Comments on: The Meaning of (Calabrian) Life

By: paula auth

paula auth — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:36:56 +0000

I love everything about this site. All the messages ring so true to my life and understanding of how I felt when I visited my family home village of Serra San Bruno Calabria. Thank you.

Thanks so much Paula

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:58:21 +0000

Michelle-I’ve read thru your archives and your roots are showing…both Calabrese and Coal Cracker! Your use of pictures of Calabria with pictures of the “strippin’s” really speaks to your heritage. Your recollections of grandparents, Christmas lights, coal bins, cookies and cruising are pages right out of my own Coal Region story. I carried a fist size chunk of anthracite from home through Calabria for two weeks. And before we left, I stopped along the autostrada to toss it into the woods as a symbolic gesture to connect what my late grandfather mined for 43 years to the homeland that he left in 1914. I agree, you would be crazy if you did not bring that mini-bucket of anthracite with you to your new life. Well done!

Haha I’ve found it impossible to hide my Coal Region roots — no complaints there Love your coal story, Jim!

By: Elisa_Croatia

Elisa_Croatia — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:09:26 +0000

There is so much wisdom and truth in what you wrote.
” I am so very blessed to live among such wonderful, hard-working, kind people who provide, along with a never-ending supply of figs, lemons, and oranges, constant inspiration to be a better person in ways that truly matter.”

This was my favorite part because my husband’s grandparents have the same lifestyle and I really enjoy being around them. They emit a sort of positive energy that is contagious to the heart!!

Greetings from a Mexican Mommy living in Europe

Thanks so much for coming by, Elisa, and for sharing your thoughts

.-= Elisa_Croatia´s last blog ..It’s been one year…..living overseas =-.

By: Annie Dean

Annie Dean — Sun, 30 May 2010 08:10:54 +0000

Dear Michelle
Just discovered your wonderful blog about life in a Calabrian village!
Making time for your neighbours…what a wonderful and rewarding way of life… no wonder they sleep well there!!
I hope to keep in touch.

Best wishes
Annie

Thanks so much for visiting Annie

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:40:03 +0000

Just wonderful! thank you for sharing this….smiles.

Glad you enjoyed Ellen

.-= Ellen´s last blog ..My girls are going off to college…. =-.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:25:30 +0000

Beautiful Michelle. My father-in-law had a terraced garden in the mountains (now kept by my mother-in-law), and his greatest joy was to share the fruits of his labors- every kind of lettuce, blackberries, strawberries, green beans, wild asparagus, cabbage… you eloquently expressed the importance and value of sharing a genuine meal around the table.
One of my sweetest memories is of my father-in-law being the first to show up after the birth of my second son with a bouquet of roses from his garden.
Beautiful post.

Oh that’s so wonderful, Jennifer; thank you, as always, for reading and sharing your thoughts

.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..the God thing =-.

By: Tiffany Z

Tiffany Z — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:22:04 +0000

Your post brought a huge smile to my face, thank you for revisiting it so I would have the opportunity to read it. I love the Italian “philosophy” of life- most Neopolitans also have this wonderful sense of pride and authentic way of living too, and you can see it once you take the time to get to know them! It has filled my heart and made me remember what the most important things in life truley are… caring, loving and giving. There is not a day that goes by that my wonderful neighbors do not come by with a wonderful dish or something fresh from the garden to share with us!

So glad to hear you have such great neighbors, Tiffany! Thank you, again, for reading and sharing your experiences here

By: Carlo

Carlo — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:05:46 +0000

Only now do I realize this was an old post of yours. Don’t know how I got here, but it was surely worth reading!

So glad you found it Carlo

.-= Carlo´s last blog ..Undués – Sangüesa Il giorno del caffè =-.

By: Carlo

Carlo — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:00:50 +0000

Michelle, how neat and terse a way to sum up how I have always wanted to live, why I chose when time came to transfer not to the center of Rome, preferring one town in the Castelli area on the hill SE of the capital, what my wife and I (Alisa and I are getting married with Buddhist blessing in 2 weeks in Bangkok) chose as gift from our friends, a donation to a Bangkok orphanage held by monks (Wat Bot Woradit in Pa Moke district). We already have enough to live, better share. Actually, it’s quite selfish because, according to Buddhist thought, we accumulate merit for afterlife, heh heh…

Thanks for keeping your sparkling blog so much alive and healthy.

Thank you for reading, Carlo, and congratulations! Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate your love

.-= Carlo´s last blog ..Undués – Sangüesa Il giorno del caffè =-.

By: vita

vita — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:42:27 +0000

Love this post, Michelle. One of my favorites of yours!

Grazie mille Vita