Author: Gino DeCaro

The Bookmaker: Part I

October 28th, 2022

Introduction

I’ve stated in earlier posts of my intention to begin sharing a writing project with you all on here. It’s unfinished and underdeveloped, but I hope the process of working on it here and sharing it with those of you who come across it gives me that added bit of motivation to keep it going. I know many of you out there are far more accomplished writers – I’d love to hear any feedback you might have!

As for the story itself, the opening scene began as a random shower thought, something that came to me one day inexplicably. To prevent losing it forever, I quickly typed it out into a few paragraphs, and it stayed that way, dormant for two years before I decided to pick it back up again over the last few months. Truthfully, I haven’t flushed out all the details as of yet – or even how it will ultimately end – that’s a journey we’ll have to go on together.

The opening scene introduces you to John, a thirty something year old who while working to better himself both personally and professionally, will find himself at several consequential crossroads. Crossroads that are a product of his environment, for better or for worse, that could lead to him greatly improving his station in life or lead to his downfall. Enjoy.

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Part I

It started out like any other Thursday night for John Rioli. He had just gotten done eating a quick dinner, showered and headed out the door. His slicked back black hair, still wet from the shower began to harden around his head as he walked through the frosty, December air. It was cold, but a comfortable cold. The type of cold that made you feel alive and confident.

The street was quiet, brownstones lined the block on both sides, and there wasn’t much going on at the time. Several homes were decorated for Christmas, with wreathes on the doors and lights strung around railings, fire escapes and shining through windows. The sound of his heels clacking against the sidewalk filled the air. John was well dressed. Polished black leather dress shoes, black slacks, a pressed white dress shirt, maroon colored tie, dark grey vest all beneath his black wool overcoat and scarf.

Up ahead as John was approaching the end of the block and reaching the intersecting avenue, it got louder and brighter. The quiet respite of the brownstone lined side street was over and now there was no mistaking where he was, New York City during Christmas. He took a right at the corner and proceeded down the avenue. The sights and sounds were all too familiar; double parked cars, throngs of people pouring into and out of restaurants and stores. On the corner, just beside the subway entrance, a Salvation Army Santa rang his bell.

John made the walk almost daily. It was a short walk, less than a mile, sixteen minutes door to door to be exact. As he stopped at another corner along the way to wait for the light, he glanced at his watch. It was just about ten to seven, and he was nearly there, plenty of time. As he continued to wait for an opportunity to cross the street, he reached into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes. He turned, shielding himself from the wind and lit one up, taking a long drag before exhaling. The light turned green and just as he stepped off the curb and into the crosswalk, he heard shouting from behind him.

“Hey J.R.! Johnnie!”

He turned around to see a familiar face from the neighborhood, Mark LaVance.

John made eye contact with Mark and offered a wry smile while walking over, the two shook hands.

“What’s up Mark?”

“We gonna see you there tonight?”

“Yep, heading over now. Should be a wild one.”

“I’m sure. Well, I don’t wanna keep you. I’ll see you over there tonight – wife is dragging me out to do some shopping, but we’ll talk later.”

“Sounds good. Good luck out there. And say hello to Kim for me.”

“Will do.”

John crossed the street and took one final drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the gutter. He checked his appearance in the reflection of the window of a parked car, made sure his hair was in place, straightened his tie and collar and turned around to see that a line had already begun to form to get inside. It was an old limestone building that resembled an old bank that had been renovated and converted into a high-end bar and restaurant. The flickering neon light in the window read Falcon Blue. It was one of the neighborhood hotspots, and being the last Thursday before Christmas, it was sure to be alive with office holiday parties, people blowing off steam after work, city tourists and of course the regulars that didn’t need any particular reason to be there.

