L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano D uring my dinner at Campagnola Restaurant with Dr. Rock and John Positano, authors of Dinner with D iMaggio: Mem or ies of an Am er ican H er o, a thought occurred to me: when did the word hero attach itself to Joe DiMaggio? Undoubtedly the word almost became synony- mous with Joe Di during his playing days because of his ath- letic prowess that led to nine World Series Championships with the New York Yankees. What is interesting, however, is how, after his retirement from bas eball, the w ord her o remained, as witnessed by Paul Simon's indelible lyrics, "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio:" here the songwriter challenged the idea of a hero in pop culture and used the Yankee Clipper as the gold standard of what truly defines the word. "That's w hy D iM aggio remains relevant today" John said "because he was a hero long after he left the game of baseball even to those who never saw him play or those who already had other heroes. There was something about him that was special and I think when you hear his story, we want our cur- rent athletes to be similar in terms of class and respect, and most fall short." He went on to explain, "Joe was never my hero until I heard Rock talk about him and then I understood." The Positano brothers believe that DiMaggio was well aware of his image and accepted his responsibility above all to chil- dren, Italian-Americans, and baseball. "Some athletes today appear heroic but it later turns out they have clay feet," said John. One of the turning points in Dr. Positano's friendship with D iM aggio w as w hen J oe expressed his concern about someone who wanted to tarnish his reputation. The person con- tacted Joe and had malevolent intentions on blackmailing him about "a special bank account" that was set up in his name fifty- years ago by club owners in New York and San Francisco. Basically he was paid to show up at restaurants/nightclubs and throngs of customers entered to spend money just to talk to Joe DiMaggio. What Joe Di did not know was the "San Francisco owners were from the wrong side of the tracks," as Dr. Rock writes. DiMaggio's concern was that he did not want his name associ- ated w ith the M ob; he truly understood his value in the com- munity. "I know someone in S an F rancis co , an F BI guy w ho's a crazy fan of yours . Maybe he'll speak to this big- mouth and iron something out," s aid D r. Rock to D iM aggio. After a few weeks of sweating it out for fear of the information reaching the new s papers , DiMaggio never heard from the man again. "I think it was at the moment that DiMaggio believed he could trust my brother" said John. The potential disaster brought them closer and Joe Di realized, from that moment, on that Rock was loyal. H is bad experiences w ith adults forced Joe to be suspi- cious and hold grudges. This became apparent with his dis- dain for the Kennedy brothers and a falling out with Frank Sinatra, both resulting from their connection to his ex-w ife Marilyn Monroe, the love of his life. He was also estranged with his son Joe Jr. So what made Dr. Rock Positano different from the rest? "First of all" as Dr. Rock said, "everyone started off in the negative column w ith DiMaggio, I was no exception." While the doctor paused for a few seconds and sipped his glass of Chianti he went on to say, "If you did something that made him angry, he would not talk to you for weeks, sometimes per- manently." In Dinner with DiMaggio, the doctor described a few times w hen he w as almos t s ent to Siberia. This was Joe Di's way ALFONSO GUERRIERO JR. Remembering Joe DiMaggio at dinner (Part II) of expressing his unhappiness and giving the silent treatment. As the friendship developed the two grew closer like a father and son. He was very careful devel- oping close friendships. That w as w hy in the beginning DiMaggio wanted to know more about Dr. Positano. Rock and John Positano were born and rais ed in the Brooklyn's Bensonhurst section, a hugely Italian-American area at one time. Their paternal grand- father was from Positano hence the surname. The brothers' pater- nal grandmother w as from Avellino and their mother's fam- ily had roots in Naples. The P os itano s ide of the family arrived in America during the 1920s and settled in Freedman, a s mall tow n in P enns ylvania. "Our grandfather got a job as a security guard for a coal mining company," John recalled. It was in Freedman that their grandfather experienced discrim- ination against Italian immi- grants. He decided, therefore, to change his las t name from Positano to Foster. It was not until the family packed-up to live in Brooklyn, New York, with relatives that he changed the sur- name back to its original form. J ohn and Rock P os itano are extremely proud of their heritage and have never forgotten their humble beginnings. Both were taught the value of education. John went to NYU Law School and Rock attended Y ale University. Joe respected Rock for his strong work ethic and the fact that he attended the Ivy League School. "Joe was an intellectu- al," said John, "He never gradu- ated high school but was very curious about politics, and many other important social issues." Rock added on by explaining, "DiMaggio was very interested in the lives of those who were close to him, and he wanted to know, usually at the dinner table, their opinions about a wide range of topics." Despite Joe DiMaggio's death eighteen years ago, the S an Francisco native, born to Sicilian immigrants, remains relevant for other reas ons .  Recently, his record for hitting the most home- runs (29) as a Yankees rookie in 1936 was surpassed this year by slugger Aaron Judge.   More importantly, however, I think that Joe DiMaggio remains a central figure across the coun- try. In Hollywood, Florida, there is the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, where the highest qual- ity of medical care is given to children in need. In Chicago, nestled between red brick build- ings and freshly cut grass is a mammoth s ize s tatue of J oe DiMaggio and his classic swing. The bronze statue stands in the middle of Piazza DiMaggio and passersby are constantly remind- ed of the Italian-A merican icon. In San Francisco, California he is a topic of conversation with family members and friends. And in New York City, Dr. Rock Positano's non-surgical foot and ankle method is nationally known in large part for its suc- cess of helping Joe DiMaggio's famous (or infamous) Achilles heel that, as Rock mentions, "w as even w ritten about in Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea." For critics who think there is a sense of betrayal for revealing DiMaggio's private moments, Rock explained it this w ay, "There were things that he told me that was for public knowl- edge and there are other stories that will always remain at the dinner table." He added, "I had an obligation to tell his story because of his place in history and I'm proud w e did." The friendship between the two was truly based on trust and love. At the end of our meal I toasted in honor of Joe DiMaggio and felt privileged for my experience talking about the Yankee Clipper w ith s omeone w ho w as very clos e to, arguably, the las t American hero. Sport's legend Joe DiMaggio Dr. Rock Positano LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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