Danny our Friend

We were so deeply sad to hear of Danny's sudden passing. We felt very fortunate to be able to make Danny's wake and service.

It was so obvious, many people felt about Danny, as we did. Julie and his daughters, so did Danny proud, a beautiful send off , that he truly deserved. So many people , with their  short stories about Danny, really captured his unique beautiful approach to Life. His daughter Dana , said it best, " men like Danny, and all his special qualities ,are pretty much  extinct. My wife Regina , grew up in the Bronx ,  not far from Danny, played ball in St. James Park , as he did, and I grew in Brooklyn, we were fortunate to have men in our lives ,growing up , much like Danny. We refuse to forget these people. They brightened our lives, with their NYC sense of humor, they always chose to look at the glass half full , but most of all they gave everyone a chance to be part of their lives . They took a sincere interest in your life , they wanted to hear everything about you. And most of all , they were always happy to see you. On the street , in the gym, in the park, and if you were across the street , Danny would cross over to see you, and give you one of those big Bronx  greetings. The real thing , not just a smiling polite hello. That was not Danny.                                I first met Danny when I was coaching a CYO boys basketball team. He approached me , asking if Dana could try out. I wasn't optimistic, about having a girl make the team, but how could I turn a guy like Danny down. " She just wants a chance, if she can't make it , it's cool , no problem" Danny says.  First try out , tons of kids show up, and a few decent ball players. Didn't look good for Dana , nor for many boys that showed up. At some point Danny approached me , he realized , as I did , I would be cutting a bunch of kids. Danny , in his own empathetic way ,was letting me off the hook, he wasn't thinking about his own interests , he felt bad for my situation. Man . I tell you, I knew right there , Danny was one of a kind . I commented to him," I wonder how many of these kids would show up on a snowy Friday night game ,or an early Saturday morning game."I told him I should have a tryout at 630 am , I bet I wouldn't have to cut anybody.  When Danny heard that , he encouraged me to do just that. I knew there would be much grumbling, but Danny I liked it, but  he gave me some advice . In his very street Spanish lingo, " Kevin if you do that, make sure you pick up those kids you need" Which I did. When I walked up to the gym doors with the keys, Danny and his daughter were waiting for me. That morning , I had eleven kids show up , I thought it best to give everybody a second chance , one more try out at 630am. Danny and Dana were there first again , and the same eleven kids showed up. We had our team, no cuts needed , 10 boys, one girl. And I had a friend for life.                       Danny of course was a basketball junkie, Park , CYO and High School. He rarely missed any games, long after his girls moved on from the game.  Some of my sons played local HS ball, Danny was always there , we always sat together , and in a crowed gym , we always had plenty of room around us. We were pretty hard on the local refs. Danny would use his Bronxisms to bang the refs , I would use my Brooklynisms , we were were like a tag team. We always agreed on everything , we could finish each other's sentences. We always felt the local upstate refs, were too involved with the game , especially at key game moments, " My God , Let em play, pleaseeee " . Danny and I would jump off our seats , when a kid on either team , made a great defensive stop , a great pass , tough rebound , sometimes we felt like we were the only City basketball educated guys , in the gym.  Never failed , when one of my kids were making a move to the rim , good or bad , Danny would mumble ," he got hit man".  Again,  Thinking of somebody else , I was his friend. We will miss him , but no way will we forget him.   Dana , you said it , in this world today , not many guys  left like your Father. We are so sorry for your  great loss, all of you will remain in our Prayers. Thanks for sharing Danny.