“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 37: Caught in the Gunfire: John Lennon Down!

I arrived at JFK Airport in New York on a late and foggy November evening, Given the water damage to my unit at the Dakota I made reservations for myself at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South. I checked in had a double Martini (the best in New York aside from the Yale Club) and had a brisk walk to the Dakota. I had chatted with John Lennon upon my check in and we were to meet to inspect the damage to the unit. John had let my insurance company adjuster in to assess the damage last week.

The doorman announced my arrival to John who came down to meet me at the lobby. We headed up to my unit. The kitchen ceiling had collapsed leaving a terrible mess and John said the disaster recovery service hired by the insurance company cleaned up the mess but the damage was so extensive a new kitchen would be required. All the hardwood floors adjacent to the kitchen had been saturated with water and had buckled. They would have to be replaced. A terrible inconvenience. John asked me up for a gin and tonic. He comforted me on my mini-disaster and to cheer me up invited me to see “The Elephant Man” on Broadway starring Bowie on December 9th with James Taylor and Yoko. John would never hesitate to extend his compassion to many.

I dealt with the insurance company and architects over the next few days and in no time construction was underway. I had my daily noon call with Ginevra and noting her increasing tension on each successive call I asked my sweet Campanian plum why she was stressed. Well Cyclops was becoming more threatening with Daddy, Don Lupara. Could I come back as soon as possible. I said I would return to Naples on December 11.

John asked me to meet him on December 8th in the service delivery entrance of the Dakota so we could head out to Jamaica New York for a late-night roti. I headed down to meet his limo around 22:00 hours. His limo approached and he exited with Yoko. I heard several loud cracks just when I was approaching John. A hot fiery pain seared my shoulder and I spun around hitting the pavement. John was down immediately saying numerous times that he had been shot. With blood pouring out from my shoulder and ready to pass out I staggered over to John. Yoko was standing over him sobbing. I took his hand and said to John that I had been shot and we would both be OK and walking in Central Park again. He looked very bad with multiple wounds. After I heard gurgling sounds coming from his mouth when he attempted to speak I passed out. I recall saying to myself how much sicker the United States could get. A man of peace gunned down.

Misadventures in Wine: Chapter 2: Wine Drinker Profiles: “The Nationalists”

The Nationalist supports the wineries in the country or territory resided in. The support may be even narrower than that and be limited to provinces/states within a country. For example a Canadian residing in the province of Ontario could decide to drink wines from all provinces of Canada or may focus on wines from Ontario. An American in New York could decide to support wines from New York. The Nationalist support could be an absolute or a preferential one.

The Nationalist supports not only the winery but all facets of the economy involved in wine production that would include but not be limited to labour, transportation, winery equipment and supportive professional services. It is not simply a bottle of wine but the spin-off benefits of wine production to the economy.

Commendable as if your local economy benefits well then so do you.

If your chosen jurisdiction makes a wide variety of wines the Nationalist approach just might satisfy the palate but that is a rare jurisdiction. For example in the province of Ontario if you prefer red wines you can cruise along with Gamay, Marechal Foch, Cabernet Franc and perhaps Pinot Noir but no such luck can be found with so many other grapes not even grown in Ontario such as Carménère from Chile . A Nationalist wine drinker might fare even better by focusing on wines produced throughout Canada which would include British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia but still so many wines are produced ex-Canada the Nationalist would be depriving themselves out of a vast array of wines. Some wine drinkers can co-exist with that deprivation. Some can’t.

On occasion politics may come into play. When the Trumpster was on his blustering mumbles insulting Canadians (and just about everything else but himself) I encountered many Canadian wine drinkers happy to give a cold shoulder to American wines.

There is no need to criticize the Nationalists as if they are a happy lot why butt in! You may love that foot trodden Touriga Nacional from the Douro but the Nationalist couldn’t give a damn.

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 36: Let’s Plan the Future with My Sweet Campanian Plum That is Eating Three Pizzas at a Shot? John Lennon to the Rescue!

Upon our return to Naples we continued our holiday mode for a few weeks seeing the sites of Naples and eating for three. Ginevra was expanding rapidly. It would be two pizzas for dinner and many scoops of gelato afterwards. As my sweet Campanian plum was expanding rapidly my confusion was as well.

