My Father's Heroes

In a time when the Yankees dominated, the Church governed, and the Mafia ran the streets, My Father's Heroes explores a son's love of baseball, his family, and his choices of whether to follow his religion or his father's prophetic pragmatism.

My Father’s Heroes is the story of a 2nd generation Italian-American boy, Franco, growing up in New York during the 1940’to 1960’s, who is torn between his mother’s deeply religious beliefs and his father’s prophetic pragmatism. Through Franco's eyes, we see the Roosevelt years, World War II, the Atom Bomb, the Cuban Missile Crisis and other world events unfold. While a young boy attending Parochial school, Franco witnesses the priests who are responsible for creating his moral character commit egregious acts without recourse. It is then that he realizes that the people he has been taught to respect the most, are not what they seem to be. Disenchanted with this hypocrisy, Franco and his friends rebel. Simple pranks to boys become deviant ploys that cause more troubles than fun. After a friend is brutally assaulted by a local gang, the Young Sinners, Franco and his friends realize the only way to fight back and protect their neighborhood is to form their own gang. Franco turns to his father's old friend and the local Mafia Don, Mr. Anthony, for assistance. With Don Anthony's permission and the help of the Fordham Baldies and Daggers, Franco and his friends form The Imperial Hoods. Meanwhile, Franco's father's only ability to connect and help his son is through their mutual love of the Yankees. It is through their conversations and respect for the ball players of that time, Lazzeri, Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Williams and Robinson, that they are able to create an impenetrable bond. People are hurt and the ultimate crime is committed. It is only when The Police, the Church, the Bishop and the Don are all involved that Franco realizes his own heroes and demons are also those of his father. He comes to find the age old quote, "the older I get, the smarter my father becomes," is actually true. My Father’s Heroes is an examination of the love between a father and son, a boy's recognition of his religion's inconsistencies, and the journey we must all take to realize who our heroes truly should be.

F. James Pellettieri is a native New Yorker who grew up in the Bronx. The son of two Italian immigrants, Jim went to catholic school as a child and went to the New York School of Printing high school. He spent much of his career in the printing industry, working in advertising, marketing, and typesetting. After retiring, Jim went on to fulfill his lifelong dream of writing his first novel, MY FATHER's HEROES. Jim's self-published first novel, MY FATHER'S HEROES, is a fictional autobiography of a young boy coming of age in the Bronx and his perception of the "holy trinity," or the Yankees, the Mafia, and the Church. Jim now lives in eastern Long Island with his wife of over 40 years, Barbara, and enjoys golfing and spending time with their five children and ten grandchildren.