True East M/C

One of my fondest memories of childhood was, hangin with my cousin Tommy...My Uncle Matt was the care taker at Saint Mary's parish, So it was only fitting that Cuzin Tommy and I would raise hell in that neighborhood all summer long, relentlessly skating and damn near wearing out every heavy metal cassette tape we owned.
The North Shore of Long Island, just bordering Queens is geographically steeped in hills...all day Tommy and I would find new spots to skate, bomb down the hills, and sneak off to smoke Marlboro Reds and Lucky Strikes behind the Church. I could remember Tommy and I blasting Anthrax N.O.T over and over, till the priests in the rectory next door got migraines from screaming their Hail Marys and Our Fathers.
Uncle Matt was a real deal Hippie back in the day, rode a bike, smoked grass, made his way to Woodstock, and lived life fast.... he had the sweetest collection of old comic books, records, guitars, and whatever else a kid could lose his mind over. I never got tired of hangin around his place, there were always cool posters on the walls, Lenon in his NEW YORK CITY shirt, Black Light Posters, The Doors Black Sabbath, etc. A huge fish Tank in the living room and the most comfortable couch in the world next to it. Every morning, Tommy and I would grab the carton of Juicy Juice, a Box of Captain Crunch and sit in front of the TV, watchin "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" sometimes 2 or 3 times in a row.
Most people Ive talked to in my later years never even heard of this flick...I guess I can equate my exposure and introduction of such fine cinema to having an Uncle that lived and loved the summer of 69. I loved every minute of summers at their house, I think part of who I am came from sleeping in that basement and watching these old flicks over and over. But just as every year, September comes and Tommy would go back to Queens and I to the Valley, year after year till we grew up and our fondness of skateboards was replaced by fast girls and faster cars.... Tommy went into the military and I moved to California to race motorcycles. We lost touch and our families went through some real hard times, but man those were the days....If only life could be as simple as a B movie and a cold glass of Juicy juice.