Short stories and essays by Shaun Costello, as well as excerpts from manuscripts in progress.

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THE DUCK INCIDENT

THE DUCK INCIDENT

The dates are accurate. The times are approximate

Tuesday April 4, 2023 between 5PM and 6PM

I live in the Charleston Cay apartment complex on Harbor View Drive in Punta Gorda. The complex consists of ten two story buildings surrounding a large pond. The tenants here share the pond with a large number of sea birds: Cormorants, Heron, Egrets, Ibis, Muscovy Ducks and an occasional Pelican. The presence of these birds is a joy to the tenants.

I looked out my window and saw a woman with a mop or a broom, swinging that mop or broom at a number of ducks, while yelling at them and chasing them. I immediately ran outside and yelled at this woman, “Stop chasing these ducks right now. Animal abuse is a crime in Florida. Stop right now or I will call the Sheriff’s office”. She answered, “Go ahead and call. There’s nothing they can do to me”. So I went back in to my apartment and called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s office. When I reported the incident to the woman who answered the phone I was told that the Sheriff’s office could do nothing about this incident. Even though animal abuse is a crime in Florida, they refused to address it. Instead, I was told to report this incident to the Animal Welfare League.

Wednesday April 5, 2023 10AM

When the Animal Welfare League did not answer their phone, I sent them an email detailing the previous day’s incident. About an hour later I received a reply by email telling me that they were basically a shelter that finds homes for stray cats and dogs, and had no authority to intercede regarding animal abuse. They suggested that I contact the Animal Control office as well as the FWC. When I called Animal Control they listened carefully, and asked for the woman’s name and address. I didn’t know the woman’s name, but I gave them her address and apartment number. The man on the phone told me that he wopuld try to get someone from his office to go to that address and speak to this woman about the consequences for animal abuse.

Thursday April 6, 2023 3PM

I answered a knock on my door to find two uniformed Sheriff’s Deputies and a young girl, maybe 18 years old. The leader of this Posse was DFC Boss #2406, a short, nasty man with an agenda all his own. He informed me that the woman who had chased the ducks two days earlier, had called the Sheriff’s office an hour before, and had falsely reported that I had been stalking and harassing her, and that she was afraid for her safety. I, of course, had not seen or spoken to this person since telling her to stop chasing the ducks, two days earlier. So this woman first commits Animal Abuse, which is a crime in the state of Florida, and now files a false police report, which, I believe, is also a crime. This woman has now committed two crimes, and uniformed Sheriff’s Deputies are knocking on MY door. DFC Boss was arrogant and accusatory, having obviously bought into this woman’s preposterous accusations. I was furious and told him so. The Sheriff’s office refused to intercede in an incident of Animal Abuse, which is a crime in the state of Florida, and now is knocking on the door of an honest, 79 year old, tax paying citizen and Veteran, at the behest of this demented woman’s fairy tales. I was unyielding in my disgust at DFC Boss’s behavior, and let him know it

Friday April 7, 2013 6AM

I awaken, make coffee, at sit down at my computer, which is how I begin each day. I found that my Facebook page has been deleted from their web site. I have been hacked in the past, and my Facebook Page tampered with, but this was more serious. I wondered if it was possible that this woman, who had gotten away with committing two crimes in one week, was responsible for hacking my computer. She had obviously gotten my name from DFC Boss, and it was an easy task to find that I had a Facebook page, as many people do. Did she do it? I really didn’t know, but considering her behavior, it was certainly possible. So I called the Sheriff’s office and reported this latest episode in my dispute with this woman. It took me several hours to retrieve my Facebook page, and it now functions properly. My hope is that this woman will tire of vengeful behavior,  and resume her life. Considering her criminal behavior, I seriously doubt it.

