First True Love ... She Always Mattered To Him

It's safe to say that Peter enjoyed the company of some very beautiful women ... some more pure of heart than others ... some ended up being featured in his songs ... some were a spotlight in his life ... some were a detriment. I hope this posting doesn't become fodder for an episode of the "Battle of the Beauties." For those of you who held a piece of Peter's heart ... and you know who you are ... we loved how Peter shared YOU with us. But, sometimes, love's first kiss stays with you for a lifetime ...

If you really mattered to Peter, he shared you with his family.  If you were special, the family never let you go ...

And with Mardie, she was always an important part of Peter's life, and the sister/aunt we adopted long ago and never let go in our hearts and in our lives. 

Pete & Mardie in Nettie's Kitchen

It was a chance glance on the D train in Brooklyn where Peter and his first true love, Mardie first saw each other.  Mardie was with her friend Dawn heading into The Village to buy feather earrings (remember those?). Peter and Josh were on the train when the two girls got on. They looked at each other from the Sheepshead Bay station all the way to Avenue M, where Peter exited. For 5 stops Mardie and Peter couldn't take their eyes off each other. Dawn was chatting away to Mardie and Josh to Peter but neither were listening to their friends.. they just stared at each other! At the Avenue M stop, Peter waved to Mardie as he got  off the train just as the doors were closing. As he stood there staring at her,  Mardie said to her friend, "That's the most beautiful face I've ever seen."

Two months later, Mardie went to a "Battle of the Bands" concert at her school, John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. On stage a band called Fallout was playing. Mardie was mesmerized when she went into the auditorium and saw that beautiful face again. Peter spotted her in the crowd and after the performance walked straight up to her and said, "Hi Train Girl. I knew I would see you again." Chills went down Mardie's entire body. She couldn't believe he remembered her face and picked her out of a packed crowd.

From that day forward, they were inseparable. They spent every moment they could with each other. Everyday Peter stood outside of Dewey H.S. waiting for Mardie so they could do something ... anything with each other. They rode the B train to Coney Island some days. Other days, they went to walk on the boardwalk for hours at a time; hours that went so fast for the young couple. They would walk around Sheepshead Bay together just so they could avoid separating. They got lost in each (add space) other like first time lovers  do. They felt like soulmates. Mardie, a petite dark-haired young beauty with a genuine laugh and soulful eyes was a perfect match to Peter's strong tall frame and gentle spirit.  It was a carefree relationship filled with laughter, support and inspiration on both sides.

"I felt the safest when I was with him," Mardie remembers. "When we were together, he listened to everything I said as if they were the most important words ever spoken !"

Peter quickly introduced Mardie to his mother, Nettie and father, Pete. At first, Nettie was worried that Peter was dating a "Jewish girl." But, after talking with Mardie she realized that Pete's gf was so much like herself - charming, beautiful, real - Nettie loved her like one of her own daughters. In fact, Peter's eldest sister, Annette (we called her Nancy) was Mardie's dad's age, "So, I fit in neatly in between the nieces -- I even gave make-up lessons to Tara in Nettie's bathroom on a regular basis," recalls Mardie. "I have so many memories of family gatherings, drinking the homemade iced tea, swimming in the pool at Nancy's house in Long Island, and just being treated like I was part of the family."

... Please come back to read Part 2 which posts on Friday, May 20th