Frank Nechvatal
At the January 2 meeting, we had guest speaker Toni Greisiger come before our club to speak about the Basha High School Orchestra. She wanted to alert us to their performance coming to SunBird and request that we show our support by attending their performance.
In club news, we had a good meeting and showed the second video in the series of four from the PBS presentation, “The Italian Americans.” The series outlines the experience of this immigrant group and how these qualities influenced and challenged America. In the 20th century, many Italians came to the U.S. to find work and raise a family; however, of the first generation of Italian immigrants, nearly half returned to Italy. Yet those who did remain became a part of a group that played an important role in helping to shape a unique Italian American identity and impact American life and culture.
Our thanks to those who brought goodies to share during the video!
The next meeting will be Tuesday, February 6, at 6:00 p.m. in the Lakeview Room.
We close with some more “Fun Facts about Italy”:
1. Don’t give someone your best wishes in Italy. Instead say, “In bocca al lupo” (into the wolf’s mouth), as this means “good luck.”
2. Italians believe that if someone brushes over a single person’s feet with a broom, that he or she will never marry.
3. Italy is the largest exporter of wine. However, Italy is the second largest producer of wine after France.
4. On the average, Italians eat half a pound per day. Additionally, pasta consumption is estimated to be 70 pounds per person annually.
5. From Cappelletti to Cavatelli, there are over 140 types of pastas. Some of these pastas are only native to specific regions.
Ciao