jurvetson
When my grandparents and my mother were getting ready to come to America, my grandfather ran into a problem. For three months, he took day-long journeys back and forth to the embassy in the nearest city to try to get visas for him and his family. After waiting and waiting, hearing excuse after excuse, my nonno had enough.
Sicily is known for its exquisite olive oil because of the rich soil the trees grow in. The volcanoes that dot the island provide nutrients in the ground beneath it that help the olives grow to their maximum potential. The mountains and dry, desert-like heat also create a perfect environment for growing these little gems. From ancient times, the Greeks used the olives for more than food. The olive branch became a symbol of peace offerings, olives were the center of Mediterranean trade for centuries, and the oil that came from it was often compared to liquid gold. Though wars and conflict devastated Sicilians for centuries, they at least had their precious olives.
My nonno must have known this, for after facing so many obstacles in trying to get visas for his family, he decided there would not be enough money in the world to convince the bureaucrats to issue his papers. (And for anybody that is familiar with Italian bureaucracy, you know what I mean.) On his last attempt to convince the official to get his papers, he brought with him a jug of the finest extra virgin olive oil from his hometown. Needless to say, it did not take but a few days for my nonno to bring back not only his visa, but those for the rest of his family.
Yes, even today, the power of olive oil remains strong.
Loading ...
About