GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS

By Peter Vuono

     In 2003 my son Mike entered Brockton, Ma. High School. Like any freshman, he was laden with trepidation about what he would have to face. A true oasis for him was Mr. Kenny Heenan, his Science teacher. Mr. Heenan was friendly, funny and open. The kids knew he was there to help. However at the same time, Mr. Heenan possessed a background where if push came to shove, he wouldn't back down and he'd enforce discipline. When Mr. Heenan left teaching, there was an enormous gap in the dept. Shoes had to be filled that not even Wilt Chamberlain could fill; until dept. chairman Rich Poirier, wisely hired John Bergonzi.
   At 6'5" and a solid 220,  the handsome rookie was the perfect choice. The kids, who were very needy and demanding in every way, took to John like flies to honey. They knew that this was a friend who was on their side but who was also strong enough to set boundaries which the kids needed. No one ever would have thought that Mr. Heenan would ever be replaced with the proper substitute but fortuitously, that is exactly what had happened.
     John more than proved himself in the classroom. He became an exemplary teacher, a loyal colleague and found his future wife, Angie, teaching beside him. Things were going great until one morning in mid April of 2011. It began like any other day with the magnificent sunrise shining off the waters of Flagg Pond providing the thousands of incoming students and staff with a beautiful , picturesque landscape to greet their arrival. What no one knew, however was that something else would arrive to school that day.
    An evil wind blew down the street, past the garbage and through the school yard fence. With it, was brought a young man with fire in his eyes, vengeance in his heart and a knife in his hand. His only mission was to do bodily harm on someone who wronged him. As he entered the cafeteria, the only line of defense between him and the student body was John Bergonzi.
    Instinctively, John knew what to do. He quickly grabbed the weapon hand and hauled the boy down pinning him to the floor. The cacophony brought several personnel to the area but the first responder was John and John alone.
     Only God knows what could have happened or who could have been injured if he didn't intervene. But I knew that we had a hero amongst us. For reasons unknown this story of heroism never went national. John later received an award but it was in front of his peers only and the award was soft pedaled in this author's estimation.
    Still, John had accomplished great things. He became  a model teacher, a great friend  and a great colleague. He found the love of his life and exhibited Spartan heroism in protecting the innocent. In every way, John Bergonzi had gone to the head of the class.

