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    CLJobe
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Albin - 1. Chapter 1

A TRIP

In 1880 in a small village in Northern Italy, a woman of an undetermined age is considered by the villagers to be a ‘seer’, (also called a 'Strega’ which is Italian for ‘witch’), who divines or has 'visions’ of the future. Villagers simply call her ‘Nonna’ or 'Grandmother.’ No important decisions were made without her input.

As was the custom, the men of the village met on Saturday evenings over a glass of wine. Normally the conversation centered around the weather and quality of the wine. But this Saturday was different. One of the men received a letter from his brother who lived in England.

According to his brother, nine years after the end of the Franco-Prussian war, there is noise and rumors about the possibility of another war coming to Europe.
The men decided that if this was true, their Nonna would know. So two of the men went to her to see what she knew and would tell them.

Walking up to her door, they were surprised that the door opened before they could knock. They asked her what she knew about the possibility of a war in Europe. She went into a trance, and staring she said: “A terrible great war is coming that will affect all of Europe.” She then blinked, as if awakening from the trance, and asked the men what they wanted. Surprised, they told her why they had come to see her and what she had said. She didn’t speak for a few minutes but then replied: “Go and prepare. War will come and you will be a part of it.”

The men left and when they met their group, they told what she had said. One of the men said they should all move away. When asked where, if all

of Europe would be involved, the answer they got was, “We need to move to America.” Not all of the men agreed, they worked hard for what they had and weren’t ready to give it up. Angelo Merino, one of the group, said he wasn’t going to stay in the village, and perhaps have to fight in the war, so he decided he, his wife, and 3-year-old son Angelo Jr were going to America.

Over the next several weeks, Angelo made preparations to leave. He searched for a boat to sail to America and the cost of such a trip for him and his family was very high. Although a skilled mason, Angelo worked every job he could find, regardless of the complexity, sold off anything they didn’t need and finally he sold his home. Now he had to find a horse and wagon to take him, his family, and what items he wanted, to the coast. During this time, he checked to see what boats were leaving and their departure schedule. Of course, he had to see his grandmother for her blessing.

When the day arrived, the villagers wished him well and told him to write to them. They helped him load the truck, waving goodbye, and with tears, they left the village. They arrived on the coast in the evening and had accommodations at an Inn. In the morning, Angelo looked for the Captain of a boat that was preparing to leave. Approaching the Captain, he booked the trip for him and his family. The boat had just missed the tide, so they planned to leave the next morning and Angelo and family had to be there before the sun was up.

Excitement was high, except Angelo’s wife was concerned. Giulia was pregnant and she was hoping the child wouldn’t be born on the boat. As planned, the ship sailed as light broke. Angelo was smiling, his family would be safe. Three weeks later, the boat docked in America and Angelo was happy. He was in North America only the country he was in was Canada. He didn’t know that America was the name of a continent that had a lot of countries.

Happy with his family safe from a European war, he found a home and started to look for a job. By trade, Angelo was a mason. It didn’t take him long to

find small projects and these led to larger projects. He was making a good wage, his wife presented him with a girl they named Victoria, in celebration of being in ‘America’.

