The Folks on My Paper Route – Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

The Folks on My Paper Route – Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Even though my customers were my neighbors, I learned so much more with the route. Sure, I met them in church, at the movies, in the stores, and on the streets, but now, I saw them in their homes.  Italians, Irish, Poles, Scots and English; a potpourri of neighborhood professors who educated me.

There was the man with big jowls and smooth, yellow skin that looked like tile. I thought he had a ‘gland’ problem. There was a man who was wheelchair bound. I opened his door every day to place his paper on the table next to him. He was alone. His wife was working. He liked to talk. I liked to run, but I didn’t.

There were four schoolteachers; one I had in the third grade. There was a regal priest. There was the man who hid behind his house when I walked by. There was a future mayor and a future governor. There were two tenors; one who sang in the local church, the other who sang in Madison Square Garden.

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There was a college hockey player and an all-state track star. There was a Holy Cross All-American football player, now a school principal.

There was Phil who everyone called Jimmy Hagan because he liked golf, even though the golfer was Walter Hagan. There was a noble man who wore a smoking jacket and cradled a bocchino (holder) for his cigarette.

There were my friends’ parents. There were girlfriends. There was our iceman who knew of Nap Lajoie, the Hall-of-Famer from Woonsocket. There was an Air Force pilot. There was a firefighter. There was a nurse.

There was a tall man in a short bathrobe. There was a short man in shorts. There was a man with a twitch.

There was a cat woman with a nasal twang. There was a nasal woman with a cat twang. There were dog lovers and dog haters. There were mean dogs and nice dogs.

There was the Scot who was a soccer star. There was the family that owned a restaurant. There was a market and a liquor store.

I loved my route, though Sundays were a challenge. The paper was much larger because of a magazine insert and the extra ads. My Radio Flyer red wagon was near toppling when I loaded it at the paper store. I was alone because Louie, my helper, was an altar boy. Mom --- Peter go help him. Dad --- He’ll be fine.

One early Sunday morning, delivering alone with no one in sight, I thought I heard a baby crying. While looking for the sound and the help of an adult, I ended up behind a garage, where I scared a crying cat.

Some of my customers became my patients years later. How challenging it was to change roles, me now their advisor. But caring for them was so much easier because they were so familiar.

The paper route enriched my link to our neighborhood and its people. What a great education.

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli is the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  Learn more here.