Page 6 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 18, 2025 ~ Malden Musings ~ Remembering Rocky Brooks By Peter Levine “H 425r Broadway, Saugus Located adjacent to Kohls Plaza Route 1 South in Saugus at the intersection of Walnut Street We are on MBTA Bus Route 429 781-231-1111 We are a Skating Rink with Bowling Alleys, Arcade and two TV’s where the ball games are always on! PUBLIC SKATING SCHEDULE 12-7 p.m. Sunday Monday Tuesday $10.00 Price includes Roller Skates Rollerblades/inline skates $3.00 additional cost Private Parties 7:30-11 p.m. Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday $11.00 Price includes Roller Skates 18+ Adults Only After 7 PM - ID Required Private Parties Private Parties 4-8 p.m. $10.00 8:30-11 p.m. $11. 18+ Adults Only After 7 PM - ID Required 12-9 p.m. $10.00 Everyone must pay admission after 6 p.m. Sorry No Checks - ATM on site Roller skate rentals included in all prices Inline Skate Rentals $3.00 additional BIRTHDAY & PRIVATE PARTIES AVAILABLE www.roller-world.com Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/ Advocate.news.ma ello Peter, Chris Moro here; ‘Keeper of the Flame - Linden USA.’ I hope all is well! I want to thank you for allowing me to have my eulogy of sorts in print – ‘Brothers on the Branch.’ Thank you for that gift. Your heartfelt words were greatly appreciated by the Moro Tribe. My dad, Leo (‘The Head Chief’) lovingly called his boys his ‘Wild Indians’ - LOL. My dad, the rock in our lives.” [My note: Leo Moro was the longtime uber successful manager of the Malden Babe Ruth League team the Chiefs.] “With that said Peter I’d like to remember ‘my friend in my eyes’ - Rocky Brooks - who passed away on Saint Patrick’s Day 2024. This Saint Pat’s Day brought back much sadness to his family and large circle of friends. We all coped with the loss and absence of the Rock as best we could. In Rock’s memory, I/we didn’t allow that day to be a sad one. I will always remember my friend, and thoughts of Rocky on any given day bring a smile to my eyes. For I know how lucky I was to have had the Rock in my life. See you further up the road my friend Rocky Brooks.” It is said in “Malden Musings”... • One more time, with feeling.... The Malden State of the City Address at Anthony’s on Canal Street was a stone-cold blast! Mayor Gary Christenson (who just ran a campaign kickoff reelection fundraiser at All Season’s Table that brought the house down!) killed it as usual with a little help from his dear friends Ron Hogan, Elaina Savino, Maria Luise and Kathleen Manning Hall. • Oh yeah, I almost forgot Mary Ann Seager, who once again did a fine job with her five minutes of fame. Thank you, Mary Ann, for all you do. • Speaking of “Jeopardy!”...An early March episode featured this clue with a Malden connection: “Meaning utmost or ultimate but not starting with “u”. It’s also the name of a band that provided “More Than Words.” You KNOW you’ve made it bigly when your hit song is featured on “Jeopardy!” Way to go, Extreme and lead singer (Highland Ave.’s very own) Retired Malden Police Officer, the late Rocky Brooks Gary Cherone. • Coincidence? I think not. The same round that night on “Jeopardy!” had a category about malls in movies with the clue “historical figures were running wild in a mall in this movie.” Extreme sorta name-checked in the very same “Jeopardy!” episode with a reference to their contribution to the soundtrack for “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”; the playful ode to childhood with a sly innuendo thrown in here and there to boot – “Play with Me” – from their first slab of vinyl, Extreme. • I was reminded shortly after the “1987 MHS GOAT Football Team” appeared that I neglected to mention Ernie LeBlanc on that list of GOATs. My bad on that one. Ernie was a natural at everything – a wicked good guy – and I miss seeing him and Donny Boyce in the DD lot on Salem Street! • GOATS, we’ve had a few in my short time in Maldonia… Dave Caiazzo, Ernie, Paul Murphy, Matty Marden, Carmine Cappuccio, Johnny Salmon, Shawn Brickman, Buddy Arthur, Michael Langston, Dick Rodenhiser, Donny Roach... so many GOATS, so little time (and column space). Look for an in-depth analysis of Malden’s best and most talented in a future article. As Master Po would whisper, “patience grasshopper.” • On a somewhat related note... in 1970, channeling his inner George “Boomer” Scott, Davey Cai hit a tater off me at Linden Park in the BRL that is said to still be travelling to this very day. I’m 13 and it is my third start of the season for the Stars. Bob Rosano has confidence in me to get the ball over the plate now that my mother secured my first pair of prescription eyeglasses. I’ve developed a sweeping curve since my days playing in the National League with the Twins (Billy “Smegs” Smeglin showed me how to grip the ball, btw), and I’m having a little success with it in the bigs. So, here I am at the big show facing the legend himself, Davey Caiazzo. Paul “Snuffy” Smith is my dependable backstop, giving me a huge target to hit every time, and he opts for the bender instead of my 45 mph “fastball.” Good golly, Miss Molly! I sneak the first one by him! In my head, it’s the Fourth of July and “I’m on top of the world, Ma!” Snuffy flashes the deuce again; brimming with overconfidence I go into my Jim Lonborg–style windup and let it fly. It has been reported that the windscreen of a 1967 Chevy Impala traveling on Salem Street was damaged beyond repair from said traveling round ball. Cai doesn’t remember the at bat. I do. LOL. • Just for the record, I got my one and only at bat against Dave in that game, and after the at bat remember saying to myself, maybe I should start focusing on another sport. • Gob smacked was I to discover – thanks to Malden Parking Control Officer and the man who seems to know just about everyone in Malden (and might be related to everybody also), Steve Kelleher – that the late, great and much-beloved Malden hash slinger, Richie Cremone, was born on none other than Saint Patrick’s Day. • Richie was the original woober goober (but without the green teeth)! A force of nature, a presence you could feel in any room he entered. No doubt his legacy will long outlive the sound of his laughter and the taste of his unforgettable dishes. He meant the world to so many, and though people often say time softens the ache of loss, we miss him more than words can say – yes, even more than his legendary chicken soup. Not that I wouldn’t give just about anything for a gallon of that magic elixir right now, but what I wouldn’t give even more for is one more night at the IACC, sitting across from him while he held court in that way only he could,
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