*

Posted by  |  April 8, 2023 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

DON’T TREAD ON ME

There was once an American flag that said that. But those were the good old days when men were men, and women were pregnant, kitchen-bound and obedient. And if you wanted a negro, you could buy one. There was greatness in the land back then. I’ve lost patience and tolerance for those, whose refusal to get vaccinated endangers their friends, neighbors, and even family members. Many will say that mandating vaccine is in violation of their constitutional rights. Rights to what, I wonder? Polling has shown that most of the states experiencing spikes in covid have republican governors, and a republican majority in their legislatures. They listened to Trump’s “Miracle” speeches and believed every word. Evidently, they still do. And so they are contracting covid in numbers far greater than states who have followed science, and reason. Most scientists will tell you that covid is here to stay, and that it will adapt to out attempts to prevent it. That vaccinations for this pandemic will become annual events, like flu shots. It’s a new world. And this new world will be populated by fewer numbers of racists, white supremacists and evangelicals, whose refusal of science will diminish their demographics. Like a cleansing of the species. Like the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Posted by  |  July 19, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | 6 Comments

THE GODFATHER THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

THE GODFATHER THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

 

by Shaun Costello

The new version of the blockbuster classic

 

In a recent trip to my local library, I came across a crisp, new paperback edition of The Godfather. I have seen the movies (I and II) an embarrassing number of times, but read the book just once, in 1969 when it was first published. So I took it home, curious to know if it still packed the original wallop that made it a blockbuster best seller. The opening pages contained two introductory pieces. The first was headlined A NOTE FROM ANTHONY PUZO, SON OF MARIO PUZO, and it was in caps, as I have written it here. It was two pages of unreadable gibberish, intended, I suppose, to give this volume some kind of familial, folksy varnish, an idea probably hatched in the eager mind of an underpaid, over-confident wannabe in a cubicle at Penguin Random House, where ideas like this one flourish until they flounder of their own mistaken value.

A NOTE FROM ANTHONY PUZO, SON OF MARIO PUZO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next came an Introduction by Robert J. Thompson, who turns out to be (I’ll insert this verbatim) The Founding Director of the Center for Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, where he is also the Trustee Professor of Media and Popular Culture at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Eleven pages of hyperbolic hipster speak

Well, that’s a dizzying title indeed. I wonder how it fits on his business card. It seems that this worthy academic has published five volumes, all about television, and is now busy finishing his sixth, a history of the medium. The introduction, entitled Introduction, was eleven pages of hyperbolic hipster speak, the pages numbered, as intros so often are, in Roman Numerals. Eleven glib and wittily urbane pages seemingly designed to place Mr. Thompson somewhere between being the lost Corleone son that Puzo left out of the book, and someone you might bump into para-gliding at Club Med, wearing an ill-fitting speedo. And certainly, someone to avoid, should you find yourself behind him on line at Starbucks.

Publishers mystify me. Can there be a book, other than Mein Kampf or The Bible, that has reaped higher revenues for its imprint, down through the years, than The Godfather? I’m guessing not. Yet, at a new projects meeting, in the conference room at Penguin Random House, as ideas were suggested around the table, some young literary Turk spoke up and said, “Maybe it’s time for another go-round with The Godfather”, which was probably received, in equal measure, with the appropriate grunts and moans. To which our young hero responded, “No wait, it might work. Provided we package it correctly. Let’s get someone who knew the author well, maybe a Puzo family member, to write a short introductory piece. And then a project narrative by a media writer. God knows, there’s no shortage of them. We include them as ‘extras’, like a director’s commentary track on a DVD. Packaging. That’s the ticket”.

