On November 23, 1980, I was walking to a bus stop to return to my hometown, which was a 10-minute ride up a mountainside. I was just a few meters from the bus stop when the ground shook violently. The street cracked open. Buildings trembled. Shattered window glass rained down. People screamed and ran in […]
Tag: immigration
25. The Conversation
When my wife was single, she lived in a three-unit apartment house. The owners occupied the first floor. Hailing from Spain, they retained many of their Spanish customs. For example, in their tiny back yard, they set up a long table under a pergola where they would spend many Sunday afternoons enjoying hearty meals with […]
5. To Stay or To Go
As a young, newly-married man in southern Italy, my father became a tenant farmer. He rented a large plot of land from a prominent member of a patrician family based near Florence. With only a zappa (a wide-bladed hoe), my dad, joined by his brothers and a couple of day laborers, cleared roots, grasses, weeds, […]