Over the next years, Angelo and his family did well in Canada. So well, Giulia presented him with another son. The oldest son was named after Angelo and so this new son was named after his grandfather, Rudolfo, and ended up being called Rudy. When Rudy was five years old, Angelo heard about the United States and realized that America was a big continent. So plans were made for the family to move to the United States of America. But where in the United States should they go? One of their neighbors told Giulia that she had family that lived in Pennsylvania and they were pleased. They had a small home with a garden. Giulia missed the garden she had in Italy and she was ready to try out Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whatever and wherever that was.

~~~

Copyright © 2024 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments



On 10/10/2024 at 7:17 PM, weinerdog said:

When Angelo made the decision he didn't know "America" was an also a continent not just a country. This tells me he had no idea how awful Americans could be to immigrants. Italians weren't treated that much better than the Africans and Irish. I don't know if it was any different in Canada back then.

BTW glad to hear from you @CLJobe

Thank you, I'm not sure it is good to be back. We will wait until this story has been told.

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On 10/10/2024 at 9:47 PM, JohnnyC said:

Thank You @CLjobe for Sharing Your New Adventure With Us , My Sicilian GreatGrandParents did arrive in NYC via Ellis Island 1906 . My Filipino GrandFather entered via Vancouver,B.C 1928 Then to San Francisco. He heard all the troubles Asians had on Angel Island ( West Coast Ellis Island) Port of Entry United States . He loved Vancouver,But the Draw of The Great City of San Francisco was too great for Him . 

Most of us have had some family members who immigrated after the wars. Ellis Island was the number one port of entry, and I still think it is. I don't know too much about entry via Angel Island. I'll have to look that up, Thanks. 

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Philippe

Posted (edited)

On 10/10/2024 at 6:17 PM, weinerdog said:

When Angelo made the decision he didn't know "America" was an also a continent not just a country. This tells me he had no idea how awful Americans could be to immigrants. Italians weren't treated that much better than the Africans and Irish. I don't know if it was any different in Canada back then.

BTW glad to hear from you @CLJobe

I understand the sense of injustice but we also must put these injustices in the context of history. This story itself is highlighting one of the causes to migrate, …war. Strife from wars, territorial tribalism, etc, drove forced slave trade, self initiated indenture, and masked indenture of being Shanghaied into labor. But any of these events drove waves of immigration and indenture from areas of strife.

Judging history through the modern lenses of ethical, moral, or fair is in itself denying many other elements of war and strife that was much more prevalent upon majorities; and not just the perceptions of only affecting minorities.

The migration to the new world, the land rushes westward, the gold rushes, were all in search of a better life…or to escape strife of the old. BUT, keeping in mind that the new world opportunities, the push westward, and the Indian Giver Reneging were most all at the cost of an indigenous nation and its peoples; much more mistreated than immigrants, they were largely exterminated often as animals.

So history can not be cherry picked for one element without seeing the whole context of strife upon masses, which is seated far beyond US or American borders…but worldly. Ironically, the US was only a smaller percentage of that trade, with Jamaica, and Brazil making up a much larger percentage, for example, of that slave immigration.

Unfortunately, greed and corruption always plays a large part in making those injustices worse, but even then the larger strifes of the world also created opportunities to victimize. Many Chinese, Irish, Polish, African, etc, all had there own greedy people also feeding upon those less capable. The war lords of China and Africa were instrumental in much of the vicious slave trade of past. But many of those African Slaves in the US were forced to the trade markets of Ghana by the war lords enjoying power and greed.

Edited by Philippe
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On 10/11/2024 at 8:25 AM, Talo Segura said:

Unpredictable or not @CLJobe needs to edit chapter 1 to replace it with the intended chapter, at the same time get rid of centred text please, the unnecessary line breaks, just tidy it up, thank you.

Even the best of writers sometimes get tripped up by technology, especially new and/or "improved" writing and editing apps (names withheld to protect the ?)  claiming "Our AI is virtually better than actual humans." When in reality Herr Otto Korrect is far from purrfect and E-silly fooled into errors.

There's also the possibility of errors by the 'publisher'; online and print.

Patience is a virtue.

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On 10/10/2024 at 7:17 PM, weinerdog said:

When Angelo made the decision he didn't know "America" was an also a continent not just a country. This tells me he had no idea how awful Americans could be to immigrants. Italians weren't treated that much better than the Africans and Irish. I don't know if it was any different in Canada back then.

BTW glad to hear from you @CLJobe

You are right, immigrants were always the ones outside, but the natives, even though in a sense they were also immigrants, welcomed immigrants until they found that many immigrants are out for themselves and care not for those that lived here before them 

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On 10/10/2024 at 9:47 PM, JohnnyC said:

Thank You @CLjobe for Sharing Your New Adventure With Us , My Sicilian GreatGrandParents did arrive in NYC via Ellis Island 1906 . My Filipino GrandFather entered via Vancouver,B.C 1928 Then to San Francisco. He heard all the troubles Asians had on Angel Island ( West Coast Ellis Island) Port of Entry United States . He loved Vancouver,But the Draw of The Great City of San Francisco was too great for Him . 

 

Just now, CLJobe said:

That has changed. I hope you have a story to tell

 

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20 hours ago, Anton_Cloche said:

Even the best of writers sometimes get tripped up by technology, especially new and/or "improved" writing and editing apps (names withheld to protect the ?)  claiming "Our AI is virtually better than actual humans." When in reality Herr Otto Korrect is far from purrfect and E-silly fooled into errors.

There's also the possibility of errors by the 'publisher'; online and print.

Patience is a virtue.

Agree, still not bad for an 87 year old man

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