L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 L'Italo-Americano PAGE 23 of Thanksgiving is one of the greatest holidays that we Americans celebrate. Make time to say "Grazie Dio" and thank the Lord for all He has given to us as individuals, family and Americans. Some of the most heartfelt words "God Bless America" have been uttered by our Italian born immigrant fathers and grandfathers. *** an Italian Connection: America's November feast day Dear Readers, More November Notes with who grew up and became "Hulk Hogan" has Big Boy Terry Gene Bollea, an Italian Terry Gene Bollea aka Hulk Hogan Connection. In his book "My Life Outside the Ring", he notes he was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1953, but with his parents Pete and mother Ruth, moved to Port Tampa, Florida, when he was a little over a year old, and that is where he grew up. As "Hulk Hogan" he burst onto the profes- sional wrestling scene in the late seventies and went on to become the world wrestling champion twelve times. His father and grandfather did not go to the gym but developed strength and big muscles simply by going to work and earning a living. Hulk wrote: "My dad was a pipe fit- ter, and he was great at it. I remember he did big jobs- installing draining systems for the malls and highrises that were being built around Tampa. After a few years he was promoted to foreman. When the road was all dug up and they were laying big six-foot pipes and messing up traffic, he'd be the guy standing in the sun with his arms folded overseeing all that work, then jumping in to do it himself when it wasn't coming out just right. He wasn't a real big guy, maybe five foot eleven, but he was real strong, with strong hands and a good grip. That seemed to be common among the Bollea men, going back to my grandfather. My grandfa- ther was a real old-school Italian guy who lived in New Hampshire and worked in the forests. Legend has it that one time he picked up an eight-hun- dred-pound rock, just rolled it right up onto his thighs into a squat. Years later I'd think about that when I bodys- lammed André the Giant at WrestleMania III. André was the biggest he'd ever been. He was pushing seven hundred pounds that night- a hundred pounds less than my grandfather had lifted- and it still tore the muscles in my back to shreds." Italian Connection can be found throughout the U.S.A. More than a half dozen of them are located within the borders of New York State- Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Modena, Palermo and Syracuse. *** City and town names with an *** ple on many a southern Italian table, either in salad or in "brodo". During the 1930's and 1940's they would be gathered up by women on roadsides just outside city limits, then taken home to clean and cook usually by boiling and dressed with olive oil and a little garlic. Dandelions, known as "cicoria" in Italian and dandelions in English (because the ragged edge of the leaf was said to resemble a lion's tooth, dente di leone) were always known to be healthy and "good for you" but as a child I only ate them under protest. Now, in Spring, dande- lions, the well-known week native to Europe, but widely dis- tributed in the U.S. temperate climates, are readily available in produce departments, Farmers Markets, and are often written up in food-related articles. The dandelion, with its bright Dandelion greens were a sta- yellow flower and round puff- ball of white down, an adapta- tion for the distribution of seeds, has long been cultivated both for medicine and for food. The young leaves resemble chicory and are used for salad greens, and "l'acqua" they were boiled in as a potherb, health drink. The roots are often roast- ed and used as a coffee substi- tute or decaffeinated drink and the flower heads utilized for dandelion wine. Herb books also suggest eight week dande- lion tea cures, for rheumatism, constipation, insomnia and other ailments. As a child, like it or not, I sampled dandelions in all forms, but until now I had not tasted Dandelion Jelly. I am not suggesting that a judge to $2 million). As I recall, an reduced Tommaso's take by a few million, but left him enough to live the remainder of his "nine lives" in luxury. Italian judge also Dandelion Jelly will be your "bambino's" jelly of choice when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but I can guaran- tee that for any Italo-American adults of a certain vintage, Lehman's homemade Dandelion Jelly, made with yellow dande- lion blossoms tea and lemon juice, will bring back an "abbon- danza" of dandelion related memories of automobile trips with "paesani" to gather dande- lions, time spent with mama cleaning them, or meals with family and friends where they were served. To order write or call toll free Lehman's (888) 438-5346 (289 Kurzen Road N, Dalton, OH, 44618. Website: ) and ask for Lehman's Dandelion Jelly 1/2 pint size, package of two, at $5.49 per jar plus shipping. They have many other products too, from sweaters to soups to flour sack towels. 130, Waterford, WI 53185, tel. , ) is where I have been ordering my freshly made by worker bees wild flower honey for years. Fr. Sereno Baiardi, O.F.M. says that at the Franciscan Mission Center one can hear the buzzing as little worker bees gather nectar, a sweet juice that oozes from beautiful wild flowers, and make it into honey. The Franciscans are busy as bees processing the honey and making it available for you and your friends. The Franciscans know that honey can be pur- chased in a store for much less than their suggested donation, but where else can you find Little Francis bees; friendly and dedi- cated to helping the poor? God bless you and the bees... Fr. Sereno Baiardi, O.F.M. says to order the honey, make your check out Franciscan Missions (P.O. Box *** Missions and it will be tax to the Franciscan Dandelion Jam is dandy *** this year includes an Italian. Tommaso, a four-year-old male stray cat rescued from the streets of Rome, became the world's third richest animal in June 2012, after inheriting a $13 million for- tune from his owner, the wealthy widow of an Italian property tycoon. But that's chump change compared to top dog Gunther IV, a German Shepherd who inherit- ed a whopping $372 million from his father Gunther III, a beloved companion of an eccen- tric German countess. The U.S. Property tycoon, once dubbed "the Queen of Mean", Leona Helmsley, may have started the trend when she left Trouble, her Maltese, $12 million (reduced by Europe's prosperous pet list deductible. The honey comes in two 12 oz. bottles of honey in an attractive wooden box with trans- parent cover. Send $20 donation each box plus ad $5.00 for ship- ping for each box Include your name, address and check m ade out to the Franciscan Missions. Then sit back and wait for your sweet honey. The Franciscans have 5,400 mission- aries and over 800 missions throughout the world. They serve the poor in every continent, following in the steps of St. Francis, with a special emphasis on caring for people afflicted with leprosy. Your contribution will not only provide you with a little honey from the bees, it will pro- vide help for some of the poorest people in the world.

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