BLOND AND BRAVERY
By Peter Vuono

     When my son was young we watched together a plethora of kids' TV shows. One of our favorites was "Hey Arnold". In the second season there was an episode called "Eugene Goes Bad". The gist of the story is that Arnold's  pal, Eugene finds out first hand that an action star he admires is just an actor and not really a hero at all. Eugene acts out and is disruptive at both home and school. One evening as Eugene walks the streets of NYC, he sees his hero,"Maurice" risking his life to save a child who is dangling from a fire escape. Eugene's faith in his hero is restored and he goes back to being the great person he once was.
     I am certain that some film or sports heroes would do the right thing if the opportunity arose but these incidents are rare in occurring in front of the eyes of a child or fan. This is a rare story of a time in the 90's when a king of the ring proved himself to be an avenger of the bullied.
     Herman Rhode Jr .who was the son of German immigrant parents was born in 1921 in Camden NJ. Herman loved sports and immediately joined the Camden YMCA. There he started wrestling  at age 9! He later expanded his interests and excelled in boxing, track and swimming. As he grew older he was incredibly handsome with the kind of chiseled body that a top bodybuilder would have. In a chance meeting with promoters Ray and Frank Hanley, Rhode became a professional wrestler and changed his name to Buddy Rogers.
     Rogers took the formula of the great Gorgeous George and pushed it up several notches. He bleached his hair, became a "heel" and developed an arrogant strut and swagger that made even the most docile fan incensed! Rogers became a fan favorite and was later dubbed"Nature Boy" by promoter Jack Pfefer. He became so popular, that he became world heavyweight champion in both of the major wrestling organizations, the NWA and the WWWF. When Rogers won his title at Comisky Park against Pat O'Conner on June 30, 1961 it registered an attendance record of 38,622. A record which would not be broken until 1984. After beating O'Conner, Rogers defiantly grabbed the microphone and yelled,"To a nicer guy, it couldn't happen!"
     Shortly before Buddy lost the belt to Bruno Sammartino in 1963, he incurred a mild heart attack. He continued to wrestle for the Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas but suffered a broken arm and broken hip. The hip injury made him retire from actual competition and he would from there on walk with a cane. He decided to do color commentary for two big leagues, the AWA and of course, the WWF.
    Rogers retired  to Lauderdale-By-The- Sea at age 69. By this time he had suffered, a heart attack, a by- pass operation and walked with a cane. He , at this time, was about to participate in an incident that would prove to all that he was much more than a ring icon.
   According to an article in the July 6, 1992 issue of the Brockton Enterprise, authored  by famed Chicago columnist, Bob Greene, the following occurred.: " It happened in a sandwich shop called LaSpada's Original Hoagies.near his house. As Nature Boy waited for his turkey hoagie, a huge, angry 29 year old man burst through the front door.According to local police, the man started screaming obscenities and calling the female employees vulgar names."
    " As the man turned to leave the sandwich shop, he noticed Nature Boy. The 29 year old allegedly said to Nature boy,'What are you looking at'? Nature Boy replied,'I don't think you talked to those girls very nice'. The 29 year old allegedly cursed at Nature Boy and then said,'If you want a piece of me, old man, let's go!"
  Greene goes on to say,"As Nature Boy recalled for me later, 'He was a big dude- I'd say 6 foot 4, 235lbs.,but nobody calls Buddy Rogers an old man.'
     "According to the police, the 29 year old lunged at Rogers.'I shoved him against the wall' .Nature Boy said. 'Then he grabs a metal chair. A big folding metal chair. He swings the chair and hits me in the mouth with it. I'm bleeding pretty bad. So I unload on him. The first thing I do is slug him in the solar plexus. He goes back against the refrigerator. I'm an old man, right!'
     'Then I give him another shot, and he goes flying into the kitchen and lands against the sink. I grab him again. He's holding on to my hair and he's screaming'Please stop it!' The guy's begging for mercy By now he's got me so tuned up.I'm ready to go some more. This guy; he's all mouth. This guy, he can't go'.
     Nature Boy walked away from the sandwich shop fight in great shape. The 29 year old was a scared mess. The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Police praised Nature Boy. Sandwich shop employee Cynthia Marshall told reporters."Buddy was definitely a gentleman come to our aid".
     Two years later, Rogers would incur three strokes; two in one day. He was hooked up to life support but succumbed June 26, 1992 at age 71. He would later be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994.
     Arnold's fictional pal Eugene would have loved Buddy Rogers for he was a champ both in and out of the ring. I'm sure he doesn't strut any longer in the hereafter as heroes who have received their reward don't have to. "To a nicer guy, it couldn't happen".

