Maureen Bossone will touch your heart with her beautiful story about growing up Italian in Fairfield County, CT. Her travels in Italy and Sunday morning traditions warmed my heart. Please sit with us and hear Maureen's story. We will save you a seat anytime! This is a true story that Maureen Bossone shared with me recently. She opened her heart to me and gave me the opportunity to write this story about her. This story has been placed on my website with Maureen Bossone's permission and is my own, creative work. Enjoy the photo of Maureen next to "Le Bocce Della Verita," which means the "Mouth of Truth."
" Italian author Silvio Negro once said... Roma, non basta una vita" ....meaning .. for .Rome, a lifetime is not enough. "
-Silvio Negro
How very very true .
-Maureen Bossone
"Lavi i miei capelli," shouted Virginia Schiavone-Bossone to her
grandaughter, Maureen Bossone, as she moved the white lace curtains from her bedroom window. This meant, "Come and wash my hair." Maureen looked up at the window and said, "I will be right there grandma," while she carried fresh yellow and purple irises as she walked down the driveway. It was a peaceful, June evening. Maureen and Virginia's voices echoed up the street.
"My grandmother was a short and stocky woman," Maureen said. Her grandparents, Virginia and Anthony, Bossone were from Avellino, Italy. As I spoke to Maureen, I remembered how much I loved washing and blowdrying my grandmother's long hair. I remember drying my nonna's hair when I was in Italy. My nonna had long, strawberry blonde hair,which turned silver many years later. I never said that my nonna had white hair, it was always a dazzling silver shade.
Maureen grabbed a piece of Perugina chocolate from the candy dish and went to the kitchen sink with her grandmother. She reached over the bottle of Annisette to grab her hazelnut chocolate. "My grandmother always had a candy dish right next to the bottle of Annisette". Maureen's memory triggered memories of my aunts' houses. They always had a candy dish filled with round, red and white peppermint candy or Perugina. Sometimes they had the miniature sized boxes of soft torrone! Every once in a while we would have confiette, (pronounced conviet) These were the left over, white or pastel, candy coated almonds from a family wedding, shower, or party.
Maureen took the bottle of Johnsons baby shampoo and gently placed it in the palm of her hand. She lathered it into her grandmother's hair and made sure the water temperature was just right! She plugged in the blow dryer and dried her grandmother's hair. Maureen sat on a stool in the bathroom and watched her grandmother braid her own long hair. "My grandmother braided her hair and placed it in a bun on top of her head," Maureen recalled.
Suddenly, Maureen's grandfather, Anthony, opened the front door carrying bags of groceries. "What did you buy?" Maureen asked as she peeked into the grocery bag. "I bought 4 dozen eggs and a few pounds of bacon. The hard rolls are nice and fresh for tomorrow morning!", Anthony said. "Bring these groceries to your father for breakfast tomorrow". This started a 50 year family tradition of Sunday breakfast.
Maureen said it was tradition for her friends and family to gather at her parent's house. Her mother, Millie (Hope) and father, Maurice, "Mac" Bossone welcomed their guests. Although her mother was Irish, the Italian traditions prevailed in their home. They invited their friends and family over for breakfast every Sunday morning. Cars would be parked in the driveway and along the street in their Norwalk, CT neighborhood. "All we did was eat and chat. There would be about 10 different conversations going on at once as we sat in the dining room, kitchen and living room," Maureen said. I was able to envision her house on Sunday mornings as Maureen told me they had eggs, bacon, hard rolls, and a few pots of coffee. It was a simple meal, yet filled with so much love. Her father did all the cooking.
The cars pulled into the driveway around 7:30am and their friends and family would stay until 11:00am or so. One morning, her father had to kick his son John out... "Go home" he would say, "I have to go shopping and run errands". Of course he said it lovingly, but sometimes guests never wanted to leave!. All of a sudden, a few police cars pulled up. Uh oh. I was getting worried during this part of the story. I was wondering why the police showed up at their house. "Hey, I will have a black coffee to go and a scrambled egg sandwich on a hard roll," the policemen said to Mac. I started to laugh when Maureen told me that some of the local policemen used to stop by their house to enjoy coffee and egg sandwiches on their break. Her family even kept "to go" cups on the kitchen counter! All her family needed was to place a neon sign outside of their house and it could have been a drive through restaurant! It was a house where everyone was welcome. That is the true essence of an Italian or Italian American house. The Bossone's was a place where people can gather for fun, laughter, good food and conversation.
