A Local Love Story for Valentine’s Day

The story of this Hazlet couple just warms my heart.

I recently had a chance to sit down and spend an evening with Venus and Sal from Hazlet.

Where were we? Well, we were at a bar!

Barnacle Bill's in Rumson, to be exact, where they were spending the night in the bar area dancing away while their son (ultra talented guitar player Billy Pisciotta) was playing with BethAnne Clayton and Friends. (I was there because my son was playing drums that evening.)

When I first arrived, the place was packed so I didn't see Sal and Venus until later in the evening. As I was starting to fade, I saw these two beautiful people dancing away near the band and realized that if they could stay up late and have some fun, then surely I could make it 'til 1 am (LOL!!!)

They asked me to join them and once they took a break from the dance floor I asked them about how they met and how long they have been together.

Turns out, they met after high school at a dance....on Valentine's Day 60 years ago! For Sal, he says he knew the moment he laid eyes on Venus that he would marry her. They married two months later (!) and are still hand in hand, dancing and smiling, all these years later.

They come out to as many of their son's gigs as they can, and still take photos and videos of his performances. Billy, you truly have the two greatest fans that any musician could ever ask for.

So let's all raise a glass to Venus and Sal and wish them many more years of good health and lots of dancing. I can only wish in my lifetime to find a love as true as yours. You bring joy wherever you go and have touched more lives than you know.

P.S. If you haven't been to Barnacle Bill's when they have one of their amazing bands playing, you are missing out! This place is like Cheers! It's lively and energetic and full of fun (and packed!)....thanks to owners Todd Sherman and his family, including his son Sam (Both Todd and Sam can many times be seen playing, too, since they are incredible musicians, and Todd's other kids are equally talented, too.!) The owners of this restaurant are truly great people and it shows....after all these years you could still be waiting 2 hours for a table on a Saturday night! That's how awesome it is there :)