Drama downtown

Buffalo is the Queen City and our patroness is Mary. Lastnight we did a Mary procession at my church. St. Anthony of Padua, which is downtown behind City Hall. Above is a picture of us!

Being the only religious extremist in my circle of friends I went on the procession by myself. I tried to get other people to go with me but they did not. I even tried to get Howard to go with me! He is not Catholic but I thought he would enjoy the aspect of this being a show of strength. Howard just about hung up on me.

Which, that was just as well, I thought later. Because this was not the sweetie May crowning procession I had thought it would be. It was intense! These Italians.

First they had this statue of the Madonna that they crowned at a short prayer ceremony beforehand. I had not known there would be a ceremony so that was another reason I was glad I was by myself. You do not want friends tagging along at these things because then you cannot enjoy yourself because you are always whispering apologies: I'm sorry the sermon is so long, I'm sorry this prayer is in Latin, this will be over soon, etc. Who needs that.

There were four handsome old Knights of Columbus there too with their plumes and their swords and they stood at the head of the aisle with their swords crossed.

Then these six Italian guys went and got the statue and nailed it to this kind of stretcher so they could carry it over their heads. So now we've got this statue. And we all form up outside. There is Padre Secondo surrounded by a phalanx of deacons. And the Knights of Columbus with their plumes and swords. Someone is pulling this sort of megaphone-on-wheels through which Padre is blasting a mixture of Italian and Latin. He is from Milan! I have probably mentioned that. There are altar boys carrying a big crucifix. And leading the procession are the flags of the United States and Italy and in front of them is the gold and white flag of the Catholic Church.

Herewith we approach the housing projects on Seventh Street. Leonard Pennario was baptized at St. Anthony's and his family lived on Seventh Street when he was born. But the housing projects were not there then.


I should have taken better pictures but I was so fascinated by this spectacle that it did not occur to me to take out my camera until I was in the middle of the procession and I could not get a good angle. But anyway.

Here we are passing the new Federal Courthouse.


Government was not far from our minds and as we neared the church again, Padre Secondo led prayers for our city and county governments as well as the fire and police departments and the FBI.

One thing, I just wished we were in a neighborhood where more people saw us. As a lone German in this company of Italians my main concern was with military might and I liked the idea of impressing people with this show of strength. On Seventh Street people came out on the porches of the projects and stared at us. I loved that. There is something about Knights of Columbus and their plumes, the statue of the Virgin, and loud Latin prayers that gives the impression of order and safety.

"Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto." That would blare out of Father Secondo's megaphone. It means: "Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

And then we all respond with gusto: "Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen." That means: "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!"

I do not altogether understand how the translation works out, but that is a phrase I love, "World without end." Such power! Such certainty.

What about Web log without end? There is a phrase for a Monday morning.

I wonder what that is in Latin.

Frank talk

Yesterday I called conductor and movie music biggie Frank Collura, another great musician from Buffalo, to talk to him about Leonard Pennario.

When I told my mom I talked with Mr. Collura she said, "What a beautiful name."

And it is! Collura and Pennario are both very beautiful Italian names. Speaking of which, remember my friend Joey Giambra from a few weeks ago? He is the one who set me up with Frank Collura. Listen to me! It is as if I live in Milan.

Here is what I got a kick out of about my chat with Frank Collura. He told me a tremendous story that I completely ate up about once in Santa Barbara when he and Pennario teamed up to perform the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3. And he was amazed by the sheer power of Pennario's playing. That is Santa Barbara in the picture above. That is where Collura and Pennario, two great artists from Buffalo's West Side, played the daylights out of the Prokofiev Third.

Now here is what killed me. Frank Collura wound up his story and then he said: "So that is all I have to tell you. That is the one story I wanted to share."

As if I was going to say goodbye and hang up!

Let me tell you, I actually enjoyed that moment.

If there is one thing I love it is when people think they can tell me one five-minute story about Leonard Pennario and after that I am going to go away. Ha, ha! Pennario himself tried that on me the first time I called him from Buffalo. And we all know what happened after that.

So I sat on the phone with Frank Collura, just smiling, knowing what was ahead. As Mayor Byron Brown ...


... would put it, in his methodical, do-not-argue-with-me tones: "This is not the end. This is just the beginning."

Mayor Brown said that once and Howard and I loved it and never forgot it.

With which, Frank Collura and I went on to discuss many aspects of Leonard Pennario. Frank is a brilliant man and had many fascinating thoughts not only on Pennario but on the music business and how it works. We bounced a lot of things around. Including, of course, Buffalo. He knows the priest from my church!


That is a picture of the priest from my church, Father Secondo Casarotto. Now I really do sound as if I am from Milan! That is where Father Secondo is from.

When I finally let Frank Collura go I told him that with his permission I was going to hang on to his phone number and maybe call him back sometime. There is no fighting that either. Sometimes I just get this craving to talk to someone about Leonard Pennario and then, who knows, I might give Frank Collura a call.

I have not been calling people much for the last couple of weeks because I have been putting the book together, trying to structure it and get it ready to shop around. But now I do fancy I will start to return to the phone.

It just felt too good yesterday to be back in the saddle.