Yes--Yes

BY RITA DIOGUARDI, DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATOR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND DANCE, TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Standing behind a lectern in an Aidekman Arts Center basement classroom, Tony spoke in clear, precise sentences, peppered with bursts of laughter, as he explained with enthusiasm to a classroom full of Tufts summer students, the meaning of SPEAKING WITH CONFIDENCE: A class he repeatedly taught at Tufts. “You see,” he said, “It’s quite easy once you start talking.”

I remember listening to those words as I stood in the classroom doorway patiently waiting to give him an updated class list. And as he extended his arm and signaled me to approach with his hand, we made eye contact and while nodding his head and reaching for the class list, in a quiet, soft audible voice he murmured his all too familiar phrase, “yes--yes”. Those words I would hear over and over again throughout his long, colorful career at Tufts.

He loved telling stories of places, of incidences and of faces he encountered. Tony was an inspiration to our students, and an integral member of the department for many years. Thank you Tony for all the remembrances…”yes--yes”.