Valachi’s startling testimony made J. Edgar Hoover look like a fool

 

 

Ideas like this are not necessarily suicidal, provided somebody rides heard over them, supervising quality control over who is chosen to write the ‘extras’, and what is written. But, more often than not, corporate auto pilot takes over, and important details are ignored. Hey, it’s The Godfather. They’re going to buy it no matter what. So, an intern was tasked with going through all those dust covered rolodexes in the storage room to come up with a willing Puzo family member. This process yielded Anthony Puzo, the author’s son, who gladly agreed to write a few pages about the pain his father went through in struggling to create his masterpiece. And a quick Google search revealed an unlimited number of media writers, with Robert J. Thompson’s name up there at the top of the list. An academic with a title a big as the Ritz. Thompson quickly agreed to deliver eleven pages on The Godfather’s impact on Pop culture over the 48 years of its existence. Hey, the guy’s a Trustee Professor. Whatever he writes will be just fine. Even if it’s eleven pages of self-indulgent clap trap, constructed to portray Thompson’s awareness of the impact of the Godfather on pop culture, rather than the impact itself, and as a result, exuding the coolness this academic feels is his due.

A Family Affair

 

The packaging aside, let’s get to the book itself. It still works. It’s a well-constructed story, with colorful, memorable characters, a brisk pace, and a satisfying conclusion. The only real fault I could find with it is Puzo’s prose. While his descriptive narrative is fine, the dialogue is sometimes awkward and forced. Also, the male-female relationships seem a product of the era (the 1940’s), and the characters (depression era Italian Americans). That said, many of the conversations between the sexes are cringe-worthy. The addition of Francis Ford Coppola, as co-writer for the movie screen plays vastly improved the dialogue, and cleaned up much of the book’s murky areas.

Because of his friendship with then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Peter was given unlimited access to Joe Valachi in his prison cell.

When I asked him about Puzo, Peter took the high road, which was typical of him.

 

This brings us to a question I have asked myself many times over the years. Could Mario Puzo have written The Godfather, had not Peter Maas written The Valachi Papers? Although published in 1968, Maas wrote most of his book between 1963 and 1965. Valachi’s startling revelations about organized crime in America, before Senator John McClellan’s Senate Subcommittee in 1963, proved to be an embarrassment to J. Edgar Hoover, who had insisted for over thirty years, that the Mafia did not exist in America. Between 1963 and 1965, because of his friendship with then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Peter Maas was given unlimited access to interview Joe Valachi in his prison cell. These extensive interviews would eventually yield Maas’s book, The Valachi Papers. But Hoover was dead set against the publication of a book, the contents of which would make him out to be a fool. After Kennedy left office, in 1965, Hoover put pressure on Lyndon Johnson to lean on Kennedy’s replacement at Attorney General, Nicholas Katzenbach, to prevent the publication of Maas’s book.

 

For over two years, Maas negotiated with Washington to get some version of his manuscript published. He finally succeeded in getting approval to publish a heavily censored version, and The Valachi papers was finally published in June of 1968. Much of Valachi’s elaborate testimony before Congress in 1963, was revealed and expanded in Maas’s book, and America became aware of the details surrounding the enormous criminal enterprise that J. Edgar Hoover had repeatedly insisted was non-existent.

Joe Valachi in his prison cell, photographed by Peter Maas.

 

The details, and the history of La Cosa Nostra both shocked and fascinated the world. Joe (Joe Cargo – shortened to Joe Cago) Valachi was born in 1904, in East Harlem to an impoverished Italian American family. He ran with a gang of thieves, committing small burglaries until finally being inducted, in a formal ceremony, into The Genovese crime family. The book revealed his involvement in The Castellammarese War in the early 1930’s. This war pitted the two most powerful crime bosses of that era against each other. Joe (The Boss) Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano would battle for supremacy in New York’s criminal underworld. These were two old time gangsters, called by the younger soldiers “Mustache Petes”. They would compete in deadly combat for the title of Capo di tutti capi (Boss of all bosses). After the death of both gangsters, an organization was formed by this criminal society’s rising star, Charles Lucky Luciano, who would consolidate New York’s criminal gangs into the Five New York Families, overseen by an organization known as The Commission, that would resolve disputes between the Families peacefully. This organization would become known, among its members as La Cosa Nostra or This Thing of Ours. Details were revealed in Maas’s book, like the oath of Omerta, or silence, adhered to by members under penalty of death. The sacred ceremony of admission to La Cosa Nostra. The structure of the society, imitating the hierarchical fundamentals of the Roman Legions. Details about the characters, the language, and the structure of this criminal society were now public knowledge, due to Valachi’s testimony, and Maas’s book.