"Hey, did you hear about Joe, he just had a knee operation..?." was one part of a conversation that could be heard around the table. Another woman had a different conversation going, which was, "I don't like the way the hairdresser did my hair. I don't want to go back to her anymore,"..and another person said, "did you get the tickets to the dinner dance yet? I heard the hall is getting full so we better get our tickets..." while yet another conversation which circled the table was, "they sell nice brociolle over there. You have to go and get some!" Also, a few recipe exchanges were going on in the next room. "We were always a tell it like it is family. We could be ourselves and express ourselves comfortably. We gave love and showed caring towards each other." Now, that is an Italian house that I hope to go to soon. Maybe they will put an extra slice of french toast on the griddle for me!
Since the death of her father (Mac) in 2005, the family continues to carry on the breakfast tradition. Only now they gather every other Sunday morning. They have added pancakes and french toast to the menu and Maureen's daughter Barbara does all the cooking. Maureen does all the dishes.
We laughed as Maureen shared her memories with me. Maureen radiated independence, self confidence, intelligence, and warmth. She looks like a youthful 50 year old woman, but she surprised me when she told me that she was a youthful 60 year old woman. She has beautiful, European skin. I think she can be in an advertisement for Oil of Olay cream. I can always spot a self confident woman.
I wanted to know more about Maureen's traditions, so I asked her if she remembered images of her grandfather. Her memory of her grandfather, Anthony Bossone went like this: "I have to find those envelopes I bought the other day," Anthony told his wife, Virginia as he searched the cabinets. After he found the envelopes every holiday, he placed a 2 dollar bill in each envelope for each of his nine grandchildren. He would hand each envelope to each grandchild along with whatever present was theirs. "I will always remember the way my grandfather handed us "our" envelope. Two dollars bills had just came out in currency back then so it was special to have one."
Her grandmother's specialty was making meatballs. "My grandmother would wet the soft bread and would mix it in with the meat. She mixed it with eggs and oregano, and fried them in a pan. After the meatballs were browned and cooked, she placed them in the oven and coverd the meatballs with a dishtowel. Everyone who came over her house always opened the oven door first.... if the meatballs were in there, they were ready for eating. She made delicious gravy. Maureen calls sauce "gravy" at her house and I noticed she mentioned "macaroni" instead of pasta. Also, she remembers that her grandfather had to eat a piece of red meat with every dinner. As soon as she smelled the gravy on the stove, she grabbed a slice of homemade Italian bread, ripped it in half and dunked the bread into the sauce. "I loved dipping the bread in the sauce". I smiled as I told Maureen that we used to dip the bread in the sauce before and after our meal. As a matter of fact, I told Maureen that my family used to clean the sauce off our plates. "Faccio la scopetta", which means, "sweep the plate" of sauce with your bread.
One evening, while visiting her parents who lived in the same house as her grandparents, she was looking for her 3 year old son, Michael. "Michael, where are you?" she shouted as she looked out the back door and under the table in the kitchen. She was getting nervous, but she was relieved as she saw Michael sitting on his great- grandmother's lap and rocking in her favorite chair. Maureen was going through a divorce at the time, which was several years ago. She overheard her grandmother speaking in broken English, with a heavy Italian accent to Michael, as she sat on his lap. "No worry Michael. You no cry. You poppa is not home, but you have your mama and me. No cry." This was the broken English way of saying, "Do not worry Michael. Do not cry. Your papa is not home, but you have your mama and me. Don't cry." She consoled him during the time of the divorce as he was too young to understand why papa was not around. Maureen hugged her grandmother and Michael as a tear filled her eye.
Her father used to work two jobs. "I always remember my father saying that he was saving money for our yearly vacation," Maureen said. Sometimes he would sit at the kitchen table and count his tips. He was a hard worker and wanted the extra money for his family vacations. He worked for Burndy Corporation and then he worked as a bartender at a bar in South Norwalk which was called Seamens at the time. Maureen told me that her Italian American family used to pile in the car whenever they went on vacation. They put the coolers of food into the trunk and headed for the amusement parks. "Sometimes, we went to Maine, Pennsylvania, or Lake George., " she said. I want to go to Lake George this summer for a weekend get away. I hear it is gorgeous up on Lake George. The family would sit at the picnic tables on Lake George while they barbecued. They would put their lounge chairs next to the edge of the water and stick their feet in the water while the rest of the family went for a walk or a swim. Sometimes they spent their vacations eating cotton candy and going on the rides at the amusement parks. I remember that most amusement parks had little bowls of gold fish. Each person would try to throw a small, plastic ball into the fish bowl. If it landed in the fish bowl, you won the gold fish! The Bossones ate their hot dogs, talked, laughed, and sat on the blanket at the amusement park. "Let's go on the roller coaster," Maureen would say. "No, let's get ice cream" her father would say.
