Abstract
People often associate warmth and color with Italian American family life-c01nforting food, generous affection. Certainly, these associations ring true for many. But the life my paternal grandparents made in Western Pennsylvania a century ago doesn't quite fit that image. Their experiences were rather cheerless and my thoughts have always glanced off the rough surfaces of their lives-especially the seemingly loveless relationship between my inexpressive grandfather and the all-but-invisible woman who was his wife.
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