It was September 1982. I was a freshman at Ohio University and I had learned a few months earlier that my cousin John was a senior there. I got his telephone number and called him. He knew about me being there. We just needed to connect. When I reached him, the conversation went something like, “John, this is your …
The first time I went to Italy, I spent a month with cousins in Grotte, Sicily, discovering my mother’s hometown. Then I was back in Rome, ready to start an internship with the Associated Press. I was 22. My Uncle Charlie was the next Grotte visitor. He and my mom went back to their hometown …
Continue reading A tribute to my Uncle Charlie, my Italy buddy
At our family picnics, there are so many cousins and children of cousins and their children, it can be a challenge to meet and greet everyone. My Aunt Joleen has the system nailed down though, as I witnessed at our recent gathering. “Now, who are you?” she simply asked, as she made the rounds. And that’s …
