I arrive at Delores's house an hour after school, ready to help the prettiest girl in the freshman class study for tomorrow's Portuguese quiz. Earlier, when I got to my home, I took a quick shower and changed clothes. I'm trying to act cool, but it won't be easy.
I ring the bell and soon her mother opens the door.
"Oh, hi, I'm Bennie. Delores asked me to help her study...ah, with her homework."
Mother shouts: "Delores, your friend's here."
Delores: "Tell him to come up."
Mother: "Go on up."
I enter the house and slowly climb the stairs. When I reach the top, I see Delores at the door of her bedroom. She gives me a big smile.
Delores: "Hiya, Bennie. Come on in."
I enter and she closes the door behind me. I have never been more nervous in my life. Her hair, normally down by her shoulders, is piled on top of her head. Delores has changed her clothes from school, now wearing a light blue t-shirt and a pair of tight-fitting yellow short shorts. She's barefoot.
Delores: "So, Bennie, teach me Portuguese. I gotta pass tomorrow's quiz."
After a shaky start, we settle down and have a productive hour, some of which is spent in idle conversation to get to know each other better. I can't believe my good fortune. Afterwards, we have some cookies and milk in the kitchen.
More good news. Delores gets 80% on the quiz (I get 100). She is so happy, she kisses me on the cheek after class.
Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day
I got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Carmen
I remember the evening of Monday, September 23, 1957 (63 years ago). My father and I were glued to the radio broadcast of the middleweight (limit 160 lbs./72.5 kg.) championship fight between Sugar Ray Robinson (champion) and Carmen Basilio (contender and reigning welterweight [limit 147 lbs./66.8 kg.] champion).
Our interest in this particular 15 round boxing match was that Carmen (born April 2, 1927) lived in nearby Canastota, New York (a mere 55 miles/88 km from Oswego). In other words, he was a local favorite.
The contest took place "outdoors in a ballpark," Yankee Stadium in New York City. We were listening as the fight was not televised. Although we were in the same room, my father and I, as usual, didn't exchange too many words.
At the end of the grueling match, two of the three judges awarded the victory and the middleweight championship to Carmen by scores of 9-5-1 & 8-6-1. It turned out to be the pinnacle of his career. Six months later Carmen lost the title back to Sugar Ray. He tried to regain it three more times (against two different champions) over the next three years, but failed each time.
I saw Carmen once in person at the New York State Fair in Syracuse where he was offering to have his picture taken with you (for a fee). We made eye contact, but no picture.
Thinking of Carmen made me recall a period (the 1950s) when there were many great Italian-American boxers.
1) Carmen Basilio (Carmine Basilio) won the Welterweight championship on June 10, 1955 when he knocked out Tony DeMarco, lost it March 14, 1956 on a decision to Johnny Saxton, but won it a second time when he knocked out Saxton September 12, 1956.
2) Willie Pep (Guglielmo Papaleo) won the Featherweight (limit 126 lbs. or 57 kg.) championship on November 20, 1942 with a decision over Chalky Wright. He held the title until 1948 when he was knocked out by Sandy Sandler. Pep won the title back from Sandler in 1949. I saw him on TV lose on a second round TKO to Lulu Perez in 1954 (see Willie Pep).
3) Rocky Marciano (Rocco Marchegiano) won the heavyweight (then more than 175 lbs./79 kg.) championship September 23, 1952 with a spectacular one punch knock out of Jersey Joe Walcott (see Arnold and Rocco). He held the title until April 27, 1956 when he retired from boxing with a perfect record of 49-0. Rocky is portrayed by Jon Favreau in the film Rocky Marciano.
4) Jake LaMotta (Giacobbe LaMotta) won the middleweight championship on June 16, 1949 with a TKO of the French fighter Marcel Cerdan. He lost the title to Robinson on February 14, 1951. LaMotta is portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film The Raging Bull.
5) Rocky Graziano (Thomas Rocco Barbella) won the middleweight championship on July 16, 1947 with a KO of Tony Zale. He lost it back to Zale on June 10, 1948. Rocky retired after his last fight in September 1952. He is portrayed by Paul Newman in the film Somebody Up There Likes Me.
