Iannuccilli: Write Your Tale

Iannuccilli: Write Your Tale

Write your story; it will be your legacy.

This year, I read a book of fairy tales by Italo Calvino and heard a presentation by Greg Maguire, author of Wicked.

Fairy tales are entertaining; a predictable story structure, a lesson to be learned, and (usually) a happy ending. They help us to consider a range of human experiences: joy, sorrow, disappointment, fear, to name a few. They helped our ancestors make some sense of the instability of their lives as they narrated experiences of unfairness, poor treatment and just plain bad luck. They helped teach them, and us, the benefits of courage, determination, and resourcefulness.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Their stories were preserved through time by the oral tradition of storytelling. In the Italian movie, Tree of the Wooden Clogs, there is a scene where the contadini, the poor farmers, sat surrounded by family after a difficult day in the fields, and told tales. Nothing was written. No one knows where the stories arose, maybe dreams, and maybe exploits of ancestors.

Greg Maguire said, “Once we lived in the dark, but we needed light; alone, safe, in a dark cozy comfortable world.

Every life has some fairy tale.  When my grandparents came to America, all they owned was in their satchels. They came to Rhode Island because they had a connection with a relative or someone from their town. They settled, found work and worked hard.

Though life was not easy, they were living their fairy tale in the land of opportunity.  They had no delusions. They knew that to survive, they needed to work. The decades following WW II galvanized many as they became absorbed into the society. My grandparents were happily at home in America and made it so for their offspring. Rhode Island was enough. They had no desire to leave their safe, new home. Their claim to America was beyond question.

I was given the chance to succeed by proud, daring people who wanted something better for their families. I write of them to never forget, to have my offspring, and others remember.

Maguire said, “Fairy tales gave light from darkness, hope from poverty.” My fairy tale was living in a three-decker castle where I began to understand the importance of education.

“Light from darkness,” says Maguire. What was my light? It was college and medical school. I was given a golden opportunity to take care of people and, more recently, to write of my roots. How very lucky I am.

We MUST tell our story by writing, recording. Teach the young about the courage of their ancestors, their generosity, hard work and desire to survive. Help them learn about different cultures brought to America by so many.

Our ancestors have shaped us, moved us, made music and food for us and taught us the value of an education and of hard work. We must remember what people have been through to understand what we have now.

Tell your story; pay it forward.  If you don’t, it will be lost. And the fairy tale might end.

 

Ed Iannuccilli is the author of "Growing up Italian" and "What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner?" and "My Story Continues"  can be found here.