Several years later, after Maureen was divorced, she decided to go to Italy. Maureen's friend, Dorice, planned to go with her. I do not know if you had a chance to read "Italian American in Norwalk,CT", but if you did not have a chance to, please take a look. I met Maureen Bossone through Dorice Nagy. I had written the story"Italian American in Norwalk,CT" about Dorice Nagy. She said, "You have to meet my friend, Maureen. She would love to talk to you about her trip to Italy."
Maureen and Dorice talked on the phone and emailed each other for a year as they glanced through dozens of brochures about Italy. "Maybe we'll go to Venice," Maureen said. Dorice added, "Yes, that would be fun." After several weeks passed, they planned their itinerary, which included, Milan, Positano, Sorrento, Capri, Rome, and Naples. Maureen and Dorice saved every dime as they anxiously awaited their trip to Italy. "I can't wait to have some gelato and see the Vatican," Maureen told Dorice over the phone. "Maybe I will get a new hair do for our trip to Italy," Maureen said.
Maureen is a radiant, natural beauty. Her nails are perfectly manicured and she is a very hard worker. She has worked at GE in Stamford, CT for 20 years and she also has a part time job at a pizza place in Stamford as a waitress. Her hard work ethic is woven into her coat. She learned it from her father.
Maureen was out shopping and tried on a few different outfits and comfortable shoes for her trip to Italy. Unfortunately, when she arrived home, there was a message from Dorice. She sounded disappointed. "I have to get a new car. My old car can not be fixed. I have to cancel my trip to Italy, " Dorice said. "Although I was a grown woman at the time, I still could not tell my family that I was going alone. I do not think they would have liked the idea. As a matter of fact, I did not tell my kids that I was in Italy alone until 3 days after I arrived in Italy."Every time I called home, my daughter kept asking to talk to Dorice, but when I ran out of excuses (little white lies) as to "why" Dorice couldn't come to the phone, I then admitted I was alone in Italy.
Maureen is alot like me. She is adventurous and confident. She decided to travel to Italy by herself. Of course, she was heartbroken that Dorice could not go, but she is like me and many of my friends. If we have our heart set on going to Italy, we just go. We don't cancel our plans if a friend does not want to go or can't make it.
Maureen said that her trip to Italy back in 2002 was special because she was the first one in her family of nine grandchildren to travel to Italy. She pulled out her black, three ring binder and flipped through the pages. She read the list to herself, "Milan...Rome..Collisseum, Vatican, gold jewelry shops ...Venice...must see the Fountain of Trevi...etc. She read through the details and got more and more excited by the minute!
Upon flying into Milan, she remembered the Swiss Alps looking like cotton balls. She walked through the airport in Milan and looked at the transportation signs. Maureen asked herself, "What am I doing here?!" She could not believe she was in Italy alone. "Where do I go from here?" she asked.
She arranged for a private car. The driver said, "Ciao Signora" as held up a cardboard sign that said "Signora Bossone". He grabbed her suitcases and put them in the trunk for her. As soon as she arrived at the hotel, she realized that she had to go up four flights of stairs to get to her room ... a hotel without an elevator! Her friend, Dorice, had booked this hotel.
Maureen said she started to cry, but after about an hour, she said, "I can do this. I am an independent woman and I can enjoy Italy on my own."
One day, she took a train from Milan to Rome. Her arms felt like they were going to fall off as she balanced two big duffle bags and her purse. She read her ticket a few times to make sure she was on the right "binario" which means "track number." She read her seat number and found her way to her seat smoothly. Suddenly, she noticed a man sitting in her seat on the train. Of course, she asked him to move because she insisted it was her seat. The Italian man got angry with her and started shouting that it was his seat. Then, he stood up and starting yelling "Americano! Americano!" angrily. The conductor had to break up the fight. After the conductor read her ticket, he explained to her that she was in the right seat, but she was one hour early! Her train was not leaving for another hour! Sometimes that happens. We are so anxious that we end up being early. Right destination, right seat number, but she was on the wrong train. Her face was a little red and she walked off the train. She waited patiently for her train.