STANDING IN THE CORNER OF JUSTICE

By Peter Vuono

     I've been a wrestling fan since 1965. Back then there was no cablevision or internet and so the only way to find out about wrestlers from other regions of the country were through magazines and photos. I purchased a picture book of wrestlers from Texas in 1966 and it displayed a photo of a man with  a white Mohawk style hairdo and his eyebrows covered with stitches! It was the kind of guy that I sure would never want to meet in a dark alley! Little did I know that decades later I would find that this man, Sputnik Monroe ,was one of the greatest white civil rights activists of all time!.
     Roscoe Monroe Merrick was born on Dec. 18th 1928 in Dodge City Kansas. His dad perished in a plane crash shortly before he was born and young Roscoe was passed back and forth between grandparents. When he turned 17, his mom remarried and his step dad adopted him His name was now Roscoe Monroe Brumbaugh. The new family moved to Wichita and Roscoe hung out at the local YMCA where he saw famed pro wrestler, Everett Marshall. Roscoe was impressed with the fancy suits and cars that wrestlers had and it always stayed on his mind. However, the war and Uncle Sam were calling.
     He entered the United States Navy during WWII and wrestled amateur while in the Navy at a slim 180 lbs. When his hitch was over, he toured the mid-west at carnivals, rodeos and fairs in "shoot" matches challenging anyone to pin him. A "shoot" match is one that is not orchestrated or predetermined. Some nights it was tough for Roscoe to get matches. As he put it,"Some nights I'd have chicken and other nights, just feathers." It was at this time that Roscoe changed his name to Rocky Monroe and trained under the auspices of noted wrestler/trainer Jack Nazworthy.
     Monroe started his pro career as a "face"(good guy), and toured the south and the mid-west. One evening, Monroe was beaned over the head with a wooden chair. Pieces of the chair remained imbedded in his head causing an infection. When his hair finally came back, it turned pure white in the middle in stark contrast to the black on the sides. He had an odd Mohawk long before it came into vogue in the 80's. After this incident, he decided to turn "heel"(bad guy). One evening in 1957, Rocky Monroe wrestled in Mobile using his usual rough style. An elderly woman at ringside was incensed by his tactics and called him every name in the book. The McCarthy era and phobias against communists were very much prevalent across the US. Therefore, the elderly woman, having run out of names shouted."You're a communist Sputnik". Monroe heard it as did the ring announcer and rather liked the new name. Monroe adopted it and from that moment on, he was called Sputnik Monroe.
     From Mobile, Monroe settled in Memphis which in the late 50's was rife with prejudice and segregation. However, Monroe was a different kind of person and he preferred to spend all his free time on Beale Street which was a predominantly Black area. Local authorities were dead set on enforcing segregation and Monroe was arrested a miasma of times for vagrancy.At about the same time, he was becoming the number one wrestling star of Tennessee and in a match with Billy Wicks(refereed by Rocky Marciano), Monroe sold out Ellis Auditorium in Memphis with 13,000 people, a record that stood in the South until the year 2001!
    Monroe had often said that he was"Rough, tough and hard to bluff". He put this tenacity to good use in a successful coup to thwart Memphis segregation.
     Ellis Auditorium would not allow blacks to sit anywhere they wanted. Segregation was enforced and the black fans were forced to sit in the balcony or "Crows Nest" as it was called. They were not allowed to sit amongst white patrons down closer to the ring. Monroe concocted a three tiered plan to end this. He gave out hundreds of reduced rate passes to ensure that there would be more black patrons than the balcony would be able to accommodate. He then bribed the gate keeper into lying about the number of black tickets sold so as to fool the promoters. If there were 500-1,000 black patrons who would have tickets, the gate keeper would report that there were far fewer. Finally, Monroe exercised his star power as insurance. He was the number one draw in Memphis and boldly told promoters that he would not wrestle if the promoters refused to allow black patrons to sit where they wanted.
    For fear of seeing their profits plummet, the promoters relented and Ellis auditorium was integrated for the first time ever and would stay that way. In a similar incident, a Memphis auto dealership enforced segregation for viewing an auto show. Blacks would have to enter when told to and view the cars from a "colored only" section. Monroe proceeded to call the dealership and threatened to buy a dealership and place it on Beale St. in the black area. Needless to say, segregation was terminated at this event.
    Years later at a match in Louisville, Monroe was approached by a young woman in her 30's. She told him that they never met but because of his tenacity and desire for justice, she and her family were for the first time in their lives treated like equals. It was said that it was the first time in wrestling history that anyone had ever seen Sputnik Monroe break down and cry.
    Sputnik wasn't done there, however. In 1972 he put together the first ever interracial tag-team with wrestler Norvell Austin who had a blond streak in his hair to match the Mohawk of Sputnik's. At the end of one match, Monroe dumped a bucket of black paint on a vanquished opponent and screamed"Black is beautiful". Austin then hugged Monroe and yelled"White is beautiful". This in turn led to other interracial tag teams in several leagues around the country.
     It took a great deal of courage to impose integration by oneself in an area which had for so long practiced the antithesis. However, Sputnik always said that he was" A piece of twisted steel and sex appeal. A heavenly body that women craved and men feared". Perhaps he was right.
    Monroe retired from the ring to New Smyrna Beach Florida. In his latter years he had part of his lung removed and several bouts with lung cancer. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Nov. 3, 2006 at the age of 77.
    There is an urban legend in Memphis that in the 1960's every African American household had three pictures displayed. One was of Jesus, the second of Martin Luther King and the third of Sputnik Monroe. I don't know if the legend is true or not but I am convinced of one thing- it should be.

This author acknowledges the Monroe Brothers online fan club website, the Wikipedia Library and an online article by Mike Morgan as the major sources for the composition of this article.

THE FIGHTER

     I come from Brockton, Ma. One mile from my home is a magnificent statue of Rocky Marciano .
It's the largest statue in the world dedicated to an athlete and it's a beautiful thing to behold. Many regard Rocky as the greatest of all and many other historians have their own favorite. However, a little known  fighter from ancient Greece who lived  in the mid 400's BC had no equal.
     I dedicate this story to all those who are fighting  disease, depression, addiction, bullying and abuse; especially women and children. Also, to our fighting men and women overseas.


