Author Archives: leodenatale

Stupid Hands By Leo de Natale Illustrations by Vince Giovannucci         The late wordsmith extradonaire William F. Buckley, Jr. coined a term I have long embraced: the jeweler’s eye.  Whether it is innate or learned, paying minute attention to physical characteristics is a gift few possess.  Novelists are perhaps the group who demonstrate the mostContinue reading “Stupid Hands”

Gym Rat By Leo de Natale Since March, we’ve been experiencing a nationwide funk. It’s the damned Covid-19 pandemic, a disease that has disrupted every aspect of human life here and around the world. For months, Americans have been in solitary confinement. Men, women, children and their pets were living circumscribed lives. The pandemic hasContinue reading “Gym Rat”

Time Passages By Leo de Natale “You see this watch, Moss?” asks actor Alec Baldwin in his tour de force performance in the film Glengarry Glen Ross. Baldwin, as he verbally emasculates  fellow actor Ed Harris, flashes his Rolex and says, “This watch cost more than your car, pal.  And  you are nothing.”           WhenContinue reading “Time Passages”

A Day in the Life of a Morning Glory By Leo de Natale A hot summer sun rises and shines upon the trellis It is August and the colony of blossoms is about to awaken They’ve had their roots in the ground since May and it is time. Each blossom unique, shaped like a bud. Continue reading “A day in the life of a Morning Glory”

Ink By Leo de Natale I was shopping at a Star Market store the other day. It was unusually hot and humid. As I exited a masked, sweaty, obese, gray-haired lady wearing thick eyeglasses was entering. She was probably in her 70’s or 80’s and dressed in a grandmotherly v-neck dress. She wouldn’t be confusedContinue reading “Ink”

The Love Of A Horse By Leo de Natale On a crisp autumn day, riding a horse at full gallop is the greatest adrenal rush one can experience. Guiding a 1,200 lb. animal across a grassy field is exhilarating. You feel the speed, the pounding hooves, the refreshing cool of the wind in your face […]

Vitreous Humor By Leo de Natale Illustrations by Vince Giovannucci        I graduated from optometry school in 1981.  It was a time when the profession’s tectonic plates were shifting. Theretofore it was a hybrid occupation: half optician/half eye doctor.  It was a time where at optometric conventions the audience, mostly male, was awash in whiteContinue reading “Vitreous Humor”

Paper or Plastic? By Leo de Natale           The Covid-19 virus has upended the American economy and one medical group, plastic surgeons, is in a tizzy.  The surgery these folks perform has gone the way of all medical care.  During the past three months there have been no face lifts, no Botox injections, no laserContinue reading “Paper Or Plastic?”

A Day At  Market Basket By Leo de Natale  Market Basket, aka “The Basket”,   is one of the largest and most successful supermarket chains in New England.  The stores have become the Starbucks of supermarkets – they grow like weeds.  The success has been established by an intelligent marketing strategy:  Lower your prices and TheyContinue reading “A Day At Market Basket”

The Toupee Store By Leo de Natale Illustrations by Vince Giovannucci Francis Anthony “Frank” Capelli was one of those poor bastards who had the genetic misfortune of premature baldness. By age 22, his dark curly Italian hairline started heading northward. Each day as he peered at the face in the bathroom mirror, a few moreContinue reading “The Toupee Store”