Mother, Friend, Confidant: An Introduction

She goes by 'mom', she's a friend to many and inspiration to all; loving, honest, hard-working and generous- she embodies so many of the things we all strive for, and we have such fun along the way!

Carmen left Naples, Italy and came to Southern California, the year was 1973. One of her four sisters Anna came ahead of her after marrying a handsome American GI near their family's hometown (Anna and her husband Patrick would lend a helping hand in Carmen's safe arrival and in getting established).

With less than a working knowledge of English and her two young children in tow (my brother Alberto was just under 3) she embarked on what would be a long and often difficult, if not painful life as the pursuit of her American Dream began to unfurl.
Our father Nino remained in Italy behind us as the rigors of his teenage marriage to my mother were too much for them both to effectively manage... A heartbreaking reality we were forced to cope with as we grew up, and to this day are still affected by; he passed away just two years ago leaving us behind with the sorrow of intermittent though not unaccomplished relationships.

Making her first home in a tiny bungalow in Reseda, CA. she took her first job on an assembly line in a electronics factory that is long since gone.
                         "Lo sono sola, me io non sono solo..." she said, determined not only to survive but to succeed.