RIPPLES IN A POND: 

A TRIBUTE TO KINDNESS

By Peter Vuono

   In 2010 my son was about to graduate from Massasoit Community  College but ran into an imposing stumbling block. One of his professors was inadvertently late in turning in a necessary grade for graduation. I panicked and called every dean and administrator that I could find but to no avail. 

   I contacted the then president of the college. Not only would the secretary not let me speak to him but she  also mentioned that she too was hesitant to ask him any burdening questions herself. I was exasperated, disheartened and disappointed in my alma mater. Fortunately a kind Dean and one additional administrator came to my aid and Micheal graduated on time but not without my having some disappointment.

   At about the same time, one of the most beloved professors in Massasoit history died from leukemia. She purposefully martyred herself by refusing treatment. She wanted it to go to someone younger than she. She never had a religious service and there was no burial place for her. Her ashes were scattered amongst the snow and ice. I thought, given the magnitude of her service, she should have some small memorial and remembrance. This is where the new president, Ray DiPasquale came in.

  Due to my past experience, I had a copious reservation in contacting him. After my confidence was bolstered by coach Bill Mitchell( who worked with the president), I contacted him. President DiPasquale was a man who had educational and political experiences dating back to Presidential candidate Mike Dukakis. He had absolutely nothing to gain by even listening to me but Professor Yellen was worth it and I sent him a story I wrote about her. 

  President DiPasquale shocked me because  he carried with him a trump card that not enough people carry-  kindness. I never actually met him; nor did I talk to him on the phone yet, he was more than willing to honor Professor Laura Yellen with a plaque. Furthermore, he also came up with an idea to honor a graduate who was severely inflicted with cerebral palsy- Pete Murby- who from approx. 1977-2023 selflessly volunteered his service to the college.

  Unfortunately on 4/4/24, President DiPasquale succumbed to cancer but not without teaching us all a lesson. He knew  full well that kindness transcends time and is forever stored up as treasure in heaven. Some people say that kindness is like dropping a pebble in a pond. The pebble sinks but it's impact spreads with ripples and continues to reach out touching one person upon another.

  If after hundreds of years go by and every brick and mortar of the buildings of Massasoit crumple, the pebble that Ray DiPasquale dropped will  transcend time.  It will continue to create ripples in the hearts of men and in the eyes of God.

  

 

 "THOSE WHO ARE FIRST NOW WILL BE LAST, AND

THOSE WHO ARE LAST NOW WILL BE FIRST"

By Peter Vuono

   Super Bowl LVIII is hyped to being the most watched super bowl of all time not to mention the most bet on. It's no wonder as the Kansas City Chiefs team is comprised of a modern day Camelot. They have a handsome quarterback who will go down in sports history as one of the greats. He, in turn has a model wife who appears in Sports Illustrated.

  The Chiefs have an uber-talented tight end who happens to be dating the world's most famous pop star. So it is quite normal for the general public to project themselves into the lives of the Chiefs and the corresponding  and glamorous social lives of the team and it's associates. It has always been this way since the Circus Maximus and is quite understandable. The bread and circus of Rome's gladiators were the heart and soul of it's people.

  On the other side- the 49'ers- there is an extraordinarily humble quarterback(Brock Purdy), who was picked in the final draft of the 49'er

s in 2022. He has been sometimes called, "Mr. Irrelevant". It is unknown to this author as to the degree of confidence Purdy has given the enormous interest in the other team but one thing that is evident, is Purdy's faith.

  Pope John Paul II once said that "This is no time to be afraid of the gospels. It is time to preach it from the house tops". Purdy seems to be an advocate of this type of thinking as he espouses his faith frequently.

  It's possible that he sees and follows a narrower and yet wiser path than just the pursuit of glory and a $30,000 ring. It's clear to this author that although Purdy is a gallant sportsman who wants to win, his priority is to build up treasure in heaven. A few years from now, sports fans will forget the game and the luster of the ring will fade but win or lose, his faith and the inspiration he has imparted to others will always remain.  Mr. "Irrelevant" has proven that he is perhaps more deserved of the nickname his team mates have given him- "Mr. Relevant". He's pointing to a statement which has been said in Genesis, 1st Corinthians and in the gospels. One that is more "Relevant" now, than ever, that, "Those who are 1st now will be last and those that are last now, will be first".

