Don Lupara and I left the family compound after a hearty breakfast of fruit, smoked ham and Napoli croissants loaded with his wife’s stupendous orange marmalade from oranges from the family orchards in Ischia. With food like this perhaps the “Fat” in “Fat Fox” might have referred to the effects of all the tremendous NeapolitanContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 32: Scampia, Naples: Down and Dirty in the Cocaine and Heroin Factory and Costco Distribution Centre”
Category Archives: literature
RKS Health; Skyrocketing Health Costs in the United States and Decreasing Healthy Life Expectancy
“Back in 1980, the United States spent 8.2% of GDP on health-care, virtually the same as the second highest spending country (Germany at 8.1 percent) and just 1.7 percent above the average of ten comparable countries. But as discussed in the introduction, by 2019 American health-care spending had skyrocketed to 17.7 percent of US GDP.Continue reading “RKS Health; Skyrocketing Health Costs in the United States and Decreasing Healthy Life Expectancy”
“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 31: My One on One with Don Lupara (the Fat Fox): Invited to Join the “Family”
I knew Don Lupara wanted to speak to me in private. Hopefully it was not to slit my throat! So after dinner one night Don Lupara “invited” me for a chat, just him and me! We had yet another coffee and grappa. Boy those Italians drink coffee like water and just as fast! Don LuparaContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 31: My One on One with Don Lupara (the Fat Fox): Invited to Join the “Family””
“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous: Chapter 30: Meeting the Cocaine King in Naples: Better Toasted than Being Toast!
Ginevra and I flew to Naples via Frankfurt in mid November. Naples was almost warm when we arrived at 11 a.m. We were met by two burly men in the arrivals area. And wouldn’t you know one of the men was that heavily tattooed man with a scar on his face and Iroquois haircut thatContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous: Chapter 30: Meeting the Cocaine King in Naples: Better Toasted than Being Toast!”
RKS Health: The Central Strategy of Big Pharma
“Between 1991 and 2017, drug companies paid more than $38 billion in fines and settlements to federal and state governments: many of those companies-including Merck pleaded guilty to having misled doctors and the public about drug safety and efficacy. (GlaxoSmith Kline led the pack with $7.9 billion in financial penalties). Even so that seemingly enormousContinue reading “RKS Health: The Central Strategy of Big Pharma”
“The Penniless Pensioner” : Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 29: All Shook Up! The Fat Fox Backs Down
I mean how would you feel receiving a severed goat’s head via Fedex! And how would dear Ginerva feel about her little “currykins” (my nickname) being threatened by her Daddy! We both were all shook up. Ginerva requested we not talk about it until our Saturday “Discover New York Day”. She had a few callsContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner” : Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 29: All Shook Up! The Fat Fox Backs Down”
“The Penniless Pensioner: Chapter 27: Getting to Know My Sweet Italian Plum: Are Matters Getting Serious? Yoko and Ginerva Hit it Off
My assignment with the United Mutations in New York had concluded but I received a call from Squid asking if I was wiling to address world leaders at a United Nation’s General Assembly meeting to determine if the United Mutations should be granted observer status at the United Nations. You can imagine the preparation thatContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Chapter 27: Getting to Know My Sweet Italian Plum: Are Matters Getting Serious? Yoko and Ginerva Hit it Off”
“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 26: Getting to Know My Sweet Italian Plum Ginerva: Am I Playing with Molten Lava?
My romantic escapades have been brief and quite frankly have ended up in disaster. Minah ended up in psychiatric care, Reena was set ablaze by her evil mother-in-law and the Toad and her marriage obsession was enough to drive off any sensible young man. But heck better to have loved that not loved at all.Continue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 26: Getting to Know My Sweet Italian Plum Ginerva: Am I Playing with Molten Lava?”
“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 25: Finishing off with the United Mutations: John Lennon’s Panic Attack and The Beautiful Ginerva!
My assignment with the United Mutations in New York was rapidly completed. Drafting the Mutants Charter of Rights was somewhat challenging but with resourcefulness and creativity the task was easy. I cobbled together human rights bills and declarations from a year long course I took at the Cote St. Luc University Law School and withContinue reading ““The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 25: Finishing off with the United Mutations: John Lennon’s Panic Attack and The Beautiful Ginerva!”
RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Pontus Pilate’s View of Jesus
“Pilate had awakened, washed, anointed himself with aromatic oil, and was pacing nervously back and forth on the high solarium of his tower. He had never liked this Passover Day. The Jews drunk with their God, would work themselves into a frenzy, come to blows again with the Roman soldiers-and this year another massacre mightContinue reading “RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Pontus Pilate’s View of Jesus”
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