"Marry for Money, You'll Learn to Love Later!"

By Roger J. Geronimo

This is the incredibly interestingstory which describes the unbelievable mistakes we make in life,how we cope with them into the future, and what are the lessons learned from this thing called life! The story is mixed with a sense of sarcastic humor but always stressing the benefits of humor. It is also a story of hope and encouragement as the author fights a battle that his dad, his hero, lost - to Parkinson''s disease.Heres the Forward: What is life really all about? Why are we here? Is there any purpose to our existence? These are questions that have been asked over and over again for centuries and centuries. Well I believe I have found the answer - now that I am totally broke and deteriorating thanks to Parkinsons disease! Gee - thanks guys!

The sarcastic sense of humor in me concludes the following about our existence here on planet earth - "LIFE IS A BITCH, THAN YOU MARRY ONE (TWO IN MY CASE) AND THEN YOU DIE" Guess Im just waiting for the arrival of the Grim Reaper himself!!

However, the real me has slowly discovered that we are all on a journey here on earth. The journey is intended not to be an easy one. It is intended for us to learn from the decisions we make using our free will. There is much pain, suffering, disappointment, hurt, anger, and sorrow. And, hopefully, forgiveness. There is no hell I believe. You are living it everyday - the good and the bad! A lot more bad than good!

What is it all for? It is for all of us to learn and to grow as human creatures and to eventually flourish in a place where we will discover peace, love, harmony - Where? In the hereafter - In that warmth of the Light we hear so much about from people returning from the dead. In my mind - that Light is better known as God! That is our eventual reward for everything that is tossed our way here on earth. If we learn our lessons well here than we shall be that much closer to the warmth of the Light in the hereafter. If we learn little and cause much pain and anguish to others than we shall be the farthest from the Light but always given opportunities to proceed forward. We do this by realizing our indiscretions and asking for forgiveness for our actions on earth when arriving in the hereafter and then performing duties and working toward the Light.

Boy - do I hope I am right about this! Believe it or not, I actually look forward to being greeted someday by my loved ones and all the pets in the hereafter. (I got along better with my pets than with some of my crazy relatives and friends!)

So - in the chapters that follow I will allow you to make your own judgments. As you read on and we share the good times and the pitiful times, always with a sense of humor I hope, I will honestly try to elaborate on the Lessons Learned from this journey that has been all too short. Perhaps through me you can make adjustments and, just perhaps, not do the same stupid things that I have done so many times in the last half century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 25, 2006
• ISBN: 9781452086255

Roger J. Geronimo

Dr. Roger J. Geronimo has extensive working experience in the areas of Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Development, Planning, and Executive Management. He has worked for small companies, public universities and private colleges, and for corporate giants such as United Technologies Corporation. He also possesses experience as an entrepreneur having been part owner of a technology company and owner of a service company and has created two 501-c3 non-profits. Roger received a bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University, an MBA in Finance from the University of New Haven, and a Doctorate in Economics from Columbia Pacific University, now Columbia Commonwealth University. Roger has worked as a political consultant, has been in academia for over 30 years, written 2 economic books, and is frequently quoted and interviewed by radio, TV, and the print media. In 1985, President Reagan nominated him for a position as Deputy Undersecretary in the Treasury Department. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of a small technology company, of ''Stage Two Opera Company'', was voted to the Board of Governors and Board of Directors of Columbia Pacific University, and is now their acting President. Roger spends his leisure time fighting Parkinson’s disease and performing as an operatic tenor for fund raising events for needy charities – his once successful opera career cut short due to the early onset of Parkinson’s which killed his dad in 1989. Roger now resides in Florida.

Book preview

"Marry for Money, You’ll Learn To

Love Later!"

…and other great gems of wisdom from a life well traveled here on earth, all in preparation (I hope!!!) for peace, love, and harmony in the hereafter.

These are the stories of one man’s travels through life and the lessons learned along the way!

Dr. Roger J. Geronimo

Title_Page_Logo.ai

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

© 2010 Dr. Roger J. Geronimo. All rights reserved.

First published by AuthorHouse 9/21/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4259-0678-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-8625-5 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Foreword

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Post Script

FOREWORD

LESSONS LEARNED

What is life really all about? Why are we here? Is there any purpose to our existence? These are questions that have been asked over and over again for centuries and centuries.

