The Ancestors...

While my surname is quite English, and my biological father supposedly traced it back to the Mayflower and Edward Winslow's family (look at me, a Blueblood, LOL!), the "good" side of me is all Italian. My mother's maiden name was Fumia, while my grandmother's maiden name was Caggiula. I grew up in an Italian household (having had my parents divorce at a young age), and both maternal grandparents influenced my life -- with more than food, though that was part of it...

Now, getting back to the Italians, the Caggiulas emigrated from northern Italy, around the Milan area. Boring... The Fumias, on the other hand, came from Sicily, around Caltanissetta. Interestingly enough, one of Rochester's "Sister Cities" is Caltanissetta, Italy! We even hosted an exchange student from there one summer -- I was 16, she was 20ish and beautiful, I was in love all summer, but I digress... I have always had a soft spot for Sicily in my heart, and it's one of the (very few) places in Europe I'd actually like to travel to (the British Isles being the other). I know my uncle went there about 10 years ago, ran into many distant relatives, and almost bought a vineyard (how we wish he had -- he now owns a vineyard in Oklahoma, of all places!). I think I could go there, use the Fumia name, and be treated well. Sicilians really are the best -- not truly Italians, but better!

So, with my fondness of Sicily, I actually agreed to play a hex game (no cards!) with Mike Cardwell on the Allied liberation of Siciliy in WWII -- Sicily: The Race for Messina. The rules have a bit too much grit for my liking, but I'll plow through them again in the next couple of days, to get ready. I hope to play the Allies, and I'll toast Papa Fumia when I liberate Caltanissetta!



Connections like this can truly make games "come alive!"