After a pizza extravaganza where Ginevra ate three tasty artichoke and anchovy pizzas it was time for a chat. What was our future aside from founding a branch of Weight Watchers in Naples?

Of course, we were deeply in love. But love must be tested.

What was our role in Naples? Ginevra had no doubts. We were to stay in Naples. We were to prepare to step into the shoes of Don Lupara when he was retired. Not when he retired but when he was “retired’. Don Ginevra was to rule the Scampian narcotics business and I was her head of the crews doing the on the ground business. An enforcer, executioner and arm of the family. Entertaining the crew and burying the endless cadavers and ensuring the families had a “survivor’s pension”. I would need lessons in Neapolitan, arms training and narcotic purity training.

My life was to be one of crime, violence, benevolence, paternalism and terror.

It had a ruthless attraction but heck I was a lawyer upholding the law or so thought I but as I knew very well lawyers served the highest bidder like hired guns, defending street rapists and corporate rapists depending on who was paying the bills. But a ruthless thug? My dad Paneer Gupta was a hashish dealer in a milieu where all shared the trade as opposed to wiping out each other over minor transgressions. I was coming to the conclusion my sweet Campanian plum might just be no better than a Campanian Charles Manson.

Thank goodness I received a call from my pal John Lennon saying there had been a bad flood at the Dakota and my unit was damaged and I should come home…home? Where was my home? So saying adieu to Ginevra I headed back to New York to deal with the Dakota situation.

In the horizon tragedy upon tragedy was awaiting!

Misadventures in Wine

Chapter One: Wine Drinker Profiles: The “I Don’t Care” Crowd

These drinkers may differentiate between red and white wine and have price points but one bottle of wine is just a bottle of wine. Country of origin or appellation makes no difference. A Zinfandel from Mexico or Lodi or a Pinot Noir from Lake Erie North Shore or the Willamette Valley makes no impression or invokes any curiosity. In fact a Pinot Noir or a Plavic Mali makes no difference. Red is red. White is white.

Are these wine drinkers to be pitied?

That rather depends on who is doling out the pity! Pity isn’t going to help these easily pleased people. They don’t twist and turn in bed at night worrying about terroir, acidity, tannins, length or cellarbility. Oenophiles may smirk and say ignorance is bliss but if the “I Don’t Care Crowd” doesn’t care or know about their ignorance let them revel in their contentment. Back off with your judgement! Adam and Eve were in bliss until the apple was eaten.

They are perfectly at ease ordering a glass of wine in a restaurant not knowing how many days the bottle from the pour has been open. Was the pour from a 4-litre tetra pack of Spanish wine brought in in tankers like oil? Was it used in a sauce preparation or to swill the toilet bowls. These people are a sommelier nightmare! But they don’t have the nightmare. The sommelier does!

RKS 2023 Wine: Can the Baron Deliver?

If Miguel Torres from Spain can make wine in Chile so can Baron Phillipe de Rothschild! Is it a question of a flashy name attracting attention or is there quality here?

The wine is a Carménère named Escudo Rojo from the Valle de Colchagua in Chile.

Aromatics: Telltale notes of raspberry, strawberry and some blackberry. With those aromas in my experience we are in for a winner. Accentuated by a wisp of milk chocolate.

Palate: What strikes me is an example of near perfect acidity which alerts you as to its presence in a gentle and assertive way without crossing the line to wreck the wine. There is firmness holding back the raspberry, strawberry and black cherry but it is still discernable and requires another couple more years in the bottle or an hour of decanting. Basically still a youthful wine.

Personality: I may be a juvenile but all my credentials are in order so don’t call me a juvenile delinquent.

Food Match: We have an excess of wild boar in Canada. In fact there is a bounty on them. If you are going to kill the brutes at least make some Tuscan Wild Boar Stew and enjoy this wine. Wild boar can be nasty. My friend Walter loves fishing and when staying at an estate in Tuscany he went out in the underbrush to fish at a pond. He was charged by a wild boar and luckily rediscovered his track and field skills and took off.