Lucky Luciano would consolidate New York’s criminal gangs into the Five New York Families.

 

A year later, in March of 1969, The Godfather was published to rave reviews, and quickly became the best selling novel in the history of publishing. And what was contained on the pages of The Godfather? The oath of Omerta, The Five Families. The Commission, the language of this criminal society; all originally revealed a year earlier in The Valachi Papers. Could this be coincidence?

 

I knew Peter Maas pretty well when I lived in The Hamptons. Many of us played tennis on Peter’s har-tru court, at his house in Bridgehampton. So, one day I asked him. Did Mario Puzo ever call him up to thank him? He took the high road, which was typical of Peter. He told me that he knew Mario, and liked him. The Valachi Papers, while not yielding the fortune Puzo had made with The Godfather, had also been a best seller, making Maas quite a bit of money. He was sanguine.

Be my friend….Godfather.

 

My conclusion, from all that is written above, is that The Godfather could never have been the iconic literary conflagration it became, without the publication of The Valachi Papers, a year earlier. Peter Maas had supplied Mario Puzo with the historical events, the characterizations, the language, the structure of La Cosa Nostra, and the every-day experience of ‘life in the mob’, without which, The Godfather could never have been written. 

 

 

 

The Godfather could never have been written, had not Peter Maas published The Valachi Papers a year earlier.

 

*

 

©  2018  Shaun Costello

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by  |  August 18, 2018 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE DUCK INCIDENT

THE DUCK INCIDENT

The dates are accurate. The times are approximate

Tuesday April 4, 2023 between 5PM and 6PM

I live in the Charleston Cay apartment complex on Harbor View Drive in Punta Gorda. The complex consists of ten two story buildings surrounding a large pond. The tenants here share the pond with a large number of sea birds: Cormorants, Heron, Egrets, Ibis, Muscovy Ducks and an occasional Pelican. The presence of these birds is a joy to the tenants.

I looked out my window and saw a woman with a mop or a broom, swinging that mop or broom at a number of ducks, while yelling at them and chasing them. I immediately ran outside and yelled at this woman, “Stop chasing these ducks right now. Animal abuse is a crime in Florida. Stop right now or I will call the Sheriff’s office”. She answered, “Go ahead and call. There’s nothing they can do to me”. So I went back in to my apartment and called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s office. When I reported the incident to the woman who answered the phone I was told that the Sheriff’s office could do nothing about this incident. Even though animal abuse is a crime in Florida, they refused to address it. Instead, I was told to report this incident to the Animal Welfare League.

Wednesday April 5, 2023 10AM

When the Animal Welfare League did not answer their phone, I sent them an email detailing the previous day’s incident. About an hour later I received a reply by email telling me that they were basically a shelter that finds homes for stray cats and dogs, and had no authority to intercede regarding animal abuse. They suggested that I contact the Animal Control office as well as the FWC. When I called Animal Control they listened carefully, and asked for the woman’s name and address. I didn’t know the woman’s name, but I gave them her address and apartment number. The man on the phone told me that he wopuld try to get someone from his office to go to that address and speak to this woman about the consequences for animal abuse.

