It’s always creepy going to a wake. Last night was no different. Anthony, aka Weegee, 59, passed away this week from heart complications. His family lived across the street from mine. My stoop was a magnet for night time gatherings. How I wish those conversations had been filmed. What a laugh riot they would be. I hadn’t seen Alfred, Anthony’s brother, who is two weeks older than me, since the 70's. A Vietnam vet, he had a great job as a sound man at CBS, retired and re-located to Florida. I was closer to Anthony. In fact, Alfred and I once had a fight in the middle of the street that his father broke up, fortunately. It’s amazing how much he now looks like his dad. I was worried that Impy and Louie Tish, who now live in Staten Island, would stay home because of the snow. I was thrilled that they showed. I see Impy regularly. He has been battered by the loss of so many of his friends the past five years. Just last month Basil, only 51, died of a stroke. I hadn’t see Lou since perhaps 1988, when he moved from Bay 37th. He’s running his own electrical supply business, having learned it from his dad and uncles, who learned it from their immigrant father. I still remember his grandma, Mary, who always asked about my mom. Lou and I were avid readers, me of the most serious fiction, he of philosophy and psychology. I miss the conversations we used to have and wish they too were on tape. I suspect we were pretty full of ourselves back then. These days we realize life is a bittersweet mystery whose most fundamental questions have no concrete answers. I’m kicking myself today for not having asked if he were still a strict Freudian. I also wonder, since he is a businessman affected by public policy, what he thinks of Mayor Bloomberg. I remember how surprised I was when he praised the job Ed Koch was doing. I was even more cynical about politicians then than today, which is hard to believe. His kids are now in their 30’s. His mom and dad are gone, as is the case with most of our contemporaries. We were disappointed that Freddie, who looks like Saddam Hussein, did not show. He is living in Jersey and was no doubt deterred by the weather. Fortunately, reports say he is finally clean and sober. I remember seeing him staggering along the sidewalk like a drunk seen only in movies. I felt so sorry for his family, who were such beautiful people. His sister Vera was my first love. Every day I’d tell him: “Tell Vera I like her.” I’m not sure why we used “like” instead of “love” back then, maybe because the latter sounded so serious. I was surprised that Fran, who I worked with for a few years before she left the Exchange, knew Anthony. Tragically, her husband died suddenly, very young. Sue, one of my best customers, also attended. The first time she approached the floating book shop I asked if she were related to the family. I also met, for the first time, Anthony’s burly son, whose head is shaved, and his beautiful daughter, who looks so much like him. Of course, when attending such an event, there is always other bad news. Joey, 52, the youngest of the five brothers, is in a rehab facility in Florida. He suffered a fall and had to have spinal surgery. He can barely move and faces a tough road in a body weakened by a freewheeling lifestyle. We also learned that Bobby, the next youngest, has been ostracized for draining their mother’s financial accounts. Steven, the eldest, has heart problems and could not make the trip north. It was a bittersweet night. Now I wonder if Tish and I have seen each other for the last time in this life. I hope he likes Killing, the novel I’m most proud of.
I set up the floating book shop a couple of hours later than usual, as the rain lasted past noon. Unfortunately, there were no buyers. At least the sun came out as I was leaving. And I bagged the most favorable parking spot to cover the next two days. The crates have become very heavy in the wake of all the donations the past two weeks. I'll only have to lug them a few feet.
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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