Page 6 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 19, 2021 Malden Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday – Solomon ‘Jerry’ Levine By Peter F. Levine J erry Levine grew up in the West End of Boston. He moved his rapidly expanding family to Malden in 1963 after being displaced by the Beast That Ate The West End. He spent the next 57 years on Charles Street fi nding contentment and peace of mind in family, friends and the simplicity in life. He didn’t teach us how to shoot a free throw or which base to correctly throw to, but he did hand down to my siblings and I wisdom, compassion and common sense. Invaluable to each and every one of us each and every day of our lives – for that we are eternally grateful. His grandchildren just adored him. The youngest, Jeri Scibelli, had these wonderful words to say about him before the Kaddish was read: “Pa was many things – I want to preface by saying that a great inventor was not one of them. However, he was a great teacher Mackey & Brown Attorneys at Law * PERSONAL INJURY * REAL ESTATE * FAMILY LAW * GENERAL PRACTICE * PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY * CIVIL LITIGATION 14 Norwood St., Everett, MA 02149 Phone: (617) 387-4900 Fax: (617) 381-1755 WWW.MACKEYBROWNLAW.COM John Mackey, Esq. * Katherine M. Brown, Esq. Patricia Ridge, Esq. ANGELO’S FULL SERVICE Regular Unleaded $3.259 Mid Unleaded $3.299 Super $3.419 Diesel Fuel $3.399 "43 Years of Excellence!" 1978-2021 KERO $4.81 DEF $3.49 9 Diesel $3.099 9 HEATING OIL 24-Hour Burner Service Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! Open an account and order online at: www.angelosoil.com (781) 231-3500 (781) 231-3003 367 LINCOLN AVE • SAUGUS • OPEN 7 DAYS and almost too creative. I should know, I spent every morning and afternoon with him for around nine years. I learned a lot, like what ‘latch-key kid’ meant and that daytime judges come and go but Judge Judy is forever. Pa taught me how to eat grapes by biting them in half and never drinking water when lying down. He also taught me to come to a complete stop at stop signs and never honk because you never know what kind of day the guy in front of you has been having, and you especially don’t know if he has a baseball bat. “On our drives he taught me to always wear my seatbelt. This is where him and Pavlov have a lot in common. My grandfather, who may or may not own a hammer, used toilet paper rolls to make piggy banks, which we would put a dime in every time he forgot to wear his seatbelt. I wouldn’t compare him to Benjamin Franklin, but it worked. I still wear my seatbelt every time I get into a car. When he stopped driving me to school, we made a tradition that every Sunday he would have fi ve dollars for me in the fi sh dish (a porcelain dish shaped like a fi sh where he placed his valuables) – which he fondly referred to as my seatbelt money. Pa was very proud of the fi sh dish. He would brag about his children’s accomplishments, but what he was most proud of most was that for the last 50+ years he would keep money on the fi sh dish and know that it would always be there the next morning. “Pa taught me a lot about trust, but what he taught me most about was family. He had a saying: ‘Your only friends are The late Solomon “Jerry” Levine of West End fame is shown with family friend Gary Cherone of Extreme fame. (Courtesy Photo) your family.’ I misunderstood this for a long time; I thought it meant that you can only trust your family – but what he really meant was that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t spoken to your brother in 30 years – when he does fi nally call, you’ll always be there to listen. Even with his own brothers, Pa would go years – if not decades – not speaking, but he was always there to answer. Frank would still call him to ask for rides from time to time, even when they were not necessarily speaking. Pa always had fond recollections of his brothers. Pa was in awe of his brother Frank, who he considered so intelligent, but just never learned to drive – which was something Pa would remember, even when they weren’t speaking. Pa had a little diff erent story for Paci: He would often tell how proud he and their father Harry were to receive Paci’s bloody military uniform in the mail, from when Paci was stabbed by a superior offi cer for being insubordinate. “But I digress. When I went off to college it was the fi rst time Monogram D4 Double siding Cedar impression half rounds Harvey Vinyl 63 Replacement Windows Custom Aluminum Trim work Windows & Doors Top quality Vinyl Siding! •Vinyl Siding •Carpentry Work •Decks •Roofing •Free Estimates •Replacement Windows •Fully Licensed •Fully Insured Prices subject to change Fill Up & Save! Fall is Coming! FLEET
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