Dear Readers,
October snippets with an Italian connection: Awake, the magazine distributed by volunteers along with the Watchtower door to door or on street corners has a monthly circulation in excess of 35 million, making it by far the most widely published magazine of its kind in the world.
The Jehovah's Witnesses printery in the U.S.A. is located in Wallkill, New York, however, that is just one of the many print- eries that the Jehovah's Witnesses use in various lands. In the U.S.A., over 300 people work in the printery departments i.e. Graphics, Scheduling, Pressroom, Bindery, and Shipping Department. And here is a Labor Day note, all of them ages 19 to 90, are unsalaried VOLUNTEERS.
Awake, is published in 82 languages as is The Watchtower which has been published contin- uously since 1879, by the Jehovah's Witnesses. A few weeks ago, a couple of nice ladies gave me a copy of Awake and the Watchtower. I always read them when they come my way however, I take special note of articles with an Italian Connection.
Last month there was an article on the “Art of Making Expresso” that included tips for buying and storing coffee, with which I was in complete agreement, however, “A Drawer That Only Jehovah Can Open” contained information that was new to me, but I am printing it in part because “Catholic Italy” isn't so solidly Catholic anymore.
Through the years Muslims, Pentecostals and other religious groups have steadily been gaining members throughout Italy and while we might not agree I think we should have inkling as to what our “Italian Neighbors” are thinking. “In Sicily, in 2007, six year old Erika and four year old Mattia lost their father in death.
At school, when her friend Beatrice said that Erika’s father was not in heaven, Erika kindly replied what the Bible indicates otherwise. “So where is he then?” asked Beatrice, “in the tomb,” replied Erika. At that point, Beatrice wanted to know what a tomb is. “It’s like a drawer that opens and closes,” explained Erika. “But once this drawer is closed, you can’t open it. Only Jehovah can open it when the new world comes.”
Erika then explained to her friend that Jehovah is God’s name that he will bring about a paradise on earth, that there will be no more sickness, and that dead ones will return to life. Erika asked Beatrice to check with her mother to see if it would be all right for her to receive as a gift a book that discusses these things.
Assured that Beatrice’s mother had given permission, Erika gave her friend a copy of the book Learn From the Great Teacher. Erika continues to talk to others about the things she is learning from the Bible. Erika and her little brother still have sad moments because of the loss of their dad. But he resurrection hope makes them feel better. These children, like many others around the world, render thanks to Jehovah, the God of true comfort. – Matthew 21:16; 2 Corinthians 1:3,4.
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Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, through their labor as comedians first made America a happier place via radio. Abbott and Costello had teamed up while performing on the same bill at New York’s Eltinge Theater. However, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia shut down New York’s burlesque theaters May 3, 1937 and the fledging team had to seek other venues.
Bud and Lou replaced Hollywood-bound Henry Youngman on the Kate Smith Hour in 1938. Producer Ted Collins was impressed enough to ask the team to return. His only condition was that one of the boys would have to do something about his voice. The radio audience, according to mail and calls, had difficulty distinguishing the two.
It was then that Lou raised his voice to a higher pitch (for which he gained addi- tional fame because the little-boy- with-a-changing-voice quality endeared him even more to the audience). Their classic baseball sketch “Who’s on First” was reprised many times on the Kate Smith Hour, and their radio success propelled them into a contact with Universal Pictures.
Their successful string of movies, beginning with One Night in the Tropics (1940) and Buck Privates (1941) saved the floundering studio from bankruptcy. The Abbott and Costello Show was first heard as the summer replacement for Fred Allen on July 3, 1940 and aired in a regular spot in NBC lineup from October 8, 1942 until Costello was stricken with a life threatening rheumatic fever in March 1943 forcing a premature end to the season.
Confined to the bed for months, no sooner did Costello finally recover then came a blow mightier than any he’d ever taken in the ring. While in dress rehearsal, Costello was informed that his only son had drowned in the family swimming pool. Lou raced home, then phoned an hour before airtime to say he would be back for the broadcast.
Evidently Butch had planned to listen to his father on the radio for the first time that evening and, heartbroken, Lou was determined not to let the child down. The premiere went on at seven o’clock as scheduled, Costello bantering with Abbott as if nothing were the matter.
Following announcer sign-off, Bud Abbott told the studio audience of the tragedy and his partner’s professionalism: “Ladies and gentlemen, now that our program is over, I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to a man who has more courage than I have ever seen displayed in the theater. Tonight, the old expression “The show must go on,” was brought home to all of us on this program more clearly than ever before. Just before our broadcast started, Lou Costello was told that his baby son – who would have been one year old in a couple of days – had died.
In the face of the greatest tragedy which can come to any man, Lou Costello went on tonight… so that you, the radio audience, would not be disappointed.” The Abbott and Costello Show aired on radio through June 9, 1949 and on TV beginning December 5, 1952. Bud and Lou also starred on radio in ABC’s Abbott and Costello Children’s Show, a Saturday-morning series that aired December 6, 1947 – March 26, 1949.
Lou Costello, born Louis Francis Cristillo, 1906, in Patterson New Jersey died in 1959. Among the many awards Bud Abbott and Lou Costello received during their career, Lou Costello was very proud of the award they received from the Mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia in 1943, when in a record breaking 3 days, they sold 89 million dollars worth of U.S. War Bonds to help the war effort.
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Cartoonist, Mark Tatulli, creator of the “Heart of the City” comic strip bring much joy to readers of the daily newspapers where his strips appear. Unfortunately, “Heart” does not appear in my local newspaper but I am grateful to Signora C.M. of Arizona who cuts them out and sends them to me when “Heart’s” baby sitter, Mrs. Angelini, appears in the strips. The fun- loving little girl “Heart” lives with her single parent, mother and her adventures takes place in the big city of Philadelphia.
Internationally syndicated cartoonist, Mark Tatulli, is also an accomplished filmmaker and ani- mator and is the recipient of three Emmy Awards for his television work. Mark Tatulli lives in New Jersey with his wife Donna, three children and three cats, all of whom supply endless ideas for his work.
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Disgruntled, someone once remarked to Benjamin Franklin that the Constitution of the U.S. was a booby trap. “Where is all the happiness it is supposed to guarantee for us?” jeered the cynic. “Look at the bickering, the injustice, the poverty.” Franklin smiled tolerantly and replied, “All that the Constitution of the United States guarantees, my friend, is the pursuit of happi- ness. You have to catch up with it yourself.”
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Early Childhood, words of wisdom heard in the first-grade classroom. “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break your heart.”
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Flight of a winged aircraft was first achieved by Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, a week before Christmas in 1903, but the first person Wilbur Wright instructed to fly his airplane was an Italian named Mario Calderara, born in Verona, Italy, October 10, 1879. He died in 1944. During his early childhood Mario had always shown interest in the sea.
At the age of nineteen he went to the Naval Academy in Livorno and in 1901 graduated as a midshipman, but at sea watching birds he also became interest- ed in human flight. After graduation he continued to explore flight by building glid- ers and experimenting with the effect of the wind on a flat surface.
As his interest in flying became more acute he sent a letter to the Wright brothers asking them for technical information in regards to their airplane. He was pleasantly surprised when he received the information from the Wright brothers. He received permission from the Italian Navy to conduct experiments on water of his first glider based on the info the Wrights had sent.
After reaching a height of fifteen meters the glider lost control. Wounded and half drowning he was taken to the hospital and told later that he was not allowed to continue his testing. By invitation, Wilbur Wright went to France and demonstrated his flying machine, which could now fly 30-60 minutes.
Maurizio Moris, the Italian Army’s Brigata Specialisti in conjunction with the Italian Aeroclub, they invited Wilbur Wright to Rome with the offer to buy one of his planes and to train one or two Italian Pilots at the field known as Centocelle, which years later become the airport of Rome.
Mario Calderara was selected to become the first Italian to be trained as he had the “neces- sary references.” In April 14909, Wilbur Wright went to Rome where he gave fly- ing lessons to Mario and an army lieutenant, named Umberto Savoja. When Wilbur left Rome about a month later, May 1, he proclaimed that Mario could fly alone and give lessons to Umberto. Mario began to take many long flights without incident, but six days later during a windy day he crashed and was wounded seriously.
After recuperating for a couple of months, he returned to flying. Being the only Italian who could fly, the Italian Aeroclub awarded him… Flying License Number 1. Mario Calderara went on to design and build one of the first seaplane in the world and is considered to be the one of the fathers of naval aviation.
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