as the ones Hersch and Judy wore on their cruise, though ours specify, “Annoying Each Other Since 1974 And Still Haven’t Killed Each Other!” Our children are so embarrassed, but we don’t care. Like our fictional protagonist, I gave my wife hers on a cruise, and we got a lot of smiles and congratulations. We had a nephew help us with Photoshop. Art imitating life, or something like that.

Enjoy!

The reference to The Newlywed Game is legitimate. You can find it on YouTube and other spots on the Internet. It occurred in 1977.

Otherwise, the chapter includes a few important elements, which you should appreciate.

Enjoy!

In Chapter 9, I referred to Judy getting her Regents Diploma. At the time, New York had a two-tier high school diploma system. You had the regular New York High School Diploma, but then you had a higher-rated diploma, with special tests and grades, that gave what was called a Regents Diploma. When I went to RPI and moved into the freshmen dorms (and it was all freshmen in the dorms then) we would talk about our lives back home. About half of us were New York residents, and they all bragged they had Regents Diplomas. The rest of us, from out of state, had no idea what they were talking about; we just had regular diplomas and that seemed to be good enough for our states. As far as I know, New York was the only state with this system, but I could be wrong on that. Since then, they have changed the New York rules several times, and now California has a two-tier system. Very odd to a Maryland boy.

When I wrote this story, I let my wife know that I had a new hero, one as great as Carl Buckman or the Grim Reaper. He was young, handsome, brave, hunky, and heroic! He was…a snowplow driver! She was not amused. They are not her favorite people. They are either not doing a good enough job, getting in the way when she is driving, moving too slow, or not plowing when she wants them to. Endless complaints! She has obviously never met Hersch Caparelli.

Would NYSDOT have used Hersch for an employment campaign? Possibly. In 1983 there would have been a lot of World War II and Korean War vets retiring from blue collar jobs. A lot of employers would be looking to replace them, and it was also the case that high schools would have been telling kids to go to college, whether they liked it or not.

Enjoy!

Lots of fun in Chapter 9 as Hersch and Judy keep fooling around. I remember finding books like the ones I describe in my own parents’ nightstands. Good Heavens! My parents had sex more than three times! Unbelievable!

Anybody else have a ‘77 Maverick? Worst POS car I ever owned!

Just like the Caparellis, my family went trick-or-treating in the snow, both in Ballston Spa and in Otsego County, NY. The only time anybody would see their costumes was when we took them to the volunteer fire house for the Halloween Party and Costume Awards. My youngest once went as a pregnant nun, but that was when she was a teenager, and we weren’t around to be embarrassed by her antics.

While I’m not completely sure of the costs of RPI in 1980, when I graduated in 1977 the tuition had just topped $4,000. That did not include room or board in the dorms, which could be another $1,200 or more. By 1980 tuition was probably $5k to $6k. Those figures seem ludicrously low now, but at the time it was a real scandal. Nowadays, it’s a lot more. The official tuition for 2025-2026 is $64,400 plus another $23,344 for room and board, fees, and everything else.

Enjoy!