My platform shoes echoed in the parking lot of Vazzy's restaurant as I walked towards the door. I relaxed while the friendly bartender poured me a glass of Campari on the rocks. He made it just the way I like it, with extra ice and a slice of lemon. I am not a big drinker, but I love drinking a glass of Campari while I write stories. It was just me, my Campari, a pen and a notebook. I was memorized by the aroma of pizza at Vazzy's. Suddenly, a tall, husky man named Frederick Russo came to greet me. "You must be Joanna," he said, as I continued to sip my Campari. He was approachable, friendly, warm, and well-mannered. Also, his eyes were overflowing with memories of being an Italian American. He took me on a journey from Marcianise, Italy to Hamden, CT, when his father decided to live with "Zio Giuseppe." I hope you will enjoy your journey with us.

 
There was "una luna piena" watching over the town of Hamden, CT as the cats rolled in the grass.  Giuseppe finished a small glass of Amaretto and decided to take a walk. He felt restless that evening as he touched the pocket of his jacket and looked up at the full moon.  He tipped his gray hat and felt the gentle breezes touch his face as he thought about his nephew, Domenico Russo, in Italy.  Giuseppe sat on a stone wall near his house, pulled out the air mail envelope and hoped that Domenico would come to America to work on his farm. He thought about the words that he had written in the letter, " Può vivere con me e lavorare al mio terreno" (He can live with me and work on my land). "Hamden è una bella città" (Hamden is a beautiful town). "Spero che Domenico venga in America" (I hope Domenico will come to America).
 
A few weeks later, the letter arrived in the Campagna region of Italy. Domenico was sitting on an old, wooden bench as he laughed and joked with his friends. "I won! I won!" one of his friends yelled.  They were playing briscola, which was a popular card game.  Domenico threw down his cards and unwrapped a small chocolate bar. He was young, carefree and energetic.  Just as the gentle breeze brushed against his old, gray sweater, His mother Maria said, "Domenico, viene qui! venga a casa con me, she yelled as she held up the letter from America.  Domenico jumped up from the bench and walked home as he said "Ciao," to his friends.
 
Domenico sat patiently at the kitchen table as his mother poured him a large glass of fresh water. "Questa acqua è fresca... dalla fontana," one of his relatives said.  This meant, "This is fresh water from the fountain." Just as he sipped his water, Domenico's family was silent for a moment. Then, tears of joy rushed down their faces as they said that Zio Giuseppe wanted Domenico to live with him in Hamden, CT to help him on his farmland and to sell vegetables. "Giuseppe  ha detto che ha molti  fagioli e altre verdure. Ci sono molti Italiani dentro Hamden e New Haven," which means that Giuseppe  had alot of beans and other vegetables. Also, he said that there are many Italians in Hamden and in New Haven." They all passed around the letter as they shared a few pieces of goat cheese. At first, they had mixed emotions, but they knew it would be a good opportunity for Domenico.
 
As Domenico lay in his bed that night, he glanced at the St. Domenico statue on the table near his bed. His eyes moved towards a painting of St. Joseph as he whispered... "America...e buono per me, ma i miei amici sono qui..." which meant, "America...It is good for me, but my friends are here.."
 
A short time after, Domenico's family helped him pack his valise and a small, black army trunk. "Questo è il vostro biglietto per le nave" (This is your ticket for the boat) one of his cousins said,as he handed him a manila envelope. His cousin added, "Non perda il vostro passaporto!" (Do not lose your passport!) Just like many immigrants, Domenico felt a mixture of emotions. He felt sadness to be leaving his home and feared the unknown, yet at the same time, he was excited to have the opportunity of sailing to America. 
 
 
Zio Giuseppe lined up the rake, hoe, and shovel against his house.  Also, he placed vegetable seeds on a small, wooden table.  Giuseppe's wife, Madelena, baked a "Torta di Limone," or "Lemon Cake,"  She said, "I baked this today. "Domenico avrà fame quando arriva", which means "Dominico is going to be very hungry when he arrives".
 
Domenico's bedroom was prepared. The white, fresh sheets  were on the bed, the crucifix had been dusted, and the down pillows had been fluffed.  Two pairs of dark blue work pants were neatly folded next to a few white T-shirts and work boots.  Also, the icebox was stocked with farm fresh eggs, milk, dried sausage, and soppresata.
 
