Vinny Buchelle, one of the regulars at the Tunnel Bar, some decades before had been sent off to Trenton State Prison for statutory rape, or so he claimed. Underneath all that steel and concrete, Vinny suffered a breakdown and so graduated over to the hospital for the criminally insane. There he received what’s called a course of shock therapy. (“They roll ya in and it hits ya . . . You don’t know if y’r gonna see t’morra.”)
One evening, a rerun of a Saturday Night Live show was on the TV in the Tunnel Bar. A fake commercial for Spud Beer was playing. When the announcer said, “You’ve just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy . . .,” having some knowledge of Vinny’s curriculum vitae, I turned my head over towards him to see his reaction. Vinny’s attention was focused in a way that I’d never seen him achieve before. When the spot ended, Vinny said, “Something new, ‘eh?”
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About Anthony Olszewski
Anthony Olszewski has written on a wide variety of topics: cage birds, tropical fish, popular culture, the poetry of Amiri Baraka and a chapter on genetics for a veterinary text book, as a small sample. He worked as an editor at a magazine produced by TFH, the world's largest publisher of pet books. Anthony Olszewski is the author of a booklet on Hudson County history, Hudson County Facts, and a book of short stories, Second Thief, Best Thief, that are sold on Amazon.
Anthony Olszewski established PETCRAFT.com in 1996. A pioneer on the Web, the Site continues to provide unique information on a range of companion animals, focusing on birds and fish.
As a community service, he operates Jersey City Free Books.
Anthony Olszewski was born in Jersey City, NJ (Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital, 1956) and is a member of Mensa.