A Chance to Get Things Done

Just when we were to emerge from the specter of the “invisible enemy,” it (COVID-19 virus) seems to be lingering, toying with us.  We’ve been asked by the politicians once again to hold off from going to the gym, to church and, more importantly, the hair salon for another three weeks.

On the plus side, it’s given me some time to tinker on things I can’t always get to, like my Ancestral Tree or even this blog.  Today, the editors sent back the Spanish version of my first book, ^[1]It’s Your Camino: One Couple’s 500-Mile Pilgrimage Across Spain with corrections.  Hopefully, we’re all on the same page now and I can download the manuscript on Amazon.  At least this time, I’m not in such a rush!  

I’ve also been able to edit the draft of my upcoming true crime memoir, A Cop’s Son: One G-Man’s Fight Against Jihad, Global Fraud and the Cartels.  I’m now on my second (of ten) edit.  You’d be surprised how much you can improve a manuscript with a series of edits.  In one case, I was able to eliminate what I thought was a juicy provocative fact which turned out to be wholly erroneous.  That’s the beauty of editing.

All Kinds of Bullies

But let’s take a hard tack to starboard.  Last week a family member called me saying she was confused and upset.  She had been talking to an acquaintance who was excited, practically rabid, about a newly found political affiliation. The acquaintance then attempted to recruit her.  It went something like this:

“This is our chance.  Now is the time…we can change the world. Have you thought about joining our movement?”

My diffident relation hemmed and hawed, apologized for not knowing much about politics or the cause.  However, that reply was unacceptable to the zealous activist who sternly gave my relative a choice.

“Either you’re with us or against us!”

A Man Who Could Never be Bullied

Which brings me to the gist of this story.  Bullies and fights seem to go hand in hand—they have been around since man crawled out of the mire. As a child growing up in Brooklyn, my father acknowledged his public school had its fair share of bullies.  

Carmine Orlando Tilelli was perhaps the most pugnacious of school bullies who roamed their hallowed halls—he had left quite a few boys sprawled out in his wake.  If Carmine smelled your fear, you became the latest victim.  My father knew that…he also knew it was just a matter of time before Carmine took an interest in pummeling him.  So, when Carmine called him out in front of a crowd, he was ready.  Carmine never saw him coming. 

“I was angry at him for beating up people for no reason.  There was no way he’d do that to me.  As Carmine readied his fists and went into a crouch, I rushed him.  What I remember is Carmine being unprepared for the sudden bull rush. It was he who normally dished out the punishment.  But I got in a few good licks before he battled back with counterpunches.  The guy could throw a punch.   We landed on the deck before it was broken up.  I was a mess, but so was he—he had a bloody lip, I had a shiner.”

Carmine never bothered my father again.  

The Middle Weight Champion of the World

Dad said, “Frankly, fighting me was too risky and that’s not the way bullies operate.  They go after the weak and helpless—the easy marks.  Not surprisingly, Carmine continued letting his fists do the talking and found the perfect outlet for his aggression—in the boxing ring.  You see, I knew him as Carmine Tilelli but the boxing world knew him as ^[2]Joey Giardello, the middle weight champion of the world.”

---

^[1] In Spanish, Es Tu Camino: El Peregrinaje de 800 KM. de una pareja a traves de Espana

^[2] Giardello had a record of 98 wins, 26 losses and 8 draws.  He is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. After boxing, he devoted his life to working with the mentally handicapped and the Special Olympics. He had a son with Down’s Syndrome.