_______________________________________________________________________________________________
...
People used to
worry about
its going off
and
killing everybody.
But
they didn't know
that mankind has got
enough dynamite
right here in his guts
to tear
the fucking planet
to pieces
...
≈ JOHN CHEEVER ≈
Falconer
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Apologizing for the unedited profanity, would be insincere.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for anyone offended by it...
I hope not to be anywhere near you
when your internal dynamite explodes
-Oliverio
If I hadn't just watched a stunning DICK CAVETT interview
Deleteof two Johns, I probably would have bleeped
the F-word but the Johns were not pimps.
They were John Updike and John Cheever,
two of the greatest writers of fiction this country
has ever produced.
It is no secret nor hypocrisy that Cheever
was an active church-going Catholic.
John lived in Ossining for many years,
attending St. Augustine's which was often referred to
the "rich people's church."
During his Ossinging residence, the pastor
of the city's "poor church" was Francis Eugene Oliverio.
To say that my Uncle needed "action," would get
virtually all of his parishioners to agree
but most of that action involved directly helping
the poorest members of his community.
Either that or entertaining anyone
within hearing distance.
However, this nephew [and no other relative]
knew that sometimes that "action" involved
meeting the greatest Catholic minds
within 100 miles of his Church.
I am convinced that Father Frank met John Cheever
personally but the Padre famously denied such things
to his family, three of whom had pictures of
Rudy Juliani + Father Frank, who denied
the authenticity of same, claiming he never met
the New York City Mayor who made 9/11
less of a nightmare.
BUT, I was reminded a few days ago of when
his family "hated him".
Linda Oliverio, the only living member of his generation
reminded me of how the most scrumptious
Sunday dinners prepared by my beloved Grandmother
in Cedarhurst could not begin until Father Frank
arrived, sometimes delaying the meal for
two hours...My 98-year-old Aunt
remembers this vividly but her
76-year-old nephew remembers
nothing of it because two extra hours
of playing (or talking) with my cousins
was a Sunday bonus.
Meanwhile, I am awaiting a phone call
from St. Augustine's to prove
the meeting of those two
Ossining powerhouses
-Oliverio
St. Ann's