Anti VI

”More Anti VI”


It was 1932 the depression time was here and everyone tried to find ways to make a buck. Anti VI was always coming up with some wild scheme to make some extra money. At that time VI lived on the second floor of a three family flat and on the first floor lived an Irish family with a wonderful six-year-old daughter named Mary. At the young age of six Mary had the most wonderful voice and loved to sing Irish songs. VI came up with this great idea to make some needed cash for our families. Each evening she would get Mary all dressed up in a cute Irish costume and me dressed up in shorts and a neat beret. And off we would go it visit local Irish pubs.Vi would walk into the bar and ask the bartender,” Excuse me sir”, she would say, “ Would you be minding if I had this sweet little girl sing a couple good old Irish songs for your patrons.” The bartender replied,”OK, but she better be good”. “And would you be minding if the little boy would pass his hat around, just in case someone wants to help the little one’s in these hard times.” First Mary would sing “When Irish Eyes Are Smilling,”and everyone would clap his hands with joy. After Mary sang a couple songs I would pass my hat around for donations. After we picked as much as possible from that pub we moved on to another place. Everyone was poor back then but somehow there was always some change for an occasional beer or two.

After visiting several bars VI would divide up the collection three ways and we always made a couple bucks for the evening. I’ll never forget one evening at a pub a man asked,”Young lad can you do an Irish jig for me” he then reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand full of change. “If you can do a good Irish jig I’ll give you this”, he said. Well I did not know what an Irish jig was but I put my hands on my hip and started stomping my feet and spilling around. When I was finished I held out my hat for my reward. Everyone laughed and applauded as the man said,” That was the wildest jig I ever saw but it was good”. He said and “here’s your pay me lad”. Vi said I could keep the change for myself and I was so proud to receive my very first pay for doing a job, all seventeen cents. Later in life when I was ten I got my first full time job working in a grocery store and was paid $1.50 per day.

I could tell many stories of how VI altered my life but today she is somewhere up above taking life easy and I bet she has found another little boy in need of a good old “Anti VI”.