It began as the GODFATHER OF MATH, evolved into the GOODFATHER OF MATH. Now this. Go figure...

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The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes = G. CARLIN...Stain glass, engraved glass, frosted glass
–give me plain glass = JOHN FOWLES ... Music is the mathematics of the gods=PYTHAGORAS ... Nothing is more fluid than language = R. L. SWIHART
I cannot live without the oxygen of laughter = DAWN POWELL ... !!! ... But laughter cannot survive without the hydrogen of gravitas = PAUL OLIVERIO
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Friday, January 5, 2024

Why I Miss The Former Hometown Of The Beloved Mrs. CarPeo

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I fell in love with Katonah, New York 

when I fell in love with Mrs. CarPeo

 

The year was 2012

 

After ten cross-country flights

—with my frequent-flyer miles

soaring to the heavens—

she moved to southern California,

where sunshine works over-time

 

The year was 2016

 

Presently, it is 32 degrees fahrenheit 

in Katonah where I made plenty friends

at church, at the local coffee house,

at art galleries and Mickey D's

but I can't remember the name

of any one of them except Kevin O'Connell

who was the husband of Mrs. CarPeo's best friend

 

I only remember his name because

I had a grammar school friend

with the exact same name

 

Any homeowner in Katonah

with less than two acres

was considered a wetback


I do not miss Katonah for its' desirable lack

of poverty but I do miss the Everlast boxing-bag

on the next door property less than three hundred feet

from Mrs. CarPeo's front door

 

The first time I saw the bag, 

I saw no human beings beyond 

the perfectly-manicured four acres

in front of what resembled a king's castle

 

The heavyweight boxing-bag 

was in the lower right-hand corner 

of the property and had the living crap

punched out of it a dozen times by me

in the course of time

 

For half of those encounters, I had

a cheering section because the "King's Castle"

was a funny farm whose residents had names 

like Dopey, Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy... 

Einie, Meanie, Minie and Mo

 

They mostly called me Mike Tyson or Evander the Earless

but when I stopped punching the bag, 

they called me Tyson Chicken

 

The funny farm girl I miss the most was Minie (or Mo)

 

She kissed me on the cheek twice 

but please don't ever say anything 

about that to Mrs. CarPeo

***

 

 © PAUL OLIVERIO   ________________________________________________________________________________________________


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