Links

Fred’s birthday

The private room at

Mario and Lucca ’s, “A Bronx Landmark,”

set with pitchers of Coke, carafes

of red and white wine, greets

Fred, for his 90^th birthday.

His children and their children;

great-grandchildren tumble in. Dinner

of linguine, egg plant rolatini, scungilli.

Kids bop one another

with balloons while adults drink

black coffee and Sambucca.

Opening presents he pulls paper

from a box with a pretty blond

on the cover holding a contour pillow.

“I thought,” calls out his grandson, “they

were sending you a woman.” “Sure,”

jokes a cousin, “I called an 800 number

and they sent her—quite a babe.” Fred laughs,

“But can she make soup?”