Stoops of Atlantis

This is the eulogy I wrote for my amazing and loving dad, Dominick DiCerto, who passed away at the age of 93 on May 7, 2025. 

All seasons have its smells. But no season beat summer for  the variety of scents, stinks, perfumes, essences and aromas that would fill the air around those Stoops of Atlantis. 

After harsh winters, Spring often arrived timidly- but greatly welcomed- around the Stoops of Atlantis. 

Lets face it- as a kid- Christmas is about the swag. And some years that swag shined especially bright. Or didn't.

You'd be surprised how many famous folk are kids of Atlantis. Movie stars, singers, musicians, politicians, wise guys - can all call East Harlem their home town.****NOTE - I reference episode "10 - Making Movies" - it is actually Episode 19!

After a five month hiatus, Mikey D is back and returns to the root of the podcast - colorful stories about the Stoops- in this Jeopardy Game of an Episode!

In the late 1970s - early 1980s video games appeared in Atlantis and lured me off the Stoop. And then came the home computer and this kid from East Harlem found a new purpose in life!The Robots – KraftwerkKids are People Too - Bob McAlisterCruel Summer – BananaramaSnowball – DevoGirl U Want – DevoJust What I Needed – The CarsVideo Games – Ronnie Jones END MUSIC BY  MONKEY PUDDING FACE

It can be hard keeping a Peter Pan worldview in a place filled with pirates. But this kid tried on those Stoops of Atlantis. 

Lets fire up the time machine, slip on your Prokeds and take a stroll around the Avenue with Mikey D.

Books were all over my house and they helped make life better around those Stoops of Atlantis. Music:Easy Reader themeSesame Street theme InstrumentalPaperback WriterEgg SongVintage Scifi MusicMonophonics Like YesterdayWordsKraftwerk NumbersWalt Grace's Submarine TestHardy Boys ThemeDylan My Back Pages

Hanging around those Stoops of Atlantis was often fun. But sometimes you needed to breath new air so it was into Dad's car for some Road Trippin'!MUSIC:1.       Queen – I'm in Love with my Car2.       Lover Boy- Working for the Weekend3.       Supermarket Time Portal Muzak4.       Night City Jazz5.       Paul McCartney and Wings – Silly Love Songs 6.       A Flock of Seagulls – I Ran7.       Queen – Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon8.       The Belairs – Squadcar9.       Bill Withers – Grandma's Hands10.   Bach – Toccata (Rollerball theme)11.   Sopranos Theme12.   Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Country Roads

The Dutch called them Stoeps. We called called them Stoops. But those stone steps were much more than practical structures. They were part of our lives and culture.

Yep- more flubs and Cosmo interruptions. Enjoy!END MUSIC BY MONKEY PUDDING FACE

We were little demons on those Stoops...and we were also altar boys...mix that with idle hands of a dull summer day and you have a recipe for mischief.MUSIC:Hell's Bells - ACDCThe Exorcist ThemeInterstellar First Step - Hans ZimmerSympathy for the Devil - The Rolling StonesAir on the G String - J.S. BachLucifer over Lancashire - The FallRunning with the Devil - Van HalenGonna Raise Hell - Cheap TrickOnly the Good Die Young - Billy JoelEND MUSIC BY MONKEY PUDDING FACE

Last Times are not always last times. Often they are not even obvious as last times. And sometimes they are just the hold between the now and then. Times are strange.

Sometimes you needed a newer, more god-like perspective than those Stoops of Atlantis could offer. So you climbed the steps...END MUSIC BY MONKEY PUDDING FACE

There was a time when nothing was great. Just being and letting the mind explore.

Museums were magic to this kid from East Harlem and no matter if it was downtown or in my backyard- specimens abounded and fill my eyes with delight. 

Put on your Pro-Keds or Chuck Taylors and follow me on another foot powered exploration of East Harlem in the 1970s. 

Memory fragments - like leaves in autumn - fall around this episode.

Back in those Stoops days TV was quite different. Far less choices yet the choices we had were amazing! At least through the eyes of Mikey D.

