After dinner with Paolo, His wife Marietta, their daughter Sonia and nephew Angelo, we were joined by their niece Michela to look at family photos I had brought from Canada. Earlier this year, my mother and cousin Pat had started to collect all the photos from mom’s side of the family and scan them into an archive. The photos, all taken before the Seventies, number in the mid two hundreds.
The photo show brought on an evening of joy and laughter. Although the majority of the people in the photos are, as they say, morte (dead), it gave everyone in the room a chance to see life as it was. The photos showed my mother as a little girl; Paolo as a young man; my uncles in their youth. They revealed my some of my uncles alternating between their roles as tough guys, and as well groomed ladies men who loved posing for the camera.
Unfortunately, none of the nicknamed people found their way into the archive. Only the husband of Musso Rosso was there. He had moved to Rome to find work and returned to Locri to show off his new bride who he had met there. Well dressed with her nose planted firmly in the air, her most noticeable trait was her bright red lipstick, which gave rise to the nickname that when pronounced in a strong Calabrese accent has quite the ring to it (moose-oooh roose-oooh).
Almost every picture also displayed a strong family trait…thick hair. Now I am certain of where it comes from. Picture after picture showed men and women with thick manes of hair that wouldn’t have been out of place on a lion, wolfman, or sheep. One young man’s mane was particularly stunning; without question, first prize belonged to him. Unfortunately, nobody had any idea who he was and now all these years later he is most certainly morto. One must ask, what became of him and his hair? In an effort to uncover the mystery, I present to you the photo.
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| The greatest head of hair in history |
Copy and send it to everyone you know. Perhaps we can identify this man and give him his due as the owner of the greatest head of hair in history.
*****
UPDATE
I received an excited call from my mother. The young man in the photo has been identified... it's her father, my grandfather. I couldn't belive that she didn't recognize him, but her explanation makes sense. From the time my mother was born, my grandfather always wore a moustache; it was a defining feature. In mom's mind, the lack of a moustache on the man in the photo above made it impossible for it to be her father. However, my uncle has seen the photo and says he's certain it is their father at a young age.
But even with this mystery solved, there are others. Who is this young man who lays claim to the second greatest head of hair in history?
*****
UPDATE
I received an excited call from my mother. The young man in the photo has been identified... it's her father, my grandfather. I couldn't belive that she didn't recognize him, but her explanation makes sense. From the time my mother was born, my grandfather always wore a moustache; it was a defining feature. In mom's mind, the lack of a moustache on the man in the photo above made it impossible for it to be her father. However, my uncle has seen the photo and says he's certain it is their father at a young age.
But even with this mystery solved, there are others. Who is this young man who lays claim to the second greatest head of hair in history?
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