6) Joey Giardello (Carmine Tilelli), who fought throughout the 1950s, won the Middleweight championship on December 7, 1963 with a unanimous decision over the Nigerian fighter Dick Tiger. I was an eyewitness that night (see Postponed). He lost the title back to Tiger in 1965. Giardello is portrayed by Ben Bray in the film The Hurricane.
7) Frank Cappuccino (Frank Capcino) had a long amateur boxing career, but a short professional one (winning all six of his fights). After his retirement from boxing in 1955, he got a license to be the third man in the ring three years later. In fifty years, Cappuccino refereed over 25,000 bouts including 94 world championship matches.
Our interest in this particular 15 round boxing match was that Carmen (born April 2, 1927) lived in nearby Canastota, New York (a mere 55 miles/88 km from Oswego). In other words, he was a local favorite.
The contest took place "outdoors in a ballpark," Yankee Stadium in New York City. We were listening as the fight was not televised. Although we were in the same room, my father and I, as usual, didn't exchange too many words.
At the end of the grueling match, two of the three judges awarded the victory and the middleweight championship to Carmen by scores of 9-5-1 & 8-6-1. It turned out to be the pinnacle of his career. Six months later Carmen lost the title back to Sugar Ray. He tried to regain it three more times (against two different champions) over the next three years, but failed each time.
I saw Carmen once in person at the New York State Fair in Syracuse where he was offering to have his picture taken with you (for a fee). We made eye contact, but no picture.
Thinking of Carmen made me recall a period (the 1950s) when there were many great Italian-American boxers.
1) Carmen Basilio (Carmine Basilio) won the Welterweight championship on June 10, 1955 when he knocked out Tony DeMarco, lost it March 14, 1956 on a decision to Johnny Saxton, but won it a second time when he knocked out Saxton September 12, 1956.
2) Willie Pep (Guglielmo Papaleo) won the Featherweight (limit 126 lbs. or 57 kg.) championship on November 20, 1942 with a decision over Chalky Wright. He held the title until 1948 when he was knocked out by Sandy Sandler. Pep won the title back from Sandler in 1949. I saw him on TV lose on a second round TKO to Lulu Perez in 1954 (see Willie Pep).
3) Rocky Marciano (Rocco Marchegiano) won the heavyweight (then more than 175 lbs./79 kg.) championship September 23, 1952 with a spectacular one punch knock out of Jersey Joe Walcott (see Arnold and Rocco). He held the title until April 27, 1956 when he retired from boxing with a perfect record of 49-0. Rocky is portrayed by Jon Favreau in the film Rocky Marciano.
4) Jake LaMotta (Giacobbe LaMotta) won the middleweight championship on June 16, 1949 with a TKO of the French fighter Marcel Cerdan. He lost the title to Robinson on February 14, 1951. LaMotta is portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film The Raging Bull.
6) Joey Giardello (Carmine Tilelli), who fought throughout the 1950s, won the Middleweight championship on December 7, 1963 with a unanimous decision over the Nigerian fighter Dick Tiger. I was an eyewitness that night (see Postponed). He lost the title back to Tiger in 1965. Giardello is portrayed by Ben Bray in the film The Hurricane.
7) Frank Cappuccino (Frank Capcino) had a long amateur boxing career, but a short professional one (winning all six of his fights). After his retirement from boxing in 1955, he got a license to be the third man in the ring three years later. In fifty years, Cappuccino refereed over 25,000 bouts including 94 world championship matches.
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Coup D'etat
On March 31 and April 1, 1964, the democratically elected Brazilian President Joao Goulart was overthrown in a coup d'etat by branches of the Brazilian military. It would be twenty-one years before democracy was restored.
The coup was supported by the United States government. I heard an audio recording of President Lyndon Baines Johnson discussing his authorization for the use of American troops to invade Brazil if necessary to assist the new junta. I'm glad it didn't happen.
My wife, Cristina Rolim, was a twelve year-old girl on those fateful days in her country's history, living in a city in the interior of the State of Sao Paulo. I am thankful my country, the USA, has never had such an experience.
About six years later, a unit of Brazilian soldiers came to Cristina's home town looking for political subversives. They camped out in a public square in the center of the city. Many of them were young good-looking men of Cristina's age or a little older.
Selma, a friend of Cristina's, who had access to a car, invited Cristina and two other friends to go along with her for a joy ride. It was 8:00 PM (and dark out) when the four girls drove off for an unforgettable experience.
