Daily observations of my simple life.

Momma M:

As a young adult she walked across Germany home to Italy from the concentration camps after world war II. Later she became an immigrant to the U.S. She and her young husband settled on the West Coast on a hilly, rocky piece of property about 16 acres. They built a house, with a stone foundation and they planted walnut trees and cherry trees plus a vineyard. Not the easiest ground to farm but they endured.

I came to know Mamma M through my son. He would go up and work for her, shooting blackbirds from the cherry trees and building this and that. One Christmas we went up for a visit. She greeted us on top of the rocky hilltop in front of a small house, on crumbling rock foundation. Around the house were many herbs and other garden plants. She greeted us with purple hand knit slippers and a hand knit pull on purple hat. It was a piece of old Italy. Happy to see us she began to sing Italian love songs to my son and invited us into the house. She had a small grandson sitting in a highchair next to the table, she was cooking ravioli and offered us a glass of homemade wine. Rich, full and very very STRONG. She sat us at the table and while she was talking and singing she was dishing up a plate of homemade ravioli for my son. Between chores she was giving her grandson sips of her very heady wine. She fed my son and then offered my daughter and myself a small plate of ravioli. It was very different and I couldn't help but wonder if the meat was the black birds my son so faithfully shot for her. The sauce no doubt was well laced with her very rich red wine. She was an indearing soul, very independant, her husband long gone. She survived on her little piece of land, paid taxes and other necessaries from the sale of her walnuts and cherries. I doubt that she had invested in the stock market. Her investment was her own labor, her productive trees and her land. I think she had sheep and chickens too. She was a survivor and she had enough.

I sometimes wonder about her, if she is still alive, and if her little homestead is still there. That rocky hillside is in a fast growing area where the wealthy love to buy. No doubt those 16 acres are worth millions these days but does the money have as much value as a life well lived on your own productive land?  I don't wonder or doubt that what she did had far more value than what those big buck guys do with a piece of productive land. I thought of her when I wrote of Italian self sufficiency, yesterday.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 17:19 | link | comments (1)

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#1  28 September 2004 - 02:31

 

You really make the people and the place where you live come to life. Very nice.

InMyLife

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