Waiting for Grandfather by Michael De Stefano

Waiting for Grandfather

by Michael De Stefano 

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GENRE: Fiction  (Tragic Comedy/Coming of Age)

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BLURB:

Meet the Corelli clan. Told by the oldest grandson, Frank, this family tapestry, with pathos and hilarity, begins weaving itself in the 1930s and rollicks through four riotous decades. The strongest thread is its oldest member, Antonio. To the ragtag Corelli clan, he is an ocean—an unwavering force upon which they rely. Lizzy, the youngest Corelli, is the brightest thread. Emanating from her is the light by which they see the world. Spanning these dynamic figures is an oddball cast of characters that keep one another in stitches right up until the life-affirming surprise birthday party of their beloved patriarch.

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EXCERPTS (Exclusive Excerpt):

It is said that everyone is endowed with a gift and Mr. Profacci excelled at sneering. He was so exceptional that he once caused a young boy standing inside the confines of his own house to duck below a windowsill. When he finishes sneering, with all his stoutness, he pirouettes back toward the door through which he will thankfully disappear. It is remarkable how many steps it takes Mr. Profacci to accomplish what for most would be a simple maneuver. Ricky and I joked that Mr. Profacci had the agility of a tree stump as he was the most cumbersome looking man we would ever come to know. And seldom if ever did we get close enough to Mr. Profacci to learn the effects that a man of such abundance, and generous secretions, might have on our nostrils. We played it safe while imagining the level of Mrs. Profacci’s heroism.  

Back to Uncle Al: Uncle Al spent most Saturdays tinkering away under the hood of Mr. Profacci’s pet peeve. It was anyone’s guess what his goals were for the dismal looking contraption as it never looked or sounded any better; yet he was always boasting about some vast improvement he just made. According to Uncle Al, the truck either “purred like a kitten” or was “ready for NASCAR.” Uncle Al was what folks used to call “a grease monkey,” the sort who every weekend had a vehicle half-dismantled in the driveway, a look of consternation on his face, and a multitude of tools spewed about the ground.    

“What’s the old man up to?” Uncle Al would growl once I made my reluctant march to the door. 

That was how Uncle Al would begin, by growling the same question and in the same tone; although it required not a shred of capacity for the prophetic to predict a question that Uncle Al might pose, nor information that he thought pertinent enough to relay. He was the type to show up at your front door in the middle of a monsoon and announce: “Ya know, it’s really raining out there!”  

On those Sunday mornings of yesteryear, he never began with good morning or how was breakfast or did you see the ballgame last night. “What’s the old man up to?” came the growl, and instantly I was enveloped in an atmosphere overwhelmed by the ten Lucky Strikes Uncle Al had already smoked. And there was hardly a trace of inquisitiveness in his tone, for Uncle Al was perfectly aware that my “old man” was still in bed. Moreover, my “old man’s” whereabouts was Uncle Al’s way of patting himself on the back, thus intimating that while the rest of the adult world on Sunday morning was enjoying its time of slumber and relaxation, he had already been up for hours and was a man of superhuman stamina. Then again, two packs of cigarettes and twenty cups of coffee a day was enough to keep a rhinoceros awake. I had always wanted to say to Uncle Al, the “old man,” just like you fuck up your truck, is in the basement fucking up the plumbing. Oh yeah, dear old Dad was a real crackerjack plumber. He was to pipes what Uncle Al was to engine parts and bodywork. On my honor, we shall later visit the family plumbing catastrophes.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Michael DeStefano is from Philadelphia, where he is the owner of a hairstyling salon. Currently, he makes his home in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, is the husband of a Gulf War veteran, and author of The Gunslinger’s Companion. Any thoughts or criticisms readers of Waiting for Grandfather wish to share may be sent to dtbhs@aol.com. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.destefano.1654

Buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Grandfather-Michael-Stefano/dp/1937769577/ref=sr_1_9

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/waiting-for-grandfather-michael-destefano/1134208529

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/986943

Kobo books: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/waiting-for-grandfather

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

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