The Italian Connection

Dear Readers, July jottings with an Italian connection: Giuseppe Garibaldi was born on July 4th, 1807. Many people know that California’s State flower is the golden poppy and the State bird is the quail. But few know that the State fish is the “Garibaldi.” …

Dear Readers,March brings shamrocks and my annual “St. Patrick was Italian” column: A “St. Patrick was Italian” remark, tossed into your March conversations, can make boring talk into boiling talk if you have some conversational fodder, to buttress your claim. …

Dear Readers,  April marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. April also marks the month when Guglielmo Marconi, born in Bologna  April 25, 1874, was hailed worldwide as a benefactor and hero to humanity. The …

Dear Readers, McCloud California in Siskiyou County, at the foot of Mount Shasta is often featured on television or in print as an ideal spot for Bay Area weekend get aways. I was unaware of any Italian connections in McCloud California, …

Dear Readers,  a March minestrone of Italian connections for you: March 17, 1861 is the day the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to Kingdom of Italy. Here is a brief look back at the “new management.” The Kingdom of …

Dear Readers,  July jottings with an Italian Connection: Army General Peter Chiarelli said, ” I dropped the d word.” The general, when  explaining why the military prefers to use the term post traumatic stress rather than post traumatic stress disorder, arguing that disorder unnecessarily stigmatizes soldiers’ natural response to the emotional …

Dear Readers, June jottings with an Italian Connection: Astronaut Michael Collins (1930-2021), pilot of the Apollo 11 spacecraft Columbia  who, along with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic first steps on July 20, 1969 passed away recently. He was …

Dear Readers, Our National Elections will take place in a few days, so I thought I would share a little political gossip with you from days gone by. Back in 1934 a piece titled Roosevelt and I by Benito Mussoliniappeared in the World Digest Magazine. …

Dear Readers,  April-April comes from the Latin word aperture which means to open. 1. April Fool’s Day is a day people play silly pranks. So be alert. The United States orbited the first weather satellite April 1, 1960. 2. St. Francis of Paola was …

Dear Readers, on Veteran Day I am reminded that on November 11, 1918, the Armistice agreement was signed and fighting on all battlegrounds ceased at 11 a.m. as the guns of World War I fell silent after 4 long years. The …