Rich Monetti
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I am, I write.
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Post War Life for the Monetti's
The Second World War over and no doubt left as to where Charlie wanted to be, routine played a big part in everything the Monetti patriarch did. Like many New Yorkers, Charlie and Lizzie spent their honeymoon in the Catskills, and for good measure, befriended the resort owners. So going forward, the family stayed in the owner’s home, and every October, a smaller turnout appealed to Charlie. Thus, Gramps never relented, and his annual engagement always followed suit. “He would chop wood for the fireplace and play cards all week,” said Bill.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Families
Part II : A Few Memorable Moments that could Only Happen in Plattsburgh
Sunday Night Movie Poster From StarWars.com Did you ever wonder why the College Center purchased a glass frame to house the poster for the Sunday Night Movie. You’re looking at him. So in the fall of 1983, Star Wars was on the docket, and I decided the above poster was mine. There was an added incentive too. Star Wars must have been released the previous winter, and you can see the mislabeled preview for the Return of the Jedi. Revenge of the Jedi, so I conspired with my roommate Bart, and we figured out the college center remained open and unattended after midnight. Thus, the downtown witching hour arrived, we instinctively found each other and did a little John Belushi Animal House two step into the building. The cost clear, we pulled down the poster and deftly made for the exit. We were never so on top of our game, and proceeded to steal the Search for Spock, Octopussy and several other posters. The glass case aside, the story does not have a happy ending. For some reason I still cannot explain, I gave Bart the Star Wars poster and I took for the Bond one. All I can say : why is youth wasted on the young?
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
A Few Memorable Moments that Could Only Happen in Plattsburgh
Movie Night Hawkins Hall We all probably had that one person at Plattsburgh who we were totally in sync with. We knew what the other person was thinking before they did. One such couple in my group outshone us all. In this case, movie night did the telling, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had the rest of us rocking in our shoes. Of course, our boys were hitting on all cylinders, and there were just as many laughs from the screen as there were from our seats. The preeminent moment took place as Indy and Willie began acting on the obvious sexual tension and did their dance all those years ago. “I'm a scientist. I like doing research on certain "nocturnal activities,” Harrison Ford is all cool.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
The Monetta's Settle in America
The Monetti’s as we know them date back to the Province of Salerno in the the Campania region. Carman Monetta and my great-great grandmother Michela (Magra) Magro obviously hung a different vowel at the end of the family name and begins on a chestnut farm in the town of Ponte di Cagnano.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Families
1973-1979 : My Athletes of the Year
Yankee Stadium Photo by Eric Beato Photo by Jim Accordino 1973 : Bobby Murcer 1973 was my first year watching sports. The second Yankee game I ever attended was versus the Royals in July. Bobby Murcer his three home run into the Bleachers, where I sat with my brother, father and grandfather. I knew the record was four in a game, and the stadium sat perched for history. But Bobby weakly ground back to the pitcher. The Yankees did win 5-1 on the heels of Mel Stottlemyre’s arm, and Bobby Murcer easily earned his place. But the fireworks weren't over yet. After the game, two drunk Royal fans who were sitting right next to us, jumped over the wall and went after Murcer. The cops dispatched the duo as easily as the 1973 Orioles did the Yankees.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Princess Long Long Gets Around the World with Her Many Talents
Princess Long Long is a multi-talented singing star and personality who performs in off-Broadway venues, television and movies and A-List Venues on the national and international stage. So she definitely gets around. This has had her recently singing during the opening ceremony at Cannes, winning the Monaco Royal Voice competition at the Monte Carlo Country Club in 2017 and swooning souls as a Blue Carpet VIP at Harrah’s Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel in Concert. Obviously Princess Long Long’s voice puts her on a globe trot that few can match. But her real secret may be that she’s never in anyone’s sights look enough to pin her down to a single look or perspective.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Beat
Snippets of Plattsburgh Professors
Dr. Carol Leonard I was always fascinated by Russia. So when I finally had a chance to take an elective in my sophomore year, Russian History until 1863 was a no brainer. Dr. Leonard was a young professor who was passionate about her discipline. She also had a very special place in her heart for Catherine the Great but not in a good way. I still remember the ire she brought over the deadly coup Catherine engineered to unseat her husband Peter. Nonetheless, this was no easy course, and the reading material followed suit. In fact, one afternoon she couldn’t resist levying a criticism on us. “I have a real problem with the class,” she implored. “Too many of you are listening to my lectures and reading the text and just accepting it. I need students to disagree and question.”
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
Uncut Gems Sends You Over the Edge
Studio : A24, Netflix Poster An online search of the word fuck yields 57 hits on Ronald Bronstein's screenplay of Uncut Gems. The number actually seems low. Nonetheless, I’m no Puritan and a targetted search on my daily dialogue would go well beyond that tally. But the four letter onslaught does a pretty good number on your sensibilities and helps makes this 2019 film painful to watch. Of course, the profanity that follows the tenuous life a gambling addict is far from the only excess that makes this boisterous cut hard to endure.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Geeks
Part II : The Inspiration for Spock and Other Star Trek Staples
Photo by Charles Kremenak Vulcans and Spock Spock and Vulcans have a very unlikely origin indeed. The impetus dates to Roddenberry’s time in the LAPD and his close friendship with Police Chief William Parker. Suprisingly, the top law enforcement officer in Los Angeles is best remembered for his explanation for the Watts Riots. “One person threw a rock,” Parker explained, “and then like monkeys in a zoo, others started throwing rocks.”
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Futurism
Who was the First MLB Player with an Agent and other Yankee Tidbits
Photo by Rubenstein A 56 game hitting streak, 714 homers and 27 World Championships - we all know the larger details of Yankee history. But I think it’s also telling to know the little things. Here’s a few good ones.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Mt. Vernon Native Compiles Sports Heroes and Legends from his Hometown
Mark Twain obviously went to some pretty exotic places as a writer, but the American legend never forgot how his humble beginnings shaped his entire life. “All the me in me is from that tiny little town in Missouri," once said the sage. For his part, Bruce Fabricant knows the feeling. The unleashing just took longer for Fabricant to commit to paper. So now on his fourth Mount Vernon based book, he hopes his hometown feels as good about reading the latest offering as he did writing it.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Black Lives Matter : Why is it So Hard to Infer the Meaning Behind This Simple Phrase
Photo by Chris Henry Inference : Deduce or conclude from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. Seizing on the latter part, I’m amazed by how much vitriol has exploded over a simple inference : Black Lives Matter. Oh my, this Blue Lives Matter rally really captures the rage. I wonder what William Shakespeare himself would think of our inabiltiy to grasp a basic linguistic vehicle and have the ugly residue spread like Murder Hornets. On the other hand, in the interest of calm, let me give the dispossessed, angry hordes the tools that they need to get by.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in The Swamp