  

 HUMILITY, RESPECT AND GRACE

BY PETER VUONO

   In 2012 I had put in abut 8 years into Kenpo Karate training. My son and I trained together at Master Steve Arsenault's Kenpo in New Bedford Ma. Unfortunately, nature and genetics caused a large speed bump and I had a heart attack and quadruple by-pass in 2012. I recovered and continued training. Mike got his Black belt in front of Larry Tatum in 2013 and I finally got it in 2014 at age 61.

  Upon receiving a belt one must do a mandatory one year of additional training which is a probationary period where one proves that he or she would not abuse their training. It was during this time that Master Steve would incorporate sparring on Wednesday nights.

  He would pick the two combatants and we were all pretty well protected with head gear. One night he paired me with Black Belt C.J. Soares. C.J. was in his teens and had much experience in sparring competition. He only weighed about 145 but he had taken on opponents who were above 200lbs. His kicks(especially his tornado) were a sight to behold and he was about as fast as a sled on ice powered by nitrous oxide injection! I, on the other had had arthritis in the knee, hips and shoulders. I was about as fast as a centenarian Galapagos tortoise on valium!  I knew I was in for a thorough drubbing!

  Then something unexpected happened. A win is scored when one scores three strikes before his opponent does. I never saw C.J.'s lightning. It never struck. He defended himself and showed a minimum of offense. Somehow, I scored 3 points first and it didn't a take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out what happened.

  C.J. "jobbed" for me. What does "jobbing" mean one may ask? It's a carny/ pro wrestling term where the job of one wrestler is to lose and at the same time make his opponent look good before the audience. C.J. curbed his abilities so as to not outshine my lack of them.

  I'll never know if it was my age, or my disabilities that he was thinking of but it didn't matter. He had made a great example of himself in that encouragement trumps discouragement every time. That is what we are all here for and in every facet of life. C.J.'s example was for me and for everyone who reads his story. His act was the epitome of humility, respect and grace.

HUMILITY IS NOT THINKING OF YOURSELF LESS; IT'S THINKING LESS OF YOURSELF"-C.S.LEWIS

 MASSASOIT DREAMING

BY PETER VUONO

DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND PETE MURBY

     Although I'm very pleased with the way my family life turned out, my years at Massasoit Community College are among my fondest memories. I was a student there from 1972-1974 and continued to work for the athletic department until 1995. I started out on a work study program making sure that no one would steal the adding machines and an early prototype computer out of a boring computer room. It was about as entertaining as watching one wrestler. I wanted more than this easy job so I boldly went to the office of athletic director Bruce Langlan.

     I plead my case with him and even though he didn't know me from Adam, the rough, tough, Marine showed me that he was as trusting and willing to give a guy a job as he was tough. It was after working for Bruce that I made lasting friendships which helped me to grow up. It truly helped me lay down a solid foundation for my future.

     Mr. Langlan made me the shot clock operator and time keeper for all the basketball games. I became good friends with many of the players on the men's and women's side and the cheer leaders .I was truly blessed to be part of a group that  liked and accepted me even though I was just a team helper. Many of the coaches that I met at Massasoit deserve honorable mention because most of them were gentlemen and ladies who never vilified but rather encouraged the athletes. This is attributed to Mr. Langlan who knew the kinds pf coaches he wanted in his department.

     Among them were, Joe Cleary, John Boutin, Mark Showan, George Dunn, Rico Cabral, Mark Ottovanielli, and Julie Mulvey for basketball. There was also Skip Culpepper and Nick Palantzis for soccer. Massasoit had many other fine coaches like Rolly Blanchette, Tom Frizzel and Big Bill Mitchell, although I never saw them coach.