After Domenico arrived, his  Uncle Giuseppe hugged him warmly. Giuseppe took out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes as he became emotional.  Domenico walked around the house and quietly looked into every room. He noticed a photo of Zio Giuseppe holding a few squash near his farm. Then, he touched  a few black and white photos of his family in Italy and a few vinyl cylinders with Neapolitan songs next to an old victrola.  Although Domenico was in Hamden, CT, he did not feel far from his family in Italy.
 
The first few days  of work, Giuseppe placed his hand on Domenico's shoulder as they walked through the rows of vegetables together. The sun bronzed their faces as they worked together and sold vegetables. Domenico did not take a break, except to take a sip of orange juice from his converted water jug.  Giuseppe and Domenico enjoyed whistling old Neapolitan songs as they worked hand in hand. Sometimes Giuseppe would tell Domenico to watch him as he used his shovel. He tried to teach him the important things he needed to know about working on the farm and selling vegetables.
 
One afternoon, Domenico sat under a shady tree to get out of the blazing sun. Suddenly, he heard a man's voice saying in the distance, "The chalk line is over there"....... "These shingles are the Class A asphalt type,"..."Hey, bring the ladder to the side of the house..."  Domenico did not understand what the men were saying as he discovered that they were working on the roof of a house nearby where he was resting.  "Chalk line" and "Class A asphalt shingles" were words unfamiliar to him. Domenico walked a little closer when a man said, "Hello young man, my name is Nick."  Domenico greeted the man and introduced himself. Although Domenico spoke broken English, he was able to communicate with Nick. "Where do you work?" Nick asked as he looked at Domenico's dark blue work pants which were covered with soil.  "I am a farmer. I work and sell vegetables on my uncle's farm..." he explained to Nick.  They quickly became friends. Nick said, "If you ever want to earn some extra money, let me know. I can always use a good helper." 
 
Domenico took up the offer and started working with Nick on his free time.  Dominico soon realized that he liked roofing  more than farming. "Anything is better than farming," Domenico said.  He did not look down on farming, but he just wanted to do something that he enjoyed.   Domenico Russo learned the trade quickly and eventually started his own roofing business.His company, Russo Roofing Inc.is still in business today and being run by his son Frederick. 
 
As our arugula and steak salads arrived, I sensed that Frederick was proud of his heritage and that he had so many other stories to tell me. "After my father died, I wanted to reconnect with his roots," Frederick said. "I spent many hours on the Internet researching my family history and Italian heritage."  Frederick sat in his chair in front of the computer one evening. His wife Mary said, "Fred, aren't you going to take a break? I made you a sandwich. " Fredrick replied,  "I'll be there in a minute." Fredrick was searching the Ellis Island web site in hopes of finding information about his family's arrival into the United States. "I can't believe that I can't find out any information,"  he said. Fredrick  was unaware that married women such as his grandmother, Maria Gionta Russo, traveled under their maiden name. Also, many surnames were misspelled on the ship's log. "The surname Russo had many variations, such as Rossi, Rosso, even Russig," Frederick explained. Frederick finally contacted his only living "Russo" relative.  Here name was Giovanna Russo Nocereto. She was the daughter of his great uncle "Zio Guiseppe" and Great aunt "Madeleine."  She was 92 years old and ailing.  He took a chance and visited her not knowing if she would recognize him. Although she was very forgetful at her age, she did recall that she used to write to the family "in the old country" when she was in better health. Giovanna located her address book and pointed to " Via Vivaldi #3, Marcianise, Italy, which is a small town outside of Naples. The address book eventually led Frederick to his roots.

Frederick said, "I was told that my father had two sisters in Marcianise, Italy." He still had so many unanswered questions, so he decided to travel to Italy and try to find his lost family. "If I can't find my family, then I wanted to at least bring back Italian soil from Marcianise from where my father and his family lived," he said.   
 
Once he arrived in Italy, he stayed with a friend who lived 45 minutes from the town of Marcianise.  A few days later, Frederick and his friend drove to Marcianise in search of his relatives.  They had to pull over a few times because they had gotten lost.  Each time they got lost, someone in town would tell them to, "go straight about 5 kilometers and then turn left..."  They past many stucco houses with balconies which were used as clothes lines, lots of Fiats, and a few "Pizzeria and Trattoria" signs.
 
