Sunday, July 30, 2006

CALIFORNIA MUSING

wine country touring, tasting, and hot tubbing; City Lights books and Berkely books(Moe's and Codys); Oakland and crossing the bridge in a traffic jam; Dim Sum at Yang Sink; family dinners and shabbat; Trader Joe's; best bagels and espresso around; dogs and dog dander; $140 bottles of wine; heat waves and cool cool nights; missed planes and hotel room and waiting room waits; experimental Berkley theater; Chinese and Japanese lunches; homesick and sorrowful.

Friday, July 28, 2006

IN CALIFORNIA

I am away from even my temporary home now, visiting friends in California, who now have newer friends visiting them. All of this traveling and frantic socialization gets me musing on the meaning of home, or what "home" is and why it is so important. I miss so much of the feel of home, the connectedness, comfort, familiarity. My roots are in my little stone villa, roots dug deeply into the Sicilian soil, which my friend tells me is slowly drying up in a massive heat wave. I feel myself drying up too, so light finally that my spirit blows away.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

My mom's gone

She died Sunday morning and it was a gorgeous bright morning, cloudless, with birds chirping and traffic moving lightly by the small city hospital. We had come to witness her slow death, and even though we knew it was inevitable, we were paralyzed with sorrow. I looked out of the large window that had been totally dark in the early hours after midnight and breathed in the sweet July air in the weak early morning light. It was impossible not to be overcome by the irony between the beauty of the day and the death we had seen in her hospital room.

Monday, July 03, 2006

WORLD CUP SOCCER

The world cup semi finals are now going to be decided by an entirely European group. Italy, France, Portugal, and Germany are set to clash in Germany in the next week to decide the winner with the bragging rights for the next four years. Brazil, the powerhouse from the last few tournaments, was officially eliminated today by a sudden death win with a field goal kick from an Ace kicker from the French team, Zidane. We follow soccer a lot, (“calcio” in Italian) and especially the Italian team. David always tried to explain to me how the set-ups of the team members were like chess, and now I actually see it
And why isn’t the USA right up there with them? American football, basketball, and baseball are so universally preferred by American parents after their kids play soccer for years in leagues all over America until about the age of 12. Then the big switch to “American” sports takes place. But as Newsweek reported, although the Americans may be pretty bad at soccer, just let the rest of the world try to challenge them to a game of American football. Well DUH, it’s not really played anywhere else, they better be good at it.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

SUMMER IN THE USA





We are here in the town of my childhood, Dunkirk, New York, until August. I could not stay away from the family while my mom was so sick, so we changed our tickets and came a month early. Mom is doing well and I visit her in the nursing home daily while she has physical therapy exercises and learns to live with arthritis pain. We miss Sicily so much and the comfort of our home, but we really are so used to my brother Sam (Junior)’s house that it is truly our home away from home. I enjoy seeing and spending time with my nieces and nephews and other relatives, and I find myself talking all day instead of reading and writing. I know it is tough on Steve and he plans little get-a-ways so that he can, well, get away! In July we pick up our regular schedule and will travel around the country some more. It will be good to see my son and my daughter. In the meantime, we are back in the USA for almost an entire summer for the first time in years!