     A couple of memories I wanted to mention was how very classy Nick and Julie were. Nick had an international team of super stars from all over the world. They were literally unstoppable. One day, his team trounced Greefield CC by a score of 11-3. Nick stopped the dejected team as they left and said,"You guys have a lot of class. Thanks for coming down here. I want you to come back next year and I want you to beat us". I never forgot his sportsmanship. Julie was another. In the 90's she had a real hard core group of girls that were so tough, that after the game they'd go to the Greek restaurant and order broken leg of lamb!

     I knew many of them as some went  to Brockton High where I taught. One would become a prison guard! As tough as they were, however, there was never any profanity and a great respect for Julie.She had the "It factor" as a coach and molded those girls into a real power that almost defeated Mitchell, the best CC team on the East coast.

     One of the most important components and personnel in the athletic department was Mrs. Marie Forrest, our secretary. Marie, who was recently inducted into the athletic hall of fame, was far more than a secretary. I referred to her as the Massasoit Matriarch of Muscle and with good reason. Like the little Dutch boy who filled the cracks in the dike, Marie was a troubleshooter for nearly every calamity. If the athletes needed  a secretary, coach ,counselor, coordinator or mother, it didn't matter as Marie was always there for more than 30 years.

     In 1980, Mr. Langlan allowed me to rent the gym free of charge for a national championship wheelchair bench press competition. The numbers were small but the athletes came from as far away as California including Viet Nam veteran Harvey Martin who was paralyzed from an accident in the war. Another footnote to this contest was that our national Olympic WL trainer Karl Faeth, drove from Pennsylvania to watch his friend Chuck Rottlebron bench press 375 at a bodyweight of 129!!!!

     When I went to Massasoit, I was into the sport of powerlifting. Mr. Jim Yess. who was director of student activities and a super guy interviewed me and put an article in the school newspaper on my behalf talking about my exploits in powerlifting. Jim was another one who made Massasoit so special. Jim was kind, gracious, and never angry even though my occasional impetuousness warranted it!!

    Another fond memory was the student body. There was real synergy here where people from many walks of life got along great. One could feel the love. Some fellows spent 4-5 years at Massasoit(a two year school) and we wondered why. I now know it was because it was one of the happiest places a person could be in. Too many people than one could mention were unforgettable but I'd like to mention 6 great personalities.

   Pete Murby was a buddy of mine who had CP. He once asked me if I would help him perform a workout in our little gym in the game room. He loved it and as he was having a great time, something in me was inspired by his enthusiasm. It was at THAT moment that I decided to major in Special Education at BSU because there was no feeling on earth like helping someone in need. I taught Sped for 35 years and after retirement I put another 1.4 years in on Adapted Phys Ed. Pete helped me to go full circle. I made a LOT of mistakes but any successes that I had were because of Pete's inspiration. Thank you Pete!

     Another pal was my late, great friend Danny Derito who was brilliant not to mention one of the funniest persons I've ever met. Danny often threw out various off the cuff jokes; many of which I've stolen and used to this very day. ALL his jokes were original and spontaneous. Danny was a great hockey player and we played together on an intramural team. He also edited an independent school newspaper called "The Evening Breeze". He was in constant demand for awards ceremonies due to his incredible wit which makes me laugh 50 years later!

     The cafeteria was never a better place than when Mark Delahanty pulled out his harmonica and spontaneously played some of the best blues I've ever heard. Having seen Muddy Waters, I've seen the best and Mrk was among them! I felt like I was on stage at Woodstock listening to "Ten Years After" singing "I'm Coming Home". He was that good!

     Lenny Alsen was a bodybuilding friend of mine who was a great herpetologist long before Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin! In Mr. Chase's speech class, he brought in a South American Tree Boa.

Half way through the lecture , the boa sprang out scaring the pants off everyone in class! Lenny was the first person I have ever known to own a pit bull and snakes from all over the world.

   Tom Wall and Dave Giampa were super athlete hockey players who befriended me, took me places, trained with me and even helped me build my ramshackle garage gym. They made me feel special; even now so many decades later. If there were ever two authentic "stand up" guys, it was Tom and Dave.

   One of Massasoit's strengths was that their staff was second to none! These people really cared and went on beyond just being "professor". I'll always remember Rick Butterworth, Marilyn Maxwell, Doug McKay, Senor Caputo, Alan Kohrman and John Chase. Each in his or her own way, proved that they wanted to do more than teach. One professor, however deserves a few more accolades. 

   In 1974, Professor Laura Yellen entered Massasoit. I've never met a person who was more loving, caring and helpful than this woman. She wound up working in the LATCH program and in Helping Hands. Laura selflessly, constantly and tirelessly did favors for students, faculty alumni or anyone who needed help.  If there ever was a Mother Teresa of Massasoit, it would be she.

  There are far too many to thank for putting me on this journey that was one of the happiest times of my life  but it would not  happened if Bruce Langlan did not believe in me.

  Years ago there was a song by the Young Rascals that had a refrain in it that went, "Things  ain't like they used to be and love's the only thing I see".  Yes, in this world of ours that is rife with anger, violence, profanity and egocentrism Massasoit Dreaming shines  in my mind like a diamond in the rough. A memory which will always stay close to my heart.

   

 TO PLAY BEFORE THE KING AND QUEEN

By Peter Vuono

     It is the 4th of July and happy birthday to America. It's also the birthday of a favorite entertainer to this author , Solly Violinsky who was born in Kiev in 1885. This author is sure that the reader has never heard of Solly or ever will. So one would wonder as to why he should be written about. A good question indeed.

    Violinsky, who was born Sol Ginsberg was a member of a fraternal order of entertainers called The Friars. It still consists of the most notable names in show business. According to comedian/historian Joey Adams, Violinsky was a composer, comedian, violinist, pianist, wit and without a doubt the most unforgetable person that he(Adams) could remember in Friar  history. This says a great deal when Adams knew  Milton Berle, George Burns, Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers.

     In 1910, Violinsky was on tour in London. When he heard that King George V and Queen Mary would be in a procession in front of Solly's hotel he waited. At the exact moment of passage, Solly flung open the shutters and began to play the violin. The next day, he took up ads in the London paper exclaiming, "Solly Violinsky has played before the King and Queen".

   Back in New York, the great Rocky Marciano was getting honored by the Friars. Naturally, the Great Violinsky approached the Champ. "I'm a bit of a champion myself", said Solly. Attempting to act interested, Rocky said, "Oh, really?" "Yes," said Sol, "I'm a champ at getting laid off. I've been laid off under 4 presidents for everything except cinema, but give me time, I'll add that too!".

   Solly was so talented that he was able to play the violin AND piano at the same time. However he once stated that his violin spent so much time in the pawn shop that"The pawn broker plays it better than I do!".

   Irving Berlin, who wrote "God Bless America", started an organization known as the ASCAP- the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. A gold pin was given to all successful composers (Violinsky being one of them) and told to pin it to their overcoats. Violinsky wrote to the ASCAP saying, "Thank you for the pin ;I'm thrilled. However I don't own an overcoat- please advise".

   Solly died on May 5, 1963. He lived with his niece and has an extremely modest grave in Johnson City NY. He suffered a lengthy illness and his obituary listed NO calling hours at the funeral home. It appeared that he died without a dollar or an audience. However for those who listen, his life left a message that still rings true. He was not a well known name but he was the best at what he did WITHOUT the vulgarity and crassitude that we see so often in the entertainment world and everywhere else.

   It seems that there is very little today that was as substantive as it was in Sol Ginsberg's day.  It seems that both America and the rest of the world is seeing more evil, more violence, more vulgarity and a slow dissipating of I.Q's and everything that is good including manners, etiquette, kindness, service to others and the way we teach and raise children. This author hasn't gone to a comedy show in decades because comedians use more expletives than was heard in the movie "Scarface". However the wit and wholesome entertainment of those like Solly Violinsky shows us that we can do better if we take a few steps backward. We can improve with all the aforementioned virtues and take a superior past and make it the present

  If it was practiced by more of us ,  one would think that the feeling of the giver and recipient would be not unlike,  "Playing Before the King and Queen" 

 "I'LL GIVE YOU A DAISY A DAY DEAR"

Title by Justin Strunk

Story by Peter Vuono- Dedicated to my

dear friend Daisy Vuono age 15.

   Many months ago, I wrote a short story called " He's Not Gonna Ask Ya, 'How Much Ya Bench?'" The gist of it was that personal achievements in life are not really going to pave the way to salvation. Rather it's servitude toward others that really counts. However, like so many others, I keep falling from grace. I often don't practice what I preach.

  In a moment of silence, I was contemplating some of the trophies I had upon the wall. I marveled that in 2008 I, at age 55, deadlifted 500lbs. As time went by, these moments of glory waned. At age 64, it descended to 425 and at 65, all the way to 401 and at 70, 300!!. Are you kidding? I've got friends that can curl this much!!! I asked my doctor as to why this was happening when my total testosterone levels check higher now at 70 than they did back then. She told me that every fiber of my body, whether I knew it or not was undergoing fibrosis or arthritis if you will. I pondered this and sulked.

And then I looked over at my pal Daisy sitting next to me. Daisy is 15, She's had 9 cancer operations. She's undergoing chemo therapy for another tumor and also has heart problems. Yet, she does nothing but spread love, companionship and loyalty. It is she and not I living her life the way God intended. Is it any wonder why Walt Whitman wrote so endearingly about animals in "Leaves of Grass"? "I think I could turn and live with animals they are so placid and self contained. I stand and look

at them long and long."

   Daisy reminds me of what I wrote months ago. She keeps me grounded and  humble in that God has chosen this little creature to help show me and others The Way. Charles Yu once said that" If I could be half the person my dog is, I'd be twice the person I am". How right he was, for me, for you and for all  eternity.

"I'll give you a daisy a day dear. I'll give you a daisy a day. I'll love you until the rivers run still and the 4 winds we know blow away"-- Judd Strunk

 

URBAN  LEGEND

By Peter Vuono

     Those that know me know of my passion for wrestling. However this is not about wrestling. It's about an old friend of mine that was taken from his friends and family far too early who had a heart as big as the surname he carried; Pete Marciano.

     When I met Pete in the early 80's, he had the charismatic personality of drawing people to him and befriending him. This is what happened with the two of us. He would train at my broken down ramshackle garage gym, babysit for my daughter and come over to watch the hot new wrestling shows on MTV.

     So, on March 31st, 1985, Peter, Uber guidance counselor Bob Stone and I went to the 1st Wrestlemania. There was no internet or sophisticated pay per view back then so we sojourned into the Boston Garden and had the treat of our lives. Pete new that I loved this form of sports entertainment and through it he wanted to give something special to his friend. Fast forward 3 months to the summer of 85.

    Like all Brocktonians, Pete went with his football mates to the famed Brockton Fair. It was once a haven for superstar entertainers such as Diana Ross, exiting Joey Chitwood auto thrill shows and, of course, Killer Kowalski pro wrestling. Pete made way to the basketball game and saw a beautiful wooden framed 20x30 poster of Hulk Hogan. He wanted it badly because he knew I'd be thrilled.

   Pete was a super athlete but the deck was stacked in favor of the carnival barker. The hoop was 15' high and the circumference of the basket was much smaller than regulation. He needed to sink three shots  but the odds were too great. He shot all night until closing and it was at that moment that a kind act would beget another.

   It was closing time and the barker felt so sorry for Pete spending so much money that he GAVE Peter the framed picture and now, 38 years later, surrounded by cobwebs and wrestling posters of yore, the photo still hangs as a testament to true friendship.

   ON December 21, 2015 at age 48, Peter was taken from his loved ones by the disease of addiction. However, we who are left behind are comforted in knowing that kind acts transcend time. They are like ripples in a pond that keep on moving and spreading. It is kindness that makes our legacy and paves our way to salvation. In Peter's case, that road is well paved.

"There are 3 ways to conduct one's life; the 1st is to be kind, the 2nd is to be kind and the 3rd is to be kind"- Mother Teresa