by Damian | Apr 4, 2015 | Family |
My mom died when I was three years old, so I don’t really remember her, no matter how desperately I try to conjure up any sort of memories or recollections.
40 some odd years later, I’m learning so much more about her thanks the the magic of the interweb. LinkedIn hasn’t helped me find my dream job (they never have postings for “be the next Harry Shearer”), but it did help me connect with one of my mom’s first cousins living in Italy. She has helped fill in so many blanks in my knowledge of my mom’s side of the family.
My mom’s parents immigrated to the US from Italy. Her mom (my maternal grandmother) died young. Her sister died as a child (I think she was 12). My mom died at 33, from leukemia. Trying to connect the dots when most of the relatives are deceased isn’t easy. But thanks to my cousin Evelina in Italy, I’ve:
- learned what town my mom’s family came from. Montebelluna… it’s fun to say, go ahead, try it!
- learned the names of dozens of relatives
- learned the real name of my grandfather. I always knew him as “Louie” but his real name was Luigi…
- seen (via Google Maps) the house where my great-grandfather and grandfather were born
- seen photos of my mom’s relatives that I’d never seen before
- Most importantly, seen photos of my mom that I’d never laid eyes on before.
Mom’s the youngest child in this photo
Mom’s on the lower left, with her brother Remo, Aunt Concetta, cousin Aldo, Uncle Guido and cousin Rosetta
Evelina’s English isn’t that good, and I don’t speak any Italian, but we use Google Translate to communicate via email. So while the Internet may have cursed us with such time-wasters as Lolcats and Perez Hilton, it has also helped me fill in some missing pieces from my life, and for that I am eternally grateful. Grazie, Evelina!
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by Damian | Mar 24, 2015 | Family, Funny Business |
This weekend I installed a new handle on our crappy screen door because:
A. the old handle broke off
B. I’m too cheap to buy a new door
C. Even if I did buy a new door, I’d be too lazy to install it.
The old handle had no latch on the inside, so we could open the door just by shoving any part of the door with our hands, feet, butt, whatever. And our dog could escape any time she wanted unless we kept the main door closed.
The new handle does have a latch. Which means our pooch will stay put… but it also means we all have to unlearn our decade-long habit of opening the door any old way we please. To help remind everyone to push on the latch handle, I relied on a Post-It Note and the song stylings of Salt-N-Pepa…
I blame Geico for this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE0_GaLsX1Y
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by Damian | Mar 20, 2015 | Family |
I’m thrilled to announce that this blog has received one of the most coveted consumer group endorsements in the country.
You may think that means the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval
But this is much more prestigious. My 11-year old daughter, upon hearing that I had a blog, said “That’s so lame! Does anyone even read it?” Coming from her, that really meant a lot. After all, her previous experience with blogging comes from a Disney show called Dog with a Blog.
Basically she’d rather read posts from a canine than from her old man. So from here on out my blog will proudly display this badge of honor:
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by Damian | Mar 13, 2015 | Family |
A couple of weeks ago, I accidentally dropped our handheld kitchen mixer onto the floor, thus ending its useful life (please don’t charge me with involuntary appliance-slaughter).
Yesterday my wife wanted to make a recipe that required a mixer. Problem? No siree! Check out this beauty:
Better yet, I can use this same device to give my wife that Jacuzzi bathtub she’s always wanted – I’ll just put some duct tape on the trigger.
As Red Green says, “if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”
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