Drove about 200 miles round trip to have lunch and laughter with my family down in South Jersey. My Aunt Edith, her daughters Lin and Judi, Aunt Edith's brother, Harry, and his wife, Ann, Mike, Joey, Veronica, Joe--and Sis and Don, who were driving back from Maryland to Connecticut.
It wasn't just the delicious orzo with shrimp or the slender haricots verts....it was the connection, the history, the bursts of laughter and the memories. The warmth, like a hand-knit shawl. The lingering around the table, reluctant to leave. The looking into my cousins' and my aunt's and my sister's eyes to seek and to remember.
Rosie*, our grandmother--Sis's, mine, Lin's and Judi's--arrived from Italy as a teenager at Ellis Island, having lost some siblings on the way to illness on board. [Typhoid? Influenza? I must ask Sis. I think I remember Uncle Anthony or Dad saying they got sick on the trip. Were they traveling in steerage?] How painful that must have been, to reach a place of hope knowing people you love paid with their lives to get there and didn't make it. Did Rosie kiss their bodies goodbye? Take a last peek? Or were they quarantined? Was Rosie healthier or older, which helped her not succumb? Did she look back as she left the boat?
I treasure the strong, silky thread that connects the four of us to Rosie. We all carry her smarts, her spunk and her bravery, her can-do spirit. I wish she could have been there today, that we could have talked to her. About her life, how she managed, what made her happiest, how she felt about her faith, what it was like to grow up poor on a farm in a small village near Genoa. How she learned to cook. What it was like to speak only Italian in New York. How she coped with losing her baby boy. [Dad always remembered his little brother's death, recalled being placed in a crib with a roasting pan, a spoon and a deck of cards to keep himself busy while everyone came over to express their sympathies.]
Meanwhile, life goes on. I have been praying for peace and trust and grace. Good night.
*née Cella, before she married Charles Garbarini
TCOY
It wasn't just the delicious orzo with shrimp or the slender haricots verts....it was the connection, the history, the bursts of laughter and the memories. The warmth, like a hand-knit shawl. The lingering around the table, reluctant to leave. The looking into my cousins' and my aunt's and my sister's eyes to seek and to remember.
Rosie*, our grandmother--Sis's, mine, Lin's and Judi's--arrived from Italy as a teenager at Ellis Island, having lost some siblings on the way to illness on board. [Typhoid? Influenza? I must ask Sis. I think I remember Uncle Anthony or Dad saying they got sick on the trip. Were they traveling in steerage?] How painful that must have been, to reach a place of hope knowing people you love paid with their lives to get there and didn't make it. Did Rosie kiss their bodies goodbye? Take a last peek? Or were they quarantined? Was Rosie healthier or older, which helped her not succumb? Did she look back as she left the boat?
I treasure the strong, silky thread that connects the four of us to Rosie. We all carry her smarts, her spunk and her bravery, her can-do spirit. I wish she could have been there today, that we could have talked to her. About her life, how she managed, what made her happiest, how she felt about her faith, what it was like to grow up poor on a farm in a small village near Genoa. How she learned to cook. What it was like to speak only Italian in New York. How she coped with losing her baby boy. [Dad always remembered his little brother's death, recalled being placed in a crib with a roasting pan, a spoon and a deck of cards to keep himself busy while everyone came over to express their sympathies.]
Meanwhile, life goes on. I have been praying for peace and trust and grace. Good night.
*née Cella, before she married Charles Garbarini
TCOY
- Boot camp in the dome.
- Cool bath with lavender bath salts.
- Ice water on the road trip.
- Lunch and laughter with my family.
Posts
And to think, Alice, that if our grandmother had not survived the trip (almost a century ago?), none of us would be here to eat shrimp and orzo and laugh around the dining room table. The siblings that did not live through the journey, what future generations were halted there? What would they be like? Weird to think of such things… like a world with no Garbarini brothers. We LOVE seeing you and Sis. Thank you for doing the miles! Love, Lin
ReplyDeleteWow, Alice, this is a really good entry. What an interesting family. It certainly puts our modern-day struggles in perspective when we think about all they had to endure!
ReplyDeleteHi Alice,so happy to finally get to see you and Maryann.Harry and I so enjoyed the afternoon.Glad you mentioned everyone by name,people do notice.
ReplyDeleteAll our families have stories of the trip across the huge ocean and starting a new life in our wonderful country.
The best recounting of the immigrant story is one written his first book,The Fortunate Pilgrim by Mario Puzo if you haven't read please try to as the critics say it is his best.
Lin, thank you so much for having us. Everything was so lovely and it is always a treat to see you all. I talked to Sis and she doesn't remember hearing that any of Rosie's siblings died on the voyage but I remember Uncle Anthony and Dad talking about it...do you? Yes, a world without Garbarini brothers is simply too terrible to imagine. Love you love al
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen. Thank you as always for your note, which brings me good energy.......yes it does put our struggles in perspective.......i trust all is well......xo
ReplyDeleteAunt Ann! thank you for the note. I loved seeing you and Harry. It really was wonderful. So glad you could be there. I will try to read that book; it sounds good. Next time I see you, i'd love to hear the stories about yur family coming across the ocean....love to Harry. love alice
ReplyDeleteYes, I also heard from my father that Rosie lost more than one sibling on that voyage. Hope today is a better day for you. Yesterday's post scared me a little :{{ Love, Lin
ReplyDeletethanks Lin...i will be ok...love alice
ReplyDelete