Wow, it looks  like you guys had so much fun. I miss block parties. I think back to the 40th Street extravaganzas of the 80s and early 90s, where permits were never necessary to close off a busy Brooklyn street...you just asked a firefighter living on your block to have his buddies park an engine at each end. Same firefighters opend up the hydrants for the kids to play. My favorite was the ten foot high DJ stand, which was powered by stealing electricity  from the lamposts. On average, "Party Your Body" by Stevie B and "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant might be heard every hour. Those parties were great.

 Marisa Circle had quite a few memorable ones as well...I think of Barry Kaufman carrying over a plate of Schmucklabernstein sausages to a patio table in front of our house that already had eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, hot and cold antipasta, roast beef and turkey...all that precedes the monstrous spread of items Big Vin barbecued. Around that table sat a collection of professional eaters: The Mastandreas, the Vadalas, the Buetis, the Caravellas...and Joe Shtrimps. Eat, drink, laugh and repeat. Of course, each block party always ended with my brother Joe being ambushed by the young Dads of the block and thrown into a pool. Once again, Florida just doesn't have that kind of close family atmosphere...I think my kids will unfortunately miss out. Luckily, we still have some video footage hiding somewhere (one video in particular ends with Dom Caravella getting depantsed and then spilling his beer into the camera) for them to enjoy.

By the way, I loved the reenactment, I think next year you should consider the baptism scene from The Godfather Part One. I believe Cookie would make a superb Clemenza,, and Mojo a fine Moe Greene.

Also, when I read "jerk" chicken, I think of Wesley Willis's magnum opus "Cut The Mullet", where he shouts out "Get out the hair clippers, Jerk!" .

Anyway, its good to be back on the blog. I'm off today, enjoying a little peace, a little relaxation, and thanks the The Dish, a lot of nostalgia.