Phil Bonasso: A Love Story by Phil's wife Part II

(My wondeful wife contiues her story!)

So how can Phil Bonasso be my high school sweetheart if we didn’t even know each other…and we were so different? Well, high school is a very interesting time of life. It’s what’s happening in a person’s soul that makes it a unique, yet universal moment. As different as Phil and I were, we did have some similarities.

Phil Bonasso came from a Catholic family and so did I. The number of children in the two families would have given one a hint to that possibility. I never quite understood when I was young why the next question after how many kids were in my family was always followed by the statement “You must be Catholic! Anyway, our families were devout Catholics. By high school I also was very devout. Phil was not so much. I never got into” trouble” but Phil was in and out of “trouble”. We both seemed to be natural leaders. I was quiet internally but not afraid to lead. Phil Bonasso was the same. We each had many friends from both sides of the tracks, so to speak, which translated very differently in the Northeast compared to the South. But he was lonely and so was I: That’s the inevitable state of the high school person’s soul no matter how popular one is.

Because of this innate loneliness we were both looking for sweethearts … we were looking for each other…in high school…many miles and many experiences away…

To be continued…

Phil Bonasso: A Love Story by Phil's wife

(Hi Guys! My wife wanted to post some encouraging thoughts about the Lord's hand in guiding us to each other. I hope you enjoy her keen insights!)

I keep a picture of Phil Bonasso on my desk. I suppose many couples do that. But my picture is of him in his basketball uniform as a high school athlete. I didn’t know Phil then. He went to a high school in Alabama: I went to a high school in Pennsylvania. Not only were our schools far from each other but the lives we led before I knew Phil were also very “far apart” experientially.

I am the oldest of seven children. Phil Bonasso is the youngest of five children. I lived in one place all my life. He lived in Kansas, West Virginia, London, England, Germany, and Alabama. His father was an officer in the Army.

In high school I was a very conscientious straight A student, a cheerleader, a class officer and very naïve. Phil was not at all concerned about grades, played basketball, was student body president and very “street smart”. If you know anything about high school politics a class officer is very different than a student body president. A class officer pretty much works like an ambassador of the Administration whereas the student body president works for the rights of the students. At that time in history the “rights” were usually things that were not allowed like wearing jeans, smoking, free class periods, etc. I think you get the picture that Phil and I approached school in a very different way.

I keep the picture of Phil Bonasso on my desk and I tell my children that it is a picture of my high school sweetheart…

To be continued…