This man right here, his name is Tony Lucci. He was born in 1941 and grew up in a large Italian family in Long Island, New York. He spent his entire life working in his family’s pizza shop, his most favorite place on earth. You see, this is where Tony met the love of his life Marie. He can still remember that delightful summer day as though it was yesterday. He was in the middle of spreading some pesto sauce on his shop’s signature pizza when he heard the little bell ring as the front door opened. He looked up and there she was. She had on a flattering sunhat engulfed in flowers and a dress to match. From the moment she asked for fresh mozzarella it was history. Today Tony is on his way to visit his beloved Marie. She suffers from heart problems and has lived in a rest home for a number of years now. He still works in the shop, training his nephews to run the business correctly. Every other evening he makes the long journey by subway to St. John’s rest home. He makes sure to look especially nice when he goes to see his wife. In the old days they would go out on the town together and she loved it when he wore fedoras. The one he has on today is very special because Marie gave it to him on their first anniversary. Although his love has been living like this for a while now, something in his heart tells him that their time together is coming to an end. Until that fateful day comes, Tony will continue to visit his Marie, take her by the hand, and whisper in her ear as he did when they were young lovers, “Io sono qui, amore mio (I am here, my love).”

Turban in the Sky

Jimmy’s whole life has been one continuous roller coaster ride. He is ten years old right now and for the past five years he has spent each grade at a different school. You see, his dad is in the Navy and Jimmy lives with him because his parents are divorced. He loves his mother dearly and thinks that she is wonderful, but for some reason he isn’t able to see her too often. His dad tells him that the medicine she takes makes her too sleepy to play with him. For now he lives with his dad in Victoria Falls, California. It is a small, boring town and the highlight of Jimmy’s entire summer has been finding a cute German Shepard puppy which he named Barder. The two of them spend the long afternoons taking dips in the beach and chasing after Mrs. Anderson’s cats. In the evenings while the sun is still out they walk to town and buy a lollipop from the market. Then they make their way back to the water tower overlooking the beach to watch the sunset. While leaning against Barder on top of the tower, Jimmy always makes a wish within his heart to stop time, so he and his favorite pal can stay here forever.
Summer soon turns into fall and the leaves begin to change colors. Jimmy is in town shopping for school supplies with his father. Jimmy begged for Barder to come along but lately he has been growing big and jumping higher on people, so his dad decided against it. Jimmy mopes around the store when something in the corner of his eye catches his attention. He turns and walks to it to get a better look. As he draws closer he can see that it is a peculiar, orange-colored linen piece resting on a hat stand. Immediately he takes the object to his dad and looks up at him with questioning eyes. “Hey, Buddy. What’s that you’ve got,” he says. “I don’t know,” Jimmy replies, “but it looks cool.” Seeing his son’s excited face he can’t help but feel like crying. His father thinks of all that Jimmy has been through these past few years and is also aware that starting a new school will not make things any easier, so he agrees to buy it for him. At the register the cashier tells them that the round thing is called a turban.
The first month of school comes and goes. Jimmy has yet to make friends and is doing poorly in his grades. His dad says it might be because he never takes that “dumb turban” off, but Jimmy can’t help it. The head encompassing piece makes him feel secure, something he isn’t used to. What’s worse is that Barder has been running away lately. They’ve tried everything to keep him in but he always seems to find a way out. Tonight Jimmy has a plan. He is going to stay up and he’ll pounce on Barder when he heads for the door. His dad is asleep when the time comes. Jimmy is laying down staring at the ceiling, his head cushioned by his turban when he hears Barder making a run for it. With incredible strength Barder breaks through the door and Jimmy chases after him. They are in the dark outdoors when Jimmy leaps on Barder’s back and tries to keep hold of his turban at the same time. Amazingly Barder keeps running and goes to jump over the fence. When he launches with his back feet the two reach an incredible height. In fact, they don’t seem to stop. They keep going and going, higher and higher until they are no longer in the earth’s atmosphere. For the next few days Jimmy’s father frantically looks for him, but years pass with no resolve. Sadly, no one ever found out for sure what happened to Jimmy and Barder but decades later it is told by grandfathers that on the darkest of nights you can see Jimmy’s turban as he lays with Barder on the beach in the sky, where time never changes.