Italian Settlements

America, as it is believed to be even today in every country is a mirage.  If one does not come here in person to see for himself, for he believes he will find gold nuggets on the sidewalk.  Actually if one does not work hard and without stopping for even one day, on cannot, will not live.  The dollar is made of sweat and endless sacrifices.  But for those who came as we did, not knowing the language, and in the era in which we came, life was cruel.  Other immigrants who had been fortunate to live in countries where English was spoken treated the tongue-tied newcomers like beasts.  I called to mind all the talk I heard on the ship.  Someone had said, ‘I shall stay in America for a few years.  I shall make stern sacrifices, but, then I shall return home, buy a mule and cart, and no longer have to till the soil.’…One after another, they all were out to seek their fortunes, many to send their sons to school to become doctors, lawyers, or engineers, to fill the professional void in their little villages.  Poor immigrants.  How many dreams they had, dreams that vanished all too quickly when they came into contact with harsh reality.