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krinsbez · 5 years

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GI Joe: Remixed, Semi-Random Trivia, About Semi-Random Joes

An incomplete list of Joes who are members of minority groups; please make suggestions for additions, as there are many, many Joes with whom I am unfamiliar:

(some of these placements will be elaborated on below)

AFRICAN-AMERICAN:

Stalker

Roadblock

Doc

Doc II

Alpine

Stretcher

Hardball

Iceberg

Heavy Duty

Big Lob

Freight

Quick Stryke

Grill

Cool Breeze

Ripcord

ASIAN-AMERICAN:

Jinx

Quick Kick

Budo

Tunnel Rat

Ronin

Rico

Firewall

Black Dragon (?)

DESI:

Hashtag

LATINO:

Shipwreck

Law

Lady Jaye

Alpine

Dynamite

Hot Sauce

ARAB-AMERICAN:

Breaker

Sgt. Slaughter

NATIVE AMERICAN:

Spirit

Airborne

PACIFIC ISLANDER:

Torpedo

Red Dog

SIKH:

Hashtag

JEWISH:

Clutch

Bazooka

Budo

ISLAMIC:

Breaker

Sgt. Slaughter

QUAKER:

Lifeline

NEURO-ATYPICAL:

Helix

-Sgt. Slaughter is NOT the professional wrestler born Robert Remus, but received his codename due to a coincidental resemblance to said pro wrestler. That said, he did wrestle in college, where he majored in Classics. Note that he is still serious about his classics studies; he is fluent in both Ancient Greek and Latin, and is knowledgeable about not only Classical literature, but also the history, mythology, culture, etc. of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

-Alpine is mixed-race, having African-American, Caucasian, and Latin ancestry; people's efforts to pin him down to one or the other and inability to do so is a constant source of amusement to him.

-Lady Jaye is biracial; her father is as WASP as one can be without being a Boston Brahmin (although they're adjacent), while her mother is from Latin America; note that her mother's family is also filthy rich and aristocratic. Also, she's a distant cousin of Destro and Darklon.

-Rico is a character of our own creation, a Fillipina-American who's primary MOS is powered armor, specifically the Accelerator suit from Rise of Cobra

-Firewall is a young, Asian woman ala DDP rather than an older, Caucasian woman ala IDW.

-Riffing on Rise of Cobra, Breaker's parents are from Morocco.

-Budo periodically notes that both sets of grandparents spent WWII in camps; his paternal grandparents in an internment camp, his maternal grandparents in a concentration camp.

-Ripcord and Cover Girl have more-or-less their IDW backstories.

-Lifeline's aikido skills are such that he's one of the top ten best hand-to-hand combatants in GI Joe. Granted, his pacifist beliefs mean he rarely showcases them; "getting Lifeline in the ring" is a Joe colloquialism for a task that is very difficult and unlikely to end well for you.

-As with many other military regulations, the rules against fraternization are not strictly enforced for Joes, so Flint/Lady Jaye, Scarlett/Snake Eyes, and Jinx/Falcon are things.

-Dial-Tone and Hard Drive are A: female, and B: hot.

-Dial-Tone is the nerdiest nerd to ever nerd, or at least, as much as possibly whilst being an attractive woman. She also barely qualified to be a Joe physically. That said, she did, in fact, qualify, and is thus eminently capable of kicking your ass.

-Clockspring is kinda a creeper. He hasn't done anything explicitly against the regs, but he's come veeery close. As a result, Hard Drive, Firewall, Dial-Tone, and Hashtag frequently receive sympathy from other female Joes about having to work with him, which leaves them confused, because while Clockspring is aware of their gender, he slots them into his head as fellow nerds and doesn't creep on them at all.

-Clockspring also posts on a number of Incel/MRA/RedPill sites, although he keeps getting banned for telling other posters to take it down a few notches.

-Quick Kick has always been a movie guy; he got into martial arts because he realized that Hollywood is kinda racist and expects Asian-American performers to know chop socky stuff. That said, he turned out to be better at it than at acting, so ended up becoming a stunt double. Then the Cobra War happened, he joined the Army and eventually ended up in GI Joe.

-Freight, somewhat similarly, was a star linebacker, who walked away from a multi-million dollar contract to enlist when the Cobra War began. He greatly dislikes being compared to Pat Tillman.

-Contrary to what you'd expect, Freight and Red Dog (who could've been a star if he hadn't been tossed out of the NFL for frequent unnecessary roughness) get along really well.

-GI Joe's first fighter ace, somewhat ironically, was not Ace (who's codename comes form being a card shark), but Slipstream. However, Ace was the first Joe to become Ace In A Day.

-No one can remember Ghostrider The Stealth Pilot's codename, which he is surprisingly OK with, as long as they don't call him by someone else's codename...whereupon he will start calling that person by someone else's codename.

-All the Joe pilots are qualified to fly all Joe aircraft, with the possible exceptions of the Defiant and SHARCs, so Wild Bill can fly a Skystriker and Ace can fly a Tomahawk and Lift-Ticket can fly a Phantom and Ghostrider The Stealth Pilot can fly a Mudfighter and Dogfight can fly a Vector and Maverick can fly a C-130 or Dragonfly, etc.

-Quick Kick holds regular movie nights; Sgt. Slaughter is banned due to his habit of pointing out all the inaccuracies whenever QK puts on a sword-and-sandal flick.

