College & questionable judgment
The Green Foot Capers: A Chain Reaction
Two college roommates, one enormous provolone, and a parking shortcut that became an unauthorized extracurricular activity.
8 min read · Personal story
Read the storyJERRY PERONE · PERSONAL STORIES
Stories from
a Sicilian life.
Family, work, and the moments when my dignity left the room before I did.
I’ve spent much of my life managing serious situations. Fortunately, life has also supplied plenty of situations in which I was the problem. These are a few of my stories. Pull up a chair.
Choose a story
12 items
| Title | Type |
|---|---|
| Chaps in Building 320 | Work & unexpected turning points |
| Finding Fred Gwynne | Adirondack adventures & friendship |
| Mother’s Tomato Sauce | The family kitchen & questions best left unasked |
| My Father Loved His Tow Trucks More Than His Sons | Fathers, sons & the family garage |
| My Hebrew Name Is Jerry | Marriage, family & belonging |
| My Mother the Deer Hunter | Family legends & Sunday dinner |
| The Goat Mother | Mother’s Day & a family detour |
| The Green Foot Capers: A Chain Reaction | College & questionable judgment |
| The Sicilian Accordionist | Music, memory & growing up Sicilian |
| The Whole World Is BS | Work, ambition & a little skepticism |
| Wendy Doesn’t Know Either | Curiosity, connection & a lesson from Wendy |
| What the World Never Saw | IBM, the Olympics & people under pressure |
Select a title to open it.
Work & unexpected turning points
Chaps in Building 320
Lost luggage, a snowstorm, a coffee disaster, and the most important job interview of my life. The suit never stood a chance.
9 min read · Personal story
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Marriage, family & belonging
My Hebrew Name Is Jerry
A Sicilian Catholic, his Jewish wife, and one unforgettable morning in Malta. After more than fifty years together, there was still something to explain.
11 min read · Personal story
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Adirondack adventures & friendship
Finding Fred Gwynne
How Herman Munster Saved My Life — and Accidentally Created the IBM Raquette River Navy
18 min read · Personal story
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Work, ambition & a little skepticism
The Whole World Is BS
A purchased radio show, celebrity endorsements by fax, and the surprisingly simple price of becoming an expert.
13 min read · Personal story
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IBM, the Olympics & people under pressure
What the World Never Saw
Behind the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, an urgent warning sent an IBM review team around the world. This is the work the cameras never showed.
11 min read · Personal story
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Fathers, sons & the family garage
My Father Loved His Tow Trucks More Than His Sons
Nicky got the beautiful new tow truck. Jerry got the battered Dodge. A son spends a lifetime learning what his father meant by love.
12 min read · Personal story
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Family legends & Sunday dinner
My Mother the Deer Hunter
Tree never carried a rifle. Her deer arrived by tow truck—and Sunday sauce was waiting.
8 min read · Personal story
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Music, memory & growing up Sicilian
The Sicilian Accordionist
My twin brother got the drums. I got the accordion—and a lifetime of stories about the people who made me play it.
17 min read · Personal story
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Mother’s Day & a family detour
The Goat Mother
A yellow Lincoln, a Sicilian mother, and a goat with terrible timing. All we wanted was Mother’s Day brunch.
8 min read · Personal story
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The family kitchen & questions best left unasked
Mother’s Tomato Sauce
Two boys, disappearing pets, and a pot of Sunday sauce. Years later, the greatest mystery is how so much love fit around one table.
7 min read · Personal story
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Curiosity, connection & a lesson from Wendy
Wendy Doesn’t Know Either
Eleven years of manicures, one very persistent question, and a stack of printouts. Wendy has a lesson for me about family, opportunity, and the questions we forget to ask.
7 min read · Personal story
Read the storyThese reading editions are adapted from my personal storytelling scripts. There’s more to tell—and some stories are being saved for a future collection.
A good story brings
people together.
Planning a community gathering, an organization’s event, or an evening of storytelling? Tell me about your audience.