John walked up to a mountain of a man who stood outside, they exchanged nods and the man patted John on the back as he ushered him through the door. Cigarette smoke filled the place, along with loud conversations, laughter, sports arguments – as it happened, both the Knicks and Rangers were playing tonight. All the things you’d expect to see and hear in a busy New York City bar on December 23, 1993. Ironically, beneath all the commotion, you could faintly make out Frank Sinatra’s rendition of Silent Night coming from the jukebox. Walking into a back room just beside the bar, John removed his coat and scarf, hanging them on a coat rack. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, glancing again at his watch. 6:59. Showtime.

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The Proverbial Fork in the Road

October 22nd, 2022

I’ve been in a pensive, contemplative mood the past few days. I suppose that it’s partly my nature. I wouldn’t say that I’m a classic over thinker – but I could be deliberate. When it comes to more important decisions, I like to consider my options – weigh all the possibilities. Once I’ve taken account of the situation and played out a few “if / then” scenarios in my head, I typically act decisively. Rarely, if ever, rethinking it or playing the “what if” game. In many ways it’s been a point of pride. Proper planning, anticipating outcomes and being prepared for whatever may lie ahead are all good things, right?

Then there are the more trivial things. Countless decisions I may make (and probably you too) every single day that are made instantly, decisively and often with little consideration at all. Aimlessly steering a shopping cart at the supermarket and filling it with items for instance – I may grab laundry detergent because the price was right – I may grab shampoo because I liked the color of the bottle. It feels random and driven by chance. Saving a few cents on the detergent, being swayed by the bottle design of the shampoo. It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, so we almost go into an “auto pilot” mode – acting instinctively to get past the more mundane tasks we have ahead of us from day to day.

Now we all agree – it makes sense that we should take time with the “big” decisions and not sweat the small stuff, like the grocery list items. But there is a charm to it when you step back and give it some thought. Those snap decisions that seem random and unconsidered are really a product of millions of moments, millions of trips to the store, millions of shopping list items checked off, that have contributed to our “gut,” those instincts that guide us even when we don’t think that they are.

All of this got me thinking back to when I was a kid. I was inquisitive and curious just as I am today, and I’d often have something on my mind. Something I wanted to know about, something I needed an answer for. Often times it probably had to do with sports… how many homeruns did Mickey Mantle hit in his career? What was the most points Wayne Gretzky put up in a single season? I know – really consequential stuff! But for a kid growing up in the late 80’s and early 90’s – that didn’t have a computer in the home until much later, I often had to wait for my dad to get home from work – so that he could either tell me the answer or make something up himself!

Now this got me thinking even more. The absence of “instaknowledge” and Google and an “all-knowing” smartphone in my pocket that could be drawn upon on a whim whenever I had a question – it drives someone to either shrug their shoulders and forget the question all together, or to seek an answer. If you weren’t one to shrug, it drove you to books, encyclopedias, the library. It drove you to ask friends, relatives, neighbors. For some questions there were no easy answers, no books to seek. There was no “hey Siri, how long should I cook a 16-pound turkey for?” For some things it was trial and error. For some things, it was life itself – living it, experiencing it, that provided the answers. And those experiences not only helped you grow your knowledge – but they also developed your “gut” and the instincts to act and react. Make decisive decisions, and not just about what shampoo to buy – but for important decisions too.

Today, we have endless streams of information at our fingertips on demand. If anyone wants to argue with me about a random baseball statistic, I could just whip out my phone and prove them wrong, instantly. (Thank you baseballreference.com) But I can’t help but wonder if the shortcut and taking out the journey that used to reside between questions and answers is weakening our instincts. Advanced metrics and analytics are taking over every industry. In the sports world, the debate rages whether an experienced head coach or manager is even needed when there are teams of data engineers and analysts on the team payroll that could project out what the best lineup should be based on historical matchups, time of day, temperature, etc. What should that manager do? Listen to data? Trust the analytics? Or go with his gut and his own experience from his 30 years of being in the sport? Probably both.

Now I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Information is wonderful. Having the information we want, when we want it is a luxury I wouldn’t willingly give up. But like all advancements – there is usually a casualty, a trade off. Good or bad – it simply is what it is.

So now when those big life decisions come up, and I’m faced with making a choice of some consequence – there is much more to draw on. I could weigh out all my options, draw on my experiences, and play out all the scenarios in my head. If this happens, I’ll do that. If that happens, I’ll do this. But I could also seek out so much more information. I could look for reviews. I could find statistics. I could seek out groups of people in online forums who may have gone through similar experiences or who have had to make similar decisions. But I wonder, does all that information and countless opinions help us make sounder decisions? Do we feel better about the choices we make – or does it add to more overthinking and second guessing? Can the information overload weaken our gut instincts and strip us of our decisiveness? Probably.

In the end, for me at least, the answer is everything in moderation! Just because the information is there doesn’t mean you need to consume it all. Take some, leave the rest. Formulate your own opinions, developed from your own experiences and keep those instincts sharp. Sometimes when we face that fork in the road, there isn’t time to ask Google. Sometimes, we quickly draw on what years of life has taught us, and we react. As the late, great Yogi Berra once famously said, “when you get to a fork in the road, take it.”
Why We Write…

October 15th, 2022

Have you ever stopped to think about why we write? What is it that makes someone really WANT to write? Sure, we’re all most certainly creatives. We have artistic, imaginative minds with a longing to create something. Maybe we want to create a deep, rich world that resides somewhere in the depths of our minds and bring it to life for others to share in and appreciate. Maybe we’re passionate about a subject and gain satisfaction in the perfectly articulated point or argument. Maybe we simply enjoy the language and the art of finding the right words, at exactly the right time. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure – of all the ‘arts,’ writing truly is a labor of love.

Think about it. Those that are musically inclined can write music and lyrics, perhaps play an instrument – and gain the immediate satisfaction of being able to hear what they just created. Those who are gifted with a brush or a pencil in their hand can see the impressive, colorful paintings or lifelike sketches. Sculptors can see and touch their creations. For so many artists – and I use that term in its broadest sense – the fruit of their labor can be experienced quickly just by pausing to listen or taking a quick glance. But when you write – you can create worlds just as rich and detailed as the most talented painter, and you can create powerful symphonies like those of famous composers – but there is no instant gratification. You can’t just pause and listen or stop and look. Running your hands across the pages of your favorite book won’t render the details of its contents – like say – running your hands against the sculpted face of Michaelangelo’s David.

So no – we don’t get that immediate thrill or validation. Because our writing, whether it’s a sci-fi thriller, a biography, a news article or a blog post – requires a reader on the other end. And reading takes a lot more effort than just looking or listening or feeling. Reading is also very personal, because our own experiences will dictate how we interpret the words and envision the worlds that the author has created for us. If one thousand people read the same book, undoubtedly there would be one thousand different experiences. And while paintings and songs can certainly be seen and interpreted differently – there is still a sense of black and white, here and now – that is absent in the deep grays of writing.

Which brings me back to my original question… why do we do it? Why do we write? Why have I seemingly had an itch all day that could only be scratched by me sitting down at my desk, coffee at my side, and writing? Sitting here now and typing out these words, not knowing who if any will even see them, still brings me a sense of relief. I’m scratching that itch.

I suppose we’re all products of our environment, victims of circumstance. Maybe some of us were exposed to books at a young age and the love of getting lost in an immersive world has driven us to want to create our own. Maybe we’re more introverted creatures in some ways and prefer to bring the worlds and characters we’ve imagined in our minds to life through the written word. But then again, maybe not. Maybe we’re outgoing – maybe we love meeting new people, networking, connecting, sharing our experiences and unique perspectives. And writing is just another outlet to do just that.

As I sit here trying to answer my own question – why do I write – I looked back into my own experiences, my own upbringing. And you know what? There’s nothing specifically I could call out that would pinpoint why I enjoy writing. I wasn’t a big reader as a child (that came later in life). I needed to be outside, riding my bike, playing sports, staying active. As I got older and deeper into my school years, I developed a love for history. In high school and college, I began reading for pleasure – not because it was assigned coursework. And when extensive research papers and essays began cropping up – while I was a professional procrastinator that waited to the last minute and crammed – I found that I had a knack for it. Dare I say, even enjoyed it.

So, why do I write? I guess the short answer is because I enjoy it! And whenever the fall comes around and there’s a bit of a briskness in the air and leaves start changing – it makes me want to write even more. I’m fortunate to live about ten minutes away from one of my favorite “thinking spots.” This morning I took in some of these views while on a walk – coffee in hand – contemplating life as I like to say.

While on that walk – I asked myself why I write – and thought I’d try to figure it out and answer the question in a new blog post. What about you? Why do you write? What are your favorite thinking spots?

Whatever the reason is – thank you. Thanks for writing and creating and sharing. Because whatever your motivation is – it truly is a labor of love. In a world where everyone is out for instant gratification, it’s good to know that there are those out there willing to put in the work and not just resort to TikTok videos and 140-character tweets. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Enjoy your weekend, all.
Random Shower Thoughts

October 6th, 2022

If you’re anything like me, you may find that you do some of your best thinking while in the shower. Not sure what it is – the ambient sound of the running water, the solitude, the steam – but whatever it is, I often find myself turning into a modern-day renaissance man. In my mind, in that eight to ten minute period, I’ll develop useful inventions and concoct business plans, I’ll perform a killer stand-up comedy routine and maybe even give a passionate stump speech. Often, I’ll think about my day or my week and relive interactions and conversations I may have had, and I play them back, thinking about what I said and formulate what I wish I had said. I’m sure that’s not unique to me – we all sometimes wish we had the ability to say exactly what we want to say, exactly when we want to say it. But for one reason or another – I always put together the best retort, the best comeback, the best counter argument when I’m in the shower!

Unfortunately for me, those moments of inspiration are often fleeting. I sometimes find myself later in the day trying to remember that killer idea I had when I was in the shower that morning.

“How did I word that exactly?”

“What was the name of that new search engine idea I had that would take the world by storm?” (Haha) Kidding here, but you get the point!

That’s what happened to me one day a little over two years ago. In the shower, just like any other day, and I randomly uttered a sentence to myself. Not sure why, not sure where it came from – and instantly it felt in my mind like the opening line to a novel. A novel that I did not have a plot for, or a setting for, or any real context for. Not even a main character. Just a sentence and nothing more. But this time, rather than shrugging it off, I was compelled to cut my shower solitude short. I quickly toweled off and opened the laptop and typed out that opening sentence with the towel still wrapped around my waist just to make sure I didn’t lose it (the sentence, not the towel). It’s not a very remarkable sentence, it’s actually really ordinary – but for some reason I needed to type it out. Soon, I had a paragraph, and then another, and then another. And what started out as an opening sentence transformed into an opening scene. But what was it exactly? A book? That’s ambitious of me – I’m not what you’d consider a writer. While I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing – I never attempted writing anything on any sort of large scale.

Well, a few years have passed and after starting and stopping and putting it on the backburner for several months at a time as “life” got in the way, I’ve decided to revisit my random shower inspiration. I’ve found myself thinking about it more of late, and after pulling it back out and re-reading and tweaking and adding a few more scenes, I figured why not make it a little pet project? A little hobby to pass the time. Still not sure what it is exactly that I have, but my thought is that I’ll share it on here in segments as I continue to flush it all out. Hopefully it will find some of your eyes and maybe I’ll be lucky enough to receive some feedback from those more seasoned writers out there! Wherever it goes, it’s becoming a fun little passion project for me – writing down ideas, outlining series of events, scribbling down potential characters and traits – creating a universe out of seemingly nothing at all. I get the appeal and envy those that have been able to truly commit the time necessary to master the craft.

There’s another valuable life lesson in all this… take notes! Have a notebook and pen at the ready for those random periods of inspiration that are often fleeting. I know I’m preaching to the choir on here – nothing that most of you all don’t already know. But for me at least, there isn’t always “quiet time” to contemplate and reflect and hash out ideas. When they come to me in a time of chaos – they’re often gone just as quickly as they came. My current job affords me the ability to work from home predominantly when I’m not traveling. It’s both a blessing and a curse, but one thing that I never would have thought I’d miss is the commute. That 45 minutes to an hour of windshield time, alone with my thoughts – contemplating the day ahead – or recapping the day and winding down on my way home was valuable time that’s lost. Slamming the laptop shot and walking to the kitchen is a great commute, don’t get me wrong – but there is value in having some time to yourself to reflect and plan and become inspired for whatever it is you do.

So, whether you’re like me and do your best thinking in the shower – or during your commute, or at the gym – or wherever… take some notes. You never know what that random lightning bolt of inspiration is gifting you! As for my story, I hope to begin sharing it with you in the coming weeks. As for me, I’m going to keep on writing and taking showers. If this writing thing doesn’t work out at least I’ll be clean.
I know it was you, Fredo

October 3rd, 2022

I thought we could use a little bit of levity on this cold and rainy first Monday of October. And I also wanted to share a little bit more from my recent trip down to Cape May, but first, I should probably set this up a bit for you. Perhaps one of my all-time favorite movies – ~~scratch that~~ – undoubtedly my favorite movie of all time is Mario Puzo’s The Godfather (1972).

I know what you’re thinking, “a guy named Gino saying his favorite movie is The Godfather, how original!” Believe me, I could hear your eyes’ rolling as I write this. But my reasons for loving the movie are the very reasons why it’s been considered one of the greatest movies in American cinema history. Sure, it’s a great mob flick and probably the Padrino of all the modern-day movies of the same genre that follow it. However, it’s also very different. Could you imagine a mobster movie being made today, chronicling a prominent New York crime family without the utterance of a single profanity? Director Francis Ford Coppola created iconic, powerful scenes focusing more on the dynamic of the immigrant family – than say the more commonplace and played out ‘shoot’em up,’ profanity laced mob movies that have become far more prominent. He created realistic, complex characters and artfully told the story of the struggle many faced to carve out a piece of the American Dream in depression era America. I’d argue – along with many others – that it was more a tale of family that happened to take place in a mob world, than a mob movie that happened to portray a family. But enough of that – not trying to play film critic here!

So, what does any of this have to do with anything? Well – while on my trip down in Cape May, I came across a beautiful Tudor home. I love the Tudor style, and every time I see one, I can’t help but think of the Corleone home from The Godfather.

Here, you can see a photograph I took of that lovely home…

Tudor style home in Cape May, NJ

In the movie, the Corleone family resides in Long Beach, NY – an ocean front town on Long Island’s south shore in Nassau County. However, the actual home that was used for the shoot of the movie was in Staten Island, NY.

Below, you can see a present-day view of the actual home, who’s exterior remains largely unchanged from the way it looked 50 years ago! The Tudor which was built in 1930 and sits toward the end of a cul-de-sac at 110 Longfellow Avenue sold for $2.4 million in 2016 according to public records.

The Corleone compound, featured in The Godfather can be found at 110 Longfellow Avenue in Staten Island, NY.

Now, that’s not the only bit of Godfather history I happened to come upon while down in Cape May. On our way down, my girlfriend and I stopped in Philadelphia to see a show and stayed in Penn’s Landing – a waterfront that sits across from Camden, NJ, nestled between the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the Walt Whitman Bridge. There’s a nice stretch of bars and restaurants along the waterfront, along with a park, a maritime museum of sorts and a few docked tall ships. It really is a pretty site, both during the day and at night.

Penn’s Landing, PA

Penn’s Landing, PA

Well, as luck would have it – one of those tall ships happened to be The Moshulu, a majestic four masted ship that was built in 1904. Originally a German vessel, it was seized by the United States in 1917 during World War I. Later, the US would sell the ship to Finland where it would remain in service until 1947 primarily carrying grain and cargo. In the 50’s it remained mostly at port where it was used as a grain warehouse – that is until it was sold to a group of American investors in 1970 and towed back to the South Street Seaport in New York.

