Tales from the Barber Shop

About the Book

Anthony "Tony Palma" Palmeri, popular barber and humorist in Pittston, a small Pennsylvania coal-mining town, began telling jokes as he began losing hair in his twenties. With his dynamic wit, Tony built up a repertoire as "The Bald Barber," which mushroomed into a stand-up-comedian routine over a 40-year career. With the humor of Robin Williams and the gentleness of Bing Crosby, there was no frightened child whom Tony could not charm into a barber chair, and no sad person he could not make laugh. Nurses, doctors, and townsfolk agreed, "He’s better than a medicine."

In Tales from the Barber Shop, his daughter, Sister Josephine Palmeri, a teaching nun in Morristown, NJ, shares Tony’s 40 years of stories, along with inspirational gems from the life of her late Dad, a heartwarming story of down-to-earth holiness and humor.

About the Author

Sr. Josephine Palmeri, MPF, loves Pittston, PA, the friendly little coal-mining town where she grew up. Here she imbibed the upbeat spirit of her Dad, Tony Palma the Barber, whose comedy routine grew from the jokes he told as he lost his hair. Sister Jo has heard these stories all her life, literally "before she was born," since Tony used to rehearse before his pretty, young wife, Jo, who was expecting their firstborn child.

After entering the convent of the Religious Teachers Filippini in Morristown, NJ, Sister Jo earned her Master’s Degree in Spanish from Millersville University and Master’s in Religion from Marywood. Twenty of her humorous and inspirational stories have been published in magazines, and she has been a motivational speaker for many audiences.

Sister Jo has taught teenagers for 45 years, using original, zany classroom methods, especially humor, to get her lessons across. In 2000, she was named Outstanding Spanish Teacher of NJ by the NJAATSP, and in 2001, won the Mario Fierros Award for Excellence in Teaching. "Longevity runs in my family; my grandmother died at age 104 in perfect health. So I might be teaching high school for a few more decades," she laughs.

Since Tony always spoke "off the cuff," his jokes were never written down. In response to requests, "his daughter the nun" has compiled 100 stories from memory, with clips from her Dad’s life, showing his love for people and his positive influence on those he met.