Thursday April 6, 2023 3PM

I answered a knock on my door to find two uniformed Sheriff’s Deputies and a young girl, maybe 18 years old. The leader of this Posse was DFC Boss #2406, a short, nasty man with an agenda all his own. He informed me that the woman who had chased the ducks two days earlier, had called the Sheriff’s office an hour before, and had falsely reported that I had been stalking and harassing her, and that she was afraid for her safety. I, of course, had not seen or spoken to this person since telling her to stop chasing the ducks, two days earlier. So this woman first commits Animal Abuse, which is a crime in the state of Florida, and now files a false police report, which, I believe, is also a crime. This woman has now committed two crimes, and uniformed Sheriff’s Deputies are knocking on MY door. DFC Boss was arrogant and accusatory, having obviously bought into this woman’s preposterous accusations. I was furious and told him so. The Sheriff’s office refused to intercede in an incident of Animal Abuse, which is a crime in the state of Florida, and now is knocking on the door of an honest, 79 year old, tax paying citizen and Veteran, at the behest of this demented woman’s fairy tales. I was unyielding in my disgust at DFC Boss’s behavior, and let him know it

Friday April 7, 2013 6AM

I awaken, make coffee, at sit down at my computer, which is how I begin each day. I found that my Facebook page has been deleted from their web site. I have been hacked in the past, and my Facebook Page tampered with, but this was more serious. I wondered if it was possible that this woman, who had gotten away with committing two crimes in one week, was responsible for hacking my computer. She had obviously gotten my name from DFC Boss, and it was an easy task to find that I had a Facebook page, as many people do. Did she do it? I really didn’t know, but considering her behavior, it was certainly possible. So I called the Sheriff’s office and reported this latest episode in my dispute with this woman. It took me several hours to retrieve my Facebook page, and it now functions properly. My hope is that this woman will tire of vengeful behavior,  and resume her life. Considering her criminal behavior, I seriously doubt it.

*

Posted by  |  April 8, 2023 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THE DOGGIE AND THE CUP CAKES

No photo description available.
A hungry Puppy

THE DOGGIE AND THE CUP CAKES

So, I’m sitting in the local Publix (supermarket) parking lot chatting on my new smart phone with my friend Elizabeth, when a car pulls into the space facing me, so we’re windshield to windshield, and this gangly, wiggling, white, pink nosed pit bull puppy is hanging out the drivers open window. Now, this is a big pup, maybe six months, and it has now climbed over the driver, into the front seat, and probably thinks it’s getting out of the car to play. With enormous effort, the woman in the driver’s seat throws the puppy into the back seat, and talks strategy with the two (seven or eight year old) young female passengers. The door opens, and the driver, an enormously fat woman in her mid thirties, struggles to exit the car, leaving the wiggling puppy with the two girls. I’ve just about recovered from laughing at the puppy hijinks, when the fat woman returns carrying an enormous tray filled with cup cakes, which she must have ordered in advance from Publix, probably for a birthday party. I’m losing it again, and annoying the hell out of Elizabeth, who’s still on the other end of the phone, and can’t possibly understand why I’m laughing so hard. Sometimes you can see disaster play itself out in slow motion, and this was one of those times. The fat woman, now doing a balancing act with the tray of cup cakes, has gotten the car door open, and is attempting, with great difficulty, to get into the car while still holding the tray. She finally decides on the butt first approach, which seems to work on some level, but it takes her a while, until she finally swings her portly self into the car, and slowly the gigantic tray of cup cakes is lifted across the car, on its way to the passenger seat. With lightning speed, and the panache of a hungry puppy on a mission, the dog flies over the seat back and dives head first into the tray of cupcakes, and momentarily out of view. The fat woman is screaming, the girls are giggling, and very slowly the puppy’s head raises high enough for me to see that its whole face is covered in icing, which it is happily attempting to lick off with a surprisingly long and active tongue. This gleefully chaotic adventure, which is playing itself out right in front of me, ends with the car backing up, and beginning to drive away, with the woman still screaming, the girls laughing, and the puppy still licking his face. I guess this escapade deserves space in my “Parking lots I’ve known” list. Woof!

No photo description available.

Posted by  |  February 25, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

THE LAST AMERICAN SOLDIER LEAVES AFGHANISTAN

The last men out.