-Roadblock and Heavy Duty are cousins. In addition to their size (which is not just "big" but freakishly its-a-miracle-they-don't-have-health-problems HUGE) and fondness for MOAR DAKKA, they also share a passion for cooking. Roadblock is a master chef, specializing in Soul Food and French haute cuisine (both nouvelle and classique), though he's also excellent at classic Italian and most American regional specialties. In general, Heavy Duty is almost as good and in some cases better (he is an internationally ranked sushi chef, for example), but rather than rely on a standard repertoire, he prefers to experiment, either with exotic foreign or newly-invented dishes he's just heard of or bizarre creations of his own; his success is...mixed.

-Quick Kick has a habit of reciting quotes from Little Caesar every time he runs into Rico in a hallway or whatever. She does not know that's what he's doing and is generally puzzled by the whole thing.

-Mainframe has a thing going on with Zarana.

-When Jinx and Falcon started dating, they got shovel speeches from Duke and Snake Eyes, respectively (yes, despite Snake Eyes being unable to talk). In addition, Storm Shadow kidnapped Falcon...then took him out to dinner, cuz he wanted to get to know his cousin's boyfriend. And because Falcon is Falcon, they ended up bar/club-hopping. Meanwhile, Duke, who only knew his baby brother was abducted by Cobra Commander's personal assassin, was ready to start World War III.

-Cross-Country believes he has a duty to reclaim the family honor he believes was lost when his ancestors took up arms to fight for slavery. His choice of outfit is bait, to trick racists and CSA apologists to make themselves known to him so he can punch them in the face.

-Quick Kick has a Japanese father and a Korean mother. As a result, when he fights the Red Ninjas, they call him a half-breed and talk shit about his mom. He deals with it by kicking their asses.

-Clutch and Rock'n'Roll are best buds. Ditto Bazooka and Alpine. Also Leatherneck and Wetsuit, albeit of the vitriolic kind where they fight constantly.

-Shipwreck is a SEAL.

-Clutch and Budo once went out together to get tattoos of their grandparent's numbers.

-Quick Kick took it upon himself to put together a crash course in cinema since the '70s for Sgt. Savage, and had to be reminded that showing him movies about Vietnam maybe wasn't the best idea.

-Grand Slam, Sci-Fi, and Red Spot are SF/F nerds. Flash is not, and gets annoyed when people assume he is.

-Spirit does not look particularly stereotypical.

-Among GI Joe's many secret mini-bases is one located in a Las Vegas casino; Ace regularly requests a transfer there, as it is the only way he will ever be allowed into a Las Vegas Casino.

-Airborne is genuinely psychic. That said, he's not very powerful; he just has "hunches" that are always right.

-Clutch has an unfortunate habit of running into secret Cobra activity whenever he goes on leave. Seriously, Every. Single. Time.

-Order is much, much more obedient than Junkyard, partially due to natural temperament but largely because Law trained him that way; Law's...kinda contemptuous of the fact that Mutt has not similarly trained Junkyard, and the two of them don't really get along because of it.

-Falcon used to hate Shipwreck, because every strategy he came up with to try and smuggle hookers into the Pit failed because 'Wreck had already tried it. Though, he's mellowed out about it since he started dating Jinx.

-Snake Eyes is under orders to have regular therapy sessions with Psyche-Out (because for obvious reason he's kind of a mess, psychologically); that Etch-a-Sketch is real handy.

-GI Joe has official social media, run by Hashtag, of course. However, the Joes take turns running the official GI Joe twitter account which leads to WMG from the people following trying to figure out who is doing it at any given time, which leads to the Joes deliberately trying to do it in other Joe's style. So, say, Shipwreck will fill it up with rhymes about cooking so people will think it's Roadblock, and Roadblock will do it in French and keep mentioning gumbo and gators so people think it's Gung Ho, and Gung-Ho keeps throwing in Star Wars references so people think it's Sci-Fi, etc. Duke hates doing it, so is very terse, so everyone always assumes he's Snake Eyes (which is hilarious to people who know Snake, who was an inveterate chatterbox before he became mute).

-Note that they also are allowed to have their own social media.

-Cover Girl's social media is a battleground, between her fans from her modeling/reality-show days and her fans since joining GI Joe.

-Heavy Duty has a youtube show where he discusses his cooking experiments. The episodes where Roadblock guest-stars are the most popular, since you now have a 100% chance of the result being edible instead of 50/50.

-Snake Eyes has a Twitter account under his real name, which is really, really active, and really, really inane, because he needs some outlet for his natural chatterbox tendencies.

-As stated, Duke does not believe in social media. As a result, there is a bit of a competition amongst the Joes to trick him into appearing on theirs.

-Cross-Country has a blog where he calls out Confederate apologists. He's been banned from multiple Civil War forums and subreddits and such for flaming same.

-Barbecue mostly goes on about Boston sports

#Headcanon #Headcanons #Fanfic #Collaboration #GI Joe #GI Joe Headcanon #GI Joe Headcanons #GI Joe Fanfic #GI Joe Collaboration #GI Joe: Remixed #GI Joe: Remixed Semi-Random Trivia About Semi-Random Joes #I ought to put in the names of all the Joes mentioned here #but I haven't got that kinda time.

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joedelnyc · 7 years

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Colle Sannita

Buongiorno, from Brindisi, Italia!

Hope you don't mind if I share my latest experience...the search for DelGrosso family roots!

As some of you know, I’ve spent the last few months sailing in the Mediterranean visiting Malta, Greece, Montenegro and Italy with my friend, Karl Marits, owner and Captain of Halcyon VIII. On the morning of Sunday September 15, 1917, we docked safely in Brindisi, Italy. Our latest passage, from Tivat, Montenegro, to Brindisi, had us on the edge of some stormy weather resulting in a torn mainsail. Not exactly how we wanted it to go but that’s sailing, and we safely arrived due Karl’s expertise.

