WHERE I BELONG
Being the only Italian who lives in Lower Alabama is not easy. In high school I was more interested in going to the gym and tanning, while everyone else wanted to listen to their country music and drive around on John Deere tractors. I was called “greasy”, made fun of all the time for the music I liked, and isolated because of the clothes that I wore. Of course it didn’t take long to figure out that all the ball busting was out of jealousy. I had the best body, best hair, best car, and best girls all through high school. I guess you could call me the blackest sheep (or should I say the tannest sheep) in Alabama.
After high school I went to junior college in Alabama for 3 years, but then I transferred. I went to a college in the Midwest. I had to get away from the South. And for the first time in my life I made friends with guys from Jersey. They were just like me, except introduced me to better guido music and clothes. They taught me that guido wasn’t a dirty word that Alabama kids used to make fun of me, but it was a sign of pride. They took me to get my first tat (a tribal) and my second tat (an Italian flag, to show my pride.) And best of all was the music. I always liked to dance, but the music that they had revolutionized me. The DJ that changed me forever was Louie DeVito. And my boys said, “If you love him, wait tell you hear Denny Tsettos.” This meant nothing to me then, but it would soon.
Unfortunately, after school, I returned to Alabama. I talked on the phone with my boys from Jersey and heard about their crazy stories from the shore and decided I needed to see what all the hype was about. So on July 3, 2002; my friend Tony arrived at Newark Airport to pick me up. He opened the door, and Shiny Disco Balls was blaring from his system. It hit me like a ton of bricks, I knew I loved the song, I loved this state, and I would love the life. I was in for one hell of a weekend. We drove straight to Seaside. I don’t think I closed my mouth for the entire drive up and down the strip. The girls were amazing. They had the tightest bodies! Even the guys blew my mind…it looked like an ad for muscle and fitness. For the first time I saw people that could compete with my body and even a couple that were in better shape than me. (But only a couple)
Surf Club, Djai’s, Tempts. My head was spinning. I walked into Tempts for the first time, ripped off my shirt, and hit the dance floor. I instantly had some of the hottest girl I had ever seen hitting on me. You probably saw me that night. I was the guido with the biggest smile from ear to ear for the entire night. At Surf Club during the day, I stunned all the girls with my body. They were all surprised though to learn that I wasn’t from New Jersey. They were even more shocked to hear that I was from Alabama. I quickly learned to fit in around Seaside. I thought it would take a long time to be comfortable, but I felt at ease immediately. The Jersey Shore was the party that I had been searching for all my life. It’s hard to fully express in words exactly how I felt, but let’s just say it felt like home. I was meant to live in New Jersey. I was meant to dance at Tempts. I was meant to flex on the Seaside boardwalk. I was meant to get the hottest girls in the nation…the girls on the shore. I was meant to be an NJGuido.
As soon as I got home, I had an e-mail from one of my bros , Marco. He entitled it “A little piece of home.” It was a link to NJguido.com. Naturally, this website has inspired me. It does makes me sad each time I log on, because I can’t be at the shore that weekend. But Moo’s motto has brought a ray of hope to my life. “DON’T MISS A WEEKEND. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!” That is how I live. Since I can’t go to Seaside or Belmar, I drive to other places. Panama City, Tallahassee, Atlanta….and I never miss a weekend. And I have been having the best weekends I ever had in the South. My trip to New Jersey has actually made my life better even away from the Shore. Of course nothing can compare to the promised land. Look for me Labor Day….I’ll be there. When you get to Tempts, look on the dance floor. First, find all the guys with the best bodies. Then pick the one with the biggest smile….that will be me. Thank you New Jersey. Thank you Denny Tsettos. Thank you NJGuido,com. And most of all thank you ladies….don’t worry I’ll be back.
-Chris Marvinello
Enterprise, AL