The streets around the Stoops of Atlantis were alive with wacky and colorful characters. Here are some words about my TOP FAVORITE FIVE.

Here we go again...make fun of Mikey D's tongue tied trips and traps!

A year is filled with sights, sounds, tastes, touches and smells. And around he Stoops of Atlantis- many remain fixed in the density of my memories. 

Treasures abounded around those Stoops of Atlantis and seeking them, digging them and finding them was what helped pass those days.

Let's step back onto those Stoops of Atlantis and take a walk to the bodega as Mikey D offers a guided tor of the sights and sounds!

I seem to recall more snow - deeper, colder and much more fun- fell on those Stoops of Atlantis.

The Christmas Spirit transcends species. Even the lowest of the low.

When a treasure trove of Silver Age comic books became available - we did what we had to in order to make it ours!

It was called the Bronze age of Comic Books. But for this kid - it was the Golden Age.

We loved to scare each other as kids. Good, goofy fun scares. But sometimes there were the Real Scaries. Scares noone asked for around the Stoops of Atlantis. BONUS- interview with Mikey D's sister Laura!

Yeah there were many fires around my stoops in the 1970s. And every one of them had its own, unique story. Here are a few of them.

She was a gorgeous Crab Apple Tree. A Magic Tree. And in many ways she defined my childhood.

Here it is. The final chapter of the Stoops Anomaly. We follow Kilroy and Boobie up those final steps and surreal discoveries as they make it to the roof.

Fireworks were an art, a sport, a past time and a cultural necessity back in those Stoops of Atlantis days. And I hear they were illegal....We had fun.

I'm Jimmy - a Spaldeen. Let me tell you about my golden days...Audio Clips from "The Spaldeen Ball"

We were a mix of colors on those Stoops of Atlantis. We found a way to live as friends, as neighbors or simply to just live and let live.

Music was religion around those Stoops of Atlantis. And Rock was my choice to bring me to higher realms. This is my Love Letter to Rock.

The saga of Kilroy and Boobie continues up the flights - deeper and darker. Towards the Beacon.

When there are microphones there are bloopers. The nature of the podcasting beast! Here is the second batch of cats, cars and tongue tied host bloopers!

The 1970s was the Golden Age of Toys. This was before electronics, chips, game carts or the exciting pixels of Asteroids. Take a fun journey and see how many toys YOU remember! using to pass the rainy days around the Stoops of Atlantis.

The Climb to the roof begins but in the strange building next door.

When it was summer and time to get away from those Stoops of Atlantis we loaded the car (if it hadn't been stolen) and made our way to the paradise of ....Staten Island? Yes- fun, food, sand and toxic litter awaited as well as the little know Haunted Buildings of Midland Beach. It was heaven for us kids!

Part 5 in the continuing tale of Kilroy Ganski and Booby as told by Kilroy from an orbiting prison.

The continuing saga of Kilroy Ganski's in-orbit tale of his and Booby's adventure to get the missing part to the beacon.

Food is part of the vocabulary for the stories we tell. And around those Stoops of Atlantis were all kinds of culinary treats! Step back and lets tease our memories and tastebuds.MUSIC:Lazy Mary - Carfree – Kevin MacLeodLove is Blue – Paul Mauriat

We continue with the saga of Kilroy Ganski and Boobie Coolie as the truth of Area 51 is slowly revealed.

They say idle hands are the Devil's Work things. Well - perhaps - but give some kids fake money, a fishing pole and a boring day...and devilry and fun - will abound!!

The tale continues - Kilroy Ganskie- trapped in orbit - tells the story or Boobie Coolie, invisible janitors, Area 51 and...

Long before there was The Stoops of Atlantis, there was In Orbit Radio- a short lived experiment in audio storytelling. These stories, about my alter ego named Kilroy Ganski- aboard a orbiting satellite- passes time telling stories and observing the human race. Fictional and completely improvised, they are bizarre and thoughtful reflections. Enjoy.

Lots of strange things happened around those Stoops of Atlantis. But sometimes we had to look skyward to see the oddities! Or- even better - create them ourselves!