Sailing has been a true adventure for me, thanks in part, to Karl and Halcyon, which began when I met Karl on our Atlantic crossing last year, from Bermuda to Portugal. Having the opportunity to spend the spring and summer in "The Med,” on Halcyon, has been a dream come true. It has confirmed my love for cruising and renewed my appreciation for history. To that end, I was most excited to be returning to Italy, by boat, intrigued by the irony that my grandfather made his way to America via the same mode of transportation. Part of my planning included an October visit to the town of Colle Sannita, where my Grandpa, on my father’s side, was born. Arriving, unexpectedly in Brindisi, I discovered Colle Sannita to be only a 3-4 hour drive across the Italian countryside. I thought, no time like the present, right? Or should I say “eh?” in thankful deference to Karl (he’s Canadian, LOL) without whom this wouldn’t have happened. So, with three days free, for mainsail repairs, it made sense to capitalize on our delay and visit the town where the only "roots" I'd ever known of, had been sown! Yep…things happen for a reason and every cloud has a silver lining!

Off I went, armed only with my paternal grandpa's name, approximate age and birthplace. I wasn't even certain of my grandmother’s first name, as we never met; she passed at a very young age. My efforts to accumulate family knowledge about our heritage and “story” were, to say the least, fruitless. With the passing of all my father’s four sisters, one brother and their collective spouses, there is no one to ask. What information was passed down and might be available through their kin is not only scarce, it is undocumented or simply hearsay. Undaunted, I began my quest, across Italian highways, byways, and cobblestone streets; dodging scooters, Fiats, Maseratis, fruit carts, tractors and horse drawn wagons, in search of my forefathers and my history.

I was emboldened by the fact that a confirming email from the Agritourismo I planned to stay at (the only "hotel" option in Colle Sannita) had come from a woman named Maria Libera Piacquadio, a known family name. I’d informed Maria of my mission, upon making the reservation, I gave her the names DelGrosso, Piacquadio, Mascia and Paolucci, and she seemed anxious to help. Upon arrival, at Agritourismo Lisano, (no easy find) we were welcomed by her boyfriend, Miguel, and the farmhouse caretaker, Carmelo. Miguel understood enough English for me to communicate the limited information I had with which to conduct my investigation. He seemed very familiar with the name DelGrosso and not at all concerned, in fact confident, that I would find the connections and history I was seeking. We had a much appreciated, cold beer together while he informed me he had pre-arranged a visit to the municipal "hall of records." He asked our menu preferences so Carmelo and Maria Libera’s Mom could begin dinner preparations, showed us to our rooms and less than 30 minutes after rolling into the town of my forefathers, a town I’d never even heard of a few months ago, I was on my way to the “hall of records” to discover my past! For some reason, Miguel’s constant reference to the “hall of records,” conjured, in my mind’s eye, a large, official looking building and the prospect of a tedious search for a needle in a haystack. When I tell you that this is a small town, believe it! From the window of the 10x12 room that constituted the "hall of records,” you could see the entire town and most of the people. There is one tiny intersection, or rotary, no traffic light and no need for one! Everyone knows everyone and they knew I wasn’t from here, but seemed to ascertain there was a connection…they were certain Karl was not.

The “hall of records” itself is a “room” in the town’s meeting hall maintained by Emilio, the town clerk “extraordinaire.” He is 4′ 10″ and a giant! The “hall” is his domain. His world consists of two walls of metal racks and a computer workstation. The racks are stacked with hand scribed, leather bound books, full of fading, hand-written pages, chronicling birth dates and family unions of every town citizen. In the sequence below, the rack of books on the left contains town citizen birth history and marriage records back to 1806, when the town took over responsibility for maintaining the data. The rack of binders on the right contains similar recordings back to 1588. From 1588 until 1806, the church was responsible for maintaining the data and, as you can see in the first of the two books pictured below, either somebody got bored in 1655 and invented “doodling” or these books are so readily accessible that some kid was waiting for his or her parents to be done with this ancestry stuff and started drawing stick figures to keep themselves busy. I suspect it is the latter because to my amazement these books just lie around waiting for someone like me to come in to paw and pour over them in search of family details. There was no issuance of gloves, instructions or admonishments to protect these tomes of history; and they sat on open racks with no apparent concern that fire, weather or flooding damage could destroy their very existence. In fact, the second, closed book you see below was, for a moment or two, being used by Emilio as a mouse-pad! The gravity of that statement is even more profound when you consider that every legible recording from these books has been transferred, by Emilio, to a computer database. Clearly, he knows these books like the back of his hand! That fact would become even more evident later. Thus, with 218 years of data at his fingertips, Emilio nonchalantly set about locating my Grandpa’s record!

