When I was very young, living in Newark NJ in the mostly Italian section, ALL of us, Italian or not, honored Columbus Day and Italian-Americans IN GENERAL. I'm upset with those who want to make "Columbus Day" (which is TODAY) into "Indigenous People's Day" now!! Note: I'm not against having an "Indigenous People's Day," mind you...just make a NEW day for it if you want, don't swipe COLUMBUS Day. If you really believe Chris and friends stole this land from those who were already here, isn't it hypocritical to steal his HOLIDAY, in protest?? The man deserves to be honored just for the RISKS he took, in my opinion, to TRAVEL here. And if you take COLUMBUS Day away, you are saying ITALIANS don't matter because THIS IS THEIR DAY. Anyway, my blog today will mention famous Italians from our popular culture, in honor of Columbus Day. First, SLY STALLONE....again!!
Sylvester ("Rocky") Stallone has been spotted at restaurants in my native New Jersey recently. Not clear why he's HERE, but I'm a BIG "Rocky" fan and wish we'd run into him once, when eating out!! In fact, I hope I'll be wearing my Hoodie (below) if we do...
...and, hope I'm wearing the Rocky TEE that goes underneath it (below), if we DO bump into him!! I bought both to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Rocky II" earlier this year, you see.
(As for that HAT I am wearing in my photo above, though it LOOKS "Rocky-esque" it is NOT part of the "outfit," Lol!! A hat like THAT you might wear when hanging out in Dickie Dee's, getting an Italian Hot Dog or Newark PIZZA, though!! Best in the world.)
I will always love the Rocky Balboa character for the raw INSPIRATION he gives me.
2.) "Palminteri Fights DeBlasio About Mother Cabrini" Actor Chazz Palminteri ("A Bronx Tale") has been verbally battling New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio regarding a statue that was SUPPOSED to be erected in honor of "Mother Cabrini."
"Mother Cabrini"was the first American (Catholic) saint, and she founded 68 schools, hospitals and orphanges for the needy in the 1880s. In response to a recent campaign called "She Built NYC" launched by the Mayor's wife, there were 2000 nominations and Cabrini received the MOST!! However, seven OTHERS (only one of whom was white) were selected for the first round of statues and Chazz publicly accused the Mayor's wife (who is black) of racism. He MAY have gone too far on that claim, I don't know, but I admire his Italian Pride and outspokenness. Hey, I'm not Catholic OR Italian but I am WHITE and I have noticed a concerted effort by many people of color (AND self-hating whites) to eliminate ALL references to good things whites have done in this country (INCLUDING the DISCOVERY of it.) And whether he's right or wrong about the Mayor's wife being racist, it took guts for Chazz to say it. HE is not prejudiced against OTHERS and will not stand for OTHERS being prejudiced against HIM. A man after my own heart...he wants FAIRNESS.
That, and the fact that he's a big YANKEES fan has endeared Chazz to me recently!!
And, 3.) "Joe DiMaggio." ("Joltin' Joe," the beloved Yankee, is shown above when he was Grand Marshall in a Columbus Day Parade. This took place in my native NEWARK, 40 years ago today, in 1979.)
I respect Joe DiMaggio but I still have a bone to pick with him. When he declared himself "The Greatest Living Ballplayer," he WASN'T...Willie Mays was and (since DiMag's death 20 years ago) Willie Mays IS.
DiMaggio even took it a step further when, in 1969, he declared himself "The Greatest CENTERFIELDER of All Time" (Mays was, I'm sorry.) Compare the batting stats and then ask yourself who was even a better FIELDER, baserunner?? Etc.
I did not go to see Joe. D. 40 years ago today, even though the parade was right on Bloomfield Ave., in Newark and we lived ON Bloomfield Ave., in BLOOMFIELD (next town up, only about a half mile away.) I didn't go because our first child had just been born 4 days earlier and she was jaundiced, so we stayed home.
But the next June, 1980, I did go to see MAYS for the first time when HE came to Newark for an event ....not far from where DiMaggio was only 8 months earlier. PART of my going to see one and not the other was Providence....part was probably PREFERENCE.
But as a Yankee fan, I respect Joe DiMaggio, and the contributions he made to baseball. He certainly had a classy, dignified "air" about him even if that sometimes crossed over into arrogance. I respect his memory and wish now that I could have seen him live that day, 40 years ago.
That photo of me is cropped from THIS, when I posed next to "Sinatra" at a Wax Museum on my honeymoon last year.
Thank YOU Gene, for all of the encouragement you've given me to blog, self-publish books, etc. You've been a great MENTOR.
ReplyDeleteGod Willing, within the next six months I'll have two books on Amazon, as you suggested.