America’s longest war is finally over. And the debate goes on. Success? Failure? Why did we stay for twenty years? Politicians are interviewed, and they try to score points with voters by saying the right thing. Veterans are interviewed, and seem to have a romanticized view of America’s military occupation of third world countries with unstable governments. I saw two Veteran activists interviewed on MSNBC this morning, claiming, quite shockingly, that America doesn’t deserve its military. Bush, Clinton and Obama kept us there for twenty years. Biden got us out, and America seems bewildered by his decisiveness. Few seem comfortable saying, “Good job Joe”. So I’ll say it. “GOOD JOB JOE”! Considering the sheer size of the evacuation, it went pretty smoothly. Not perfect, but what is? There were fatalities, but very few. The Veterans I see interviewed seem to be cringing at the unfortunate reality that the military is no longer needed to police the governments of fractured countries. Was our military ever really needed in Afghanistan? Certainly not for twenty years. So, we’re out. Joe got us out. “GOOD JOB JOE”!

Posted by  |  August 31, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | 6 Comments

A THOROUGH LOOK AT AMANDA KNOX AND THE ABSURD MURDER TRIALS

I watched THE AMANDA KNOX DOCUMENTARY on Netflix yesterday. I missed it the first time around. The obvious conclusion one reaches is that Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend each spent four years in prison because:

1…The Italian police were incompetent and corrupt to an incomprehensible degree.

2…The Prosecutor turns out to be a pompous and pedantic male chauvinist, whose world view seems based on 17th Century values. He freely admits this in interviews, quite sure that the whole world can’t help but agree with him. He claimed that he noticed Amanda and her boyfriend hugging and kissing each other the day after the murder, and revealed that this behavior could only be exhibited by the real murderers. He admits to liking detective stories, and has obviously built an entire career on fiction, like his case against Amanda.

3…The world’s press couldn’t seem to help themselves, pouncing, without an iota of integrity, on a questionable investigation, and labeling Amanda Knox as a frantic member of a satanic sex cult. Creating their own nick names, like “Foxy Knoxy”, which adorned the world’s headlines. A journalistic feeding frenzy. You can find it on Netflix, and it’s worth a watch. Look, I don’t know what really happened. I wasn’t there. And neither do you. But this documentary is successful in persuading the viewer that Amanda Knox was the victim of countless centuries of gender malevolence.

Posted by  |  August 9, 2021 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

MY TEN FAVORITE WORKS OF NON FICTION


MY TEN FAVORITE WORKS OF NON FICTION

(About half way through writing this, I became aware that these books are all about war and politics)

Douglas Southall Freeman….. ROBERT E. LEE….. And his equally extraordinary three volume work – LEE’S LIEUTENANTS: A STUDY IN COMMAND……..MANASSAS TO MALVERNE HILL, CEDAR MOUNTAIN TO CHANCELLORSVILLE, and GETTYSBURG TO APPOMATTOX. Just about the entire Civil War from The Army of Northern Virginia’s point of view. This is a magnificent series of volumes, and you’ll be a better human being having read them.

Neil Sheehan…..A BRIGHT SHINING LIE…..The one volume that explains America’s involvement in Vietnam so much better than all the rest. Sheehan covered Vietnam as a war correspondent and wrote with a rare intimacy of the characters on both sides.

Winston Churchill…..THE SECOND WORLD WAR…..Of the thousands of books written about the war, Churchill’s perspective is unique, as is his ability as a writer.

William Shirer…..THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH…..The Germans are notorious record keepers, and their massive chronicle of Nazi Germany’s birth, its criminal war machine,  and its ultimate end were captured by the Allies before they could be destroyed. Shirer had unique access to the mountains of material, and his thousand page volume is probably the most complete record of a major nation’s rise and fall ever compiled.

Bruce Catton…..THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC…..This is a three volume work:

MR. LINCOLN’S ARMY, GLORY ROAD and A STILLNESS AT APPOMATTOX. Lincoln’s problem was that his Generals did not want to fight their West Point schoolmates, who were now commanding the Confederate Army. Catton’s chronicle is an intimate and perceptive look at the Civil War from the Union’s point of view.

