My mother’s family came to America from their home in Acerra and eventually settled in the near-west side of Chicago in the Little Italy area, much of which has since disappeared under the concrete of The University of Illinois-Chicago.

They established a grocery store and meat counter that saw them through the Depression, supporting the five children they raised during an era of lazy days pitching pennies by open fire hydrants, gang warfare and rampant corruption (some things never change), and the rule of neighborhood bosses.