Cellaring: Due to a lack of a firm tannic structure I think the wine will improve in the bottle during 2023 but I suggest drinking by the end of 2024.

Price: $20.95 (Ontario).

In a nutshell: A good introduction for those not familiar with Carménère and for those who appreciate it. Raspberry notes are often a “trademark” of Pinot Noir but they are also a sign of a quality Carménère.

RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 92/100. Jamessuckling.com 92/100.

(Escudo Rojo Reserva 2020 Carménère, D.O. Valle de Colchagua, Baron Phillipe de Rothschild, Buin, Chile, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 14058, 750 mL, 14%).

RKS Book Review: “sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It” by John Abramson, MD, MSc

“sickening” is authored by John Abramson (MD, MSc). Abramson has been on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for 25 years. He has been a family physician for 22 years and has acted as an expert witness in litigation against various pharmaceutical companies. He has written numerous academic articles and a book “Overdo$ed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine”. If we have a critique of American Big Pharma here is a man with the credentials to deliver it.

In Part 1 Abramson discusses the failures of American Big Pharma concerning Vioxx, Neurotonin, statins and insulin using in simple terms case studies of the victims of these drugs. Abramson points out that despite the failures and shortcoming of these drugs which may surface in fines and lost court cases Big Pharma may still walk away with sizeable profits. Big Pharma is designed for profits so volume sales are key which can be driven in part by manipulated clinical trials and less than impartial journal articles. Put crudely it is SELL SELL SELL and damn the consequences.

Part II delves into how physicians may be misled and manipulated by Big Pharma and less than impartial clinical studies. It also explores how commercial interests have great control over medical knowledge.

 Part III sets forth certain recommendations on how the Big Pharma mess weaking havoc on the American health care system can be repaired.

While the book is American in focus there are nuggets that can apply to other jurisdictions. What may be revealing to readers is that despite the highest spending on health care the health of Americans is declining as Big Pharma disasters and profits keep rising. In fact American healthy life expectancy is plummeting. And since 2000 American’s healthy life expectancy has plummeted from 38th in the world to sixty-eighth in 2019 (now behind China, Cuba and Jamaica). Citizens of Japan live 8 years longer in good health and Canadians live 5.2 years longer in good health than Americans do.”

I am left with an impression of an American health care system verging on Big Pharma corruption operating with an insatiable quest for profit to the detriment of the health of millions of Americans. From my research on medical cannabis it was used prior to its criminalization in 1937 in the United States for over 2,000 cannabis medical preparations. Its criminalization corresponded with the rise of Big Pharma. Ask your physician about the benefits and they may respond that apart from its recognized “and documented” efficacy for epilepsy (even if they are aware of that) its benefits are anecdotal and not supported by clinical trials! I bet you they will jump on the bandwagon for synthetic cannabis manufactured by Big Pharma. Big Pharma does its job well.

At times the read is a bit too technical for the average reader and may be better suited for physicians and health care professionals.

“Sickening”, a Mariner Books publication, retails for $28 in the United States and $35 in Canada

RKS 2023 Film: “She Is…”: Another Painful Journey Along the Child Sexual Abuse Road

Unfortunately, documentaries dealing with personal stories of child sexual abuse are not uncommon. Previously to viewing “She Is..” I have reviewed the Canadian film “Because We Are Girls” and the American film “Relative” and all three films point a finger of the abuser as friends of the family or family members. Years ago we were often told as children beware of strangers. Yes beware of the pervert with a lollipop trying to lure children into his car but the greater danger so as to speak lies more within.

Isabella Grosso tells us her painful recollections of child abuse. Between the ages of 5-17 she recalls 7 different abusers as men and women including some teenage cousins. None of the abusers were strangers.

In 2014 Grosso, a dancer, then founded “She -Is”. Grosso found comfort in dance which gave her a degree of peace and a sense of empowerment to re-connect with her body. The “She-Is” organization seeks to bring some peace to victims of sexual abuse and sex trafficking through dance. In addition to operating in the United States she has taken her “mission” to a certain Southeast Asian country where child sexual abuse is particularly rampant. It is never stated in the film which country it is in Southeast Asia but I surmise it is Thailand. Grosso has partnered with Destiny Rescue in Fort Wayne Indiana which rescues both young men and women from sex trafficking. So we see Grosso in action with young girls and women in a certain Southeast Asian country assisted by Destiny Rescue.