They went to the public square hoping to engage in conversation some of the young soldiers camped there. Selma drove around and around the square several times before they finally got the young men's attention.
Five soldiers then surrounded the car, one in front and two on each side. They pointed their guns at each of the four girls. Cristina was sitting in the back seat with a revolver aimed directly at her head. I can't imagine!
Each of the girls was asked for identification. Cristina didn't have any with her, so soldiers escorted her home. She sneaked in hoping not to alert her parents who would have been very upset. Cristina succeeded. The girls were warned not to return to the square. And they didn't.
Their joy ride didn't turn out the way they hoped. At least today Cristina can laugh about her adventure in the back seat of a car when she was just eighteen years-old.
The coup was supported by the United States government. I heard an audio recording of President Lyndon Baines Johnson discussing his authorization for the use of American troops to invade Brazil if necessary to assist the new junta. I'm glad it didn't happen.
My wife, Cristina Rolim, was a twelve year-old girl on those fateful days in her country's history, living in a city in the interior of the State of Sao Paulo. I am thankful my country, the USA, has never had such an experience.
About six years later, a unit of Brazilian soldiers came to Cristina's home town looking for political subversives. They camped out in a public square in the center of the city. Many of them were young good-looking men of Cristina's age or a little older.
Selma, a friend of Cristina's, who had access to a car, invited Cristina and two other friends to go along with her for a joy ride. It was 8:00 PM (and dark out) when the four girls drove off for an unforgettable experience.
They went to the public square hoping to engage in conversation some of the young soldiers camped there. Selma drove around and around the square several times before they finally got the young men's attention.
Five soldiers then surrounded the car, one in front and two on each side. They pointed their guns at each of the four girls. Cristina was sitting in the back seat with a revolver aimed directly at her head. I can't imagine!
Each of the girls was asked for identification. Cristina didn't have any with her, so soldiers escorted her home. She sneaked in hoping not to alert her parents who would have been very upset. Cristina succeeded. The girls were warned not to return to the square. And they didn't.
Their joy ride didn't turn out the way they hoped. At least today Cristina can laugh about her adventure in the back seat of a car when she was just eighteen years-old.
Sunday, September 6, 2020
How to Murder Your Wife
How to Murder Your Wife is a 1965 comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. In the film, Stanley (Lemmon) is a cartoonist whose comic strip Bash Brannigan, a James Bond type secret agent, "is syndicated in 463 newspapers (in the funny papers) from Bangor, ME to Honolulu." He is a confirmed bachelor who lives in a townhouse in Manhattan with his butler.
At a bachelor party at his men's club, Stanley, while drunk, meets and weds an Italian beauty queen (Lisi) who is hired to come out of a cake. When he sobers up, his immediate reaction is to get a divorce. The next morning Stanley learns from his lawyer that, under New York State law, getting one is not a simple matter (I learned that lesson years ago as well).
Stanley's world is turned upside down. His butler leaves him. Stanley gains weight from his wife's delicious Italian cooking. She redecorates their townhouse. And his comic strip goes from secret agent to henpecked husband. Stanley/Bash wants a change. But how?
Stanley/Bash devises a plan to murder his wife and get away with it. At a party at his home, Stanley gives her a "mickey" and she passes out. He carries her to their bedroom and then takes a store mannequin (which looks just like his wife) he purchased and dumps it into a building site next door where cement will be poured over it the next day. No body, no murder conviction? Right?
When Stanley's wife wakes up from the "mickey," she sees the strip he drew of the above perfect murder and believes he doesn't love her. Does he? She leaves home without a trace.
Suspicious of the comic strip and her disappearance, the police and the DA believe not only Bash, but Stanley as well, murdered his missing wife. He is arrested and tried.
In his defense, Stanley asks the members of his all male, married jury, if they could make their wives disappear (and no one would ever know), would they? He asks them to imagine their lives if not married? Stanley tells them that, not only would they have more money to spend on themselves, but they would be able to take advantage of all the girls, girls, girls out there waiting for them.
That reminds me of the male fantasy of the swinging bachelor such as TV's Bob Collins (Love That Bob, 1955), a Hollywood photographer, and Sam Malone (Cheers, 1982), a Boston bar owner/bartender, who carry little black books full of names and phone numbers of beautiful, young, single women who are just sitting at home waiting for men to call them up for dates.
