Author photo. Ernie Fabiitti was born in New York City in 1931. He and his younger brother Johnny spent eight years in Mount Loretto Home for Boys on Staten Island after a short and unsatisfactory stay at another home. The death of their mother when they were small children precipitated the need for someone to care for them while their father worked. Ernie also had two older brothers and an infant sister, who was taken in by family friends. He received a bachelor's degree in English from City College of New York in 1957 and a master's degree from New York University in 1960. He taught English for 30 years at John Adams High School in Ozone Park, New York. This is the story of a boy who endured many hospital stays as the result of an injury sustained in a childhood fight, including one that lasted a full year. It also recounts the struggles of his father to support Ernie and Johnny from afar. The elder Fabiitti, who had only one arm, the result of a childhood accident in Italy, worked to support his family as a pushcart vendor of peanuts in New York City. The book is the story of enduring love between a husband and his deceased wife and a father for his children necessarily placed where he did not want them to be. It is also the story of many selfless teachers and caregivers - nuns, priests, nurses and public school teachers - who helped Ernie and Johnny to grow up as confident and competent adults.

Ernie Fabiitti was born in New York City in 1931. He and his younger brother Johnny spent eight years in Mount Loretto Home for Boys on Staten Island after a short and unsatisfactory stay at another home. The death of their mother when they were small children precipitated the need for someone to care for them while their father worked. Ernie also had two older brothers and an infant sister, who was taken in by family friends. He received a bachelor's degree in English from City College of New York in 1957 and a master's degree from New York University in 1960. He taught English for 30 years at John Adams High School in Ozone Park, New York. This is the story of a boy who endured many hospital stays as the result of an injury sustained in a childhood fight, including one that lasted a full year. It also recounts the struggles of his father to support Ernie and Johnny from afar. The elder Fabiitti, who had only one arm, the result of a childhood accident in Italy, worked to support his family as a pushcart vendor of peanuts in New York City. The book is the story of enduring love between a husband and his deceased wife and a father for his children necessarily placed where he did not want them to be. It is also the story of many selfless teachers and caregivers - nuns, priests, nurses and public school teachers - who helped Ernie and Johnny to grow up as confident and competent adults.