the sabbatical logs

​Today [September 1st] is my Nonna’s (grandmother’s) 84th Birthday.  We are celebrating at Burger King!  Yes, Burger King, where the Whopper was born!  Sounds a bit odd, in all actuality, I personally find it oddly disturbing that Burger King exists in Palermo, Sicily and throughout Italy.   It was busy too—I guess, the slogan-Have it your Way- entices Italians as it does Americans in the States and abroad.  My Nonna got her Whopper with just Ketchup—her way.  We tell her why not just get a burger with just Ketchup and she responds that she likes the size of the Whopper patty—it’s filling and the meat and hamburger bun are soft.  It’s easier to eat than other burgers my Nonna says—everything is softer on the teeth.  I was happy watching my 84 years old grandmother eat her Whopper with such pleasure and contentment. I opted for a salad at another local eatery.  I just couldn’t allow myself to eat Burger King while in Italy—it seems so wrong.  Why Burger King?  My grandmother lived and worked in the States for over 20 years before returning to Italy and Burger King was always a once in awhile indulgence.  Buon Compleanno Nonna—Happy Birthday Grandma!
 
I also listened to some interviews I had previously recorded of my grandmother telling her story of being a child during WWII.  I wanted to interview her again.  We discussed possibly doing the interview next week.  Instead I re-interviewed her 86 years old sister, my great-aunt, instead.  I had interviewed Zia Maria, as we all call her, 3 years ago about the date July 7th 1943. 

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September 3rd 2015
 
Maria.  86 years old.   Born Bagheria, Sicily.  Currently lives in Bagheria.
 
Zia Maria, told her story about losing her grandmother, aunt, and youngest sister as a bomb exploded that lay dormant in an abandoned house.  My grandmother too had told me this tragic story in much more detail than my great-aunt but still it moves me.  It always puts me in a place of awe in regards to the strength and overall life endurance of these women!   Zia Maria’s story was a bit shorter than the first time I had interviewed her and not due to her memory.  She was tired.  She had been dealing with a toothache the night before that persisted on into the day.   I could see she was in some pain so I had cut the interview short.  I believe she had already made an appointment to see her dentist.  She had mentioned it 3 times that she was going-twice before the interview and then again after—it made me smile, especially because she then said soon after the 3rd mention; ‘mi chi’ sugnu stulusa!’  In the Sicilian dialect, loosely translated, means, ‘wow, I am so OCD!’