F I C T I O N
The Heavens
DEREK OWENS
I
T TOOK THREE YEARS for the Sons of Italy Cultural Heritage Organization , Utica Chapter , to raise enough funds to get their bocce courts built .
They held pancake breakfasts at the firehouse , splitting the proceeds with the firemen . Sponsored walkathons where they sold t-shirts of their own design ( a toga clad Caesar sporting some serious bicep action , standing in front of listing St . Peter ' s basilica and holding a dish of spaghetti rather like a Frisbee , one oversized meatball lodged strategically in the center of the pasta .).
It was the dunking booth that made the most money though . At the annual St . Anthony ’ s festival the old men would take turns sitting on the stool taunting passersby . Whatsamatta you throw like my mother . Three bucks for three balls , do it for Anthony . They said it ant-knee . Whenever someone hit the bull ' s eye the old men would climb out of the tank , t-shirts clinging to their bellies , and sputter okay paison okay hotshot see let ' s see you do that a second time .
Once they got the funds they filed the necessary requests with City Council . An amendment to the zoning ordinance had to be approved so they could claim a corner of the town park for four regulation courts , and while their bid was granted there was some disappointment that that their dream of an authentic crushed oyster shell court was not to be ; sand beds only , framed in cedar . But overall they considered their efforts a success . Benches were installed on either end , plus a few picnic tables off to the side . They had hoped to erect a plaque featuring the name of their organization , followed by a long list of “ Italian Heroes ” ( da Vinci , DeLuise , Scalia , etc .), but whether or not private organizations could post signs on park property was a matter of some dispute , and so
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