Columns

As we head into the final weeks of summer, let’s grab every opportunity to gather outdoors that we can! Chief among them in our neck of the woods is the annual Pullman Family Picnic, slated to start at 1 p.m. on Aug. 6 at Arcade Park. Pullman has many stalwart residents who raised their families there and watched their kids leave while they stayed. The annual picnic is a time for their kids to return to their roots, bringing their friends with them. You’re invited to do the same! Many former residents make it an annual pilgrimage to recharge their …

My recent columns have been nostalgic trips through our Roseland, Pullman and Kensington memories. For this month’s column I’ve got some great events and happenings that I’d like to invite everyone to attend. Mark your calendar so you can attend these events and share the good times with family and friends. Pullman National Monument is an exciting locale for a summer outing and is a leisurely drive from anywhere in the city or suburbs. The rangers are knowledgeable about the history surrounding the Pullman factory, the 1894 strike and the Pullman Porters. They are willing to answer any questions you …

She has worked with a few masters of contemporary Italian cinema and she is just getting started. Angelica Cacciapaglia was born in Ponte dell’Olio in the region of region Emilia-Romagna and grew up in Milan in a family of artists. Her childhood was spent cultivating a passion for acting. She studied her craft at the Teatro Libero di Milano and employs the Voice Craft method, a technique that maximizes one’s vocal talents. After high school, she moved to Rome and attended a number of acting workshops, studying under the direction of the New York Film Academy’s Anna Maria Cianciulli, and …

The final walk-through before closing is often taken for granted when it is a vitally important step in the home-buying process. Buyer clients will often ask me why we must take part in this event. They are eager to get in and get the deal sealed. But no matter how many times you may have toured the home before the offer, or how confident you feel in the inspection, the final walk-through should never be bypassed. In fact, the results of the walk-through could determine if and when a closing should occur. This is your final look at the home …

The Italian “a” can be translated as both “to” or “in” in English.  The Italian “in” is translated the same as in English — “in”! Both prepositions “a“ and “in“ can be used to describe where someone is going and where a person of thing is located. But each preposition has its own particular role to play to fulfill this function. If we learn how to use the Italian prepositions “a” and “in” correctly, we will truly sound like a native Italian!”   Use the Italian “a” or “in” for a Country, Region, or City Americans and Italians use the prepositions …

What comes to mind when you first hear the phrase “Roseland groups”? If you’re in your late 70s and older, its’ probably Frankie Bortoli or Eddie Baldacci and their bands. If you’re from the generation before that, you’re probably thinking Styx or Chicago. If you so, you’d be way off the topic of this column. Many social groups were formed in Roseland based on school, church, sports, ethnic or military affiliation. The American Legion, VFW, Tornados A.C., Gano A.C., SFBI, and several bowling leagues and Holy Name societies come to mind. Unfortunately, times have changed. And with most people keeping …

Getting your home ready for the spring market requires careful planning and a solid strategy. Let’s start with the price you set. If you price your home too high, potential buyers may never come across your listing because it doesn’t fall within the price range they’re searching for. An overpriced home also runs the risk of lingering on the market too long and going stale, forcing a price cut down the road while losing the big reveal momentum. If you price your home too low, you’ll be leaving money on the table and buyers might be scared off, assuming that …

Carlo Levi’s name is synonymous with the novel and film, “Christ Stopped at Eboli,” but in Italy, he was highly regarded as a visual artist, and one of his most celebrated paintings is “Ritratto di Anna Magnani” (Portrait of Anna Magnani). Created in 1954, the dramatic oil-on-canvas painting benefits from the close friendship between the two. Levi thoroughly captured her intensity and spirit. Gaze into her eyes and you immediately see that she’s deep, not much for small talk, passionate, and that she loves very hard.” Levi painted it with a wavy brushstroke that was typical of the style he …

Prior to beginning the lesson for this blog, I acknowledge that in the larger cities of Italy it is not usually necessary to make reservations in Italian; the Italian staff usually speak basic English and often the languages of their European neighbors — French, Spanish or German.  Also, of course, in most cases, reservations can now be made over the internet on one’s computer or smart phone, without any human interaction at all! But I’ve found that a few phrases in Italian are always warmly welcomed by Italian servers and hotel receptionists, even in the larger cities, and can serve …

Born in poverty-stricken Calabria in 1932, my mother didn’t have the luxury of a formal education. When her father died of tuberculosis, she took to the nearby fields to pick figs, olives, grapes and whatever else the harsh soil would relinquish. Although my mom never took classes in literature, math and the sciences, as so many of us have been lucky enough to do, she had no less imagination, desire and drive. She saw to it that her children had all the things she was forced to do without so many years ago. Literature isn’t solely the realm of “Beowulf,” …