Carlo J. Levare
Stories rooted in place, memory, and the beautiful mess of being human.
Counting the Days of Our Lives
Dario Esposito wakes up strapped to a gurney in a care facility he definitely didn’t sign up for, and the staff’s cheerful insistence that he “relax” only convinces him he’s been kidnapped by people with clipboards. His only ally is the man in the next bed — a brilliant, unhinged patient who calls himself the Colonel and treats the place like a military occupation. Whether he’s a retired officer or just dangerously bored, Dario can’t tell, but the Colonel knows exactly how this institution grinds people down.Together, the two men navigate the daily absurdities of a system that treats them like misplaced paperwork — trading barbs, plotting small rebellions, and refusing to go quietly. Counting the Days of Our Lives is a darkly funny, sharply observed story about aging, autonomy, and the unlikely friendship that forms when two men realize the only way to stay human is to laugh at the walls closing in.
Who is this Guy?
"Carlo J. Levare writes literary fiction steeped in the textures of place — the row homes and corner stores of South Philadelphia, the stubborn resilience of small-town Pennsylvania, and the complicated love of family and neighborhood. His work blends humor, heart, and unflinching honesty about the institutions that shape (and sometimes break) us. When he's not writing, Carlo can be found in Colorado, debating the correct pronunciation of 'water ice' and searching for a decent cheesesteak west of the Delaware."
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