vic fortezza

I had another odd, vivid dream last night. In it, I was in bed and someone, probably my mom, was moving the quilt in the area of my feet. Then I heard an announcement over a loudspeaker. I approached a window and saw a repair shop set up in the driveway shared by the Mazzos and Venerusos. When I awoke it took me a moment to realize I was in Sheepshead Bay and not back in my old bedroom on Bay 37th. I was completely baffled, finding none of the wish fulfillment that Freud insists is at the root of every dream. Perhaps it was simply a desire to return to youth. I expect the repair shop aspect was triggered by the episode of the PBS/BBC drama New Tricks I watched last night, which focused on a motorcycle gang using its shop to smuggle drugs. I doubt the dream was triggered by the DVD I viewed, Largo Winch (2008), an international collaborative thriller about an adopted young man who inherits a fortune when his father is murdered. It was entertaining but familiar, beautifully shot and fast paced, moving so rapidly that the leaps in the plot didn't matter. It did have two memorable scenes: a leap from a cliff was especially exciting, as was the unique murder that set the story in motion. On a scale of five, three. On the other hand, real life killing is not exciting. As I was on my way to the bank in the old...

This week I have the honor of being profiled in the Brooklyn newspapers. My thanks to Sol, who led me to Eli Rosenberg, who wrote the article, and to Steve, the photographer. Here's the text, amended by my own comments: Brownstone Brooklyn has the title for the borough’s most literary land around, but a Brooklynite who sells his books on the streets of South Brooklyn says you don’t need a fancy bookstore to be a respected writer — but you can’t stay home, either. “If you don’t go out and sell it yourself, I believe it’s going to get lost (seven million books listed at Amazon),” said Vic Fortezza, a Bensonhurst(grew up there, now in Sheepshead Bay) native who peddles his three (four books: three novels, one story collection. Close to the Edge is temporarily sold out) novels on the streets of Sheepshead Bay and Bensonhurst four (six) days a week, in addition to selling them online. “Of course I hope for a tipping point where people will be buying online all the time, but I enjoy talking to people on the street, and I’ve made a lot of friends, it’s nice.” Fortezza, a former high school football coach (assistant) at Lafayette High School and data entry supervisor (assistant) on the New York Mercantile Exchange trading floor, has been writing since 1975 but only started selling his novels and short stories on the street (full time) after he was laid off in 2007 as electronic trading took over, he said. His...

We've all heard the old saying: "It pays to shop." I ignored it in large part when I had good cash flow. Not so the past four years, when I've watched every nickel. I've dreaded July, when the car insurance bill is due, the biggest hit of the year, which I always paid in full to take advantage of the discount. I was shocked to find that Liberty Mutual was raising my rate from $1400 to $1800. I sent an email to verify no mistake had been. I'm 62, have never had an accident, and have had only one moving violation in 40+ years, an illegal left at 5th Av. & 86th St. days after the edict first went into effect. I have the absolute minimum coverage. An official for LM responded that since I'd filled out a survey that showed an increase in my driving, my rate was increased. I'd calculated the eight trips back and forth to the airports I'd made, forgetting that I didn't play golf for a year and a half because of hip pain, which greatly reduced my car usage, which has been about 2500 miles per year. Anyway, I went to Esurance for a quote, which came in at about $1400. All State, which I'd had prior to LM, came in at $1500. Then I tried Geico, which I figured would be in the same ball park. I was ecstatic when the six-month figure was $501, an annual saving of $400 to $800 on the...

Yesterday, conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher mentioned an interesting development concerning a movie star's mom. I got the following from NYPost.com, editing it a tiny bit. It illustrates how intolerant some liberals can be: Brad Pitt’s mom, Jane, has faced a barrage of death threats and other slurs after writing to her local paper bashing President Obama and his positions on gay marriage and abortion. “Brad Pitt’s mom, die,” said one Twitter post, according to Web site Twitchy, while another tweet read, “[bleep] you, brad pitt's mom. the gay community made your kid a star, you whacko” and another says, “Brad Pitt’s mom wrote an anti-gay pro-Romney editorial. Kill the Bitch.” The venomous tweets erupted after the Moneyball star’s mother wrote a letter to her local Missouri paper, the Springfield News-Leader, saying of the upcoming election, “Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama — a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.” In the letter, Jane Pitt called Romney, “a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality.” Web site WND says it reached out to Jane Pitt about the vicious tweets, and that her voice conveyed “fear and despair.” WND spoke briefly with her and asked about...

I had a fun dream last night. I was riding the subway and seated next to me was none other than the lovely Tina Louise, the "movie star" among the odd group stranded on Gilligan's Island. She fell asleep and her head rested on my shoulder. When the train lurched suddenly, her face went to my lap and she shrieked. It's not hard to figure that the dream was grounded in lust, but I'm baffled as to why my mind chose the unfortunate Ms. Louise, beautiful though she was. True, her name did come up in conversation recently, but more than a week ago. Why hadn't my brain conjured Gina Lollobrigida or Sophia Loren or Raquel Welch or Gina Gershon, all of whom have a passing resemblance to the lust of my life, a certain Peggyann? I remember how amused I was when I first learned Peggy wasn't short for Margaret. Her parents had given her a little girl's name, apparently not envisioning the voluptuous beauty she would become. Life never ceases to amaze. Thanks, Tina. Sorry my warped mind made you part of my dreams. I've had my first personal encounter with Obamacare. I got a letter from my healthcare provider. I have only hospitalization, which cost me $164 per month. I assumed the bill was due. To my surprise, a check was enclosed for $192. There is a facet of the new law dubbed the 80/20 Rule, which means a firm must spend 80% of the money it takes...