RUDIMENTS, pt. 1,313
(the emperor of nothing, pt. FIFTEEN)
There were a lot of things I'd like
to tell Jack Stove about - don't
know that I ever will, and haven't
really even started, but I do have
my intentions. Just for the fun of
the conversation. Like two railroad
tramps rolling along in a boxcar
somewhere (Oh man, I can hope
that trip never ends, for me). The
hard part of it all is that I don't
know at all what he'd like or be
interested in, or understand, or
even find some alliance with.
But I'd be willing to try.
-
When the goodly wife and I
lived in Elmira - and just by
chance - our neighbors were
an elderly couple, probably my
age now - mid-70's - a guy and
his wife. His name was some
Italian first name, like Giuseppe
or something (I just called him
Bill), and his last name was
DiGiovannie. (Not sure on the
spelling, but that'll do). He used
to sit in his yard - this is true - with
a phonograph, and keep playing
LP's by Fleetwood Mac over and
over. Rhiannon, the LP Rumours,
and all that stuff. He'd just sit there
drinking red wine, and staring out,
at whatever was in his line of vision
often enough me or my dog, going
about something. Used to drive me
freaking crazy, because my garage
with right there along his fence.
-
I had a rickety old wooden garage,
like a farm building sort of place.
It was already leaning a bit, and the
old wood, though painted barn red,
was in need of a fresh coat, though
I liked the old-fade patina it had, so
I kept it. I had a nice FIAT car then,
too, a station wagon, a '124' model,
that I'd recently bought. It was OK,
nothing special, one of those perverse
4-cylinder Eyetalian things that ran
but were cheaply made. The local
Plymouth dealer in Elmira also
sidelined FIATs= (1973, I think,
or maybe '74). I'd gone in there
intent on purchasing a $3600
Plymouth Duster. The FIAT was
exactly the same price, and it caught
my eye, so we bought that instead;
which was kind of a big mistake for
us, repair-and-maintenance wise.
The FIAT was a real nuisance. I
did get a used Duster, with a slant-6
engine, later on, to replace the
damned stupid FIAT, and it ran
like a clock and forever. I should'a
known, like they say.
-
Anyway, this 'Bill' guy eventually
invited us over for dinner, and we
went. They were first generation
Italians, had a daughter, grown,
around somewhere (never did see
her), and were living nicely enough
and comfortable in their Elmira NY
house on Lincoln Street. (We lived
at #827). It was a very nice visit and
meal, all sluiced up with wine and
dessert, etc. He began telling me his
amazing life story. As a Paterson
NJ working teen, he'd gotten caught
up with the 1917, I think it was,
Paterson millworkers (silk mills
and railroad cars were big industry
in Paterson back then. You can read
all about this online), strikes and
labor movements. It was a really
big-time fight - the Wobblies,
the strikers, the anti-unionists, the
cops, everybody banging heads
and shooting each other, violence
and fires in the street, mobs of
angry proletariat, Communists,
government infiltrators, cops,
round-ups, jail...the whole bit,
I'd read of some of that - the
Paterson Pageant, out of NYC,
all the sympathizers from McDougal
Street who went to organize and
support and raise funds - but his
first-hand tellings of it all was
mesmerizing to me. He'd been
beaten, and he'd been jailed. He
remembered, it seemed anyway,
most every detail of place and
person. It was an amazing story,
and I was enraptured. Meeting
firsthand a live veteran of those
old strikes and labor-movements
days of Big Bill Haywood and
the International Workers of the
World (called 'Wobblies') just
sort of swept me away. After
that I never got annoyed anymore
by his audio-listening tastes, that
stupid, old record player on his
back patio area, nor any of that
stuff. Man, he was living gold.
-
That was a story I'd like to relate
to Jack Stove - mainly just to
gauge his reaction, interest-level,
and any comments he may have.
I'll get to it one of these days,
at least I hope I will. It's the sort
of story that's so filled with things
to react to that it would be easy to
tell, from those reactions, his
sentiments or at least where some
of his interests lie and how much
of the old stuff he knew or cared
about. Know what I mean?
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