Frank Di Silvestro

In 1951, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, Freddy and his friend, 16 to 18, idolized Tony Curtis, who is a young actor in Hollywood groomed for stardom. Curtis comes from a neighborhood not far from where they live. In Harry's Luncheonette, they stand around the jukebox talking about Curtis' good looks and his fame and some of them even try to comb their hair like him, especially Benny Ravello who has hair just like Curtis and dreams of becoming an actor like him. He studies acting at the Drama Workshop where Curtis studied and where Joyce Selznick, the agent, discovered him. But he has difficulties in obtaining an audition with her. Remarkably with the cleverly deceptive help of his sister, a virtuoso violinist, he obtains the audition. However, Selznick rejects him, saying he should get rid of his Bronx accent, but Benny imagines his hooked nose repulsed her, which was not discernible in the picture he sent her. He decides to have rhinoplasty (a nose job).

A handsome, thirty-year-old man, talented in various fields, is suffering from amnesia. On a cold winter night, he finds himself lost, cold and hungry on the main street of a town in North Dakota. He doesn't know how he has arrived in this town and he knows nothing about himself. Occasionally an image from the past enters his mind. But it quickly fades away, leaving him confused and bewildered. He enters a diner and learns the name of the town is Brookville and that it is a few days before Christmas. He discovers he has no wallet or money to pay for the meal he has eaten. Andy, the owner, trusts him to pay for the dinner at another time and allows him to stay for the night in his brother's hotel. Not remembering his name, glancing at the menu, he tells Andy his name is Mark Menu. Andy invites him to a Christmas Eve part at The Church of Our Lord Dinning Hall. In the following days Mark Menu becomes a popular person in Brookville because of his helpful kindness toward others as they all wish him a Merry Christmas. In the end he remembers who he is and goes home, sadly disappointing the girl who has fallen in love with him.

A handsome, thirty-year-old man, talented in various fields, is suffering from amnesia. On a cold winter night, he finds himself lost, cold and hungry on the main street of a town in North Dakota. He doesn't know how he has arrived in this town and he knows nothing about himself. Occasionally an image from the past enters his mind. But it quickly fades away, leaving him confused and bewildered. He enters a diner and learns the name of the town is Brookville and that it is a few days before Christmas. He discovers he has no wallet or money to pay for the meal he has eaten. Andy, the owner, trusts him to pay for the dinner at another time and allows him to stay for the night in his brother's hotel. Not remembering his name, glancing at the menu, he tells Andy his name is Mark Menu. Andy invites him to a Christmas Eve part at The Church of Our Lord Dinning Hall. In the following days Mark Menu becomes a popular person in Brookville because of his helpful kindness toward others as they all wish him a Merry Christmas. In the end he remembers who he is and goes home, sadly disappointing the girl who has fallen in love with him.

"Alone with a Butterfly" is about the White and Black situation as it existed in 1951, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx where a benign segregation between whites and blacks is considered normal, especially by sixteen-yea-old Freed Messina and his girlfriend. In Freddy's neighborhood the blacks, who hold good city jobs, live solely in an apartment building called the Colored House by the white neighbors. A sixteen-year-old black boy, Willy Hamilton, lives in the Colored House with Carol, his fifteen-year-old pretty sister. She is a superb artist and suffers from congenital illness that often weaken her so that she must rest. Willy is the only black boy in Freddy's class at Hunts Point High School. Despite fearing ridicule by his friends and strong disapproval from his father for associating with blacks, Freddy becomes friendly with Willy and Carol. He is enthralled with her beauty and the magnificence of her paintings. Freddy and Carol like each other. Since Carol doesn't go to school and must remain home all the time, she feels alone. But because of Freddy's interest in her, she doesn't feel alone anymore.

"Alone with a Butterfly" is about the White and Black situation as it existed in 1951, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx where a benign segregation between whites and blacks is considered normal, especially by sixteen-yea-old Freed Messina and his girlfriend. In Freddy's neighborhood the blacks, who hold good city jobs, live solely in an apartment building called the Colored House by the white neighbors. A sixteen-year-old black boy, Willy Hamilton, lives in the Colored House with Carol, his fifteen-year-old pretty sister. She is a superb artist and suffers from congenital illness that often weaken her so that she must rest. Willy is the only black boy in Freddy's class at Hunts Point High School. Despite fearing ridicule by his friends and strong disapproval from his father for associating with blacks, Freddy becomes friendly with Willy and Carol. He is enthralled with her beauty and the magnificence of her paintings. Freddy and Carol like each other. Since Carol doesn't go to school and must remain home all the time, she feels alone. But because of Freddy's interest in her, she doesn't feel alone anymore.

Boy Jesus and His Dog is an inspired story of the imagination. The story, which takes place in Nazareth, is about the love that Boy Jesus and his dog, Angel, share with each other in a time when most dogs were wild and unfamiliar with the human-dog bond we have today. Boy Jesus, sometimes guided by his Heavenly Father, gradually develops a relationship with Angel that is spiritually moving and shows how boy and dog are prepared to sacrifice their lives for each other. Dog lovers, who have loving relationship with their pets, will be especially touched by the unconditional love between Boy Jesus and His Dog.