Neighbors

I collect grandparents.

While most people collect THINGS, like art, or birdhouses or silver train whistles, I seem to collect interesting PEOPLE. Elderly people in particular.

I've done this all of my life. From as far back as I can remember, while the other kids only visited the old lady down the street because she gave us candy and lemonade, I visited because I loved her stories.

So naturally, when I moved into my new apartment, I was drawn to the elderly woman who lives across the street, Giovanna Franca.

Giovanna Franca is an energetic 72 years old and is originally from Palermo, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her husband when her three oldest children were still young, and her youngest daughter, who was apparently a surprise, was born here in the States.

Her English is, at best, broken and understanding her takes rather intense concentration, seeing as she speaks with a very heavy accent and uses mostly Italian! Fortunately she throws in enough English words here and there, that combined with her grand gesticulations, are enough to allow me to follow her train of thought. Mostly.

So when Giovanna Franca invited me over for breakfast this morning, I of course accepted. And quite frankly, I don't think that she would have allowed me NOT to accept! I believe that this tiny Italian woman has a spine made of tempered steel.

We talked of many things, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Of her husband, she didn't say much. When I inquired about him, she threw her eyes heavenward, started waving her hands around and speaking very rapidly in Italian. When she finally slowed down, she said with a roll of her eyes, "Much trouble." I decided that her husband was not such a good conversational gambit!

We looked at pictures of her family while she fed me pancakes. Five pancakes to be precise. Five! With enough syrup to float a small armada and my butter quota for the next ten months. No matter how much I protested that I was full, she just stood there spatula in hand saying "Mangia, mangia!"

After eating pancakes until I literally thought that I was going to explode, Giovanna Franca brought out the cookies! Yes, indeed I was now expected to eat cookies with my tea. Apparently she feels that I need fattening up.

Now there was no way on earth that I could possibly force anything else down my throat without my stomach vehemently rejecting it! So when she turned her back on me to wash the breakfast dishes, I quickly stuffed two cookies into my sock. Yes, I did!

I hobbled home stuffed to the gills with pancakes and trailing cookie crumbs behind me from my sock.

It was much nicer time than the date that I had the next day . . .