My mother drove out to the airport one day in 1960 to tell my father some important news. Back then, my father had a very large territory that required him to travel as far away as Maine. He came in that day all worked up about his day and the events that had occurred, and according to my mother, he "was talking a mile a minute". Finally, she blurted out that she was expecting a baby. Eventually, they would discover that Tammie was due on May 1, 1961 and unlike her brother who was three weeks late, she arrived exactly on the due date.
Tammie was born in Syracuse Memorial Hospital and was delivered by Dr. Philip L Ferro. About a year ago, I met Dr. Ferro in an elevator and introduced myself. He delivered all three of my parent's babies and is still practicing today. In fact, my mother continues to be one of his patients.
After Tammie was born, my parents were given the option of something called rooming-in, where a newborn could be kept in the mother's room instead of the nursery. At first, my mother didn't like that idea, but when the nurse came to take Tammie from my father and bring her back to the nursery, my mother changed her mind. According to her, my father looked so sad that she decided that she had made a mistake and she told my dad to run after the nurse and see if they could make the change to rooming-in. The nurse understood and Tammie was given back to my dad and she stayed the rest of the time in my mom's room.
My father told me how beautiful Tammie was as a baby. He said, "I can remember walking through Edwards Department Store and holding Tammie and people would come up to me and just remark about her eyes and how cute she was." My mom agreed and mentioned to me that people were just so enamored with her very unusual, almost black eyes. When I heard that, I kind of rolled my own eyes, as mine are identical to my sister's. How come no one ever said that I was beautiful or cute? Perhaps, there is more to it than just the eyes.
Tammie, as a very little girl, had a constant companion. Actually, she had a few of these companions. Most times, she could be seen carrying a little piece of cloth that she called her "Mama". After a while, Tammie determined that she was getting too old for "Mama" and decided that she wanted to get rid of her. My mother told her that if she put it in the closet there was a chance that a toy would appear in its place the next morning. Well, Tammie thought that was a great idea and quickly agreed. Unfortunately, somewhere around bedtime, she decided that just to be safe, she would give her "Mama" another chance.
Tammie could be stubborn as a little girl, too. Come to think of it, she has been a little stubborn her whole life. When she was three, she went through a period where she just wouldn't eat. My parents tried everything and were becoming quite frustrated. The family pediatrician advised ignoring her behavior, under the belief that she would eventually eat on her own. That turned out to be an effective strategy and something that ultimately worked.
My mom's parents were up from Wellsville and my grandmother had brought with her some anise cookies. She left them on my parent's kitchen table and retreated with the rest of the adults to the living room. Thinking that no one was watching, Tam sneaked into the kitchen and very discreetly absconded with one of the cookies. She then nonchalantly walked down the hall, losing a few cookie crumbs as she walked. My mother and grandmother noticed this theft, but my grandmother advised not drawing attention to it. Tam made several more trips before she finally tired of the anise cookie. The hunger strike was officially over!
Number 1 song on May 1, 1961 -funny, but for years this was my favorite song. Tam had introduced me to the film American Graffiti and "Runaway" was a prominent song in it.
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