My Roots: God Made Me Interesting

  Like anybody, I have pride in my heritage, the culture which runs through my blood.  Now, a few years back, I started to do some research into exactly what was running through my veins.  Where exactly did my family come from?  So, I asked members of my family and got various answers. 

 "You're Sicilian and Irish."

 "You're Italian, period!"

  "You're Irish, Italian, German and Czech!"

  There were other variations, but with time and effort, I managed to break it down from both the maternal and paternal side.  So, let's start with my mom's side first.

  Maternal Grandmother:  Italian and Greek.  Her parents came from the province of Puglia, from the town of Brindisi.  Puglia is the "heel" of Italy and is quite close to Greece.  I was then informed that my great great grandmother is buried on the island of Corfu in Greece, which is where she came from.  Therefore, my grandmother is of Italian and Greek origin.

  Maternal Grandfather 1:  Irish.  My grandmother was married twice and this is never, ever talked about...until now.  Maternal Grandfather's last name was Grant and the Grants were of Irish decent.  I never truly acknowledged him due to the fact that neither my mother nor grandmother rarely told me about him.  When I was a little girl, I got to meet him once and that was the only time.  Why?  Well, when your grandfather is known as "The Town Drunk" you'd want to distance yourself from that, right?

  Maternal Grandfather 2:  Italian and Sicilian.  My grandmother's second husband, whom I consider to be my true grandfather, was the only father figure I had growing up.  His parents came from two different parts of Italy.  My great grandfather came from the town of Monteferrante, which means "Foot of the Mountain."  This town is located in the province of Abbruzzo in Central Italy.  My great grandmother came from the island of Sicily, which is a whole different kind of Italian in and of itself. 

 
  And now onto my dad's side and what I have is not much.


  Paternal Grandmother:  Polish Jewish.  My late grandmother's family came here from Poland after the Holocaust to have a better life and to escape from the horrible memories of the camps.  Her family came from Warsaw and were simple, hard-working Jewish folks.  You know the whole story.

  Paternal Grandfather:  Russian/Polish Jewish.  My grandfather, who is still kicking, and his family came from Lodz and Leningrad.  They, like my grandmother's family, also came to America after the Holocaust.  His side was also hard-working and they prospered, becoming a prominent, well-known family in the Maryland/Virginia area.  They are in lighting, all I'm going to say.


  Told you I didn't have much on my paternal side.

 So, what does it all boil down to?  Well, I will boil it down to this:

  When my mom and dad hooked up and created me, God said to himself, "Hmm, an Italian girl and a good Jewish boy, huh?  This kid is going to be interesting!"  So, he got a bowl and took a look at the ingredients known as "DNA."

  "Okay, this is going to be a baby girl so let's see...bah bah bah...gotta give her that good ole Jewish Mother guilt.  She has to have that.  There we go!  And now a little something from her mother and...Oh, no!  She's Greek!  Oh, dear ME!  I cannot leave out the nagging, cannot leave out the nagging.  Ohh!  Give her a little bit of that and add a little bit of "Talking Too Loudly" and "Tempermental Drunk."  That should do it!  And now back to dad and...oh, dear...Russian.  I do not know what's worse:  The Tempermental Irish Drunk or the Mad Dancing Russian Drunk.  Let's put some in and see what happens!  What do we have left?  Okay, let's make her smart, but throw in a little bit of forgetfulness.  Makes her more interesting.  And, just to make her even more interesting...an extra touch of BITCH!  And now let her bake for nine months and see how she comes out."

  So here I am, ladies and gents, how do you think I turned out?

  And now some folk songs from my lovely mixed up bloodline.  Enjoy!