We hear from a therapist in the United States who chillingly states that sexual abuse is a national pastime in the United States surpassing baseball. It is twice as common with girls as opposed to boys. Sexual abuse can be generational often resulting in a more fatalistic attitude of mothers thinking it is part of life. The therapist makes an interesting point that sexual abuse takes place in a relationship and the only way to escape and try and heal is through a relationship(s).

For Grosso dance is not a cure as she still suffers from the trauma of sexual abuse but bravo to her for trying to reach out.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that Grosso and her bright eyed and bushy tailed American fellow dancers have a certain naïve zeal almost missionary like. A look at the Destiny Rescue website leaves me with the impression that it is a Christian fundamentalist organization. I wouldn’t have given much to that but having watched documentaries on the displacement of indigenous populations in Brazil due to hydro electric projects and the wreckage of towns housing the displaced where sexually transmitted diseases, violence and addiction run rampant it is the evangelical Christians there to save the day. One is left with an unpleasant feeling they are there looking for converts like vultures as opposed to fighting the conditions and politics leading to the displacement and degradation of indigenous populations.  A Destiny Rescue volunteer seen in the documentary in this Southeast Asian Country is an American wearing a “This is America” t-shirt and criticizing local culture partially as a cause of sexual abuse. That begs the question what about the culture of the United States that fosters abuse. Holier than thou?  What about the culture of debauched Americans and Europeans doing the abusing in that “certain Southeast Asia country? Enough said.

The documentary is an exclusive release by Gravitas Ventures on digital/VOD platforms including Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and more on 17January2023. The film is directed by Zuzana Lova.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/773947528/782a5dadc9

RKS 2023 Film Rating 73/100.

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 35: A Break from the Killing and Violence: There are Now Two Daddies!

It was time out for a bit of sightseeing outside Naples suggested Ginevra and I agreed. We would be tailed only by two men in a car. Ginevra explained to me a cardinal rule of the Neapolitan Camorra that in the case of hostilities between family’s woman and children would be spared violence and death provided they were not directly involved in the narcotic trade. Ginevra was not involved in the narcotic trade….at least not to my knowledge. Security was much less stringent than it was in Naples. But didn’t Don Lupara just execute two fourteen-year-olds, Guido and Lino. In his own crew? Why was Ginevra carrying her ancient Smith and Wesson six shooter in a shoulder holster? These Neapolitans are complicated people. We would visit Vesuvius, Sorrento and Capri and take separate rooms “out of respect for Daddy”.

The ruins at Vesuvius: Photo Robert K. Stephen

Vesuvius was eerie. So many people died. The ruins were a stark reminder of the horror for those who choose not to flee. Some bodies were mummified in ash. Ruins indicated that Vesuvius was a flourishing town. We went to a wine tasting at a consortium of vineyard owners that grew their grapes in the volcanic soil on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. We stayed at the Vesuvius Four Seasons and had a fabulous dinner in the Michelin starred “Hot Lava” Restaurant. We both enjoyed the post dinner “spook tour” in Vesuvius. Our security detail kept a discrete distance from us.

Our security detail Ciro and Generra: Photo Robert K. Stephen

The next morning off to Sorrento to wander around the streets. I asked Ginevra why she was purchasing so many baby clothes. She replied that they were for her cousin Maria de Mamabravo a childhood friend who was expecting any day. We discovered a stupendous seafood restaurant and had one of the best Neapolitan pizzas ever. Of course, Ginevra knew that Daddy had been supplying all the pizza cheese to Sorrento restaurants and it was made with low quality Sicilian cheese. Ginevra knowing the owner asked for “the other cheese” a code for not my Daddy’s crap. Our seafood dinner was caught only hours before and so damn fresh and tasty. No farm raised crap for Daddy’s little girl. We headed to Capri on the ferry the next morning. The port area was tawdry but we took a taxi to Ano Capri up the mountain and were rewarded with a spectacular view. What a pleasure to stroll on the quiet side streets. We had a relaxed lunch and goodness Ginevra was tucking into the pasta like it was her last meal. I’d love her fat or thin and when I remarked she was getting a bit chubby she smiled in that mischievous way and said that she was “eating for two”. WHAT! I really missed the boat on this one. I had to ask what she just said and the response that she was 4 months pregnant with our “little precious one”. I was dumfounded and could barely say anything. Seeing I was in deep shock she smiled and said that I would be a Daddy just like her Daddy!

