Concettina Died and Other Stories of the East Side

"In Italy, the Nativity was celebrated by building a large crèche, surrounded by a village, filling a stocking with fruit and nuts and having wonderful elborate meals on Christmas Eve and again on Ch…

"She placed only a nickle bet on the number Papa had chosen, and put 95 cents into her small coin purse to use at the grocery store. She never made it to the store though, because she went into labor…

"My father’s cousin, Antonio Zaza, was physically unable to make the journey. But a passport had already been paid for and money had been set aside for the voyage. So it was decided that someone was …

"After being here for almost two years, Papa decided to obtain citizenship, and inquired from an influential Italian-American how to go about it—but without having to go to classes to study American …

"Now age 26, and engaged to be married, Gaetano decided to leave Italy again, promising his wife-to-be and her family that he would return in three years. And after traveling to France, he departed f…

"I assumed this was Anthony's yearly Christmas call. Preparing to rub it in about the cold northern weather he and Judy were having in New York while Marie and I were walking on the beach, I asked ab…

"Our common denominator was our Italian heritage, of which we were both extremely proud. We shared everything. At month’s end, when we were broke, we bought and shared a loaf of bread to make mayonna…

"The three DeGennaro children departed Italy June 25, 1930, from Naples, aboard the Italian ship Augustus. Nine days later they arrived at the Port of New York."

A teenager's migration to a new life i…

"Imagine starting on a journey to a new land, with a three-year-old daughter in hand—and waiting for you at the end of your journey, a husband you haven’t seen for four years...."

Marco's mother reluc…

"After Mama’s death, among her few small possessions hidden in her dresser drawer, we found a letter written to her many years before. Yes, a love letter from Papa to her, when he courted her in Molf…

“I was afraid to stand up or move too much in my seat, for fear that I would rock the plane, like a row boat; so I sat stiffly upright for almost two hours. Then I began to squirm...."

Marco's mother …

"Papa was always inviting friends or business associates to dinner with little or no advance notice to Mama. As much as this infuriated her, she never failed to prepare terrific dinners for these gue…

"In 1960 I was in the army, stationed in Ansbach, Germany, and I decided to take some leave time and go to Molfetta, Italy, the birthplace of both my parents, and home to two uncles, one aunt, cousin…

"In 1958, after leaving Ohio University—actually I was asked to leave due to poor grades—I enlisted in the Army for a three year hitch, which was a better alternative than living with this disappoint…

"After my high school graduation, my parents were busting their buttons because I was the first in the family to go to college. That fall, they drove me to Athens, Ohio, where I would start classes a…

"In July of 1949, I was just eleven years old. Palma, who was 18, invited a young man to our house, so that he could ask my father’s permission to marry her. This came as a complete surprise to Mama …

"My mother’s lady friends came calling on her, not all at once, but throughout the morning. Each one had the same horrific news to tell: 'Concettina died this morning!' Each time this news was report…

“Here’s two empty gallon jugs for each of you. Don’t run, walk slowly, and go to the top of the hill, to the natural water spring, have a nice long drink, and then fill the gallons with the cold wate…

"As Martha, Joe and I watched him run, he suddenly fell backward as if he had run into a wall. He jumped back up and began running around, holding his forehead, his mouth forming the word “oh,” but n…