Norman Mailer…..MIAMI AND THE SEIGE OF CHICAGO…..1968 and the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The republican love-fest in Miami, and the conflagration that took place in Chicago. How did it happen? Who was to blame? Mailer’s book is exhausting and deeply satisfying. He was born to write this chronicle. I’ve read it three times, learning something new each time. Mailer’s talent as a story teller is unique.

David Halberstam…..THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST…..The brilliant men who involved America in Vietnam, and kept her there. Robert McNamara, McGeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, George Ball, William Westmorland, and Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. How is it possible? The handwriting was on the wall, and it was ignored. Halberstam’s book is a revelation.

Robert Caro…..THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON/THE PATH TO POWER…..This is the first volume of three about LBJ, and probably the most intimate chronicle of Johnson’s life and career, from the Texas hill country to the Halls of Congress. A unique look at a fascinating man.

Carl Bernstein and Robert Woodward…..ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN…..Two young newspaper reporters who brought down a Presidency. It’s been too many years since I read this. Time to read it again. We all know the story, but how many of us have read the book. Why did Nixon do it? It made no sense. The senior writers on the Washington Post all wanted a piece of this, once the story developed, but Bradley stuck with “The Boys”. A fabulous story.

James McPherson……THE BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM….. If the three volume sets, listed above by Freeman and Catton, seem like too exhausting a chore, and you were looking for a single volume that explains the Civil War, from the perspective of both sides, McPherson’s chronicle fully integrates political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades, from the outbreak of the war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. A solid piece of Nineteenth century history.

© 2020 Shaun Costello

Posted by  |  December 12, 2020 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

IS WGCUFM THE WORST RADIO STATION IN AMERICA?

IS WGCUFM THE WORST RADIO STATION IN AMERICA?

The question needs to be asked.

Remember, every week is pledge week on WGCUFM,

the home of RADIO UNINTERRUPTED.

“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programing

to inform you the we are not interrupting your regularly

scheduled programing”

I wonder who thought that one up?

Imagine my dismay when, after having been a lifetime listener to, and supporter of National Public Radio in New York City, Minneapolis and Cleveland, I wind up in Southwest Florida, a victim of the local NPR affiliate, WGCUFM. The station’s inability to fund raise drastically interferes with its responsibility to deliver NPR programming to its listeners. In fairness, their ability to maintain their signal has improved. Over the last ten years, the amount of “DEAD AIR” on 90.1FM has been startling. I remember calling the station a few years ago, after three days without signal. After asking what was going on, the woman who answered the phone told me, “Radio is a very complicated technology”. I wondered if she grew up in the Everglades. The station is owned by Florida Gulf Coast University, whose staff seems oblivious to failings of its radio station. I exchanged emails a few times with the President of the school, in an attempt to make him aware of the mismanagement of WGCU. He was oblivious to the station’s performance, and questioned my criticism. I wondered if he ever listened to it. Similarly, I swapped a few emails with the station’s General Manager, who steadfastly remained in a state of denial over the station’s performance. Years ago, I subscribed to satellite radio, in order to listen to NPR programming without the tiresome interference of this NPR affiliate. But I don’t have satellite radio in my car. While driving, I remain a victim of WGCUFM.

*

© 2020 Shaun Costello

Posted by  |  December 11, 2020 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

TRUMP’S MEDICAL TEAM – Who are they?

TRUMP’S DOCTORS SEEM TO HAVE A GLORIFIED VIEW OF THEMSELVES.
by Shaun Costello

Who exactly is treating Trump’s Covid19?

