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Summer 2006
“My throat is on fire,” Matthew Rhodes (Rhody) Bacaluso-Leyman said to his older sister, Jayne, who was in his room with him at the moment. “How long has it been since you had your tonsils out?” Jayne asked. “I don’t even remember, like a few days ago, I think. I’ve just been playing video games for most of the time, though.” “Did you want ice cream or something? Dad wanted me to ask you.” “No thank you,” Rhody replied. “Okay, Dad and I are going out for a few hours. Mom is here if you need her,” Jayne said. “Ok. Thanks, Jayne.” “Levi said he’s free to come over if you want.” “I’ll think about it. I’m really not feeling too well.” “Alright. See you in a few hours.”
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February 2023
“So, we all booked our tickets to San Francisco for May,” Levi Cranston said to his former neighbor and good friend, Matthew Rhodes (Rhody) Bacaluso-Leyman, over the phone. “Very nice. Wish I could join, but my friends and I are going to Orlando that same week,” Rhody replied. “Who all is coming with you?” “Zach, Brett, your sister Olivia, Audrey, Graham, Ayaan, Allen, Jerome, David, and my girlfriend Ally. Who’s coming with you to San Francisco?” “Jack, Asad, Savino, Kevin, Jing, and Wong. Mackenzie, Shanti, and everyone else are having a girls’ weekend,” Levi replied. “You’re visiting a few friends there, right?” Rhody asked. “Yes, two of Brett’s brothers live out there. And a couple other friends as well. Savino lives in San Jose, and he is going to meet us there.” “Very nice. I love San Francisco.” “I do as well. How are you feeling after last week?” “Much better, I tested like five times to see if I had Covid, because my throat was on fire. It was just a bad cold. But now Zach has a bad cold, and we were going to see Brett’s band perform at a pizza place nearby.” January 2022
Matthew Rhodes Bacaluso-Leyman (Rhody) was visiting Boston for a few days. He and a few other friends, Levi Cranston and Kevin Maggliardi just came back to Levi’s apartment from a run. A few other friends, Jack Andrews and Asad Prejesh, were at the apartment watching TV. “Sup, Rhody,” Jack greeted Rhody. Levi and Kevin came in behind him and went to different rooms. “Hey, guys. What’s everyone up to?” Rhody asked. “Just watching TV and waiting for Jing Hao and Wong to come over. Mackenzie is out with her friends for the afternoon.” “Nice. You guys didn’t miss much today. The run was brutal.” “Yeah, it’s chilly outside, so that’s why we took a pass,” Jack replied. “Kevin, Levi, and I all have reactive airways, so it hit us all a little harder than usual,” Rhody said. “Where are Kevin and Levi? I didn’t see them come in.” “They’re resting for a few minutes. They were both complaining of some chest pain from the cold weather.” “How are you feeling?” “I’m better now. My chest hurt for a few minutes, and I spent a few more minutes after that coughing up a lung. But that didn’t last for long.” March 2023
“How is Kevin doing with his project at work?” Mackenzie Burbanks, Levi Cranston’s girlfriend, asked her friend, Shanti Lee, who is Kevin Maggliardi’s girlfriend. “It’s really stressful for him. He has been working at least 60 hours each week over the past several weeks,” Shanti replied. “I bet. I know that I haven’t seen him around as much.” “Last night, when I was with him, Kevin was so stressed out with this project that I think I could hear his heart beating from two feet away.” “Wow, I hope this project ends soon,” Mackenzie stated. “Yeah, me too. I know that he will be relieved,” Shanti said. “That was you when you were in nursing school, right?” “Yeah, I realized that nursing school wasn’t really for me. I’m pretty happy with the work that I have now.” “That’s good. When Levi was working at his old job, he was stressed out all the time because of his assistant constantly giving him shit. She is the reason why he prematurely gave his notice. Obviously he is a lot happier at his new job now, but it took him three months to find it.” “Fair enough.” November 14, 2022
“Best 33rd birthday ever,” Matthew Rhodes Bacaluso-Leyman (Rhody) said to his friend, Levi Cranston, over the phone. “Yeah, I wish I was there. Your family is awesome. But I talked to my sister, Olivia, and she told me she had a good time,” Levi replied. “Yeah, Zach and my family discussed a surprise visit, and they absolutely overdelivered.” “Who all came in for the surprise visit?” “My parents, and Jayne and her wife. They came in on Friday and stayed until a couple hours ago,” Rhody said. “Which of your friends came?” “Olivia, of course. Graham, Kevin’s brother, and his boyfriend, Ayaan. Also, Zach, Allen, Jerome, and my girlfriend, Allison.” “What about Brett, David and Brody Ingram’s brother?” “He had a gig, so sadly he couldn’t make it.” “Oh yeah, he’s in a garage band.” July 2023
“How are you doing today?” Levi Cranston asked his best friend, Matthew Rhodes (Rhody) Bacaluso-Leyman, over the phone. “To be honest with you, not great,” Rhody replied. “I can hear it in your voice. Everything okay?” “I woke up to an anxiety attack, and I can’t get my heart to stop pounding.” “Oh yeah, that’s gotta suck. I know how that feels,” Levi replied. “I’ve tried every breathing exercise in the book, and I can’t calm myself down. And it’s stupid because I don’t know what caused me to have an anxiety attack,” Rhody said. “Did you have any plans today?” “As a matter of fact, yes. Zach, Brett, and I were going to see a friend and his band perform. And, since I threw up at least twice today, I don’t feel up to going out. He’s going out with just Brett.” “How’s your cat, Topaz, taking care of me?” “She hasn’t left my side. Right now, I can feel my heart pounding so hard, that it might as well just pop out of my chest, and it’s really pissing me off.” October 2019
Matthew Rhodes Bacaluso-Leyman (Rhody) spent the morning out on a run with a couple of his friends. He had been feeling a little under the weather for a few days but started to feel worse today. He did not feel bad enough to stay home but did not feel well enough to stay out for too long. About halfway into their run, Rhody had to stop because he had a horrible cough and couldn’t catch his breath. “Rhody, you alright?” One of Rhody’s friends asked him. “I will be. Just need to catch my breath is all,” Rhody replied, breathless. “Rhody, you sound horrible. You need to go home.” “I’m going to be okay I think.” “You have no business being here. Your cough is horrible, and that will make things worse if you’re not too careful,” his friend told him. “Okay, fine. I’ll head home,” Rhody said. “I’m going to be honest, it sounds like pneumonia.” “Oh boy. Then fine, I’ll go get checked out.” “I definitely would.” “I’ll head out now, and I’ll see you guys later.” February 2019
Matthew Rhodes (Rhody) Bacaluso-Leyman and his girlfriend, Ally Byers, were spending a relaxing afternoon in at Rhody’s Brooklyn apartment, since it was a little too cold to do anything outside. They were watching TV, and Ally noticed that Rhody was dozing off. They were lying on the couch together, and Ally put her hand on Rhody’s chest, so that she could feel his heart beating. Rhody put his hand over hers. “Your heart’s beating really fast. It’s really cute,” Ally said matter-of-factly to Rhody. “Is it?” Rhody responded rather sleepily. He drew in a deep breath. “Is it always this fast?” “No, not to my knowledge. But it is naturally a little faster than most people’s.” “Still really cute.” |
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