Well, I believe I have found the answer—now that I am broke and fighting Parkinson’s disease every day of my life!

The sarcastic sense of humor in me concludes the following about our existence here on planet earth—LIFE IS A BITCH, THEN YOU MARRY ONE (TWO IN MY CASE) AND THEN YOU DIE. Well, then, I guess I’m just waiting for the arrival of the Grim Reaper!!

However, the real me (whatever the hell that means) has slowly discovered that we are all on a journey here on earth. The journey is not intended to be an easy one. It is intended for us to learn from the decisions we make using our free will. There is much pain, suffering, disappointment, hurt, anger, and sorrow, and, hopefully, forgiveness. There is no hell, I believe. You are living it every day—the good and the bad, a lot more bad than good for most of us!

What is it all for? It is for all of us to learn and to grow as human beings and to eventually flourish in a place where we will discover peace, love, harmony—Where? In the hereafter—in that warmth of the Light we hear so much about from people returning from the dead. In my mind, that Light is better known as God! That is our eventual reward for everything that is tossed our way here on earth. If we learn our lessons well here, then we shall be that much closer to the warmth of the Light in the hereafter. If we learn little and cause much pain and anguish to others, then we shall be the farthest from the Light but always given opportunities to proceed forward. We do this by realizing our indiscretions and asking for forgiveness for our actions on earth when arriving in the hereafter and then performing duties and working toward the Light.

Boy, do I hope I am right about this! Believe it or not, I actually look forward to being greeted someday by my loved ones and all the pets in the hereafter. (I got along better with my pets than with some of my crazy relatives and friends!)

So—in the chapters that follow, I will allow you to make your own judgments. I will not intentionally denigrate any particular individual and where appropriate, will not use the actual names of those involved. Events have been changed and/or fictionalized to entertain and to protect the guilty. Plus, I hate lawyers and want nothing to do with them!

As you read on and we share the good times and the pitiful times, always with a sense of humor, I will honestly try to elaborate on the lessons learned from this journey that has been all too short. Perhaps through me, you can make adjustments and, just maybe, not repeat the same stupid things that I have done so many times in my life.

CHAPTER ONE

LA FAMIGLIA OR DON’T LOSE THOSE GENES!!!!!!!

Okay, okay, so my Italian family was a little nuts—well a lot nuts! We had a mobster, nurse, barber, mailman, healthcare worker, carpenter, entrepreneur, and, of course, the domestics.

Much of my family on my mom’s side came from New York—the Bronx—Belmont and Arthur Avenues to be precise. My cousins grew up with a guy named Dion Demucci who sang on the street corner where there once stood a candy store. He and his buddies were singing what was called Doo-Wop. Mr. Demucci named his group after the street where they sang, and thus was born Dion and the Belmonts, remember Runaround Sue, The Wanderer, and Ruby?

But let me go back a bit further. My grandfather, Catino D’Agostino, like so many millions, immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island from the Sicilian seaport of Messina, Italy. He was a young man who spoke no English and was basically illiterate. As did so many others, he came to build a better life and pursue his dreams. He was greeted upon his arrival into New York with the letters WOP (without papers), along with the nicknames grease ball, guinea, and cafone—Italian for a low-life! You see, in those days, there were Italians, the real Italians, and the cafones, the garbage from Sicily! In fact, in many Italian social clubs throughout the Northeast, Sicilians weren’t allowed to join until after World War II. We were told that we were not pure Italians; our blood was not pure, it had been mixed over the centuries. After all, Sicily had been ruled by Spaniards, Greeks, Middle Easterners, and oh God forbid—a little bit of moulinion blood being so close to the shores of Northern Africa!!!

My grandfather was a great guy! He had five daughters—the D’Agostino sisters—one wackier than the next, but all good, hard-working, dedicated family people. My mother is one of these daughters, the middle daughter, still going strong at ninety years young!

