(left to right) Arthur De Mattei, Adolph De Mattei, Silvio De Mattei, Katarina De MatteiMy dad joined the US Army at 17 years old, that’s him on the far left standing next to my Uncle Adolph. My grandfather, that’s him on the right standing next to my grandmother, had to sign for my Dad because he was a minor. Dad was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division (Buckeyes) during WWii and shipped overseas to the Battle of the Pacific (Leyte, Luzon, Baggio, Guadalcanal, etc). I grew up hearing stories of the bloody island battles, of how hitting one beachhead after another kinda a makes a guy hate going to the beach, especially after watching your friends never make it home. My dad carried a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) because as he likes to put it, “I was a big son-of-bitch.” As a child my dad was my hero, he still is. He says, “I’m no hero, Son, the heroes never came home.” If you want to read more about the 37th infantry, there’s a decent summary on Wikipedia. If you want to hear more first hand accounts of the perils of war, give my dad a call or drop by and see him. Happy Veterans Day to all Dwho served and especially my Dad.
I was not around on December 7, 1941 but my dad was and that “day of infamy” so moved him that at 17 years old, with permission from his immigrant father, he joined the Army and was immediately sent over seas to be, as he likes to put it, “a sand bag”. He didn’t return home until he was 20. My point is, unlike many other young boys, he returned home and has never let me forget those that did not. Pearl Harbor Day also reminds me that kids everywhere are still the future of this world and we adults continue to treat them as if they are sand bags. I for one want the next war to leave the kids at home and send the adults. We’ll see how fast all this insane shit stops.
The other day I watched commercial television for the first time in quite awhile. I had no choice, really, there were flat-screen monitors throughout the busy waiting room tuned in to a healthcare channel. Haven’t been there in years. Mandatory physical before changing doctors. This is good for business, I thought. Not to mention the…
Middle-aged heavyweight woman with five o’clock shadow pushing a loaded babushka cart and wearing some kind of schmatta on her head spit at me and then mumbled something in Russian as I jogged by her. Sources tell me it was either an ancient curse or a killer recipe for borscht. Not to be outdone, an…
Got off the JetBlue jet plane at 7:30 AM. Driving through Queens is a throwback to all of those gritty films shot in the NYC of the ’70’s. Queens was untouched by the 80’s Disneyfication of Manhattan. Queens still flaunts the rust and rawness that you’d expect to see from the window of a beat-up…
I love teaching theatre to people of all ages, it is one of my greatest joys. I especially loved when I was teaching young people and I was handed The Bad Kids— The anarchists, The ones who had insomnia, The ones who wore vintage Issey Miyake they found deeply buried in the bins at Goodwill…
From the first time he picked me up in those massive arms to as recently as twenty minutes ago, when I think of my dad I think of a man who was always in motion. When he sat still for too long his disappointments would catch up with him so it was a matter of…
I’m in mourning this morning— Barneys closed. Did you hear? I never watched Sex In The City but I used to hangout at the old Barneys on Seventh when I was here in New York in the 80’s. I’d hangout at the espresso bar, I think it was downstairs, and just marvel at the artistry…