LE BOCCE

[Thomas]

Drew, I was thinking how times have changed. In my old Brooklyn neighborhood nobody in his right (or wrong) mind would think of attacking a few old Italian men in a park. In fact, anyone who came into the neighborhood unannounced was found out in seconds and firmly persuaded to leave.

Granted, it was a gangster holding, and a few acts of protection were not only illegal but violent.Yet,those of us who lived there knew and protected one another. As a youngster I couldn't do anything wrong (not that I did) without some grandma telling my ma. Bocce was played at all hours of the day and night, as was stickball and ring a leavio (related to Livio Felluga?)