In Memory of Tony Bennett

"ANTONIO!" his mother yelled (in That Voice, the You Are Expected at the Table voice). "ANTHONY DOMINICK!" "MA!" he yelled back automatically, moving quickly now (across the open lot on Fourth Street and taking the Band Alley shortcut). He was humming while he ran, then singing ... because he was 8 and "Anything Goes" by Cole Porter was on the radio. Gawd, he loved that song; his mother ("ANTONIO, IF YOU ARE NOT AT THIS FRONT DOOR IN FIVE MINUTES!") found it tawdry and scandalous, but she liked his voice and let him sing along. "My little crooner," she whispered. "Sing something else." He was running ... down some beach in his Army uniform, down by Radio City Music Hall, down the main strip in Vegas, down the steps of his art studio ... running in the golden light as his mother called to him. "Where you been?" That Voice said as the gates opened (behind it, more voices were singing ["I left my heart in San Francisco"]). "Ma ...," he said again, beaming.