November 2019
“How was your 30th?” Levi Cranston asked his friend and former neighbor, Rhody Leyman, on the phone. “It was fun, but definitely could be better,” Rhody responded. “My friends and I got sushi, but I couldn’t drink because I’m on antibiotics right now.” “For another ear infection?” “Yes. Admittedly, I’m pretty frustrated because this is the fourth ear infection that I’ve had in eight months. So it’s pretty evident the meds aren’t really working.” “How do you feel right now?” Levi asked. “Right now, I feel fine. A little less energy than usual, but otherwise I’m okay. My ears are also a little sore. I am going in for an MRI next week to check my sinuses and Eustachian tubes. My doctor is thinking I may have an issue with my Eustachian tubes. I thought this was all over since I had my tonsils taken out,” Rhody said. “I would have thought the same thing.” “But I got my tonsils removed due to a separate issue. If I need to get surgery to get my Eustachian tubes dilated, then I’ll go for it. That’s what I think they may recommend. Or getting tubes put in my ears again.” “How many times did you have an MRI?” Levi asked. “For this issue? Or overall? This is my second MRI overall. I had that karate accident when I was 20, and then this one that’s coming up,” Rhody said. “I had one when I was in that car accident a few years ago. So much fun…..not.” “It wasn’t bad. The worst part of it is not being able to move much for a few minutes.” “Which procedure do you prefer?” “I don’t really care either way. Whichever one works better.” “That’s fair. How’s your hearing?” Levi asked. “Surprisingly enough, I can hear pretty well. When I had my most recent ear infection, I could actually hear my heartbeat in my ears, which was pretty annoying. Out of all the ear infections I’ve had in my life, this was a first,” Rhody replied. “I can’t imagine.” “What’s even more frustrating is that I’m overall in really good health. My ears are, at this point, the f*cking bane of my existence.”
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January 2020
Rhody Leyman just came home to his apartment in Brooklyn, New York after having minor surgery to put tubes in his ears after a few ear infections over the past eight months. He could have worked today, but he thought it would be best to rest up for the day. His friends, Graham Maggliardi and Allen Harris, stopped by to check on him. Rhody spent the day on the couch wrapped in his fleece throw blanket with his orange tabby cat, Topaz. He had a cotton ball stuffed in each ear. “Hey Rhody, how you feeling?” Graham asked. “Not as bad as I thought I would. I was pretty nervous about this one since I knew I’d be awake during it,” Rhody replied. “My ears are pretty sore, and I’m exhausted, but otherwise I’m doing alright.” “That’s good. How many times have you had tubes put in?” “This will be my fourth time. I’ve always had issues with my ears and fluid buildup. And we all thought that was resolved when I had my tonsils removed.” “When did you get your tonsils removed?” Allen asked. “I was like sixteen, I think. And this is the first time since then. They checked my throat and my nose, and my tonsils and adenoids haven’t grown back. And everything else came back clear,” Rhody replied. “No other problems?” “No. And the ear infections I’ve had recently weren’t awful, like I could still work and live a normal life. My ears were just sore.” “In case you were wondering, we got you a smoothie while we were out. Wanna hang out here, and we could get pizza for dinner?” “I’m totally cool with that.” Fall 2011
Rhody Leyman was hanging out in his college dorm room after a bad day of classes. His roommate came in later that evening, since he was just done with class for the day. “Rhody, you okay?” His roommate asked him, when he noticed Rhody was wrapped in a fleece throw blanket on his bed. “Not really,” Rhody replied. “No? Something wrong?” “I had an anxiety attack today, and I had to go to the nurse’s office because of it.” “Oh shit,” his roommate remarked. “Yeah, my vitals are normal now. But I almost ended up going to urgent care,” Rhody stated. “How come?” “My anxiety went through the roof today. I still don’t know what happened exactly or what caused it.” “Are you gonna get it checked out?” “I’ve had anxiety since I can remember.” March 2022