THE FIGHTER
By Peter Vuono

    The Grecian island of Thasos in the year 440 BC was among the most beautiful islands on the planet. Thasos, the northern most of all Grecian islands was completely surrounded by the magnificent Aegean Sea.
Wherever one walked one would see breath taking seascapes. One early spring morning, a 9 year old Thasian walked alone through the town square.. Like any child his attention was drawn to a beautiful brazen statue of one of the gods. Mesmerized, the child lifted the statue unassisted and brought it home.
   His parents were greatly disturbed and they were sure that their child would incur the wrath of the gods.
The child's father, Timosthenes, lead the child and the statue back safely to the town square to the relief of all. Although the child was said to be the son of Timosthenes, many swore that he was sired by Hercules! The child was called Theogenes.
    Theogenes grew up admiring the mighty Greek athlete Achilles. Since Achilles was known  for his running skills, Theogenes ran and won many a race. One in particular was the dolichos which was a long distance run which consisted of between 7 and 24 stadia. A stadia was equal to 600 feet. Adept as he was at running, Theogenes would soon find that his forte would be in both boxing and pankration. Pankration was the Grecian form of mixed martial arts. It consisted of boxing, kicking, chokes, locks, trips and throws. The only thing not allowed was biting and eye gouging.
    Theogenes won one boxing title in the 75th Olympiad in 480BC. He also won a pankration in the 76th Olympiad of 476BC. In addition  to this he won three Pythian Games in boxing, one pankration in the Isthmian Games with 9 boxing titles, and finally  nine boxing titles in the Nemean Games . All together, it is said that he defeated between 1300 and 1400 opponents! He was undefeated in boxing in 22 years and there is yet another unsubstantiated claim that Theogenes defeated 2102 opponents!
   A marble statue was erected in Thasos of Theogenes upon his death and he was made a Thasian hero. One of his enemies vandalized the statue one evening and lost his life when the statue crashed down upon him.
The remains of the statue were thrown into the sea and from that moment on the Island of Thasos yielded no crops! Upon hearing this, the Oracle of Delphi suggested that the rubble of the statue be resurrected from the sea. The town erected a new one and the crops came back again!
   One may ask if this was the work of a god or deity. I think not. However, one thing is for certain; that the legend of history's greatest fighter has withstood the sands of time. It is hoped that the fighting spirit of the mighty Theogenes will once again arise in the hearts of those that need it the most.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

By Peter Vuono

     When Hernani "Ernie" Branco came to the United States from Portugal decades ago, he brought with him the keys to success, He brought a  strong and supportive family background, a hard work ethic, an eagerness to learn and above all, an ebullient personality just exuding love, laughter and friendship. Ernie and I met in 1975 at Bridgewater State College. One couldn't help but like him with his sincere warmth which was infectious.
     Ernie knew the importance of not just getting an education but speaking English well. He requested to study with me at my home on his various English assignments thus honing his skills in translation. It didn't take long for my mother to fall in love with him. It took only a few sessions before Ernie was confident in mastering the English language. On par with this was his athletic expertise.
     Ernie was the kicker for our football team which was only natural with the enormous amount of soccer expertise brimming within him. Sometimes, he kicked the ball so far that it seemed that it landed in Middleboro. This excellence gave Ernie an opportunity to try out as a kicker for the New England Patriots. Just following graduation, Ernie was off to training camp. However it was here that he had an epiphany as to where his talents could best be shared- in service.
    Ernie became an outstanding soccer coach, Health teacher and friend. Everywhere he taught and coached he touched the lives of teachers and students alike whether it be evoking laughter, a kind and sincere handshake or in the bolstering of a child's self esteem. Ernie took this magical charm to higher levels as an assitant principal and finally a principal. He never once condescended and continued to treat everyone with kindness, laughter love and respect.
    Only a few days ago Ernie was taken from us in a fatal single auto accident. Only when we all meet the creator will we know why such things are allowed. Perhaps Ernie was chosen for another mission for we cannot forget that although he is gone bodily, his spirit lives on forever and will forever inspire.
     At about the same time that Ernie entered the USA, a close friend of Bruce Lee's, Taky Kimura, had experienced a profound hardship that impacted his life severely. Lee wrote to Kimura saying,"Life is an ever flowing process and somewhere on the path some unpleasant things will pop up- it might leave a scar- but then life is flowing on, and like running water, when it stops, it grows stale. Go bravely on  my friend because each experience teaches us a lesson."
     The Ernie Branco that I know would want each and every one of us to"go bravely on" and like him, pursue our own American Dream.

HEART OF A DRAGON, NAME OF THE SHARK


     I dedicate this short story to the memory of Makoto Iwamatsu, to his family and to my friends who are presently battling cancer.

