Growing Up Italian in the 50's: or How Most of Us Became Good Wise Guys a Growing Up Memories Book

Growing Up Italian in the 50's: or How Most of Us Became Good Wise Guys a Growing Up Memories Book

Growing Up Italian in the 50s or How Most of Us Became Good Wise Guys by Tom DePaoli speaks to the heart of the baby boomer generation. Whether you’re Greek, Irish, Russian or Cuban, chances are your family has deep pride in your ancestry. He shares not only his pride in being Italian, but also his childhood in a small Pennsylvanian town. While children today are surrounded by video games, iPods and personal computers, he believes that his childhood in the1950s was much better. He demonstrates how he and his neighborhood pals didn’t rely on modern-day conveniences to entertain themselves. Rather, they escaped to nearby woods and participated in little league baseball and sandlot football. He shares his memories so that more recent generations can realize how that time period really followed “the good old days” description. He highlights the importance of family, as most of his memories involve his large, loving Italian family. “I primarily wrote this book to capture the experiences of growing up, and the 50s seemed to be much better for children. Not everyone turned out the better from this, but most of us did.” Growing Up Italian in the 50s will instill a sense of nostalgia in all while showing younger generations what life was like for their parents and grandparents. So, go back to the 50’s and enjoy, rock and roll, bee bop and tail finned cars. Nostalgic trip back to the 50's where the entire Italian village raised children in a loving and careful manner. "I primarily wrote this book to capture the experiences of growing up,and the 1950s seemed to be much better for children," DePaoli shares. "Noteveryone turned out the better from this, but most of us did." In thegrand scheme of things, sixty years is not a very long time. In modern societywith the explosion of technology, however, that amount of time encompassesseismic shifts in the American cultural landscape. The 1950's in our countrywere a time when life itself flowed from the simple things, from family,friends, and a sense of richness that comes only from the feeling of connectionand community. Today children are surrounded by video games, iPods, and personalcomputers that remove them from reality and isolate them from friends andfamily. For the author, his family, and his friends, the only gadget theyreally had was their enthusiasm for sports, the limitless terrain of theirimagination, and the feeling of family. From his mother's gifts for cooking,organizing, and giving to his Aunt Bert's gift for arguing, to his father'sextraordinary mechanical abilities, to his grandmother's legendary bingotalents, DePaoli's memories are a loving remembrance of an era where relativesand the neighborhood were the things that really mattered. Thisvivid picture of an extended Italian family is a homage to a bygone era, whenbrothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents--everyone lived in the sameneighborhood and were indeed a village raising the children. Engrossing andfull of life, Growing Up Italian in the50's or How Most of Us Became Good Wise Guys: A Growing Up Memories Book is an ode to a time thatwas, indeed, "the good old days." In our neighborhood almost all of the houses had good-sized lots wherewe could play baseball. The homes were modest but well kept. Baseball skillstake a long time to learn, but just about everyone in our neighborhood masteredthe basic skills of catching a pop fly and fielding a grounder. Many peoplecan't understand how we played baseball for hours and hours in the 1950s. Afterall, baseball is labeled a boring game. We had a neighborhood team and playedin a lot across the street from my house. Our parents could look out the windowand see us playing. If we were lucky, we had enough equipment for everyone orat least a glove for everyone. We played literally all day. We chose up sidesand got the games started. We stopped playing only for lunch, supper, or rain. Our brand of baseball was not boring because of the way we modified therules. There were no coaches, spectators, umpires, or adults to slow down thegame. Each batter would get three swings or strikes. There were no called ballsor called strikes because there was no umpire. A batter had to swing at apitch, so there was even less delay. Batters were not allowed to go through aroutine in the batter's box. You got up to the plate, dug in, and got ready toswing. Often when we were in the field,we yelled out to our own pitcher to get the ball over the plate and let thebatter hit it. There was no stealing base, usually because someone from the other teamplayed catcher when they were up. Time outs were not allowed. Disputes overwhether a player was out or safe at a base were argued with the skill of aPhiladelphia lawyer with much drama and terrific action. If both sides couldn'tcome to an agreement, a coin flip settled the call. Innings went by quickly,and so did the games. Tom DePaoli was raised in the small town of Royersford, Pennsylvania,where he was surrounded by a large Ita