Kevin Maggliardi was in his room doing some breathing exercises to relax himself. His girlfriend, Shanti Lee, came in to see how he was doing, since he was about to go to a doctor’s appointment to check on how his broken foot was healing. He, Levi Cranston, and Rhody Leyman went on a run together in January. Kevin slipped and fell on nothing and broke his foot. “How are you doing?” Shanti asked her boyfriend of a little over three years. “I’m alright. A little more relaxed than before,” Kevin replied. “Heartbeat meditation?” “Yes, this has helped me for over three years after being held at gunpoint.” “You ready for your follow up appointment?” Shanti asked. “I hope I get good results. I’m sick of having a broken foot,” Kevin said. “You wanna feel my heartbeat?” “Yes, of course!” Kevin was lying on his back on his bed, and he took Shanti’s hand and put it on his chest. Shanti lay right next to him, and concentrated on his strong and healthy pulse against her fingers. January 2022
It was around New Year’s Day, and Levi Cranston and his friends had spent the holidays in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they live. His good friend and old neighbor, Rhody Leyman, was going to visit them for New Year’s Eve, but his trip to Valparaiso, Indiana was extended to another week because he was hit very hard with the flu. “Hello?” Rhody answered the phone on his end. “Hi Rhody,” Levi responded. “Hey. How are you doing?” “Not bad, sad you’re not here. How are you feeling?” “Well, I could be better. I’ve been throwing up pretty much the whole day for about two days. My flight to Boston has been pushed back to next Monday. Hopefully I feel better by then,” Rhody said. “Better late than never,” Levi remarked. “You’d drive from Boston back to your place in Brooklyn, right?” “Right now, that’s the plan.” “How are your dad and your stepmom, Estrella?” “They’re fine. Jayneley and her wife stopped by. You know they live in Grayslake, Illinois now. Right?” “Yep. I guess they live right by my older half-sister, Louise. My other half-sister, Elizabeth, and younger sister, Evelyn Maeve, live in Boston as well. Olivia lives by you in Brooklyn. And Victoria and her little family live in Plymouth, Indiana.” Hello everyone, and Happy Saturday!
Today, I am going to talk to you about Levi Cranston's friend and hometown neighbor, Rhody Leyman, Levi, Jack Andrews, David Savino, and Asad Prejesh have known Rhody for a long time, since they all grew up in Valpo together. * Matthew Rhodes Bacaluso-Leyman was born on November 9, 1989 in Hinsdale, Illinois. He graduated from high school one year before Levi, Jack, David, and Asad but he is older than most of his classmates. * Rhody had his tonsils taken out in 2006, during the summer of his sophomore year. * He started at a college in his hometown and transferred to a college in Chicago his sophomore year because he wanted to go to school in the city. He studied mechanical engineering and is working at an engineer. * He has three half brothers on his dad's side: David, Josh, and Nathaniel, and a full-blood sister, Jayne. * David Ambrose Bacaluso-Leyman was born on August 15, 1983 in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. * Joshua Daniel Bacaluso-Leyman and Nathaniel Paul Bacaluso-Leyman were born on May 5, 1985 in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. * Jayne Veronica Bacaluso-Leyman was born on September 4, 1987 in Hinsdale, Illinois. * Although Rhody never played sports competitively in school, he was pretty involved in several intramural sports growing up. He currently plays rugby with a few of his friends every now and then. * Jayne and Rhody stay in contact with their dad and their stepmom, as well as their half-brothers. David lives outside of Boston. Josh lives in San Francisco. Nathaniel lives in Astoria, Queens, New York. * Jayne and Rhody have no contact with their biological mother. In fact, they share some intense resentment toward her for leaving them when they were young. They have also found out that they have several half-siblings from their biological mother that they had no idea about. * After graduation from college, Rhody lived with his parents for a few months. In September 2014, he moved to the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago with a few college friends, plus his now ex-girlfriend, Adelaide Masterman. * Rhody moved to Brooklyn, New York in early 2018. He wanted a change, and he moved on a whim. His friends had an extra room in their apartment for him since their previous roommate got a new job and moved to a different city. He has considered this move to be the best thing that has ever happened to them. * He has quite a few good friends in the Brooklyn area, with some of them being Brett Ingram, Olivia Cranston, Audrey Bersigno, and Nathaniel Maggliardi. * Jayne lives in Grayslake, Illinois with her wife, and works as an executive chef. * A lot of girls in school have thought Rhody is very cute, has a charming personality, and a strange-looking belly button, which is partially misshapen. * Rhody once had his belly button pierced after losing a very stupid bet. He cannot remember what the bet was, and he had the piercing in for about 7-8 months. That is all I have for tonight. Have a great rest of your weekend! Summer 2019