Given Emilio’s knowledge, experience and the speed with which he deftly put his hands on the right books, it was no time before we were moving from the seeds of information located in the books, to the computer database. Unbeknownst to me, at that moment, I had provided erroneous info and it was putting Emilio off track. He could not find the marital records connecting the Giuseppe DelGrosso he had instantly located (which we thought to be my grandfather) to Carolina, the name I provided, the name which I had wrongly assumed to be that of my grandmother. He kept asking “te Seguro” Are you sure? I wasn’t, but I had no other info, and I was sort of embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t sure about my own grandmother’s name. No one was more dejected than Emilio, repeatedly muttering “Strano,” (strange in Italian), as he meticulously followed the “scent” across numerous books and a hundred or so computer records. In a way though, it was comforting to know, that there were so many Giuseppe DelGrossos’ born in Colle Sannita, so we both knew some piece of the puzzle was missing. He stated (perhaps hinting through Miguel’s interpretations) that he had NEVER failed to locate a citizen’s birth record and marital details, if he had both citizens "right" names and approximate ages. He was befuddled, and it was getting late. Miguel asked if there was any way I could verify what I had or get more detail that evening from home, as Emilio wanted to come back the next morning to continue digging. I said I would try but had little hope I could gain any further information having already asked for background from several family members. As we left the “hall,” after a day of trial and error, one fact was undeniable…the records were there to be found. Moreover, Emilio knew how and was as determined as I, to find them. If even a slight bit of accurate information could be provided, connections could be made, domani (tomorrow)!

Leaving the “hall,” at end of day one, I admit I was a little down but not out. Karl and I settled into one of the two cafes with wifi, and I contacted family. I needed confirmation on the accuracy of info I had and whatever additional kernels of family knowledge they might have that could be corroborated with Emilio's impeccable and comprehensive records. In a conversation with my sister, Carol, thanks to information provided by my cousin, Joann Tossini, I learned two key facts that bolstered my spirits albeit making me feel somewhat stupid. The first name that I had for my grandmother was clearly wrong. I had mistakenly given Emilio my maternal grandmother’s name. My paternal grandmother’s first name was definitively given by Joann, as Anna Maria. More importantly, I was able to speculate on three possible spellings of her maiden name and felt my prospects were much improved.

While I was working my end, a restless, unrelenting Emilio continued his investigation. Upon finally leaving the “hall,” fate stepped in! Emilio coincidentally bumped into his friend...guess who? Giorgio DelGrosso. He related his conundrum showing Giorgio the pictures and names I had provided. Giorgio assured his friend that there is definitely a connection, and he wanted to meet me. He told Emilio he'd come to the “hall” the next morning to assist and then, too anxious to wait and certain a stranger could not have gone too far in this tiny town, he set out to find me hoping to meet a new relative and to tell me the good news.

I somehow knew instantly, as this figure strode through the door of Bar Corrado, that he was looking for ME! I had an overwhelming feeling that I'd met this person before (I hadn't). As he strode directly toward me, I noted his movements were highly familiar, reminiscent of other family members, and when he spoke, the tone and cadence of his voice cemented the sense that we were connected. He uttered in a quiet voice, "you are Joe, sì,? I am Giorgio DelGrosso. “Credo che siamo connessi"... I believe we are related!!!"

We proceeded, in halting linguistics, his English being much better than my Italian, to “name drop.” Here we were, two 60+ year old men, excitedly chattering, with lots of nods and too many hand gestures, seeking the actual point of lineage intersect that had placed us face to face in this tiniest possible place. We must have looked like two teenagers exchanging newly discovered “secret hacks” that might get one to the highest level of the hottest video game. Finally, we hit upon a mutual connection, a family relative named Gino Paolucci, known to both of us as “Gene the Jeweler.” We'd both received watches from Goombah Gene, when we were confirmed in the church, as teenagers. That led us to another connection, a mutually known uncle named Tiofilo Mascia. We were elated!

It was getting late, so we decided to be satisfied with the fact that we were on the right track. We said goodnight, hugged like relatives who've known each other for years (even when they're going to see each other the next day) and vowed to meet in the morning at the now sacred “hall of records.” Working with new information, combined knowledge and Giorgio's bi-lingual skills, we knew we could direct Emilio to illuminate our true point of intersect.

I felt a unique high, a genuine sense of belonging and confidence that my goal, of finding my forbearers, was going to be realized the next day.

The next morning, Karl and I arrived at “the hall” early. In addition to making this trip possible and accompanying me with encouragement and conversation, Karl was there to photographically capture, what I was sure was going to be, the successful culmination of my ancestral search. After all, I had already met relatives, and the info I now had would give Emilio the detail he needed to pinpoint the connections that were clearly in those books--somewhere. Giorgio and Emilio were waiting for us and Giorgio had brought his sister, Carolina DelGrosso--more proof that I was on the precipice of a mountain of historical family knowledge. We headed for the “hall” and for the first time I noticed the beautiful murals that adorned the town meeting place. I swear the woman in the lower right-hand corner of the second mural below looks exactly like my Aunt Mary (Family members who remember her, whaddyathink?)

mily:"�A�j?&

As we entered the “hall,” Emilio went directly to a book covering the year I thought my Grandfather was born. Initially we found what appeared to be a connection to mine and Giorgio's family intersect through Anna Maria “Scorcese's” marriage to Giuseppe DelGrosso but something was still wrong. We could NOT connect the data for secondary confirmation of family members. Confused, I off-handedly and casually blurted out that I had been assured that Anna Maria "Scozzese" was the right name (English accent on the ZZ as in “ScoTTZZcese.” Emilio snapped his head in my direction and said something like “como de dire 'ScoTTZZcese'?;” to which I nodded, not even knowing what he was really asking and my frustration was surely showing on my face. He bounced up instantly and, penguin like, did a fast waddle back into the room where the books are housed. He went straight to the book dated 1886 and directly to page 162, as if by photographic memory and there in beautiful cursive, fading, black ink on yellowing parchment paper was the name Giuseppe DelGrosso, born September 5, 1886, along with the record verifying Giuseppe's marriage to Anna Maria Scozzese in 1907!!! He smiled, a satisfied and confident smile, saying with no reservation, "quisto es te Nonno e Nonna"...this is your grandfather and grandmother!!! Below are each of the individual birth records for my grandfather Giuseppe and my grandmother, Anna Maria. Within those records, you can identify their parents’ names and birth dates…that would be my great grandparents! Interestingly, at the time, they also recorded an individual’s marriage record and added it to the individual’s birth record in “the book.” So, the vertical handwriting, on the left side of each of the pages below, confirms the marriage of Giuseppe to Anna Maria and that information corroborates across both birth records as having happened in 1907. =Bݩ�<&

