Chapter 1

From a Babe to a King

It was a beautiful spring day with not a cloud in the sky in 1949 when Dante Pallone was born. Or so his mother told him so very often over the years, especially on that sunny day in May. He was born breech (ass first, if you don’t know). This led him to believe it was why he was a gawky, skinny, red-headed screwball. Well, there are not a lot of people on earth who would be interested in a guy from Pueblo, Colorado. He grew up near the trains of a steel mill and other things associated with it. He was poor but happy, scrawny but scrappy, and intelligent but stupid. He was no Walter Mitty, but life took him on such a journey it’s a tale unlike many others, mostly comedic and sometimes serious. One could probably name thousands of poor Italians or Hispanics and other kids who faced the problems Dante did and maybe wound up a celebrity, but not Dante. Lots of his relatives and friends would like to hear about where he went and what happened to him. Plus, his children and grandchildren might also like to read about his adventures, although the steamier parts might have to be redacted. Oh, what a life! Dante’s life resembled a Mark Twain novel, full of odd friends and relatives and a burning desire to learn and, especially, to love. His parents were in love, and his mother, Teresa, was the most beautiful woman around, or so Dante guessed, because so many men would turn their heads to look at her. Dante would have liked to kick some of them in the nuts, but he was too short. Teresa’s nickname was “Babe,” always called that by Dante’s father and her brothers. He did not know what her father called her because he only spoke Sicilian. Since both sides of his family were Italian, one of Dante’s long-term regrets was never learning the language. Although his parents both spoke their version of Italian, they all wanted their children and grandchildren to only speak English. That way they could speak Italian and the youngsters had no idea what they were saying. His family was dirt poor, but he had no awareness, as it was one of the happiest times in his life.

In the beginning, Dante and his folks lived with his mother’s sister Marie (his godmother), and her husband, Edwin (his godfather). They had two children: son, Lee, and daughter, Lue, who became his closest cousin. He remained close to Lue his whole life. After a few years, Marie (who was also very beautiful) and Edwin and their two kids moved out, but they and Dante all still went to the nearby Catholic school together. Tuition was one dollar per month, and Dante still remembers taking two dollars for tuition, for him and Carlo, his first brother. This was still quite a bit of money for a family living on less than $200 per month. Lee and Lue came to