First Person

The reputation of the once-vaunted U.S. Postal Service has taken its share of hits in recent decades. Who doesn’t have stories about damaged or mis-delivered letters, or long lines at the local post office?  As a magazine editor, I have my own tales of woe that include having to replace more than a dozen copies a month that mysteriously disappear into the system, or waiting for weeks to receive notifications that required my immediate attention. It’s easy to wonder what ever happened to those valiant couriers who braved rain, snow, heat and gloom to swiftly complete their appointed rounds. If ...

Joy can seem as hard to come by nowadays as hand sanitizer, but at least there’s good news when it comes to joy. You don’t have to wait for a restock at Target. The supply is limitless if you know where to look. If you’re lucky enough to be sheltering in place with someone you care about, you can begin your quest with a great big hug. Studies show that an embrace of 20 seconds or more releases a flood of hormones that elevate your mood and promote relaxation and happiness. There have been hugs aplenty at our house since ...

Nowadays, there are as many ways to tour Italy as there are cities to visit and sights to see. You can travel with a companion, charting your own course and booking everything yourself, or you can sign up for a large-group tour that takes you by the hand and attends to every detail. And then there are the countless small-group options dedicated to exploring the country’s many facets and out-of-the-way places. When my wife and I decided to celebrate our 35th anniversary in Italy, we invited my family along for the ride. From that tiny seed a truly magical adventure ...

“Money makes the world go ’round,” or so they say. But in the world I live in, volunteerism is every bit as precious as cold, hard cash. At Fra Noi, we have Dan Serafini, a retired financial systems programmer who emailed me out of the blue one day with an offer of help. He came along just as Mary DeSanto was stepping down as our longtime mailing manager, and Dan now assembles our monthly renewal notices, with lunch as his only material reward. The Italian American Veterans Museum is run by an all-volunteer board that’s rich in both talent and ...

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I’m always looking to improve myself, and the leap from one year to the next is as good a springboard as any to spread my wings and at least try to soar. In the past, my to-do list has centered mostly on taking better care of myself — exercising, eating better, learning to relax — with my resolve typically melting well before the spring thaw. With the clock winding down on 2018, I was on the hunt for a new sort of resolution — the kind ...

“Parla italiano?” I get that question every now and then from readers calling to change an address or pay via credit card. For the longest time, I dreaded it. “No, I’m sorry,” I’d sheepishly reply. The caller would politely switch to English and on we’d go. Some of them have given me a gentle ribbing. How can the editor of an Italian-American magazine properly do his job with only English in his linguistic toolbox? I get by, but not as well as I might. In my defense, I came by my handicap honestly enough. My father — who was born ...

  “Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,” those are a few of Maria’s favorite things in “The Sound of Music.” As you can imagine, mine are far more Italian than that. As promised last month, here’s my short list. My family’s red sauce — Or do you say gravy? There are as many pasta sauces as there are bloodlines in Italy, and everyone’s sugo is the best. The gravy that my wife now lovingly prepares descends from la famiglia Basile of Sora, a mountain town southeast of Roma. Like most Roman sauces, ...

  I envy the first Italian Americans: those brave souls who catapulted themselves into the unknown and stared down countless hardships to create a better life for their families in a strange, new land. They brought with them little more than the shirts on their backs and the culture that shaped them, but that was more than enough. Settling with their paesani in ethnic enclaves, they reconstructed that culture from the ground up, celebrating La Vita Italiana in their homes, businesses, places of worship and wherever else they gathered. Family recipes were prepared by heart in their kitchens, canzoni popolari ...

  I’ve had more than a few good cries since my father passed away in early May. He lived a long life and he was busy and robust until the end, and I’m grateful for that. But in some ways, it makes the loss even harder to bear. Tears still flow over the smallest of things, like driving to Joseph’s Finest Meats for the first time without my dad’s sausage order in hand; or giving his last bay leaf plant a new home in my backyard; or sorting through old photos of him with his parents, or of his parents ...

Just when you thought Italian Americans were free to move about the country without being dogged by stereotypes of criminality and buffoonery, the creators of “The Sopranos” and “Jersey Shore” have us running for cover again. According to Deadline.com, New Line has purchased the screenplay to a “Sopranos” prequel penned by the series creators. Set against the backdrop of the Newark riots in the 1960s, the film is expected to pit younger versions of the HBO show’s older generation of mobsters against their African-American counterparts in a gangland bloodfest. Meanwhile, MTV is doubling down on its commitment to casting Italian ...