Miracles via Garibaldi

No miracle is too small, or too big. They are all simply miracles.

On 7 November 2007, my beloved Nanna, Giuseppa Curcuruto (nee Puleo) passed away.  At her funeral, I was handed a copy of her Eulogy.  I recall when I received it and initially read through it, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and proudness, for having such a strong and influential grandmother in my life.  Not everyone has the opportunity to grow up (literally) next door to their grandmother...

I have read Nanna's eulogy probably 10+ times in full; and studied segments of it even more (genealogy work).  But today as I read through each paragraph, it was as if I was reading it for the first time!  There were so many little details that I had previously failed to see. 

Isn't it funny how the eye's will see only what they want to see at that moment.

It's kind of like the old saying 'love is blind' because the heart will see what it wants, (perfection, not imperfection).  It takes many years (or something bad to happen) before the veil is lifted from one's eyes, and they start seeing reality, so to speak.  But I guess, even at that time, they still love what they see, they just love it 'knowing' it's not perfect (but it's perfect for them).

I digress.

Nanna's eulogy.  On the back page there are many photos printed on 1 x A4 sheet of paper.  Most of the photos are of Nanna.  Either by herself, or with her children, or her parents and siblings.  There is one photo in the top right corner, of a building.  Why has this building never stood out to me before??  Perhaps, it's because I am planning a trip to Europe this year and so my head space is all about 'landmarks'.  Or perhaps, I was just lucky today. Or perhaps; it was a Miracle.  If they do exist.

Today, the planets aligned and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  This morning, I was prompted to find some paperwork in my spare (junk) room to change the direct debit details for my car loan.  Boring. Of course I didn't find it, but instead, I found Nanna's eulogy and thought "I should take that with me today".  (Why not?!?!)

Last year, I changed jobs.  A bunch of clients followed me over to my new office.  One of them being an old Italian man, Giuseppe (Joe) Chillemi.  I had only met him once or twice previously, yet he followed me over to my new work place because he knew my family.  In fact, he knew my grandfather.  Jealous.  (I never met my grandfather - he died before I was born).  It humbles me that Joe has this infectious heavenly smile on his face when he talks about my poppy.  He even has an affectionate name for him "Tory".  My grandfathers name was Salvatore; I've never heard anyone refer to him as Tory.  How is it that this man crossed my path in life? Fate, Chance, Miracle?

A couple of years ago, I was searching the web late one night looking for Nanna's ship Orsovo, that she travelled to Australia on.  After hours and hours of searching, I found it!  But, of course, I didn't keep a record of it.  Now, when I search for that same ship, do you think I can find it?

Long story short, I thought it might be a fun exercise today, to find the building pictured in Nanna's eulogy photos, on google maps.  Did I think I would actually find it..? Well truth be told, no. Who knows when the picture was taken.  The building looked very old and in need of a paint job! It's probably been painted and renovated a few times over by now. After all, it's been a good 80 years since she left.  Nevertheless, I started my search.  I type in "...via garibaldi, calatabiano, catania, sicily". Oh. There is no exact match.  But there is a "...via giuseppe garibaldi". I'll try that. Switch to street view (gotta love google).  Place my little 'man' on the map. And off I go... arrowing down the road from the Eastern end, heading West, as if I am literally walking down; scanning both sides of the street anxiously looking for a match.  It only took about 15 minutes..., but lo and behold, there it is! Via G. Garibaldi, 140, Calatabiano, Catania, Sicily.  My Nanna's birthplace and home for the first 19 years of her life.

I could not believe it.  I can't begin to describe the feeling I had at that moment. My heart stopped! I smiled. Butterflies start fluttering in my tummy.  While tears start streaming down my face.  I found Nanna's birth place.  The place she lived in before she made the treacherous venture to Australia from Sicily, way back in 1933 when she was only 19 years old.  It's because of her, that I am here today. I couldn't be more grateful to have had a grandmother like she.  I cannot wait to visit this place. Our September Europe trip could not come quick enough.

Do miracles exist? Well, in my world they do. Absolutely. We just have to be sober enough to recognise them. ;)

NOTE: This post should have been published yesterday, 20/02/2013.