Say “797-9960” to anyone who lived in the Binghamton area the past few decades and no one looks at you strangely.

They will respond as though provoked a la Pavlov…

Call Brozzetti’s for pizza to go!

That’s a legacy.

The man behind that legacy? His name was Aldo Brozzetti. He passed away last week at the age of 85, still attracting folks to his namesake pizzeria with a catchy jingle and delicious wares right up to his final years.

Mr. Brozzetti operated Brozzetti’s Pizza in Johnson City, New York, from 1959, when he took over the already decade-old store after his father’s passing. A man who lived his life in the pizza business? Yeah, I think 67 years qualifies.

Mr. Brozzetti was also a musician and an antique car enthusiast, the former producing the aforementioned jingle and the latter bringing him into the company of my father and his fellow autophiles. That’s how I knew Mr. Brozzetti. He and my dad were friends for years, and when I read that the recently deceased was 85 my initial thought was, wow, Brozzetti was so much older than my dad. No, my dad would turn 84 shortly, his car-filled days having ended too soon. Lesson: no matter how long or short, fill your lives with the things you love. Music, pizza, and cars are pretty much my favorite things too.

The jingle, the pizza, the ’32 Ford… they were all mentioned in Mr. Brozzetti’s official obit (Allen Memorial Home in Endicott: classic Tri-Cities Italian). But what was mentioned first? His wife, his children, his 14 grandchildren. The thing that brought him the most joy was watching his grandchildren… because that’s what he did, and that’s what he loved, and that’s how he and taught his family to love.

Now that’s a legacy.