This is my brother Anthony, this is my other brother Anthony

My name is Francesco DeChellis.  My grandfather's name is Francesco DeChellis.  My cousin's name is Francesco.  I have a brother Anthony.  And a son Anthony.  And my father is Antonio.  And my nephew is Antonio.  And my maternal nonno's name is also Antonio.

When my brother opened up my son's Christmas gift one year, that elicited a huge, and probably deserved "I told you so" from my wife.

Names are a big deal to the generation before us.  And for many of us.  My older two sons are named Alessandro and Anthony, after their grandfathers.  My

What Italians Do With Hockey Sticks.

We all know the stories ... Italian parents in Canada waiting for their children's hockey sticks to break so they can use them in the garden.

All immigrant cultures did it ... if it was long enough and sturdy, it ended up in the garden. Our white friends' dads used to mount their hockey sticks in their rec room with little labels like "first assist".  When things became more civilized our parents used painted rebar to hold up their tomato and bean plants.

One hockey stick I had almost took a different route to the grave.  I wasn't a hockey player, but I always had sticks and skates.

When I was still living at my childhood home, my friends and I rented the arena every Sunday night.  I had two sticks, but one was never used and was in brand new condition (like plastic on the couch).  We stopped playing about a year before I was married.  When my sons started playing hockey, I helped out on the ice and one day my stick broke.  I immediately thought "I know exactly where I left my other stick", 11 years after leaving it there.

How do you "shut the lights"? Why Italians speak English the way they do.

I met a guy at school from Toronto who once asked me why Italian kids used to say "shut the lights" and "shut the TV".  I didn't get the question or why he was laughing.  Maybe his family was wealthy and could afford the higher electricity bill? Who knows ...

It turned out he was making fun of me, and Italians.  For a bit of background, I could barely speak English until I was four years old because my mom stayed at home and I was with her.

I grew up in a very Italian and French neighbourhood in Welland, ON, Canada.  You were either French, Italian or lost.  All of our parents speak/spoke English the same way and it didn't hold anybody back.

I have a very good understanding of the grammatical structure of French and Italian .  Those who claim French or Italian as their first language have similar patterns in their English.   For the most part I knew what their English derived from, but actually learning the grammar puts it all into better view.