During her travels, she stayed at a bed and breakfast in Rome. She said that the bathtub was so tiny and narrow that she thought she was going to get stuck in it. I remember the tub at my grandmother's house. It was tall and wide. I had to take a long, high step to get into it. Tubs are quite unique in Italy. The woman who owned the bed and breakfast had a 3 year old daughter. Her daughter used to sit outside of Maureen's room every morning so she can talk and play with her. "Ciao Signora," the little girl said. Every morning she was right there, waiting for Maureen. She remembers San Marco square and the churches in Venice and in Rome. Most of all, she remembers that someone would always invite her to sit with them for dinner. She started to look at the wine list and decided to order a bottle of wine for just $3.00 american money. Meanwhile, she said that a Vodka and Sevenup was $10 American money in Italy. "Where are you from?" the friendly family sitting next to her asked. "I am from Norwalk, CT, how about you?" The family said that they were from Texas. "Please join us for dinner". She picked up her purse and headed over to their table. The magical thing about Italy is that you can be travelling alone, but someone always makes room for you at their table. When the meal was served the Texas woman said grace and her last words were "Please Lord, bless our new friend Maureen and watch over while she's traveling alone."
She remembers walking up the steps to get into the colliseum in Rome one day. There was a woman walking up the steps also who was out of breath, but she looked at Maureen and said, "My family is way ahead of me, but I am going to make it. I am going to get to the top of the colliseum." Maureen remembers her European history books from school. It is one thing to see the pictures in your old school books, but to be able to plug it all in and actually see and touch the historic buildings is an entirely different story.
As she was walking around Rome and eating chocolate gelato one day she noticed the Trevi Fountain. A few couples walked by her, hand-in-hand but she did not let it get her down. As a matter of fact, she realized she was happy to explore Italy on her own. She took the last bite of her gelato and reached into her wallet for a few coins and tossed each one into the Trevi fountain. She admired the gold necklaces and bought a few crucifixes for her children. Also, she bought a gold medal of the Virgin Mary for her mother. "I had the crucifixes and the medal blessed at the Vatican," she told me. During her travels through Sorrento, she noticed that the lemons were the size of a softball. She loved holding those lemons and buying all of those tablecloths. She touched the fine lace on the tablecloths. She made room in her suitcase for all of the Capri and Roma t-shirts, tablecloths,jewelry and a few lemons. Maureen would take the subway from her bed and breakfast into downtown Rome. She got off at the wrong stop a few times. "The thing about Rome, was that I got off at the wrong stop a few times, but as I walked around for a while, I ended up in the right place somehow," she said.
Maureen's vacation in Italy rembnded me of my own trip to Italy. I remember walking about 10 miles a day as I saw Rome on foot several years ago. She triggered many memories that night as she shared her story with me. Maureen's eyes lit up when she talked about the breath taking, St. Peter's church and the artwork on the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel,The Vatican and actually getting to see the Pope in his popemobile. She remembers the tranquility of Positano and "Le Bocce De La Verita". "Le Bocce" is a round marble disk with a crack in it. If you place your hand in its mouth, you might loose your hand if you are a liar. Sometimes men and women did this to see if a man or woman was being loyal.
She remembers climbing into a Volkswagon Van in Capri, which took her up to the mountain top on the isle. The roads were so narrow! She felt like she could stick her hand out and actually touch the other car that was coming down the side of the road. I remember Capri. The blue water was so soothing and the air was so fresh. Suddenly, I realized that another car needed to get up the other side of the road and there was panic in the air!
"I would go back to Italy in a heartbeat," Maureen said. She remembers the plush, green hills and cozy homes that were tucked away into the green hills in the Italian countryside. She told me her message that night, which was: "See Italy before you die. It is a must for everyone. Italy is breathtaking, especially the Spanish Steps in Rome." Also, she added that the younger generation has to keep the traditions alive and to protect our heritage.
By the way, Maureen's specialty is spaghetti with peas, and ground sausage, done in garlic and olive oil. She even remembers a friend of her father's, a man named Tony Fidele, who sang opera.Tony sang the song, "Mama" at his own mother's funeral. "There was not a dry eye in the church," she said. She will always remember that song, Mama and it is still her favorite song today.
I am glad that Maureen made room for me at her table in the coffee shop that night. Her story touched my heart and I look forward to seeing her again soon!
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