Peter Levine, of Nanuet in Rockland County, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, was worried a few weeks ago when his son Matt Levine, a junior student-athlete at Springfield College in Massachusetts, headed to South Padre Island in Texas with a group of friends to party down for a couple of weeks, reported the New York Post.
But the more the 52-year-old father thought about it, the more he thought his son should come home and follow the rules millions of people are -- hunkering down -- and following social distancing, the Post reported.
As the situation continued to become dire, calls to his son, a former Nanuet High School football and lacrosse player, found him on the beach with friends, listening to music, and doing what health officials were pleading with others not to do, the Post said.
“I spoke with him every day and told him that maybe they should come home,” Peter, told The Post. “I was aggravated. The news here was getting worse and worse. Matt sent me pictures of him and his friends congregating outdoors and listening to live music. It’s the scene you would not want to be in.”
When his advice fell on deaf ears, dad finally told his son that he and his buddies could not stay at the family home when they returned because his grandparents live there and he was concerned about the transmission of the virus.
Long story short, Matt told the Post that after four days, Texas was cracking down and the trip was becoming a bummer. So the group decided to fly home ( a very complicated endeavor) and got a real surprise when they finally arrived in New York, the Post said.
Peter Levine refused to pick them up and said they were blocked from coming to his home.
In fact, he told the Post he filled the trunk of his son's car with groceries, $300 in cash and all his keys on the front seat. He also told them if they need to pee, to use the front bushes.
Now, Matt is staying with friends because his campus is closed, but their lease ends in June and none of the parents want the kids to come home, he told the Post.
He's hoping things are better by then and he can come back to Nanuet.
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