Author: ruhlwrite

John McDonagh, in a hoodie and hooligan cap, is not behind the wheel. It’s his day off, and he’s at the diner having his breakfast between errands that will take him all over the place before the sun sets. John, a fine fellow with a wee bit of a brogue and a wide sweep of brown-polish hair, is having a cup of tea with milk and a bacon and English muffin sandwich. 55 Stan, where he leases a cab every day he’s working, is only a couple blocks away. John gets behind a lot of things,…

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It was 2 a.m. It was freezing, so cold that when Luke Gasparre talks about it, he still feels the ice-box chill creeping up his spine even though all this happened to him nearly 70 years ago. The world was at war with itself for the second time in history, and Luke, an Army infantryman, was guarding a road in Saarbrücken, Germany, in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. Private First Class Gasparre, serial number 32827016, had wrapped a long, brown, wool scarf around his head — his sister…

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Eartha Thompson-Washington sparkles in the sunlight. Her tunic, the color of blushing pink rosebuds, is studded with mini-mirrors and gold sequins. She bought it in Bangladesh while she was on one of her missionary trips. Every time she looks at it, it brings her back to the utter poverty of the land and the humble hospitality of its people. Bangladesh is an agricultural country, and Eartha’s people come from farming stock. This doesn’t mean that Eartha knows anything about planting anything…

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It’s noon when Catherine and Frank Terrizzi walk through the front door of Terrizzi Pastry Shop. They’re not here every day any more, but they can be counted upon to appear every Saturday at this time. They are the closest thing the shop has to royalty. Catherine’s the Grande Dame of Desserts. Frank’s the Maestro of Marzipan. Catherine, whose blond bouffant of bygone days swirls around her head like cotton candy, runs up to the counter girl and greets her with an affectionate…

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Every day, Jim Pignetti sees the past in the present. He can’t help but be reminded of the way things were because his business, Metalmen, is only four and a half blocks from the house he grew up in. He and his older brother lived there with their parents, their uncle and their maternal grandparents, who had come over from Sicily. The backyard garden had fig trees and a grapevine, and Jim used to deliver newspapers to the business at Metalmen’s address. He played Johnny Rides a Pony…

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