Vieni a ballare, o altro!
Years ago, when I was a young pup, I worked for an ad agency that had the Barbizon School of Modeling for a client. We wrote a headline for its' catalog and ads that read: "BE A MODEL, OR JUST LOOK LIKE ONE!"
As Columbus Day was approaching I volunteered to sign up people for the ‘Italian' dance held at the church. All the coordinator asked is that I show up at one or two masses, the 'sign up list' in hand and perhaps help set up the dance the night it is scheduled.
Of course, nothing I do should be ho-hum, so I started to plot a way to call attention to myself and sell a lot of tickets, after all, my feeling is either pray or get off the kneeler if you know what I mean. So, what came to mind but that great headline: "BE A MODEL, OR JUST LOOK LIKE ONE!" Except, I would substitute the word ‘Model' for ‘Italian.' Then I decided that ‘Look' wasn't right, I needed to make it more original and choose ‘Dance' instead.
Then I would need to look Italian. I have a couple of hats that signify the Italian bent. One is the baseball cap #1 Son gave me, with the "I" on it for the Italian World Cup baseball team. When I wear it, people ask: "What does the ‘I' stand for?" I like to tell them that it is short for ‘Me'. I have a few that come from various ‘Little Italy communities' from around the country, Like the two in New York, the one in Boston and one from Philadelphia. Those hats say: "Italia" and I placed it on the table, next to my flag, and that would give the parishioners an idea.
Of course, I have my Italian flag, it is a small desktop type, and I could bring that, all to help me sell the tickets.
But I need more than flags and hats and banners. I need to say ‘Dance" in plain old English! I could draw a picture of a couple doing the Tarantella, or a hitman stomping on someone's head with a caption, "Don't miss our dance-or else."
Mom would have been so proud of me!
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