Frederick's eyes widened as he approached Via Vivaldi and said, "I am on the same street where my dad lived! I was finally there! It  was more than  just standing on a street in Italy, but standing on the street where my father had walked!" Frederick explained that he had met a woman who lived at the address and asked him, "Can I help you?" Frederick said that he was an Italian American named Frederick Russo, and inquired ,  "What ever happened to his father Domenico's two sisters, Carmella and Giovanna?"  "They both died," she said, "But they had lots of children." Within minutes, there were about 35 people standing on Via Vivaldi, including his first cousin, Giuseppe, who looked just like Frederick's father.
 
There were cars beeping as they passed by Via Vivaldi and noticed everyone hugging and kissing each other. "Ahh, you are a Russo," they said, as they embraced him. Frederick explained that he was invited to everyone's house. "You will eat with us today," they said, as they walked arm in arm with Frederick.  The dining room table was covered with Biscotti, Tiramisu, dainty espresso cups and pink roses. Frederick thumbed through their photo album. As he looked at each photo, he wanted to understand the story behind each one.  "This is your Great Uncle, ....this is your cousin's wedding day..." as family members circled the table. Eventually, Frederick showed them his American photo album. He explained special occasions, graduations, etc..The Anisette and the Limoncello were being poured as the laughter and love filled the dining room.

 One of Frederick's relatives, Pasquale, looked at Fredrick and said, "Just the other day, I wondered if we would ever meet our family in America!" It was a dream come true for both families. This was not just a trip to Italy, but it was a special reunion which enabled Frederick to located a piece of his missing heart. "This is a picture of my brothers James,and Robert, and my sister Marie. I want you to keep this picture of my brothers and sister," Frederick told his relatives.

During his visit to Italy, Frederick went to the cemetery to pay his respects to relatives who had passed away. He placed a red silk rose in the vase, touched the photos of his relatives, and made the sign of the cross.

 "What other special memories would you like to share with me?" I asked. Frederick said that there was always alot of food at his house. Every Sunday at the strike of noon you would have been able to hear, "Pass the brocolli rabe and the pasta."  The linguini and parmesan cheese went hand in hand.  One of Frederick's college friends joined him for Sunday dinner. "I used to go to his house for hamburgers and mashed potatoes, and he came to our house for Italian food," Frederick recalls. His father never went to college, but he wanted Frederick to do well in school. "Did you do your homework?" his father asked. "Although my father never went to college, he wanted me to go to college and to get a good education.  It was old world thinking with new ideas."  Frederick's mother carried fresh peaches and grapes to the table as a  Neapolitan song played softly, "Vieni Sul Mar..Vieni a Vogar, Sentirai l'ebbrezza del tuo marinar," echoed across the room as his mother hummed the lyrics.
 
Although Frederick graduated from Quinnipiac College and became a school teacher, he later on decided to work in his father's roofing business in 1972. Frederick married Mary Donohue and had three beautiful daughters.  Sometimes he sat in the living room and chatted with his daughters. He gave advice about love and marriage such as "If you love him, I love him,..... even if he is not Italian!"  These words filled Frederick's living room when he spoke to his son in law, or when his daughters brought home a man that they were dating.
 
Frederick's sister Marie was the baby of the  family.  One day, she met a man named Bruno Massaro. "I remember his jet black hair, big mustache, and his red convertible  Cadillac." Frederick said that Bruno was a hard working and quiet man. "He's from a good family and he's a hard working guy,"  Frederick explained that Bruno was a mirror image of Frederick's father, Domenico.  
 
On Bruno and Marie's wedding day, Frederick shaved and fixed his tie.  His wife put on her comfortable, yet elegant shoes. "We have to get to Marie's," she said. "They want to start taking pictures!" Frederick's wife sat down for few minutes and had a glass of cold lemonade.  She was nine months pregnant. Frederick and his wife hoped that she would make it through the ceremony and the reception.
 
