Suddenly there is a knock on the door and cousin Aldo and his family of four appears at the door. Knowing that she must feed them, as a good Italian host should, she calls her children into the bedroom and instructs them that they should refuse any chicken so she can give it to cousin Aldo’s family.
After dinner, Mamma Angelina brought out the dessert and announced:
“WHO NO EATER THEIR CHICKEN, GETTA NO DESSERT!
The above is a made-up story with some truth behind it. Way back when I was a child living in Brooklyn, Sunday afternoons sometimes was filled with a surprise or two. A knock on the door was greeted by surprise as the visitor arrived unannounced. If you had not eaten Sunday dinner yet, you were obligated to invite the uninvited guest to join in a meal. Usually, a family member such as an uncle or an aunt would be the visitor.
I often wondered why Mom and Grandma always made pasta on Sundays then it occurred to me, it could go a long way and feed many, tasted good and we knew of no one who didn’t like pasta.
The guest would be carrying a cheesecake and a smile, their best Sunday clothes on and a determination to sit down and eat and have a laugh or two. This was not considered offensive but tradition, something we all did and expected along the way of life. It was welcomed to have guests and it made a Sunday pass very quickly.
Alas, those days are forever gone.
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