love to see the squirming and soul searching though lol
My grandpa on mom’s side was a gangster. And not a good man. It is what it is. Dad’s pop was great.
Difference between me and Ben is I’m not stupid or pompous enough to point to other Americans with Italian heritage and say “repent!! you must have had ONE gangster in the family!!”
Aunt Mary on dad’s side was bookmaker. Got arrested at 82 and out in paddy wagon in Brooklyn. I was drinking a pop. Remember her cursing the cops and saying you couldn’t make a living In this country :)
Made incredible meatballs.
Your Aunt Mary sounds like a feisty lady. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood. We used the term “bookies.” But I guess all neighborhoods have bookies.
Shake my family tree, and maybe a few gamblers will fall out. But no slaveowners... ;-) One of my ancestors “danced at Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball,” or so the family story goes...