Within 15 minutes Emilio rifled through five more books identifying my heritage through his record books with names and birth dates/years. Altogether for five generations of DelGrosso males going back to 1807 including the names, birth dates/years and marital history, to each of their wives, taking me all the way back to my great, great, great grandparents; and it looks like this:

Giuseppe DelGrosso Born in 1807; married Iamarino Rosa ---------------my great great great grandparents. One of their offspring Francesco DelGrosso Born in 1837; married Carmela DiPinto--------------my great great grandparents. One of their offspring Giovanni Innocenzo DelGrosso Born in 1864; married Maria Giussepe Cerrone--------------my great grandparents. One of their offspring Giuseppe Antonio DelGrosso Born in 1886, married Anna Maria Scozzese----------------------my grandparents. One of their offspring Louis Edward DelGrosso Born in 1925, married to Santina Manna-------------------------------my Mom and Dad I was stunned, speechless and almost in tears at the revelation of my paternal bloodline. At the same time, I was filled with joy and gratitude. So much so, that I hardly noticed Giorgio and Carolina looking somewhat crest fallen, as this new revelation, brought into question exactly how we were related. None the less they were happy for me, and we both agreed that the family connection via the unions of DelGrosso, Paolucci and Mascia had to exist and could have happened stateside--years later. We vowed to find that connection and went on comfortably knowing we were related in some way. I proposed we discuss it later that night inviting them to the Agritourismo Lisoni for dinner. They accepted and promised to bring their older sister, Filomena, who couldn’t come today because, again you guessed it, she had to open her family’s supermarket! Karl and I spent the afternoon walking and driving around Colle Sannita, Decorata and Campobasso stopping when we saw something interesting and made certain we visited the local church and cemetery. Suffice it to say my family and our extended families have lived and died here in great numbers…and there’s room for more of us!

Later that night, my new DelGrosso “relatives” joined us for dinner at Agriturismo Lisano. Miguel, Carmelo, Mrs Piaquadio and her daughter, Maria Libera, put on quite a dinner celebration, in the most quaint and picturesque setting one could imagine. At Agritourismo, for those of you who don’t know, (I didn’t) everything you eat and drink is produced from the farm at which you are staying. The DelGrossos, of Colle Sannita, brought great local wines to add to the festivities, and they had pictures of their family relatives Uncle Tiofolo; Goombah Gene’s daughter and Giorgio’s father and mother, Donato and Giovannina DelGrosso. In the first picture below (l to r), say hello to Concetta (Giorgio’s girlfriend), Giorgio, Filomena, me and Carolina). I think you’ll agree that the smiles reflect not only a family resemblance but are a good indication of what a great time we had. The food, courtesy of the Piacquadios, was out of this world. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we sang--you know, like Italian families do, leaving the language barrier far behind. I’m sure many of my family members will recognize people in some of the black and whites. I certainly remember the younger Tiofilo and Goombah Gene’s daughter. The energy, excitement and warmth was palpable and contagious. Even Karl (an honorary DelGrosso) my brother from another mother joined the fun, along with Carmelo and Miguel!

Afterward, and I should have seen this coming, the DelGrossos invited us back to their house for what could only be described as “The Venetian Hour!” Family members will know what I mean instantly. Liqueurs, Espresso, homemade pastries, struffeli and torrone were plentiful. Giorgio lives in a lovely four-story house with his girlfriend and Carolina. The visit was highlighted by learning Giorgio (a retired veterinarian) is a painter. He showed me some of his work and it’s really good--see for yourself. Carolina (a retired French Teacher), Filomena (owner/operator of the local supermarket/deli, of course) and Concetta could not be prouder of him.

At one point, we took the opportunity to Facetime my sister, Carol, back in Connecticut. I was in contact with her throughout this experience getting new family info updates, as it rolled in from relatives. I had been excitedly texting her a blow by blow of what I was experiencing, and everyone wanted to meet my “much younger” sister, so it seemed only right that she join the party. We concluded a most memorable and heartwarming evening with an exchange of contact information and mutual promises to exchange visits. They would love nothing more than to expand the connections with other family members. Without question, I plan a return visit and would love to relive the experience with Carol, Brian and other family members. To be sure, the Colle Sannita DelGrossos would welcome our visit; and hopefully, one day, Giorgio (who has been to NY three times) will convince Carolina and Filomena to join him one time in the future.

