MAIL CALL a soldier's worst nightmare & RECALL the rest of my story
A Memoir
by
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"I wanted to tell Corporal Harper about the coffee grinding machine that vented outside the store so people could smell the aroma of freshly ground coffee and the pot belly stove in the middle of the store where customers roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes."
"with a thin smile, the penguin looking nun picked up the briefcase, opened the second story window and out went the briefcase"
Walter Winchell said, "write a letter to the soldiers in Korea and say a prayer for the boys at Camp Chaffee"
Lieutenant Sweeney said, "Marini, you're not going to make it back" I did, he didn't.
Aide to the Colonel said about the Colonel, "he's a nut case, it's his first war and he wants to get you killed"... "he also called a battlion (18 gun) fire mission on one enemy soldier taking a crap. And ammunition is rationed?"
"he was turned down when he requested a five dollar a week raise, resigned and started Playboy Magazine"
Bob McNeal, President of Curtis Publishing said "Vince you must be quite proud to have conceived the idea of the first cookout ever in Rockefeller Plaza and carried it through to such a successful conclusion."
Jess Hadsell, VP, Promotion Director, American Home Magazine said, "I for one don't intend to let anyone forget that Vince Marini had the wild idea that he could get Victor Borge to perform for free"
"the island is beautiful, the scenery breathtaking; the food, service and accommodations exemplary"
"Rachid's father is from Saudia Arabia, Steve is Jewish.These brother-in-laws are a perfect example of one on one peaceful coexistence which can and should work for nations"
"we are blessed to have experienced the "Good Life"
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About the Book
I am a left-handed Scorpio, born in 1930 when my parents were 44 years old. I grew up in the New York City borough of the Bronx, in a neighborhoof known as Belmont "Little Italy." Our neighborhood included the Bronx Zoo, Arthur Avenue and Fordham University. My home away-from-home was Jerry's candy store on 183rd street between Beaumont and Cambrelling Avenue. I went to St. Martin of Tours parochial grammar school and Fordham Prep and De Witt Clinton High Schools.
My story includes anecdotes about Nuns, the Paramount Theatre in New York. the northeast blackout of 1965, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano, Italy and the secret history of Italian evacuation and internment in World War II.
It is a tour down Memory Lane over the past 80 years covering my life as a child, a teenager and a young man preparing for lifes trials. It starts with my being drafted into the Army in 1951 and relates my experiences at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and Korea where I experienced "my worst nightmare."
It reflects on my life including separate business careers, 30 years in the magazine business at McCall's, the Curtis Publishing Company and Esquire Magazine; and 10 years in the printing industry. It speaks about the benefits I derived from taking and teaching the Dale Carnegie Course.
My memoir highlights family tradition and relationships and offers readers an opportunity to travel with us abroad and on our road trips across the United States which have covered more than 400,000 miles. Since I retired at 62, I am blessed to have enjoyed the leisure lifestyle for more than 17 years.
The journey in this book will make the reader feel like a good friend or a relative. Maybe you are?
About the Author
I was born in the Bronx, New York, on November 17, 1930. I married my childhood sweetheart in March 1952. We will celebrate our 58th wedding anniversary in 2010.
We moved to Commack, Long Island in 1957, where we lived for 36 years before we retired to Florida. I am the proud father of two sons and a daughter and grandfather of five wonderful grandchildren.
My memoir is a legacy to my family and hopefully an enjoyable read for friends and others who may wish to hear my story.