-A black-tie affair at the “Sons of Italy Hall”-

No formal invitation is forwarded to 1017 Bedford

or any address in the neighborhood for that matter.

Word spread from mouth to mouth,

from the corner across the street from his house,

to the folding card tables at the crazy “Marconi Club”

where the old-timers drink port just beyond the billboards,––

to the counter at the “Columbus Cafe” waiting for “grinders”

of sausage and peppers, and inside "DeSpirito Brothers Barbershop"

tucked beneath yet another grouping of Saturday morning crewcuts.

snip, snip, “Yeah, my kid nephew’s going”! snip, snip, “Seventeen already”!

Lou Gasperini and his wife showed-up for supper again

and the four of them sat around the kitchen table talking, finalizing their plans.

“Who drove last time?”

(The “Sons of Italy Hall” sits two blocks east of 1017)

They’ll rent tuxedos from “Robert’s Formals” on Bedford––

Shoes and all, corner of South Main.

Their wives will pluck their “gowns” from the rack at “Cherry & Web”

half-block south of “Robert’s Formals”. Shoes, too.

Once a year.

The “gowns” and their matching shoes will be bought to own. 

It was Gasperini who said: “What the hell. Once a year? It’s worth it”.

                                                                    Quequechan