Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 3 Volume 9 | Page 13

child. Danny went to school. He had many
wonderful friends. None of his friends
looked at Danny as being handicapped,
Danny just used special equipment to get
around, and get around he did. Danny was
always in the center of what was going on
with the other kids in the neighborhood. He
competed in the New York State Games for
the Physically Challenged. He did so for six
years and won more than twenty gold
medals. His friends from school and the
neighborhood came to cheer him on.
Thanks to Danny, his friends learned to see
what a person could do, not what a person
couldn't do.
Danny also became a Youth Ambassa-
dor for March of Dimes. Not only was he an
ambassador, but he held the position for a
number of years. He was a natural for the
job. He had a warm smile, and the gift of
gab. He was a born politician. He got to
meet Michael Crawford while Crawford
was performing in Phantom of the Opera.
Many people get tongue tied when deal-
ing with stars. Danny looked at Crawford
and introduced himself, telling the star that
he was the March of Dimes Youth Ambas-
sador, and then asked Crawford "What do
you do around here?" Michael Crawford
looked dumbfounded. A Broadway star was
upstaged by a five year old. Helping the
March of Dimes was important to Danny.
He met many celebrities while doing it.
Every time his photo appeared in the paper,
he would call his father at work and say
"Hey, Dad, I'm famous again.”
Having something that made him differ-
ent from other children never stopped
Danny or his family. He and his parents did
everything other families do, maybe even
F ALL 2019
more. They did big things. As a family they
went to baseball games. They visited Dis-
neyworld many times. They also toured the
Smokey Mountains by helicopter. As a fami-
ly they did the little things that are im-
portant for all families. They went out to
dinner, to the movies, had family birthdays
as well as get togethers for family and
friends.
Danny was so well known and liked,
that in 1994, he was invited to be the offi-
cial lighter of the village Christmas tree in
Massapequa Park where he lived.
Danny endured many surgeries during
his childhood. He always persevered. He
seemed to give strength to the people
around him. He had an amazing sense of
humor and a quick wit. Yet at the same time
he was sensitive. He never was embar-
rassed when hugged or kissed in front of
his friends. Danny was one of a kind.
For a while John was the commanding
officer of Emergency Service Bureau of the
Nassau County Police Department. Danny
would visit with his father and the officers
assigned to the bureau. Danny loved to be
around police officers, and the officers en-
joyed his visits. Like many kids, Danny
wanted to be a cop. At home, Danny would
write his own police reports. They were
about the activities in his neighborhood. He
told his parents when he grew up he was
going to be a police officer, just like his dad.
This left John and Kathleen with a prob-
lem. As Danny was growing up, they always
encouraged him to do his best. They told
him he could be anything he wanted to be.
He was a wonderful son with tremendous
strengths. After all the encouragement they
had given their son, how could they tell
P AGE 9
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE