A Place Called Brooklyn

by Frank Cornacchiulo

Overview

It is in the genetic makeup of each of us to seek out an education, apart from the structured world of schools and "schooling".Pepino got his formal education on the streets of Brooklyn, among his peers and from more fundamentally his family and heritage. In the course of just 6 months, he learned that life beyond the confines of his apartment was most important to him. What makes the World tick? Who matters in our lives and when does it matter? Is there a God? It is the wise, hopeful, and respectful cultivation of learning on the streets of Red Hook, undertaken in the belief that all should have a chance to share in the life that Pepino got his education from, one that guided him through the rigidity of school and church. It involved all of life's lessons, the good and bad, the realization that as the World can shatter around us we can still seek out the answers to the truths that occupy our hearts and minds.In six short months of life at the age of 9, Pepino made new friends, experienced success learned the lessons of dedication and hard work and more importantly, that work was more than labor, it was an identity.And what does it teach us as readers? That life holds all the ugliness and sadness without discrimination for a young child, yet life does glorify and reward. His Dad's loss of work and his Mom's sacrifice to feed her children, his parent's need to translate from the inferiority complex visited upon immigrants who didn't speak the language, all made his fabric woven, his threads each a moment in his life that woven together is Pepino,well educated and schooled.A PLACE CALLED BROOKLYN is more than a story of a young boy, it is a historic reference to life in 1948, a glimpse into life that today still stands relevant to America's immigrants seeking their place in America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781667829999
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	04/01/2022
Pages:	366
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Frank was born and raised in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. And Pepino the nine year old who narrated the stories was based upon Frank's experiences.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Can't Sleep 09

Chapter 2 Deposit Bottles 11

Chapter 3 Looking To Buy Fireworks 14

Chapter 4 Found the Fireworks Dealer 17

Chapter 5 Buying Fireworks From Blackie 21

Chapter 6 Lunch/Simba the Cat 24

Chapter 7 Pickle Jar Game/Pea Shooters 27

Chapter 8 Pitching Pennies/Storing Jugs 32

Chapter 9 Pigeon Flying Sport 36

Chapter 10 Vegetable Peddler/Home Cooking 39

Chapter 11 Selling Watermelons with Mr. Pauli 45

Chapter 12 Johnny Pump/Ice Chips to Cool Off 49

Chapter 13 4th of July/Bonfires/Buck-Buck 52

Chapter 14 Baseball Cords/Fireworks Celebration 56

Chapter 15 Lead & Cooper SSS/Egg Cream 59

Chapter 16 Octagon Soap/Rubber Band Carpet Guns 63

Chapter 17 Making Carpet Guns 66

Chapter 18 Hopscotch/Roger's Cannon 69

Chapter 19 Kids at War 73

Chapter 20 Superman/Lash La Rue/Charlotte Russe 77

Chapter 21 Roller Skates/The Milkman 81

Chapter 22 Street Skate Scooters 84

Chapter 23 Stoop Ball/Puppy Love 88

Chapter 24 Coney Island Day Trip 92

Chapter 25 Stickball/Jacks A Girl Game 96

Chapter 26 Radio Stories/Spin The Tops Same 100

Chapter 27 Candy Store-Smoking/Ring-O-Leave-O 104

Chapter 28 Walk The Dog/Skully Street Game 108

Chapter 29 Kick The Can/Spiderman Swing Jump 111

Chapter 30 Working @ Defonte's/Game Of Marbles 114

Chapter 31 Football Wedding/Box-ball Game 118

Chapter 32 Ice Cream & Joanie/Chinese Handball 122

Chapter 33 My First Bike Ride/Tarzan Movies 126

Chapter 34 Jungle War Dance & Hunting Party 130

Chapter 35 Livestock Market/ Airplane Card Game 133

Chapter 36 Buying An Old Bike/One And Over Game 137

Chapter 37 Playing Checker/Visitation Church 141

Chapter 38 St. Stevens Church/Flatten Pennies 145

Chapter 39 Stafen Island Ferry/Girls Jump Rape 149

Chapter 40 Fixing The Old Bike/Making A Go-Cart 153

Chapter 41 Bicycle Motor Sounds/Haunted House Tag 157

Chapter 42 Diane's Carriage Wagon/Chess Game 161

Chapter 43 Blessed Mother's Feast/Handball 166

Chapter 44 Italian Street Festival/Playing Poker 170

Chapter 45 Nunzio-Suparman's Killer Darts 175

Chapter 46 Pick Up Stixs/Italian Festival Last Night 179

Chapter 47 Back To School PS 27/Chiness Finger Trap 184

Chapter 48 Daisy BB Gun/Dodgers @ Ebbets Field 189

Chapter 49 Mexican Jumping Bean Game/Eating Chicken Feet 195

Chapter 50 Fist Ball Game/Rubber Bond Pistol 199

Chapter 51 Prospect Park/Balsa Wood Airplane 203

Chapter 52 Home Made Wine/Bocce Ball Game 207

Chapter 53 Italian White Lightning/Dance Lessons 213

Chapter 54 Duncan Yo-Yo Man/King Of The Mountain 217

Chapter 55 Joanie's Pink Yo-Yo/The Hot Potato Game 222

Chapter 56 Pez Dispenser-Columbus Day Parade 227

Chapter 57 Columbus Day/Ring Around-Rosie 232

Chapter 58 Immigration/Religious Instructions/Cardinal Sin 237

Chapter 59 View Master/Horn & Hardart 242

Chapter 60 I Hate Wakes/Nunzio's New Television 248

Chapter 61 Shoes On The Wire/Treasure Island 254

Chapter 62 Making a Zip Gun/Drive in Movie 259

Chapter 63 Portable Radio/Woolworth Diner 264

Chapter 64 Garrison Belt/Long John Silver 269

Chapter 65 Sheepshead Bay/Telephone/Camp Site 273

Chapter 66 AAA Crossing Guard/Mining For Silver 279

Chapter 67 Pirate Treasure Chest/Old Fedora Cap 284

Chapter 68 Chutes & Ladders/Bruno's Harley/Car Tire Game 289

Chapter 69 WWII Binoculars/Potato Man/Street Hockey 294

Chapter 70 Billboard/Pretzel/Wizard of Oz/Zoot Suit 299

Chapter 71 Spam/Puzzel Game/Candy Cigar/Kerchief Wars 305

Chapter 72 Brownie Camera/Coke Machine/Ice Cone 311

Chapter 73 Halloween Bingo, Apple Dunk & Ouija Board 316

Chapter 74 Halloween Night Pranks & Wars 322

Chapter 75 PS 27 Supply Room/Rope Flying Game 328

Chapter 76 Thanksgiving Food/Old Maid/Juke Box 333

Chapter 77 Thanksgiving/Parade/Pee Wee/Kite Flying 338

Chapter 78 Blizzard of 48/Selling Trees/Snow Fights 344

Chapter 79 Christmas Eve/Wish Book/Fish Feast 350

Chapter 80 Christmas/Now Year/Tree Bonfires 356

Epilogue - A Place Called Brooklyn 362