Have you noticed how Trump’s medical team, when introducing themselves at news conferences, usually begin with, “First, I’d like to say how honored I am to be a part of this group of magnificent physicians”. Really? Are they? Have any of you checked? Well, I have: Let’s take Sean Conley, the leader of the pack. He got his bachelor’s from Notre Dame, a very good school. But it’s downhill from there. He’s not even an MD. He’s a DO. Which means he’s not a Doctor of Medicine, he’s an Osteopath. He got his Doctor of Osteopathy from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy. Really? Then what? When you can’t make it in private practice, you join the Navy. Upon treating Trump for covid19, Conley took a crash course in LYING TO AMERICA. Conley then took what ever medical oath he might have taken, and traded it in for television screen time, as Trump’s surrogate liar. Maybe before his next news conference, this Osteopath should be given a Polygraph.

Posted by  |  October 6, 2020 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A LETTER TO JOY REID AFTER SERENA’S HISSY FIT

A LETTER TO JOY REID AFTER SERENA’S HISSY FIT

by Shaun Costello

Here is a letter I wrote to MSNBC’s Joy Reid, after the finals of the US Open last year:

Ms. Reid,

First, let me say that I have been a fan of your journalism, and of your show, for quite a while. But I’m not certain that I can comfortably watch you any longer, and I will tell you why. Your show on Sunday, September 9th, I found to be deeply disturbing. The discussion with your panel of the incident that occurred during the playing of the women’s final at the US Open, I found to be biased beyond measure. I have been an active tennis player, and tennis fan since adolescence. I have watched the US Open since it was called the US Nationals, and was played at Forest Hills. Down through the years, I have been witness to some of the historic temper tantrums inflicted on the tennis community by the likes of Lew Hoad, Dennis Ralston, Sid Schwartz, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and many others. Their behavior was an aberration to the sport.
I have also watched the extraordinary evolution of the Williams sisters, from gangly kids to exceptional players. Serena however, unlike Venus, developed into an arrogant and nasty player. She publicly stated that the only way she could lose was if she was not playing well. That another player might outplay her was impossible. Down through the years she has verbally and physically bullied other players, and berated officials.
This brings us to the unfortunate events that took place at this year’s women’s final. Naomi Tanaka had taken the first set 6-2. It was obvious that she had Serena’s number. So, Serena, unable to outplay her opponent, decided to have a hissy fit instead. When the chair gave her a warning for a coaching violation, she went ballistic. Between sets, and into the second set, she was relentlessly verbally abusive to the chair. When she smashed her racquet, destroying it, the one point penalty was automatic. This seemed to infuriate Serena to a new level of chair abuse. When the tournament chairman walked onto the court, in an attempt to restore order, Serena’s threats and accusations seemed even more intense. All the while, 20 year old Naomi Tanaka, on the verge of her first major title, stood on the base line crying, as the crowd booed the umpire, and eventually poor Naomi. When the umpire felt that Serena had gone way too far in her verbal abuse of him, she was given a one game penalty. I thought the call was unfortunate but fair, considering Serena’s behavior. So, once the fireworks settled down, Naomi Tanaka quite easily defeated Serena, who had somehow become a victim of societal unfairness, and had forever tainted Tanaka’s victory with her unwarranted and abusive behavior.
All players are coached from the stands. They rehearse signals with their coaches. This has been going on for decades. Serena’s coach admitted that he was signaling her. It’s a stupid rule, created by effete tennis nabobs. But it IS a rule, and if you blatantly break it you should be given a warning. Serena blatantly broke it. But Serena considers herself above the fray, and has said so many times.
On your September 9th show, I was stunned by the shared consensus between you and your panel, suggesting that Serena Williams was a victim of sexism and racism by the officials at the US Open. No mention was made of her abhorrent behavior. No mention was made of poor Naomi Tanaka, standing on the base line crying, as she was booed by the unruly crowd. Watching your show that day made me feel like I was watching a lynch mob, discussing tactics. Serena, unable to defeat Tanaka on the court, was triumphant in stealing Naomi’s moment, and regaining her rightful place, as the center of everyone’s attention.
Serena Williams is probably the greatest female tennis player of all time. But she is also a bit of a monster.

Best regards,

Shaun Costello

Posted by  |  November 9, 2019 | Categories: Fiction and non-fiction from Shaun Costello, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment