Tis’ the Season for Re-Connecting with People Who Matter

The holiday season is a wonderful time to reconnect with important people in our lives we don't see often. It’s always fun when you’ve been thinking about one of those people, and they connect with you first.

 One of those people in my life is ‘Monty’ Delaney and I kept writing his name down on my things to do list to call him. “Monty’ (short for Montgomery) is an all-around great guy with a heart as big as his 6 ’6’ frame. Besides being a warm wonderful person I've known for many years, he was also once an attorney who never failed to show up on the dime whenever I needed him. Often to help me handle my former ongoing ‘parking ticket problem’. The ‘problem’ was, I’d forget to pay the damn tickets and they’d add up and then I’d land in ‘negotiations'. Oh and he'd also show up for that speeding ticket problem. LOL. Happy to report I’ve learned my lesson and now I don’t get parking tickets anymore and I drive like an old lady… but I still love seeing Monty. Just not in court.

 Last I saw him actually, I had some fun on his radio show. He’s got a lot to talk about. Monty served as a police officer in the South Bronx for nearly nine years until a back injury led to his retirement from the police force. He spent a significant amount of time in traction and swimming pools for rehabilitation. During this time, he was also in law school, which he had to pause and later return to. he did, and after years of practicing law, a heart issue arose and Monty decided it was time to close his practice and focus on his more creative endeavors. 

 Monty is a talented singer-songwriter. He became involved in the music scene, playing at coffee houses back when, and has made some great albums. His 1996 album "Walking in the Light" was inspired by various societal and personal reflections and continues to be played across the country and he takes pride in its lasting appeal. It was produced by Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step, which was oddly the first musical group I saw perform in person when I arrived as a freshman at Ithaca College. 

Monty had given me one of those CD’s and somehow it landed lodged inside the back sleeve of my cars front seat. No clue why. I accidentally found it last week when I went to the car wash and was cleaning out my car. I don’t have a CD player in my car, so I just put it on my front seat to remind me to call Monty. Then after the car wash, I made a cemetery stop to get out of the car to say a holiday hello to my immediate family in the family plot. (It's what Italian girls do.)

 What are the chances that when I got back in the car, there on my phone sitting on the car seat next to the “Walking In The Light” CD was a text from… MONTY!  Really? What are the chances?

Naturally I called him immediately to report the serendipity, and we had some laughs as his lovely wife listened in, and we caught up about lots of things and he told me about his new book of poetry out now called "A Musings”. It’s a collection of poems he wrote over the years while waiting in courtrooms. 

 I invited Monty to stop by the radio studio this week to bring his new book and bring his lovely wife Connie, but sadly he woke up sick the day we planned it and so he called in to the show instead. 

 I think you’ll enjoy the podcast of our live lighthearted and authentic conversation of two friends catching up on The Debbie Nigro Show. The show is filled with laughter, personal anecdotes, and our shared history that underscores my point about of the importance of connections and the value of personal relationships. We will get together 'in person' when he feels better.

 I hope I’ve sparked you to reconnect with someone important to you, that you haven’t seen or spoken to in awhile this holiday season. Let me know.