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Tony Gargagliano's father Paul came to New York from Italy as a teenager in 1908. But he held on to many of his Old World ways. When Paul Gargagliano was 84, he visited his son one day, and the two talked about Paul's third wife. She had left her husband to go to Italy, and her return looked doubtful. "You know, you could get an annulment, dad," Tony said. So, father and son went to see the monsignor, the head of the church, to discuss the matter. But the elder Gargagliano and the monsignor had trouble understanding each other -- after all, it began with Paul Gargagliano stating, "You know, father, it's not natural for a man to be without a woman." In the end, much of the conversation found its way through Tony. "Before I knew it, I was translating English into English," he recalled.
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Piece Description
Tony Gargagliano's father Paul came to New York from Italy as a teenager in 1908. But he held on to many of his Old World ways. When Paul Gargagliano was 84, he visited his son one day, and the two talked about Paul's third wife. She had left her husband to go to Italy, and her return looked doubtful. "You know, you could get an annulment, dad," Tony said. So, father and son went to see the monsignor, the head of the church, to discuss the matter. But the elder Gargagliano and the monsignor had trouble understanding each other -- after all, it began with Paul Gargagliano stating, "You know, father, it's not natural for a man to be without a woman." In the end, much of the conversation found its way through Tony. "Before I knew it, I was translating English into English," he recalled.
Broadcast History
NPR's Morning Edition 6/22/07
Transcript
TG: My father was a goat herder in Sicily. When he came to this country he learned how to use a sewing machine and became a tailor. He never approved of me being an artist. He used to say, "Hey! Look at the bum! He's drawing and painting dirty pictures. All the nude women. He's a bum!"
My father, one day, came to visit me and he was 84 at the time. He says, "Oh, you know my third wife, she's a-go to Italy. She's a leave me all lone. And I told her, 'You go alone, you no find me when you come back.'" So I said, "Well you know you can get an annulment, Dad."
And he said, "What's that?"
And I said, "That's when one part of the marriage does not live up to their marriage vows. If your wife disappears in Italy then you have a perfect right. That's not a marriage anymore."
He says "You find-a me an Italian priest."
I found a monsignor who was head of a church and I set a date and took...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Time again for StoryCorps, the project that's traveling the country recording your stories.
Today, a tale from New York City...That's where Cathie Campbell spoke with her friend, Tony Gargagliano (gar-GAH-lee-AHN-oh). Here, he remembers his father, Paul, an Italian immigrant...
Tony Gargagliano with his friend Cathy Campbell in New York City. This interview will be archived along with all StoryCorps interviews at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Subscribe to the StoryCorps podcast at NPR-Dot-Org.
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