Until then, family members should feel free to contact him or me by email with questions or to make connections. It is my hope and intent that this trip will be the genesis of our collective effort to build the DelGrosso family tree. When my Dad, Lou, was alive, he often reminded me that I was the only surviving DelGrosso to carry on the family name. My son, Chris, had already removed that burden when he and my dear daughter-in-law, Holly, brought Leo Oliver into the world almost seven years ago. I also know my son, Michael, and his sweet wife, Laura, intend to eventually expand on those prospects. And for anyone who thinks it’s all about males, in an Italian family, let me acknowledge my two beautiful granddaughters, Cara Lou DelGrosso and Ashton Romaine Bailey (Morgan DelGrosso and Jimmy Bailey’s daughter). Now that I have been to Colle Sannita and realize the depth of the DelGrosso family heritage, I am further humbled by what our fore bearers went through to give us the opportunity to live in the USA. I am thrilled to have found my roots and more appreciative than ever to be part of a big, sprawling Italian family that has become wonderfully diversified with the addition of family members from numerous cultural backgrounds. And finally, I am committed to fully defining our complete family ancestry. I hope you enjoyed reliving my experience through this article, and I welcome any information you can provide to me or Giorgio so that I can continue to illuminate our past. Sincerely,

Joseph Anthony DelGrosso – Joe – [email protected]

Giorgio DelGrosso – [email protected]

#italy #collesanitta #delgrosso #Mascia #Piaquadio #ancestry #ancestors #travel #lifeatsea #italien #family #Paolucci

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thots4jesus-blog · 5 years

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Attention-grabbing Info About Olympic Nations France

Attention-grabbing Specifics About Olympic Nations - France

Did you know?

France may be the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, who's the father on the Olympic Motion. This Frenchman was born on January 1, 1863 in Paris. Pierre when said, "The Olympic Motion offers the world an excellent which reckons with the fact of lifetime, and features a probability to guideline this truth toward The good Olympic notion".

The Summer time Olympic Online games had been held in Paris in 1900. For the first time, sportswomen ended up permitted to contend while in the Olympics ( six tennis gamers ). France won first put while in the Game titles with 26 gold, forty one silver and 34 bronze medals.

Marie-José Pérec was considered one of France's biggest sportswomen. She was born in Guadeloupe ( Caribbean island ) and moved to France with her mom when she was sixteen. Marie-Jose turned the next female athlete within the heritage of the Olympic Games to sweep the 200m and 400m ( Atlanta'96 ).

Like Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion, New Caledonia -French territory in Oceania- is not member with the Intercontinental Olympic Committee ( IOC ). Why? France doesn't let its territories to compete while in the Olympics. Due to this, New Caledonia's athletes can't compete while in the Olympic Online games. Not like Guam ( American territory trends ), Aruba ( Dutch territory ) and Bermuda ( British territory ), it didn't compete from the 2004 Olympics. Ironically, New Caledonia has many famed sportspeople within the South Pacific. Aquatics: Olivier Saminadin, Thomas Dahlia, Thomas Chacun, Reine-Victora Weber, Lara Grangeon, Diana Bui-Duyet, Adeline Williams and Gilles Durnesnil. Archery: Laurent Clerte, Emmanuel Guilhard, Henry Shiu, Isabelle Soeno and Sylvena Plazenet. Athletics: Vaikula Elise Takosi, Candice Soulisse, Erwin Casser, Bertrand Vili, Eric Frederic, Bina Ramesh, Eric Revillard, Phoebe Wejieme and Daniel Kilamo. Badminton: Nicolas Martoredjo, Florent Mathey, Marc-Antonie Desaynoz, Johanna Kou and Cecile Sarengat. Boxing: Christophe Lestage, Ataale Gyan and Hannequin Benoit. Judo: Sandrine Perel, Kyo Lussaud, Melissa Kaddour, Stephane Courtine, Jonathan Berger, Cyril Chevalier, Paul Dulac, Abedis Trindade de Abreu, Vaea Chadfeau and Diane Hillaireau. Sailing: Chrisptophe Renaud, Alban Rossollin, Feri Malhieu, Michael Borde, Cawle Dabin and Paiscillia Poaniewa. Shooting: Theodore Tein Weiawe, Fabrice Azarro and Phillipe Sinoni. Desk tennis: Frederic Quach, Laurent Sens, Maxime Bataihard, Ornella Bouteille and Alexandra Heraclide. Taekwondo: Annie Odino, Kevin Belhameche, John Trouilet and Arnord Sariman. Tennis: Julien Couly, Elodie Rogge and Nickolas Ngodrela. Triathlon: Oliver Bargibant, Stephane Lacroix and Benedicte Meunier. At the last South Pacific Video games held in Apia ( Samoa / previously Western Samoa ) in November 2007, it concluded 1st between 22 nations around the world and territories. Absolutely, New Caledonia has won a lot more Global gold medals for every capita than some other region of the South Pacific.

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Paris hosted the FIVB Volleyball Adult men's Planet Championship in 1986. Remaining standings: 1.Usa, 2.USSR ( now Russia ), 3.Bulgaria, 4.Brazil, five.Cuba, six.France, 7.Argentina, eight.Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic/Slovak Republic), nine.Poland, 10.Japan, 11.China, twelve.Italy, 13.Greece, 14.Venezuela, fifteen.Egypt, 16.Taiwan.

Jean Schopter turned the very first Frenchman to gain the Roland Garros in 1892.

France deliver 243 athletes into the 1984 L. a. Games. It participated in 19 athletics: archery ( two ), athletics (45), basketball ( 12 ), boxing ( four ), kayak ( 14 ), cycling ( sixteen ), equestrian ( eleven), fencing ( twenty ), soccer ( seventeen ), gymnastics ( nine ), wrestling ( 16 ), modern day pentathlon ( 3 ), rowing ( 22 ), shooting ( 15 ), swimming ( 19 ), tennis ( four ), weightlifting ( 2 ), wrestling ( 8 ), sailing ( twelve ).

This European country won the gold medal in soccer on the 1984 Olympic Games in The us.

France would be the birthplace of fencing. Fencing was designed Portion of the official system for the Olympics in the 1896 Athens Game titles.

