There are so many experiences in life that I find it impossible to say what my favorite anything is. For example…when someone asks who my favorite baseball player has been, my mind flashes so many players before me. Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter, Willie Mays. But an absolute favorite? I like them for different reasons, and I find it difficult to say just one.
The same is true with books. Someone asked me today what my favorite book is… A flash of dozens of books crossed my mind (none of them mine) out of the thousands I’ve read. And I liked them all for different reasons.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson captivated me. I didn’t want it to end. Mario Puzo’s The Godfather may be the only book I’ve ever read twice. Richard Ben Cramer’s Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life is a masterpiece. I like Nelson DeMille a lot, and his books flash in my mind. I absolutely devoured Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Go ahead…ask me which was my favorite, and I can’t tell you.
The first book I remember reading was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. That always flashes in front of me for some reason.
It’s the same thing with Italian food. Which is my favorite of all the food I grew up with and have experienced in Italy and Sicily? My mind shows me a menu from Peas and Macaroni and Pasta Con Sarda, which I grew up on, which today is considered poor man’s food. Veal Marsala, Ravioli of any kind, my mother’s eggplant parmigiana or steak a pizzaiola. My wife has her renditions, which are close. My grandma's stuffed calamari is in the flashes. But no absolute favorite. I can actually recall the aroma and tastes.
Similarly…who is my favorite actor or actress? I see the faces of Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Denzel Washington, Humphrey Bogart, Giancarlo Giannini, Sofia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, and Charlize Theron. The flashes seem never to end.
My favorite vacation spots? There I go again! The flashes are like a movie playing in my mind: Rome, Taormina, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Venice, Paris, Montauk, and Long Beach in New York. The funny thing about these places is that I can close my eyes and think of any of them and be instantly brought back to the fabulous experiences I had in each city.
I suppose I am a lover of life and have been blessed to have been to many wonderful places, read many great books, eaten many fabulous foods, and seen great plays, films, and sporting events. I cherish everything I’ve done and am looking forward to more if it's in my cards to do so.
