Tommaso Crapisi’s Chair (memory)

I remember sitting on the floor at grandpa’s house (Tommaso Crapisi).  I would sit in front of his favorite chair and listen to him give me advice.   I was pretty young but old enough to understand what the advice was that he was giving me.

One thing I will never forget was that he told me how he started working in the United States for 2 cents per day.  Not hour. Per day.  Before you laugh, read the book “The Jungle”.

The Jungle was required reading when I was in high school.  It described the working conditions for young people between 1900 – 1915.

My Grandfather (Tommaso Crapisi) was 17 years old when he arrived from Sicily.   That is a pretty young age for anyone to be leaving family behind and having to find a place to work.

Grandpa was a stern but very kind person and I remember him giving me advice while I stayed sitting on the floor in front of his chair.  Something you never forget. THE END