A pizza in Sorrento with “the other cheese”: Photo Robert K. Stephen

RKS 2023 Wine: Breaking a Recent String of Chilean Red Wine Mediocrity? Cardboard and Cement?

After attending the Toronto Drink Chile event in November 2022 sponsored by the Wines of Chile I made an effort to sample the wines of the participating wineries and was well rewarded with stellar wines from Las Veletas, Perez Cruz, Miguel Torres Chile and San Pedro Tarapaca. Since then it has been a slide downhill from the non-participating wineries.

Hoping this downhill slide can be arrested we try a Casas Del Toqui 2019 Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon from the Cachapoal Valley.

Aromatics: By the nose it looks like yet another stiff and tight Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon! Black cherry, blackberry and all said and done this wine is so locked up not even parole would seem to liberate it.

Palate: Moderate tannins. One has the impression there is fruit struggling to coat the palate but it is lost in the maze. Slight notes of concrete “compliment” the carboard on the nose I was reluctant to admit to.

Personality: This wine writer is insulting me. I am tightly wound up but why not give me a few years to mature? If you don’t have cellar to let me blossom it is obvious you have no patience to let me mature.

Cellarbility: There are sufficient tannins and repressed fruit that just might blossom like some 1970 Bordeaux but I for one do not think it will happen. It is so barren now I would rather take a risk with a Chilean winery that has already excelled and that I can trust. If a winery gets one chance this winery has blown it. I might adopt a Ronald Reagan “three strikes and you’re out” approach, Casas del Toqui you have two more strikes.

Food Match: You know what this means: a Friday night pizza and burger wine or use it in cooking some coq au vin.

Personality: Dull and boring.

Price: $19.95 (Ontario).

RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 68/100. Jamessuckling.com 93/100.

(Casas del Toqui 2019 Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, D.O. Cachapoal Valley, Casas de Toqui, Requinoa, Chile, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 25278, 750 mL, 14%).

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned But Marvellous”: Chapter 34: Ginevra Get Your Gun: Is My Sweet Campanian Plum a Ruthless Killer?

Dear reader you must sense I am all shook up. A gangland attack and a cold-blooded execution of two young teenagers Guido and Lino by Don Lupara all in one day. If it wasn’t for my sweet Campanian plum Ginevra, I would be hightailing it out this Neapolitan Truman Capote nightmare.

I was reeling even further when Ginevra said I should be a man and suck it up. As for those teens she made a cruel remark that the little two-timing shits deserved it!

She relented somewhat and with a cuddle and a kiss suggested we go visit the old family summer compound on the Bay of Naples. So the following day flanked by a heavily armed security team we drove off with a picnic lunch and a bottle of Lacryma de Christi red wine from grapes grown in volcanic soils on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

The summer compound was in a ramshackle state but on a beautiful beach. Ginevra said it would be ours and would be fully renovated by Daddy and Mommy as our wedding gift.

Our view from the family compound on the Bay of Naples: Photo Robert K. Stephen

Ginerva took her bag from one of the cars and pulled out a machine gun, pistols and an anti-tank weapon. Looking me in eye she said it was time for target practice? Mannequins had been placed at several different distances and before I knew it her barrage of bullets had smashed the mannequins to smithereens. I found it odd she had a Smith and Wesson revolver from the 1860’s. Very Annie Oakley I thought. The last target was an old rowboat that some of the security detail had placed 100 metres off the shore. Ginevra lifted the huge anti-tank weapon like it was a toothpick aimed and blew the rowboat out of the water in a huge yellow and orange explosion. She suggested it was my turn next! I responded perhaps some other day!  With a big smile Ginerva asked what I thought of her skills. I was too dumbfounded to answer. She responded it was time to talk about our future. Indeed it was!