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Paris has hosted the Summertime Olympics in 1924. There have been 3,092 athletes from 44 international locations who competed in 19 sports: athletics, aquatics, boxing, biking, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, modern day pentathlon, polo, rowing, rugby, sailing, taking pictures, soccer, tennis, drinking water polo, weightlifting, wrestling. France came 3rd with 13 golds, fifteen silvers and 10 bronzes.

Eunice Barber is The most well-known athletes in France. She was born on November 17, 1974 in Freetown, Sierra Leone ( Western Africa ), the entire world's poorest state. Eunice suggests, "I had been fortuitous to improve up in Sierra Leone, an English-speaking African state wherever Activity is extremely existing". For political and economic explanations, she moved to France when she was eighteen many years outdated. While in the nineteen nineties, Sierra Leone had among Africa's bloodiest civil wars. Greater than 70,000 Africans were killed and 150,000 had remaining the nation. Under the banner of Sierra Leone, Eunice finished fifth during the heptathlon Competitiveness within the 1996 Olympic Game titles in The us. For numerous sportswriters and professionals, her Olympic general performance was astounding. A few several years later on, she turn into a French citizen.

Best performances:

1999: European Cup-1st heptathlon

1999: Earth Cup-1st heptathlon

2003: IAAF World Championships- 1st extensive jump, 2nd heptathlon

2003: European Cup-1st lengthy jump

2003: IAAF World Athletics Remaining-1st extended soar

2005: IAAF World Championships-2nd heptathlon, third long leap

2005: IAAF Earth Athletics Closing-4th extensive leap

2006: European Cup-2nd long soar

Eunice's favourites:

Motion picture stars: Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore

Songs: From French to pop songs

Hobbies: Theater, cinematography, music, reading

Style designers: Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gautier

Songs artists: Celine Dion, Withney Houston, Wyclef Jean.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance author. Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry. He has posted over seventy-five exploration paper in English, and in excess of 20 in Spanish, concerning the world challenges, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His subsequent essay is known as "The Dictator and Alicia Alonso". He is an authority on overseas affairs. Alejandro is the primary writer who may have published a world-e book encyclopedia in Latin America.

He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), JosÄ‚Â© Gamarra (previous president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee ,1970- 1982), Hillary Clinton (ex-Initially Woman with the United states of america), and Jimmy Carter (previous President of your United states of america). Alejandro explained: "The one that I love probably the most is JosÄ‚Â© Gamarra . He devoted his Specialist and personal lifestyle to Activity. JosÄ‚Â© performed a vital role inside the advertising of Olympism in Bolivia -it is amongst the 3rd Globe`s poorest countries- and Latin The united states. His biography is exciting". The sportspeople he most admire is Olympic volleyball participant Flo Hyman. "This African-American sportswoman is my idol... "

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hellofastestnewsfan · 6 years

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When a DNA Test Shatters Your Identity

“These are boom times for consumer DNA tests,” Sarah Zhang wrote last month. But what happens when the results are shocking? Many people, she found, have turned to support groups on Facebook as they try to come to terms with surprising revelations about their own origins.

Last year, I asked my dad for a 23andMe kit for my birthday. My mother passed away 14 years ago and I’m an only child (or thought I was). I also got my dad and stepmom kits for fun; they bought another one for my husband. We were going to have a “reveal” party. I got my results first (I cheated and peeked), and was shocked to find out I am half Italian. Neither of my parents has any Italian heritage. Since I hadn’t previously disclosed Italian heritage to 23andMe, a very cheerful dialogue box appeared that asked, “Wondering where your Italian heritage comes from? Click on DNA relatives.” I did and a half brother appeared—and that is when I knew that I wasn’t biologically related to my dad. Because I was worried that my dad would find out the same way I did, through the website, I spoke to him in person that same day. It was the most gut-wrenching conversation I’ve ever had. My father wept, but then admitted that he had had his doubts (but didn’t know how to tell me) due to the fact that he and my mother were separated when she became pregnant.

Many years ago, I had heard a rumor from my mother’s relatives that I wasn’t biologically my father’s child. I was told that she worked at an Italian restaurant and had a relationship with the owner. When my mom was very ill with cancer, I worked up the courage to ask about this. My mother denied it so emphatically and angrily that I felt foolish and ashamed wasting the limited time we had left asking a question that implied she was unfaithful to my father. My family members on my mother’s side are known for being colorful storytellers who rarely let the truth stand in the way of a good story, so I chalked it up to just that ... a fiction. I wish it were possible to attempt a second conversation with my mom.

When I first found out the news, I considered taking a leave of absence from work because I had difficulty focusing on anything else besides the revelation from 23andMe. On a hard day, I feel heartbroken about my mom’s secret. Her illness created an intimacy between us in the final months of her life and I felt that we were able to tell each other all the things in our heart. This news taints that memory and created a fresh bout of grieving about her death.

I’ve since met my biological father, his wife, my five siblings, their spouses and children, as well as other extended family. I found out that I was conceived between my biological father’s first and second marriages. They are just how you imagine a warm, big-hearted Italian family to be: accepting, loving, and eager to create a relationship with me (I realize how lucky I am in this regard). Not growing up with them or knowing them sooner feels like a loss. Seeing a therapist, journaling, talking to trusted friends, and the passage of time have helped immensely. On a good day (and most days are good), I feel a tremendous amount of compassion for my father who raised me, my biological father, and my mother. I’m saddened that she couldn’t tell the truth even at the end of her life—surely she would have known we would have forgiven her. I also have empathy for her, especially after reflecting on the fact that she faced the decision whether to terminate the pregnancy and then carried the burden of the secret of my paternity for the rest of her life. Her childhood was filled with trauma and abuse and I’ve come to accept that she didn’t have the skills to take ownership of her choices.

But, what a surprise to have in middle age!

Kasi Mireles Taylor Aurora, Colo.

Oh my! Talk about timing.

For 66 years I have not only known who my family was, but also done fairly extensive genealogy research.

Three or four days ago it became clear to me that half of those folks have no relation to me. While I’m not devastated that my actual father is a man I’ve never met and didn’t know existed, the news was a gut-punch. I teared up knowing that I had given my name—a name that I was proud of, but a name that I had no right to pass on—to my wife and to my sons.

I’ll not be joining this support group, but there is an odd comfort in knowing that it and its members are out there.

My siblings are coming to town this weekend to give me a hug and show their support. That means a lot to me. Our mom, my biological father, and the dad who raised me have all passed, so really this changes little. Perhaps the only real change is the new family members that are out there.

Bill Williams San Antonio, Tex.

I too found unexpected results to my 23andMe and Ancestry DNA tests. When I got 23 percent Italian on 23andMe, I thought it was incorrect, so I tried Ancestry and got 30 percent Italian. I always believed I was half Irish, Swedish, and German. I found I have two Italian first cousins I never heard of. My father—who I now believe was not my biological father—had both of his parents born in County Clare, Ireland. I always relished in my Irish heritage. Now I feel left out on a limb. There are no siblings left alive, my parents have passed. I have asked my nephew (my sister’s son) to do the Ancestry test to see if I come up related to him. I am 72 and now wonder, who the heck was my father? Is this correct or was there a mistake somewhere? This interesting test has turned out to be a nightmare. I lie awake at 2 a.m. wondering where the connection is. Very baffling.

Barbara Chance Hammonton, N.J.

I always knew that I was adopted. It was a bedtime story meant to reassure me that I was wanted and loved. But as I grew older, I would stare in the mirror and wonder who I looked like. Did I have any half-siblings? Where were my birth parents? When I married and had children, questions about my nonexistent medical history suddenly seemed more important. After my parents died, I searched for my birth family and found a second cousin who helped identify my birth mother. My birth mother had died just nine months before I took my DNA test. I learned that I attended church in Oklahoma City with her and never knew. (My godfather, who arranged the adoption, was the pastor, but tragically died in a plane crash before I could ask him about my adoption.) My birth mother attended the college football games where I performed in the band’s halftime show. Her aunt bought a house down the street from me.

Once I had identified my birth mother, I used DNA cousin matches to identify my father, who had died in 1993.

Even though my birth family has been wonderful and accepting, I still struggle sometimes with my sense of identity and sense of place. There are huge swings in emotion: elation at having found my birth family, gratitude for my cousins’ acceptance, and a profound sense of loss and grief over two people that I will never meet. I feel the insecurity that I have crashed someone else’s party and don’t really belong.

Although I was prepared for the factual information that might be revealed and knew that it might not have a positive outcome, nothing prepared me for the emotions that came with even a relatively happy ending. The emotional extremes of having a gain and a loss all at the same time are difficult to express.

Holly Morgan San Antonio, Tex.

About three years ago, when I was almost 60 years old, I learned through an Ancestry DNA test that my dad was not my biological father. Ever since then, I have felt as if one of my wings had been cut off. I learned that such an event can bring emotions similar to those in the seven stages of grief. At this point, I have reached the stage of reflection.

I do not know if I was conceived during a long-term love affair, in a single moment of passion, or in an act of brutal violence.

“How do you feel knowing that Opa is not your real grandfather?” I asked my own daughter in a text message. Her immediate reply read: “It’s not DNA that makes a family.”

Marian Litvaitis Madbury, N.H.

Because I was about to become a grandparent, I decided to do 23andMe just for full disclosure for the next generation. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to find that I was only 50 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. Not being able to explain this, I had my sister do the test. She was 100 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. This had to mean my father was not my father. I was shocked and devastated. I had my brother do the test and he came back with a different father altogether.

My mother is 93, with dementia, and initially she denied that my father was not my biological father. But when I had her alone, she admitted the truth.

I am not sure I am glad I found all this out, but it has been fascinating to put the pieces together.

Patty Friedman Chevy Chase, Md.

Several years ago, my dad passed away. He was a secretive man, and I never knew much about his family history. My husband gave me an AncestryDNA kit for my birthday so I could learn more about my father.

Be careful what you wish for, right?

The results didn’t make much sense. Instead of Irish and English, as predicted, my Ancestry test revealed a great deal of Sephardic Jewish and Greek/Turkish heritage. It also yielded a “first cousin” that I didn’t know.

I attributed this to faulty results, like so many people do. But my “first cousin” turned out to be a half-nephew I didn’t know existed, from one of four siblings I also never knew I had.

My father was a complete stranger.

It took me a year to come to terms with the reality, and then nail down who I thought my father might be—then a few more months of background checks and internet stalking to decide if I wanted to make contact.

I sent that first letter on my birthday last year, August 21. It’s been almost a year since my world turned upside down, but in that time I have met my birth father, a new stepmother, a half-sister, and a half-brother; I’ve spoken to another half-brother and know there’s yet another. I am the youngest of at least five.

DNA is unburying all those dirty little secrets. I don’t regret the truth, but truth comes with responsibility. We need to start responsibly handling something so drastically life-altering.

Meg Watt Pittsburgh, Pa.

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