They made it through the ceremony, but Frederick and his wife had to leave the reception. She needed to get the hospital! Frederick's mother told a relative, "Go ask the waitress for a box."  She wanted a box to bring food down to the hospital for Fredrick and Mary. A lot  of Italians bring food or pack up food no matter where they need to go.  "Let's put some sopressata in the rolls..." and "Maybe Frederick wants a canolli, put one in here...", his mother pointed to the cardboard box as she told another relative.  "What about a few clams casino?" someone asked.  Soon, the box was filled with at least 20 sandwiches, lots of appetizers and various cheeses. 
 
The cardboard box left a scent through a local Connecticut Hospital. One of the interns smiled and said, "Wow! We are going to have a feast during our break tonight."  One of the nurses looked at her salad and cottage cheese and said, "Well, I guess my diet is on hold until tomorrow. Give me one of those  pastries!".  A few of the nurses and doctors laughed as they said, "It looks like Christmas Eve!"  I am sure the elastic waste bands on their hospital uniforms stretched quite a bit that night. Frederick scratched his head and thought, "All I wanted was a couple of sandwiches. What did my mother do? There is enough to feed the entire staff!" By the end of the night, there was only one, lonely piece of cheese sitting in the box. Later that night, Frederick's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Kimberly Marie.
 
I laughed when I heard this part of Frederick's story.  Suddenly, Frederick smiled and described the home of his sister and brother-in-law Bruno and Marie Massaro.  The jarred tomatoes were lined up on the counter as she sat in her favorite chair and sewed. Although Marie did not work in a dress shop, she possessed the creative talent of sewing.  She held the powder blue bridesmaid dress in her lap as she sewed the hem. Also, the scent of homemade bread filled the Massaro's house. Bruno worked seven days a week, and was devoted to his wife and family. They were always supportive of their children. "Bruno worked in his drywall business 7 days a week,"  
 
However, Frederick's eyes filled with sadness as he told me about the day that he noticed Marie's hands seemed rigid.  Frederick said, "Marie, what's wrong with your hand?"  Marie was upset and she said, "What do you mean?" At first, they thought she might have had Arthritis, MS, or Parkinson's disease. A few days later, she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Shy Dregger's Disease a nueromuscular disease that leaves its victim with no motor skills or movement.
 
Frederick noticed the deep love and devotion as Bruno opened Marie's favorite chocolate bar for her. He melted it down and dabbed it on her tongue so she can taste it. Marie was not able to eat solid foods.  Bruno bathed and dressed his wife every day. Sometimes, he would call her favorite hairdresser and ask her to come to the house. "Marie wants her hair washed and set today," Bruno would explain. He made sure that she had her favorite hair dresser at the house to style Marie's hair or to have her nails done. During Marie's illness, Bruno never complained. "For better or for worse, in sickness and in health" were the wedding vows that echoed in Bruno's mind during Marie's illness. Frederick said, "You never know a person's character until it is tested during times of sickness."
 
Bruno followed his routine each morning. As the nurse arrived, he got ready for work. If Marie needed anything during the day, he would leave his  job to go home and take care of her.  Marie came first, and his job came second.  Frederick said, "It was easy for my sister to fall in love with a good looking Italian man with a red Cadillac back in the 1970's. However, during her illness, we all realized the depth of his love and devotion," Frederick said. Bruno was, and still is, and exceptional man. Marie passed away, but Bruno's love for his wife still lives on.
 
Recently, Frederick and his wife attended a healing mass at a local church. Frederick's wife was recently diagnosed with  lung cancer. "Although we believe in medicine and doctors, we truly believe there is a spiritual side when combating  illness," Frederick said.  The Priest stood at the alter, placed his hand over wife Mary's chest and said, "I do not profess to be a miracle worker, but only a conduit from Jesus to you."  During the healing mass, Mary collapsed. She felt a deep sense of peace when she awoke.  Soon after, they scheduled a doctor appointment to evaluate her condition. They feared bad news. The doctor looked at them and said, "Bad news? No, I have good news. Your tumor has shrunk 60% since your last visit!"
 
After the waitress cleared our plates,  I realized that there are many ordinary people with extraordinary stories to share. Sometimes there are unsung heroes who sacrifice much for their families.  Other times, we can see that miracles can happen and that devoted love never fades.  Before we ended the evening, Frederick said, " Many people think that being  Italian American is just about the food,the music, its traditions and culture. However, even more importantly,  it is  our never ending passion to connect with our roots and our enduring devotion to family.