Stanley said that "for too long, men have allowed themselves to be bullied, coddled, mothered and tyrannized by their wives and made to feel like feeble-minded idiots. If one man can get away with murdering his wife (femicide?), other wives will fear their husbands (sounds like what Don Corleone said to Bonasera). Acquit me on the grounds of justifiable homicide." And the jury did just that.
This film from fifty-five years ago uses a now outdated story line. At one point, Stanley says to a woman, "You're a woman and as such, your opinions mean nothing to me." Feminists would eat that up. His membership at a men-only club (do they still exist?) would be deemed not politically correct. Today, most all cartoon strips are posted online, not in newspapers, and cartoonists make a lot less money. Michael Corleone said his son is "three years-old and can read the funny papers." Do they still exist?
I don't get the premise of How to Murder Your Wife. Stanley marries a beautiful, young, sexy woman, who adores him, hugs him and kisses him incessantly. She cooks well for him and takes care of his home. And all he wants is to be a bachelor again, living with his butler. Go, figure!
I think some heterosexual men just don't like women (misogyny?). They use them as play things, but prefer the company of other heterosexual men: here, Stanley's butler and his men-only club. Personally, I enjoy the company of women.
At a bachelor party at his men's club, Stanley, while drunk, meets and weds an Italian beauty queen (Lisi) who is hired to come out of a cake. When he sobers up, his immediate reaction is to get a divorce. The next morning Stanley learns from his lawyer that, under New York State law, getting one is not a simple matter (I learned that lesson years ago as well).
Stanley's world is turned upside down. His butler leaves him. Stanley gains weight from his wife's delicious Italian cooking. She redecorates their townhouse. And his comic strip goes from secret agent to henpecked husband. Stanley/Bash wants a change. But how?
Stanley/Bash devises a plan to murder his wife and get away with it. At a party at his home, Stanley gives her a "mickey" and she passes out. He carries her to their bedroom and then takes a store mannequin (which looks just like his wife) he purchased and dumps it into a building site next door where cement will be poured over it the next day. No body, no murder conviction? Right?
When Stanley's wife wakes up from the "mickey," she sees the strip he drew of the above perfect murder and believes he doesn't love her. Does he? She leaves home without a trace.
Suspicious of the comic strip and her disappearance, the police and the DA believe not only Bash, but Stanley as well, murdered his missing wife. He is arrested and tried.
In his defense, Stanley asks the members of his all male, married jury, if they could make their wives disappear (and no one would ever know), would they? He asks them to imagine their lives if not married? Stanley tells them that, not only would they have more money to spend on themselves, but they would be able to take advantage of all the girls, girls, girls out there waiting for them.
That reminds me of the male fantasy of the swinging bachelor such as TV's Bob Collins (Love That Bob, 1955), a Hollywood photographer, and Sam Malone (Cheers, 1982), a Boston bar owner/bartender, who carry little black books full of names and phone numbers of beautiful, young, single women who are just sitting at home waiting for men to call them up for dates.
Stanley said that "for too long, men have allowed themselves to be bullied, coddled, mothered and tyrannized by their wives and made to feel like feeble-minded idiots. If one man can get away with murdering his wife (femicide?), other wives will fear their husbands (sounds like what Don Corleone said to Bonasera). Acquit me on the grounds of justifiable homicide." And the jury did just that.
This film from fifty-five years ago uses a now outdated story line. At one point, Stanley says to a woman, "You're a woman and as such, your opinions mean nothing to me." Feminists would eat that up. His membership at a men-only club (do they still exist?) would be deemed not politically correct. Today, most all cartoon strips are posted online, not in newspapers, and cartoonists make a lot less money. Michael Corleone said his son is "three years-old and can read the funny papers." Do they still exist?
I don't get the premise of How to Murder Your Wife. Stanley marries a beautiful, young, sexy woman, who adores him, hugs him and kisses him incessantly. She cooks well for him and takes care of his home. And all he wants is to be a bachelor again, living with his butler. Go, figure!
I think some heterosexual men just don't like women (misogyny?). They use them as play things, but prefer the company of other heterosexual men: here, Stanley's butler and his men-only club. Personally, I enjoy the company of women.
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