Tony Lomelino:  

How does a person relate their life experience in 20000 characters? From recess at the Modesto Grade school building (which my dad later bought) with Gary and LaDonna in the 1st grade (no kindergarten for us!) to the traumatic move to the old Modesto High School building and the entrance in our lives of Susan Piper and so many others. Having Mrs Cooper smack my left hand with a ruler, telling me "We write with the RIGHT hand!" I blame her for the start of my rebellious nature (and my lousy handwriting) Most of those times were a blur while I was living them, let alone now. I remember it was awful having to write Antony Lawrence Lomelino 50 times before I could join Gary Lynn Gates on the playground. Now I refer to myself a "T" (not Mr T not iced T not sweet T - just T) See I'm just getting started and already I'm about down to 19000 characters. OK so I wander a bit! It could be when Billy Brooks hit the line drive that laid me out flat much like Charley Brown or the day I was run over by the old blind farmer from Waverly down by Dean and Mary Clark's that has scrambled most of my memories. I didn't see him coming up behind me because I was bent over and adjusting my Moped carb as I flew down the highway at 35 mph! I was hit in town and knocked out of town, landing with my noggin just inches from a concrete thingy that likely would have ended my story at 13. The ambulance was busy so Red Stults took me to the hospital in Jacksonville in the hearse. I've already ridden back there once and it wasn't any fun at all. I knew I wasn't dead though because of the pain! That was the 1st of only three traffic tickets I've ever had. I believed that getting my license and being rewarded with mom's old 56 Chevy was great. Real freedom. Then just a few months later I learned how to drive on ice and snow when Rick Waggoner and I took out 35 feet of bridge rails on the way to the quarry over by Roadhouse with one of dad's 64 Chevy dump trucks. Dad's solution was "well you wrecked the newer one so now you have to drive the older one!" I almost missed a date with Brenda Carney because of that wreck. I'm not proud to say it now but I never took a book home all the way through HS graduation. I did manage to learn to take tests and that carried me through a lot. Playing Guitar was always more fun and took up most of my spare time. Mrs Ora Boyd instilled timing and tried unsuccessfully to get me to read music while I was playing. Once I had heard her play it, I could generally figure it out well enough to go on to the next piano piece. Mom spoiled me when I was 9. She took me to Mays music in Jacksonville. I paid $5 and she paid $5 and we went home with my 1st guitar. Acoustic and cracked bodied I learned my first few chords on the old Kay guitar. I learned the songs that Grandpa Claud Stottler always wanted to sing whenever he got a snoot full at the Silver Moon Saloon. Old Rattler, Skyball paint and Old Apple Tree were my first real musical hills to climb. Later on Larry & Jeannie Roberts and Keith Jackson came down to play guitar and sing on our back porch and the Luvin Spoonfull and the Shadows of Night and Paul Revere and the Raiders took their places. I remember Dave Anderson taking me to Carlinville and Jacksonville to dances and meeting some really cool people and hearing some great bands. Then before we turned 16 I talked Rick Waggoner into playing drums, taught my nephew Rob Jennings to play Bass and asked Joe Griffith to play rhythm and "The Rock Bottom" was ready to play their 1st gig at the Modesto Civic Building. We only knew 10 songs so we played them 3 or 4 times each. We rocked the place. Most of my dancing memories are from the stage unfortunately. We played a lot in Waverly, Virden and Girard after that. I had to learn most of the songs from a record player by lifting the needle and playing it over and over. Four watts of continuous distortion didn't really let me hear the song but it was our only way to add "new" songs. "Judy in Disguise" was a big challenge but Margy Schramm wanted us to play it so I learned it and we did. But I'm ahead of myself again! I got 12" taller between 6th and 7th grade and developed low blood pressure. I can now reliably report it feels just like high blood pressure! Jr High was another combination of new classmates from all over the place and a realization that my quick mouthy comebacks wern't appreciated by most of the teachers. SWATTS hurt! It took several before I sort of caught on. I'm slow but I'm not fast. They hurt the worst in gym shorts! I learned that the 1st time around. For a guy with 6 sisters I found I knew nothing at all about girls. Once again I was busy playing guitar and missed a lot of the dancing. My dad organized my 1st birthday party for me the year I turned 16. I was really surprised when I got home and everyone was there. We cooked out weiners and marshmellows and had sody pop and chips. Good times! Jazz band was the most fun! Mr Hoffman saw I was taping my fingers just to play the old Tub Bass so when Ampeg came out with it's electric bass he brought it home and turned it over to me! We played the coolest music and took 3rd at state contest 3 years in a row! Pretty good for a small school! One year I stayed to hear "the Beach Boys", "Sam the Sham" and "the Who" after contest. When "the Who" started tearing up their equipment I left. To this day I can't stand watching anyone destroy instruments. Before I knew it, High School was over. No more building the best Floats, no more parties or dances and no more Jazz Band or daily connecting with all of you guys. After Graduation "68 the Class with Class" it was just different. We were different and never busier and spread out! No longer could the school walls contain us. Now the only time I heard anything about any of you was through someone else that just happened to know somehow. It was only to get worse as the years passed. After the green caps and gowns were sent back I went to Waverly and worked the summer at Don Richards Shell Station. I went home to tell my dad I had found a job and he asked me what I would be making an hour. I replied I didn't ask and he started laughing and said "You don't need the money, just the work!" I went to Bradley University in August. Thanks to an IL scholarship, a Bradley Scholarship, an Educational Opportunity Grant and a small Student loan I was to attend a prestigious private school. My dad had bought me a Robins Egg Blue 62 Chevy to take me back and forth on weekends from school. I got permission to park on campus and became a taxi driver for U Hall. I was still 17 and found out that they played music until 4:00 AM there. By the middle of Freshman year I was missing playing guitar a lot. I had a 4.0 gpa (on an 8.0 scale) and was getting disillusioned with school. I met a guy in History Class who needed a Bass player so I wound up in my 1st band around Peoria called "The Edge of Yesterday" Tony Teresa and Travis Griffin along with Kenny Onnen and I played for spring semester and a summer. Then Kenny and I joined up with Randy Ferraro and Bill VonBrethorst (I'm not kidding!) from Roanoke for a stint as "Just Us" I played Farfisa Organ and sang in this group. Randy was a great drummer and singer and he and I harmonized a lot. I was dating a girl named Donna and we were playing at Eureka College when I threw my guitar on the ground and left the stage during "Don't let the sun catch you crying" by Gerry and the Pacemakers.. Seems Donna decided to slow dance with someone and I had asked her not to. The guys took a break and we went back on stage to finish the evening. I should of paid more attention to that incident because I went on to marry Donna and we were divorced after 9 months. Bummer but the music lived on. While with Just US a talent scout was after the band. When I told him I was headed for the Air Force National Guard though he wasn't interested anymore. The summer between Fresh and Soph year I went to SIU Edwardsville along with Rick Anderson and signed up for CALCULUS III Psychology and Sociology. I had a horrible instructor for CALC I and never caught up through CALC II. After 10 minutes in my 1st CALC III class I walked out and dropped the class. Mrs Thuett would have been ashamed but I was through with math! I was also no longer an Engineering student and switched majors in the fall to Elementary Education. I graduated in Dec 71 3.5 years after starting. My dad missed seeing me graduate by almost a year exactly. He died in Dec 70. I made the Deans list (no the other one!) with a perfect 8.0 my last semester. I was very sick the day I graduated but was determined to go through the ceremony. I'm not sure what my hurry was? My draft number was 8 so I we...Expand for more