Page 18 - Italian-American Herald - October 2022

18 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | OCTOBER2022
IT’S ALL GOOD
Who’da thunk it? A life full of love happily goes into extra innings
with a wonderful after-life. So, my grieving process is tempered by that lifelong and foundational belief.
Among those who died were a dear cousin, last October and a dear friend in November. They couldn’t have been more different in many ways but they shared one very special trait.
And that was one of service.
Cousin Chris Sacchetti, (see photo) was
a retired Philadelphia Police officer. He was
a member of the elite “Stake-Out Squad’ which was the forerunner of what has come to be known as the SWAT team. He was a decorated officer and was recognized for valor on several occasions. He served and protected the public. He loved his family.
He had few friends, a natural result of his wary cop nature, but if you were fortunate enough to be his friend, you had a loyal and selfless comrade for life. His other loves were hunting, fishing and communing with nature while doing so. He would have turned 80
MUSIC
Reggaeton song ‘Waiting for You’ re-released with Calabrian lyrics
ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
By Charlie Sacchetti
On June 26, I reached what some refer to as one’s “Diamond Jubilee.” Upon researching the derivation of this term, I learned
that it can be used interchangeably when referring to events of note marking either 60 or 75 years. Since I have already had my 60th birthday, I guess I’ll go for the “bonus round” and use the term for my 75th. For those of you who are younger, please bear with me and allow me to speak from a position that you will most probably reach and it will seem like you’ve done so in the blink of an eye.
One of my favorite Beatles songs is "In My Life." To me, it is a masterpiece of Lennon/ McCartney. The first two stanzas hit home in a very profound way since they kind of sum up a great deal of my feelings as Father Time and I stroll down memory lane ...
There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments With lovers and friends I still can recall Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all
Those who know me best will attest to the fact that my chronological age isn’t always in sync with how I view the world. There is still a little kid hiding in there somewhere who frequently pops out to have fun with
family and friends. I jokingly
say that I realize I am probably in the “top of the 7th inning,”
to use a baseball metaphor, when describing where I stand regarding my lifespan. One can only hope the game goes into extra innings but that frequently depends on the moves of the “Manager.”
There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
. . . My old neighborhood, the schools I have attended, the many baseball fields on which
I have competed, different deployments while serving in the
National Guard, family vacations, the many businesses I serviced while supporting my family...
It seems many of these have changed.
My old neighborhood has morphed from a childhood haven to one of the worst crime districts in Philadelphia. That is a shame. My high school, like most others in our big cities, leaves much to be desired. My college has grown so much that the campus I attended
is unrecognizable. I guess that’s good but it has discontinued the outstanding baseball program, that I was proud to represent. That’s not good! My National Guard unit
and all others now have a likelier chance
of being “called up” to fight on foreign soil. May God bless and protect them all. Many
of my former customers have moved on or closed. One benefit of being “semi-retired” is that I still see some of them and my longtime assertion that “I really don’t have customers, just friends who buy things from me,” still holds true. That’s a blessing.
Some are dead and some are living In my life I’ve loved them all
. . . I guess it only makes sense that the longer you live, the more people in your circle die. This past year or so has been a particularly tough one for me. Many friends and some family have passed on. Fortunately, I believe in a loving God who provides us
on June 9 of this year. That didn’t happen because he died suddenly, exactly the way he would have wanted it. While hunting in the mountains of Pennsylvania, he suffered a heart attack and died right on the spot.
My friend, Nick Montagna, provided another type of loving service. Brotherly love. Nick’s brother and my friend, Joe, has been enduring medical issues for many years. Nick and Joe were confirmed bachelors, who lived together and both retired from the DuPont Corp. Aside from brotherhood, they were best of friends. As Joe’s health became more of an issue, Nick assumed the responsibility of the caregiver, seeing to Joe’s every need. We were all shocked when Nick died suddenly, totally unexpected. Joe and Nick have been my friends since we were 10 years old. They are just two of the many I have been blessed to have. As the song says, for all of my family and friends ...
In my life, I’ve loved them all. IAH
Charlie Sacchetti’s cousin Chris went salmon fishing every year, but Charlie never joined because he feared getting seasick.
Italian-American Herald
NEW YORK, N.Y – Italian Canadian-American musician Michéal Castaldo recently released an original Reggaeton song in his native Calabrian language, “Spetu Pe Tia” (“Waitin’ for You”) featuring
a blend of musical cultures: Spanish, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, and Calabrian.
Castaldo originally
recorded the song using
English lyrics in the
mid-1990s with his band,
Lives of a Cell. “Although it
is now sung in the Calabrian
language, it keeps the energy
and nuance of the original charting English version,” Castaldo said.
Castaldo was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was a young boy. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. As a vocalist, he has toured North America and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Rainbow Room, Shea Stadium, Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and Italy’s Teatro F. Cilea and Pescara Opera House.
Known for his crossover Italian ballads and Italian versions of popular hits from various genres, Castaldo and fellow Berklee alumnus, award-winning remixer Mystr E, have created another hypnotic remix dance groove that highlights the Reggaeton beat.
Italy is made up of 20 regions and each
region has its own language. When the regions/kingdoms were unified in 1861, the Florentine language was chosen to be the official Italian language.
“My recordings of Flamenco Pop songs are sung in Calabrian; it’s my way of preserving the language and telling my stories,” he said.
The artistic cover design by Donna Rega, an abstract artist from Jersey City, pays tribute to several Reggaeton-Flamenco pop artists, such as Enrique Iglesias, Benji & Fede, Luis Fonzi, Demarco Flamenco, Juan Magan, Decai, Kendji Girac, Alvaro Soler and Josh Acosta. The song, produced by Majestic Castle Music Productions, features Italian Flamenco guitarist, Francesco Grant- Energipsy.
The new song can be found on iTunes, Spotify and other sources. IAH