Rhody Leyman and his friend, Graham Maggliardi, Kevin’s older brother, spent an evening on the rooftop of Graham’s Brooklyn, New York apartment building. They brought their lawn chairs and a few beers out and decided to contemplate life for an hour or two. It was just the two of them for the time being, so that was nice. “My heart has been beating very fast recently,” Rhody remarked after a few minutes of silence between the two of them. “You alright?” Graham asked. “I think it’s my anxiety and all. I’ve dealt with this most of my life, and of course my shrink knows about it. There’s one thing I’m not sure you all know about.” “What is it?” “I actually have two last names. I usually just go by Rhody Leyman, but my real name is Matthew Bacaluso-Leyman. Those are my dad’s last names as well,” Rhody remarked. “I like it,” Graham replied. “How are you feeling right now?” “I’m alright now. It happens every few hours. This afternoon, my heart was pounding so hard that I almost threw up because of it. I’m gonna tell my shrink about this when I speak with them again.” “You gonna play rugby tomorrow with everyone? Boyfriend Ayaan wanted me to ask you.” “I hope I’m up for it. Depending on how I feel, of course.” “Yeah, just let me know. I’ll hang out with you if you don’t.” “You got a deal.” January 2022
“I like your tattoo, it really suits you,” Levi Cranston said to Rhody Leyman while he was on the phone with him. “Thank you. I liked ‘Ohana’ and the heart on my chest. And a few of my friends encouraged me to get it. But it is pretty sore right now,” Rhody replied. “How much did it hurt when you first got it?” “I got it yesterday, and it hurt a lot. I’m not sure what hurt more. This or when I got my belly button pierced a few years ago.” “Oh yeah, I forgot you had that happen,” Levi replied. “Yeah, that hurt for a few days. And I only got my belly button pierced on a dare. I lost a bet on something super petty that I cannot remember offhand. If I lost, I had to get it pierced,” Rhody said. “How long did you have it in? Mackenzie has had a belly ring for a few years, and it hasn’t bothered her.” “I think about six months. I didn’t want it in for very long, but the ladies loved it. They all thought it was super cute, and that really surprised me. But everyone likes my belly button anyway.” “Yeah, it’s differently shaped for sure. Do you plan on getting any more tattoos soon?” “Not yet.” Summer 2018
Rhody Leyman, Graham Maggliardi (Kevin’s older brother), and a few mutual friends went to a movie theatre in New York City on a nice summer evening. It was a later showing, and somehow they all had the whole room to themselves. Before going to see the movie, they all ate dinner. About thirty minutes into the movie, during when there was silence for a few seconds, one of Rhody’s and Graham’s friends let out a loud fart. Everyone died of laughter for several minutes. This kept happening for the rest of the movie, and Rhody especially fell out of his chair and laughed so hard he almost threw up. Because of this, they didn’t really get a chance to see the movie. And since then, they have associated this movie with their friend farting. January 2022
Levi Cranston’s friend and former neighbor, Rhody Leyman, visited Levi and his friends in Boston for a long weekend. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, so not too far away. One morning that he was with them, he, Levi, and Kevin Maggliardi went on a run along the Esplanade. Kevin tripped on nothing and ended up in the hospital with a broken foot. When the three boys came back that afternoon, everyone lay low for the rest of the day by watching TV and eating pizza. Kevin lay across one couch with his broken foot elevated on two pillows. |
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About my BlogMy blog contains anything and everything one should know about my books. Aaaaand a lot more as well. |