Our entire family went on a vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada, in the summer of 1968. As it turned out, even though my youngest sister was not born yet (our mother was expecting that December) -- it would be the only time we went on vacation together as a family. It's also the farthest from home my brother ever traveled and the only time he ever left the US after arriving as an immigrant in 1961.
The itinerary took us first to Old Forge, NY, where we went to the Enchanted Forest Theme Park (I'm not sure it even exists anymore). I don't remember much about the actual place, but the night before we went there is very clear in my mind.
Back then, our father worked second shift at the Avco-Lycoming factory, so he slept until later in the morning and came home at night after we were in bed. Aside from weekends (if he wasn't working overtime), we really didn't interact with him that much. On this trip, though, he was free in the evenings. One night there was nothing to do, and we were going to the park the next day, so my father, Paul and I went into the back of the hotel room where my father came up with a game for us -- he combined two decks of cards for a mega-version of War. We thought that was the *coolest* thing, and the game took hours.
We had a blast, the three of us. Ironically, it's the thing I remember most about the whole trip. Sitting there, playing cards with my older brother, with our father's full attention. It had never happened before, and as fate would have it -- it never happened again.
Paul and I talked about 'the game' in the years after. It's funny how such a simple thing became legendary in our minds. Eventually, we didn't speak much about it as we matured and other events became more important to us. But I'll always remember the feeling of being together with my brother that night.
The itinerary took us first to Old Forge, NY, where we went to the Enchanted Forest Theme Park (I'm not sure it even exists anymore). I don't remember much about the actual place, but the night before we went there is very clear in my mind.
Back then, our father worked second shift at the Avco-Lycoming factory, so he slept until later in the morning and came home at night after we were in bed. Aside from weekends (if he wasn't working overtime), we really didn't interact with him that much. On this trip, though, he was free in the evenings. One night there was nothing to do, and we were going to the park the next day, so my father, Paul and I went into the back of the hotel room where my father came up with a game for us -- he combined two decks of cards for a mega-version of War. We thought that was the *coolest* thing, and the game took hours.
We had a blast, the three of us. Ironically, it's the thing I remember most about the whole trip. Sitting there, playing cards with my older brother, with our father's full attention. It had never happened before, and as fate would have it -- it never happened again.
Paul and I talked about 'the game' in the years after. It's funny how such a simple thing became legendary in our minds. Eventually, we didn't speak much about it as we matured and other events became more important to us. But I'll always remember the feeling of being together with my brother that night.
Daniel Pinna 
