52 Ancestors Week 43: Quite the Character

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 43's theme is "Quite the Character." The clown. The eccentric. The one who follows the beat of a different drummer. Who is that person in your family tree?  

I may have played too much Super Smash Bros.

Picking the clown or the eccentric in my family is a bit of a trick. Who's responsible for my sense of humor?! Is it my dad with his jokes? Is it my mom with her sarcasm? I honestly don't know because as a family we've had a lot of laughs. This extends outward to my extended family, too. My cousins are all a little loony in various ways. Maybe we're all just crazy? There's got to be something in the water here in the Merrimack Valley. I won't say I was the class clown in school. I won't deny it, either. =)

I might have to go outside the box on this one and go with various friends of the family who were like family to me. Back in August, I blogged about the chosen family. In it, I talked about how family friends Peter and Mary Matorian watched over my brother and I while my parents were at work. They were a great couple. But, they were also quite the characters! That's not who I am going to talk about.

Hey! It's cold out here!

Meet Alfred Joseph Coppola. He was DEFINITELY quite the character. Trust me. He was born in 1939 in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Joseph Coppola and Virginia Zappala. He was an insurance agent by trade. But, despite the dryness of his occupation, he could tell you some good stories and some great jokes. Jokes, I don't think I should repeat!

My parents met him ages ago in the distant year of 1979! He was always a brother to my father because both were only children. Because of that, my brother and I always called him "Uncle Al" and his wife "Aunt Connie".  Their kids became like my cousins and along with another Italian "uncle" and his kids we became.....The Salami Club!

I'm not sure where "The Salami Club" name came from. I'm 99% sure it was his idea. 

Now the reason why I picked him for the "Quite the character" prompt is simple. Uncle Al loved to troll me. For example, on my 21st birthday he gave me twenty-one one dollar bills. When I saw the wad of cash, I was excited. Who wouldn't be? I had just turned 21. I was legally allowed to partake in adult beverages under American law. Uncle Al said to me "Chris, I have something for you!" He takes out this wad of cash and I was like "AWESOME!" Money is good. Money gets you stuff.

I look at the stuff and see that it was all one dollar bills! His troll level was expert.

The Salami Club circa 1979.

Uncle Al wasn't just a joker. He was a good guy and even though we wasn't related to us, he and my dad had a lot in common. One time I was visiting and he and my father took a long walk around the block. His daughter, Jennifer, and I noticed something odd. Both he and my dad were walking at the same pace, cantor and wobble. They had the same exact walk! It was hilarious!

When they came back in the house, I quickly told my dad and Al that they had the same walk. Al said "Hey, It's an Italian thing. What do ya want?"

Aside from his jokes and everything, he was a great person to talk to about any topic. He was a great fisherman, like my father, and a gracious host whenever we stopped by and that was quite frequently! The family would come over for Christmas eve dinner. We would go over for New Year's Eve. We would have a lot of fun. 

One Christmas eve, I got a present from another one of my parents' friends. It was this bright red plastic periscope from Fisher Price. I was like fifteen at the time. I look at it and looked at my parents in confusion. I didn't want to be rude. Al said "Hey, you can still use it to peak around corners or something."

I said "It's not very conspicuous! I think I'd be spotted easily!"

"Well, it's the thought that counts!"

He had an excellent point of course. He always did. He passed away in 2017 and I still keep in touch with his family. The things I remember the most about Uncle Al was that he always had a joke, a funny story or a gag to pull on me.  He was a nice guy and always happy to be a surrogate uncle to my brother and I since we didn't have any Italian aunts or uncles. He was the best and I still miss him. 

That twenty-one one dollar bills gag. That was hilarious! 

The grumpy old Italian men. Sam, Carl, Al and my dad.