Memoral Day 2000

Published by Hunger Mountain Literary Journal 2/1/2026

My father’s name was Sebastian or Sammy. Yiano to his sisters who, when he was

born in 1931, were so young they could not fully pronounce his name. “Suh-bahs-teeanno!” said my grandmother. “Yiano!” said they, faithfully reproducing the final sound. It

is said that old women can’t hear low-pitched sounds, like the gravelly voices of old

men. Old men, on the other hand, can’t hear high pitched tones, like the pursed

exclamations of old women. This is how they get along. Children only hear the final

syllables. This is why, “No, Tina.” or “Timeout, Tina!” does not work as well as “Tina, for

fuck’s sake, NO!”