Seeing the World

One day my father came from Catania with train.  The ship stopped there for a few days and he said that he wanted to take all of us to Catania by train and then to Riposto by ship.  When I heard that I was overjoyed that night.

I could never sleep.  I was thinking how wonderful it would be to get a ride on the train and get in Catania and on the ship, it was incredibly it must be a dream.  I couldn’t believe it would be in the morning I would board a train for the first time in my live to be so luck I could not believe, I was so nervous that finally I fall to sleep and I dreamed all about train and ship.  So finally the beautiful morning came and we all went to the station to board the train, I remember I thought I had wings in my feet.  That train was so big and masterful that when we started to move I thought it was great, I didn’t want to miss nothing, and I was quick to start stare from the window in all the sudden I thought that all the trees houses and hearth was running in backward, the train I thought it was standing still.  I couldn’t figure out how it could be, I could swear it was the heart that was running the other ways.  It was a great ride yes it was the first one and it impressed me very much.  I said to myself I will have lot ride in my life I will go over the world: I almost did.

Anyway we got in Catania and it was great, but it was hot.  I remember it was in the summer of 1915.  I was around 11 year old and the sky was deep blue a little breezes more from the north west was very beneficial that I realized the much difference it was from my little town.  My father brought us to his Father, my gramfather - and his second or third wife.  My gramfather was a finishe furniture.  I noticed too that he liked to drink very much.  The place where they were living struck me!  They were in her house without backyard, a back room without windows or doors - it was a dark room; it was used as a kitchen a bad (bath) room too, it was lit with an oil lamp - it was so stuffy I thought I could not breath - I felt pity for those old people that had to live there. Although I was happy like a bird to be like say on vacation.  After we settle down I notice that my step Gram Mother used the front room as a store.  She was selling lining cloths.  She was much more younger than my grand father - and she had a son.  His name was Charles Dagata.  It meant my gram-father had adopted him.  I don’t know if he knows he was adopted.  I know he was very happy to be a Dagata and he thought he was my uncle.  I noticed most of all that in front of that house was much traffic and the Electrical cars were going through every 15 or 10 minutes - and some of the kids were on them behind to have a lot of fun ride - it didn’t take too long to get the idea to imitate them, and before I knew it I too started to hank on track cars, but soon enough I find out its a dangerous game and it was unlawful so before it got hurt or caught, I quit that forbidden game.