The Moshulu, Penn’s Landing, PA

So, why was I so giddy to learn the Moshulu was now docked just steps from our hotel? Why did I drag my girlfriend down so that we could see this great tall ship – which I photographed from multiple angles both during the day and at night? Obviously, it must be The Godfather connection. You see, it wasn’t just I that was lucky that the ship was brought back to the US. It was also Francis Ford Coppola that lucked out too, because back in 1974 – this very ship became an iconic movie star in its own right when it was used during the filming of The Godfather Part II. It can be seen during the scenes when a young Vito Corleone emigrates to the United States and arrives at Ellis Island.

A young Vito Corleone

The Moshulu in The Godfather Part II

Immigrant arrivals to Ellis Island, filmed aboard the Moshulu in Godfather Part II

Shortly after the filming of the movie, the ship was brought to Philadelphia, where it also made a brief cameo in the movie Rocky (1976). The ship can be seen as Rocky Balboa runs along the Philadelphia waterfront during his workout montage. The ship has operated as a restaurant since 1975. Below are some additional pictures that I took during my trip.

The Moshulu – lit up at night, currently operating as a restaurant in Penn’s Landing, PA

A broadside view of the ship

Overall, a highly successful little weekend getaway! We had gorgeous weather and managed to stop over and experience some movie history before spending a couple days down at the beach. Thank you to those who decided to indulge me a little bit on this Monday as I geeked out a bit on a tall ship – but come on, how cool is that?! The ship really does have a very interesting history and there are a lot more fun tidbits that I wasn’t able to get to here. If you’d like to know more about The Moshulu, visit www.moshulu.com.
So, it begins…

September 29th, 2022

I’ve always known that I wanted to write – in some way, shape or form. Starting a blog has been something that I wanted to do for a very long time, and after some failed attempts and starting and stopping over the years – I’m hoping this is the one that sticks.

What will it be about? I couldn’t tell you! I think initially it well be an outlet for me to get some thoughts together and write about interests that I never considered writing about in the past. I’ve done some sports writing and had a blog about a decade ago that covered one of my favorite teams – but that’s become such a saturated market. With the likes of traditional news media, TV, Twitter and countless podcasts, doling out my opinion on what went down in the bottom of the seventh inning of game 132 on a Wednesday night just doesn’t interest me all that much anymore! Still an avid sports fan though.

Instead, I think I’ll write about some of my other interests. While I’ve always been a reader – I’m doing a lot more of it lately. Winding down at night with a good book has definitely become one of my guilty pleasures. (Currently reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles and just finished All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr). I’d love to discuss some of those books with you, and maybe even get some suggestions to add to my reading list too! Also, fair warning, I plan on shamelessly sharing some of my own writing and short stories. More to come on that!

Ultimately, time will tell what this becomes. It may just be a whole lot of me spewing out randomness into an abyss – but maybe I’ll catch some of your attention along the way and the discussion will fuel me to keep going and find the true voice and purpose of this blog. Solatium in Veritate, or ‘Solace in Truth’ – I kept the title vague and open ended so I could take it in any direction. Solace because I find peace in writing and sharing my thoughts and Truth because I’m committed to being true to myself in terms of what I share here. And Latin because everything sounds so much cooler in Latin!

So, for those of you who may inadvertently find yourselves here (no, really… how did you find yourself here?), welcome! We may talk books, we may talk writing… heck, we may even talk architecture and photography. Whatever it may be – at the very least, I’ll try to make it entertaining.

Lastly, I recently got back from a trip to Cape May, NJ. Absolutely beautiful town – if you haven’t been and are within reasonable driving distance – make the trip! I’ve lived two hours away for the last 20 years and only just made it there two weekends ago. The lighthouse is a picture I snapped while down there. Wasn’t really sure what picture to share for my first blog post – but since I’m looking for direction and safe passage, it seemed appropriate enough.