Jim Tropea:
CLASS OF 1978
Boardman High SchoolClass of 1978
Youngstown, OH
Youngstown State UniversityClass of 1985
Youngstown, OH
Glenwood Middle SchoolClass of 1974
Youngstown, OH
Taft Elementary SchoolClass of 1973
Youngstown, OH
Jim's Story
A Love Story
It July 3rd 1996. I had just returned from being on the road working as a videographer for a beauty pageant co. I walked outside and sat on my mom's back steps. As I sat there, I started to survey the backyard when I noticed that it was blistering hot, so hot that I could see blurred ripples coming off our black tarred driveway. It must been 90 out there.
Having completed a seven year relationship that ended on a good note (of which I was greatly relieved). Don't get me wrong she was a good person and I had some good times with over that length of time, but I was ready to take a break from the game.
An old friend of mine Rocky Schwaderski pulled in the drive with a worried look on his face. He said, "Jim I need a favor" (This is how he starts most of his conversations). I have a customer who needs a roof put on his house today" I said "Rock, tomorrow is the 4th of July." and he said "yea and tonight it's going to rain". "So!" I replied (thinking to myself that there's no way that I'm going to go along with this.) He said "Come on Jim, the guy fired the crew that tore off his old roof and now he only has bare wood on his house". Needless to say I went to help.
Four days later, I was putting the crown on the roof. The heat was unbearable it must have been in the mid nineties by then. The owners of the house felt so sorry for us that they were taking whole bath towels and soaking them in the ice water that was in the cooler and sending them up to us on the roof. I was a real sight to see, traditionally, when roofing you wear long sleeves and long pants to avoid the dirt and grime, but it was so hot that I was stripped down to no shirt and a cut off pair of jeans. I took that drenched bath towel and laid it over my head, then tied it around my forehead with a bandanna.
So, There I was, looking like a half naked sheik with an Aunt Jemima bandanna on my head, perched on the crest of that roof surveying the whole neighborhood. From up there I had a 360 degree view of the entire block; I thought to myself, there's not a single girl out here.
At that very moment, Susie Sandy finished washing her face, got dressed and went down to get a cup of coffee. She stirred in her one teaspoon of coffee mate and stood in the large picture window at the back of her parent's house. There was a ridiculous looking character on top of the roof of the house behind hers. Taking her by suprise she heard the voice of God speak to her, and He said "THERE'S Y...Expand for more
OUR HUSBAND".... she paused, then and chuckled to herself and said "nah" and went off to work.
Susie worked at the beat coffee house as a baker. She worked until 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon in a very hot kitchen making bread and pastries. After all the bread was baked, Susie hung up her apron up and left for home.
I spent the day finishing off the top of the roof. During the day one of the neighbors (an elderly slightly feminine gentleman) spent the day trying to talk to us. It was odd, literally we would have an air compressor running for hours and while we were on the roof and he was on the ground. It was obvious that we couldn't hear him but his mouth kept moving like we were actually in a conversation, but we weren't . By the time that we finished he was waiting at the bottom of the ladders. He said to us "If you're not in a hurry I'll get some beer". Rock and I sat under a tree and drank one beer. While we sat there he kept asking me questions like "where are you from" or "Are seeing anybody". Let me tell you I was very nervous and I didn't know what he wanted but when he said "wait here I want you to meet somebody" I was out of there. I chugged my beer as fast as I could and ran to my car.
Susie pulled in the drive and went into the house. She didn't even get through the door when the phone rang. It was Jim Her neighbor and he wanted her to come over. She knew that she covered in sweat and flour and she said no.
I had no idea what this guy was up to, but as soon as I got to the car the neighbor came running out.
Susie hung up the phone and walk out the door.
The neighbor ran out the door and grabbed me by the arm. I literally had the car door open and one foot inside the car. He took my arm and pointed between the house and the garage and said "She's coming". I looked at the thin space between the two buildings and saw just a wisp of angel pass by. By now I couldn't help myself I had to see who this was. At this point everything seems to move in slow motion. The neighbor let go of my arm turned to his left and pointed across the front of his house.
Susie rounds the corner of the house and starts to walk across the lawn. She has a slight bounce to her gate. Her hair is long about shoulder length, pulled back and sticking out the back of a Caribbean style ball cap. Her skin is tanned golden brown adding to the ethereal glow that¿s preceding her.
Anybody who knows me knows that I am generally not at a loss for words.
I was Speechless.
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