"Still Breathing, Still Pouring"

"Still Breathing, Still Pouring" was the choice Sal Defalco made for the name of his autobiography. It hurts to think that title couldn't be used now but not as much as thinking of a world where the Legendary Savatore DeFalco never had his story told completely.

Sal had such a varied, wonderful and amazing life. I know because he asked me for help working on his autobiography. At first I merely tried to edit his manuscript, a tome of over 100 pages of stories that he had put together just in case he ever wanted to write a book.

To be honest, I didn't believe many of his stories at first. I thought they held some semblance of truth but I honestly felt he talked a far bigger game than he had ever played. I went home and Googled him; I didn't have to search past the first page. The pictures, stories, biographies, magazines, and court details were all over the place. The next day, I asked Sal if he needed help getting the story of his life organized. I drafted a roughly 10,000 word outline that consisted of the different eras of his life, the major events he wanted told, and the order in which he wanted them told. I did test samples of writing styles until I found something he felt represented him. In the end, I spent almost a year researching the 1970s, Disco, and Studio 54 that I sometimes feel that I lived through them. (In fact, I may remember it better than some of you do.)