A Penny for Annie's Thoughts: April Fools!

Sunday, April 1, 2007

April Fools!

April fools day. Boy, did we get fooled.

Our plane tickets said departure at 3:10 p.m. We got to the airport at 12 noon. We went to the AirFrance check-in desk. She looked at us like we were nuts. Apparently, and without our knowledge, they had changed our flight to 10:30 this morning. Obviously, we missed it. (Oh no, it's my travel curse again; I thought we had escaped this time.)

She shook her head and wrinkled her brow for quite some time, and finally said, ''this is bad.'' There was not another flight to Paris until tomorrow, and that was full. And oh by the way, the security guards were probably going to strike tomorrow and everything would be shut down.... I know I said I didn't want to leave Venice, but I didn't mean this way.

We asked her to check flights into Hartford or New York or anywhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Finally, she found a flight tomorrow morning at 10 on Delta direct from here in Venice to New York. We grabbed it. We figured when we get to New York we can take a train to Hartford or Springfield. Now about tonight... not in the airport, please. ''Sorry, Air France will not cover your expenses.'' Boy, are they gonna hear from me.

We found a room at the airport Marriott, and we took it. Only 120 euros. Cab to hotel, 17 euros. Lunch snacks, 10 euros. Dinner at hotel, 40 euros. About $250. BOY, are they gonna hear from me.

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"Italian Memories, American Dreams"

In the year 2001, I made this documentary film as a tribute to my grandparents, who were Italian immigrants. It has received wonderful feedback from viewers - Italian and non-Italian - all of whom say it tells the story of their ancestors' arrival in this country.

Driven by conditions including epidemics, war, and the specter of starvation, more than 4 million Italians left their homeland and came to the United States between the 1890s and the 1920s.

They left their families and friends, their lives and language, and their beloved country to go in search of the American Dream.

This is a story of their struggles and spirit, their love of faith and family, and their holding on to heritage and tradition while building new lives.

"Italian Memories, American Dreams" is a 30-minute documentary film that is a tribute to the four million people who immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s. These brave souls - making their way in a new land - held onto their love of family, their strong faith, and their passion!

This joyous celebration of Italian ancestry includes dozens of historical photographs and film, from Italian immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, to families at home in their new country.

It is on VHS format tape in a heavy protective library case, and shrink-wrapped.

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Here is a poem that expresses the pride felt by Italian Americans.

I am an Italian-American.

My roots are deep in ancient soil, drenched by the Mediterranean sun and watered by pure streams from snow-capped mountains.

I am enriched by thousands of years of culture.

My hands are those of the mason, the stonecutter, the artist, the man of the soil.

My thoughts have been recorded in the annals of Rome, the poetry of Virgil, the creations of Dante and the philosophy of Croce.

I am an Italian American and from my ancient world, I first spanned the seas to the New World.

I am the million men who served in America’s armies and tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in military cemeteries from Guadalcanal to the Rhine.

I am the steel maker of Pittsburg, the grower of California, the textile designer in Manhattan, the movie-maker in Hollywood, the homemaker and the bread winner in 10,000 communities.

I am an Italian American without stint or reservation, loving this land as only one who understands history, its agonies and its triumphs can love and serve it.

I will not be told that my contribution is any less nor my role as worthy as that of any other American.

I will stand in support of this nation’s freedom and promise against all foes.

My heritage has dedicated me to this nation. I am proud of my full heritage, and I shall remain worthy of it.

I am an Italian American.

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Famous Italian Americans

• Giovanni Caboto, known in American history as John Cabot, the discoverer of the mainland of North America.

• Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian who gave the name to America.

• Enroco Tionti, the Italian who first sailed on the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that became the state of Illinois, and the colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas.

• Filippo Mazzei, friend of Thomas Jefferson, whose thesis on the equality of man was written into the Bill of Rights.

• William Paca, signer of the declaration of Independence.

• Francesco Vigo, who financed the North West Expedition of George Rogers, and accompanied him through the land that would have become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

• Alessandro Malaspina, who mapped the Pacific from Mexico to Alaska and to the Philippines.

• Giacomo Beltrami, who discovered the source of the Mississippi River in 1823.

• Constantino Brumidi – they called him the Michelangelo of America; he created the dome of the United States capitol.

• A.P. Giannini - in 1904 he founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco that now is known as the Bank of America – the largest financial institution in the world.

• Enrico Fermi, the father of nuclear science in America.

• John Basilone from New Jersey, the first enlisted man to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II.

If you would like to purchase a copy of my film for $4.99 plus $3 shipping, please email me at nohoannie@comcast.net.