Day +78 “Last Night When We Were Young”

Another three laps tonight… you must be getting tired of this dribble about my exercise achievements… BUT, I also did a full set of stairs, up AND down. That is a big deal because my PT has been focused mostly on my balance and whenever my two feet leave the same plane… oh, oh… “TIMBER”. Not tonight, though. Still with the rash on my face, but it’s going away a little at a time.

Tony and Leonora leave tomorrow… we have to get them to the airport about 10ish in the AM. They have been here in Florida (both Tampa and Orlando) for about a week and a half. Tony and I have had a great time… telling stories, watching Clint Eastwood movies, reading and generally having a great time. He was a terrific caregiver… although a mite intense at times. He had an alarm on his iPhone for every activity you can imagine. Also, a special thanks to the “Posse” for taking care of Lennie while Ruth Ann was at school.

I mentioned Nonnie the other day and the story that got her here to the US is really interesting. It was about 1915 that she made her attempt to leave the little village of Ripabottoni in the province of Compobasso: Uncle Joe (big brother) had come to the US several years earlier and had established himself with a job and pretty much found Nonnie a husband… Antonio D’Angelo.

She and her father and younger brother hitched up the donkey to the wagon and made the trip to Naples, only to find the boat had already left… so back to Ripabottoni for another attempt the following week. Her ticket wasn’t first class, so the trip was not enjoyable. About a week later they landed at Ellis Island. She made her way to Grand Central Station (Uncle Joe sent her very detailed instructions and a $50 bill) and found the train to Bridgeport. Upon arriving in Bridgeport, she found there were no more trains to Waterbury that night and had to sit in the waiting room all night. She befriended another young woman (Nonnie was only about 15 or 16 at the time) and they took turns looking after their trunks while the other went to the rest room.

Nonnie turned on the water, to find that one tap was cold and the other was HOT. She had never experienced a hot water tap before! The excitement in her eyes as she told me this story cannot be described. So the streets weren’t paved with gold, but there was hot water. Life is good in the U.S. of A !!!