From Vico Tasso To Home On The Watchung

Writing a memoir occurred to me around the middle of May 2011 when I read on the tombstone at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Totowa, N.J., "CORALLO, CARMELO 1879-1955 & FRANCES 1885-1962"-actually, my grandparents';-about whom I did not know much. Sadly, I realized my detachment from the lives that played such a pivotal role in my genealogical line and felt sorry for them because forgotten they lie there without being given credit for whatever sacrifices they made to raise five children and provide a strong moral fiber. A sense of guilt came over me because this was my first visit to their burial ground in years, notwithstanding bearing my grandfather's homonymous name in the traditional Sicilian way.I felt it was incumbent upon me, not only to write the memoir, but to dedicate it to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren so that a multidimensional connection would develop by sharing with them my life experiences, the guidelines developed through life's buffeting winds and gentle breezes, a strong sense of family and character integrity.