Ray Elustondo and Rob Rubenstein
Shown here are (left to right) cousin Ray, older brother Richard,
groom Mike and friend Rob at a party in Brooklyn, circa 1890.
Shown here are (left to right) cousin Ray, older brother Richard,
groom Mike and friend Rob at a party in Brooklyn, circa 1890.
I will have two Guards Men at the wedding. They are two close friends from my Brooklyn days; we spent a lot of time together between my teen years up through my college years at NYU. They are Ray and Rob. During these years we created a lot of trouble in Brooklyn, and there is not enough space here to describe it all. But, I should say some things regarding why I chose these two wiseguys in particular to be in the wedding party. Although, it should be obvious from the photo above that we are a close, albeit strange crowd when we are all together, which by the way, was far and wide.
Ray Elustondo is not only a close friend of mine, but he is
also my cousin. Ray and I first met during childhood and immediately
became the best of friends.
The two of us formed a sort of double-headed hydra causing mayhem and
panic where ever we ventured.
Even as children we had quite a range of mobility.
Here we are walking my father along the streets of Williamsburg, Virginia. Look look! Wooo scary!
Ray is a year older than I am, and we both attended New York University at
the same time.
Ray majored in biology and I in physics. During this time, we mamaged to
take two classes together: Calculus and Economics.
Calculus went fine, but Economics was another matter! To make a long
story short, Ray was determined to make trouble in this class for the
instructor, and the instructor was equally determined to make trouble for
me.
It may be often the case that I am the guy looking for trouble, but not
this time; it was Ray. (Ask him for more of the details!)
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Rob Rubenstein is a close friend from Brooklyn.
Whene we first met, our distinct personalities demanded that we become
friends (sort of a Ying-Yang type of thing, you know) and so we did.
Rob had a significant impact shaping the image, style and sound of
my band (yes, you can blame Rob in part for that noisy mess).
He was always a strong supporter of the band, very helpful to our early
attempts at fame and fortune. Of course, in later years he made
a pretty penny from the bands success, but those early years were lean.
 Rob and Richard hanging out with Sam in Queens. Later, while I was in college Rob, Cousin Ray, my Brother Richard and I spent many long hours playing poker and doing those classic things that unattached guys in their twenties are supposed to do. For example, one night Ray lost a big wad of cash to the pot in an Acey-Deucy game, and the next week so did Rob. You see, Rob had bet "ten" and we naturally assumed that he meant 10 cents, since his hand was so obviously... well, sucky! He meant $10. He lost it. (Come to think of it, Acey-Deucey is a really sick game... why did we play it so much?) Okay, okay, this is not some best-friends surviving the Vietnam War story, but it was the late 80's and it was in Brooklyn! You have got to keep that in mind. I don't want to have to remind you again! There is something else about Rob that is important to mention, since it is one of the reasons I have asked him to be part of the wedding party. Rob is the kind of guy who will always be there for you. If you are in need - he is there. My mother sometimes recounts the time when we were going to paint the living room, and Rob overheard and said: "What time should I be here?" He then brought doughnuts and coffee cake and helped paint all day. That may seem like a little thing. But over the years that sort of thing adds up to a lot! That is the kind of guy Rob is. My asking Richard, Ray and Rob to be part of my wedding is an attempt to say: "Thank you" to them. |