My Roots are Showing

Many parents chant mantras to their children over the years: "I walked three miles to scholl in the snow", "When I was your age..." etc... Mine were: "Turn down the TV; Never judge another until you have walked a mile in their moccasins; Love heals and Some day I will go to Sicily, dip my toes in the Mediterranean Sea, and visit the villages where my grandparents were born".

My grandparents, Calogero and Caterina Desparicio, were born in the mountains of Sicily. They emigrated from Italy to the United States at the turn of the 20th century, settling in California.

The stories my grandfather told me began when I was seven years old. I stood next to nonno as he sat at his oak roll top desk, quill pen in hand. He filled two pages with his flourishing script, folded them carefull, and inserted several notes of currency. When I questioned him he told me he was sending money to his mother and cousins in Sicily. Their villages were being bombed. It was World war II. Tey were hiding in the mountains caves.

Nearly sixty years later my children and grandchildren gave me a birthday party and presented me with a gift, a guided tour of Sicily. There were many tears on my part, and I looked up through them to see a smile on every face.

Six months after taking that tour with my daughter Tracey, I returned to the United States, sold my house, and moved to Italy. The stories on these pages are part of my experience. I hope you enjoy them.

Donna Caterina