Becoming Joey Fizz
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I knew I'd have to make choices as I stood on deck watching the action in the poker game I just left then looking over the ship's railing at the ocean waves slipping by. One choice I already made was to return Eagle's feather to his family. I kept it with me throughout the war from the moment he was killed. Whatever it meant to Eagle getting to "the other side" I wanted to make sure he made it there. So, I started thinking. Does it make a difference---any difference? I mean about who you are inside your gut where you live? Where you come from? Where you're going? I don't know, but if you don't know who you are no matter where you go and you're not happy who you are then you're just taking up space. I figure that's a waste. Maybe you don't want to risk making the journey to find out who you are not knowing or scared where you'll end up, but I did---and still do---otherwise, in my book, you may as well be dead.
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About the Book
Follow the journey of Joey Mancuso becoming Joey “Fizz” as he travels in the crucible of his existence seeking to find his place in the universe on his own terms. Share in Joey’s journey returning from the Korean War, conflicted about returning home to the conflicts in his own family. Be with Joey on his way after the war guiding a blinded war buddy to fulfill a dream going to Yosemite National Park then visiting the home of a dead buddy from the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana returning to his family, in tribute, the most meaningful symbol of his buddy’s life. Go with Joey to Memphis where he escapes trouble in a fight at a poker game learning firsthand the hatred still brewing in this country. Be with Joey as he heads back home to New York facing restless days and nights struggling with the remembrances and nightmares of war including having a brother, Gio, living his own nightmare shell-shocked and hospitalized from wounds suffered in World War II during the invasion at Anzio. Learn of Joey’s struggles with his Uncle Vinnie who’s tied to the mob tempting and testing Joey. His father opposes Joey getting involved in the mob’s action. His sister, Anna, is a librarian living her life safely ensconced in her cathedral of books writing letters to help him find his way. Join Joey heading westward to Hollywood where he pours champagne for the rich and famous earning the nickname Joey Fizz. Then onto Las Vegas and eventually back to New York to fulfill his dream having a place of his own, marry his Las Vegas sweetheart threading the needle between his uncle, the power of his mob connections, and the freedom to succeed on his own without their interference. Follow Joey’s journey; the journey of an ordinary man doing extraordinary things.
About the Author
Stuart A. McKeever began his law career in New York City in the 1960’s in the charged atmosphere of the city’s criminal justice system. McKeever’s formative years were spent defending the indigent as counsel for the Legal Aid Society. He was recruited for a one year special assignment on behalf of the New York State Attorney General charged with implementing legislation mandating the assignment of counsel for indigent defendants. Entering private practice, his 40 plus years in the courts acquainted him with a menagerie of Runyonesque characters, top shelf corporate executives and their families, the literati and a potpourri of jazz musicians, McKeever being one of them playing, in part, to help pay his way through college and law school. He continues playing for enjoyment with various jazz groups. In 1990, his book, The President’s Private Eye, the Story of Detective Tony U from NYPD to the Nixon White House, was published. His book, The Galindez Case, was published in 2013. Retired from his law practice, he engages his time in writing and research, spending time with his wife, Polly, visiting with his children and grandchildren, golfing, and occasionally fishing on Montana’s wilderness rivers and streams.