While researching our family tree, we recently discovered that my great grandfather was murdered in Sicily by the mob over a dispute regarding the ownership of olive groves. Not a time to become thick-headed, I guess, but he did!! Grandpa was a man of slight build, five feet tall at best and 125 pounds…..maybe! He worked as a mason and landscaper and, for a time, had to put his daughters into an orphanage until he could get back on his feet after the death of my grandmother who died before her thirtieth birthday. Grandpa, like so many of us romantic Italian lovers, had, shall I say, a high libido. His poor wife was always pregnant and my mother and my aunt are only ten months apart!! God, he must have mounted the poor woman while she was still recovering in the hospital!!! Anyway, I obviously never met my grandmother. Grandpa eventually remarried and the daughters returned to him with the evil stepmother, another person I have no recollection of at all. I’m told that’s a good thing.

Grandpa worked extremely hard all of his life and led a wonderfully spiritual life. When he passed at age ninety, he possessed a three-family house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a house in Florida. He raised all five daughters who all had families of their own. He passed in 1972 and the grandsons were the pallbearers. At age twenty-one, he was the first person I had ever seen dead and his face is still with me today as I know, too, is his soul!

Now, let me briefly tell you about these five D’Agostino sisters. Oh fa, what a group! Let’s proceed chronologically. The oldest was Aunt Anna who was about five feet tall and about 200 pounds, a large woman with an even larger heart made of gold. She worked in the emergency room at the local hospital in the Bronx. Her husband, Uncle Joe, was a barber—well at least that is what we were told, although he did actually cut hair! Aunt Anna was the best. Whenever she knew I was coming to visit her in the Bronx, she made sure I had my favorite: Italian bread with seeds and fresh butter. She was, without question, the best cook I have ever known. You didn’t dare lay your coat down on the her bed because the handmade raviolis were already there—on a sheet on the bed! My Uncle Joe made the best homemade Italian red wine I have ever tasted and he and Aunt Anna drank it like water! They would cut it with seltzer water, 7-UP, or orange soda—yup—a half-century ago they created wine coolers and never knew it!! As a boy, I was allowed (actually my dad used to sneak me) a shot glass of wine and then beer! The only difference between then and now is that the glasses are much larger!

Belmont Avenue in the Bronx was great back in the fifties and sixties. We talked all night long on the steps of the apartments and could sleep on the fire escapes without issues or concerns. It was self-patrolled by the neighbors and your friendly Gambino boys. Fresh breads, vegetables, meats, and desserts lined the streets and the smells were intoxicating. People talked—okay, they yelled, they laughed, arms waved front, back, up, and down, and the old ladies looked out for the children. Discipline was respected as were the elders and the church. Sunday was a day of worship, relaxation, and the big meal of the week. Grandpa would put on his best white tee shirt for the occasion. The only thing I didn’t like was that because there were so many of us, the kids always sat together at their own little table away from the adults, you know, those unstable card tables with the chairs that kept collapsing! The only thing left in the Bronx today that I can remember is the great family-style Italian restaurant named Dominick’s. What a tragedy that all these changes have occurred.

Aunt Anna died of a massive heart attack well before her time, almost thirty years ago. My last memories are of her holding that yapping teacup poodle in the palm of her hand. Uncle Joe died of lung cancer many years later. The family, like so many others in America, has dispersed from their roots. Aunt Anna and Uncle Joe left two sons now living in Long Island and a daughter now living in Connecticut, and there are many grandchildren and great grandchildren who live all over the United States. I have nothing but the fondest memories of them all.

Next in line was Aunt Josephine. Crazy? Without a doubt! Stubborn? Like granite! Temper? Forget about it! Bossy? Unbelievable! The woman could piss off the Pope!! But she was kind, loving, caring, compassionate, and laugh your ass off funny, and if anyone didn’t have a place to stay or a meal to eat, you certainly did after meeting Aunt Josephine. For years and years, she and my Uncle Leo (the poor man!) would take in an orphan every year for the holidays even though they had four kids of their own! Aunt Josephine and Uncle Leo owned an old but beautiful house directly on the water in Cos Cob, Connecticut, on the Greenwich Harbor inlet. I shudder to think what that property would be worth today—millions!!! Uncle Leo was a quiet man, small compared to my aunt who was a very large woman to say the least but was the tallest of the D’Agostino sisters—I mean, she might have even been over five feet