HEART OF A DRAGON, NAME OF THE SHARK
By Peter Vuono

    The sunny afternoon  of Sept. 14, 2013 was one of the happiest days of my life. My son Mike passed his Black Belt test after a 9 year journey in front of the number one ranked Kenpo artist in the world- Pasadena's Master Larry Tatum. Wiping away the tears I thought of all his training and hard work and about his teachers who spent so much time with him to bring him to this moment.
    However there were others who inspired my son through film. They were every bit a part of his training as were his teachers. There were many names but one in particular that I thought of was the late, great actor Mako.
     Makoto Iwamatsu was born in Japan in 1933. His parents were political dissidents and decided during World War II to send their son to the United States in the protection of his grandmother. His parents joined their son in 1949 and in the 1950's Makoto, who later shortened his name to Mako, joined the military in the 1950's.  He originally sought to be an architect but after perfroming in some military plays, he decided to hone his talent of acting.
     In 1956, he became a naturalized citizen and received acting training at the Pasadena Community Playhouse.Later, because he became disheartened with the stereotypical characters given to Asian actors, Mako with a few friends formed one of the first Asian American acting companies in America- The East, West Players Theater Company where he worked until 1989.
    Mako's talent was second to none.  He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 1966 film, The Sand Pebbles. His portrayal of the tortured/martyred coolie Po-Han was so gut wrentching and cathartic that I don't think I could see it another time.
    He received a Tony award nomination on Broadway for the 1976 play Pacific Overtures. He went on to star in 153 movies and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7095 Hollywood Blvd.
     Mako succumbed to esophageal cancer on July 21, 2006. Although it is true that he lost that battle, he more than won the war in the impeccable manner in which he lived his life. He left behind a legacy that most of us can only dream of.
      In addition to leaving behind a devoted wife and family who were all talented actresses, he, like Bruce Lee, gave the Asian people a face. It wasn't just any face however, but one of pride, honor, strength , dignity, respect and equanimity with the many characters of strength that he portrayed.
     One of Mako's roles will stay with me and my son forever. It is where he portrays the strong, kind and patient "Mr. Lee" in Chuck Norris' Sidekicks. Mako portrays a karate trainer who turns the life around of a boy who is bullied and has no self esteem. Every time Michael and I watch the film we go to the gym and train all the harder. He has always been part of our training and our lives. In this way, the man with the heart of a dragon and the name of the shark will always be with us.

"Thoughts backed by faith will overcome all obstacles"  Bruce Lee

PRO WRESTLING IS REAL.PEOPLE ARE FAKE

Story by Peter Vuono   (title by Kenny Anderson)

     I live in the Boston area. As I speak, a very festive parade is being given in Boston for the newly crowned NBA champs, the Celtics. so many of my friends live and die with the Boston sports teams and good for them for as their teams succeed, so too does the feeling of well being that it gives to the devoted fans.
     One thing, however that is somewhat germane to all this celebration is the fact that I rarely so much as dare tell people that I am not a fan of most conventional pro sports. People look askance at me when I tell them that the last time I was at Fenway was about 20 years ago when I was paid to make balloon animals for a charity softball game. They look at me as if I have two heads when I tell them that I was last at Gillette Stadium when it was Sullivan Stadium and I was watching Hulk Hogan wrestle the Iron Shiek. Because I have always been a wrestling fan, people look at me as if I were a low brow or someone who is completely factually unencumbered  when wrestling was, in fact, THE catalyst which caused me to lift weights and procure a career in teaching Special Children.
     Football, baseball and basket ball fans pay hundreds of dollars for tickets and nearly the same for parking. If their team doesn't win, they go away feeling like they lost a family member . A feeling that will linger for days. My son and I go to wrestling as "smarks", which is someone who is in tune to what is really happening  in the ring. We see the most unique bonding of entertainment, comedy and breath taking athleticism that anyone could possibly pay to see and we walk to the car with a feeling of great joy which caused us to forget our problems, but for only a few hours.
     The last big league I went to see(TNA) had the biggest names and yet, I paid only $35.00 per ticket and nothing for parking. People go to the movies in droves and pay millions to see a film based on pure fantasy, but I've never left a theater after a movie while listening to a patron complain that what he or she saw was"fake".
     Also, extreme violence often takes place after an important soccer, baseball or basketball game. We've seen cars burned and overturned, people trampled and in 2004 the very tragic demise of a 21 year old bystander at a Boston Sports celebration who was killed when a misplaced pepper ball hit her in the eye.
     I've not seen this type of violence after a wrestling match because it is perfectly constructed to allow the fans to vent while they are watching the events in the ring. Again, I DO hope that your team wins and that you savor the victory but do not besmirch those of us who love the only sport mentioned in the bible which told of Eve wrestling with her conscience in the book of Genesis and the story of Jacob who wrestled with an angel.
     Like the patrons of the ancient Roman arena, we too need our diversions; our bread and circus.
I am happy to hear about yours. Allow me to enjoy mine.


" I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones . For the common folks are like leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed".- The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz