I remember when I first met Tony, he was a fifteen year old kid with a sarcastic sense of humor and a love of practical jokes. Many nights he came to the store with Jay to get his "fix," a 20 ounce bottle of coke .
"$1.10, kiddo."
"I only have $1."  This was the response I got for years, lol. "Yeah right. Don't worry about it, get me next time." I never did see any of those dimes.

     He became a fast regular and was always a joy to have around when the nights were quiet and my shift was dragging along to a turtle's pace. We shared ideas, opinions on many issues, he spoke of his family and always asked my advice on the girls he liked. I never had a problem with him and he could always make me laugh. Somewhere along the way, we became friends.

     I have loads of silly memories that always seem to make me smile. Those little things that mean absolutely nothing to everyone else, but to me they are cherished. For example, the time we were fooling around at work and knocked over the entire display. He always blamed me for that. "You wuss!" Or the many times when Tony went to lunch with me and Brian, "Corn has no nutritional value." Damn, could that boy eat! lol. I swear his legs were hollow. Then there's the times we ate at GB. "If you saw the MSPCA truck outside, would you still eat here?"
"No"
"I would, it would be fresh."  LOL!!
     When I pass his street, I still find myself calling him, "Tooooooooonnnnyyyyyyyyy." It's funny, I can still hear him answering me, "Mimi - ko - bleemie." I pray I always do.  I remember how he always had to get the last word, or should I say, last poke. "Tony, if you poke me one more time I swear I'm gonna hurt you." As if he'd start taking me seriously NOW, lol. Or when his mom called him at work, "Hey off spring, it's your Mom." I understand it's probably natural from having a Welsh Mom, but for crying out loud Tony, you're in America... it's a flippin DIRECTIONAL!!  LOL!! And we have rotaries, not round abouts, lol. I always ragged on him for that. How did he reply? By poking me of course.

     Let's not forget the times we drove an hour to Crossgates Mall just to play one arcade game. I remember one day I brought him out to Midas to get something out of his truck. He had nothing to do so decided he'd go walk the Ashuwillticook Trail with me. We walked from the Berkshire mall almost up to Cheshire. We were chatting and laughing and before we knew it, it was getting dark, FAST. We still had at least a 45 minute walk back. By the time we were half way there, it was black out and we were the only ones there. "Stay away from the geese." He told me. "Tony! How the hell am I supposed to do that, you idiot! I can't see anything! I'll probably walk right off into the lake, lol." We were laughing hysterically. I called Mom to let her know where we were and then used my cell phone light to try to see where we were heading. We laughed about how we might get lost on this trail in the dark and no one would ever find us. I still find it funny as I picture the experience, but after what's happened, it also feels creepy.

     Tony was a great guy, a beautiful person, a forever child at heart and someone I feel honored to have called my friend. He made my life better, gave me things to laugh about when I felt I couldn't smile and I know he's making his mark where ever he may be right now. I'll forever love him, respect him and stand up for him.