"You know why they named me Tony?"
was the opening line of his favorite joke.
"No. Why?" you would always ask, because old Italian men are going to tell the joke no matter how many times you've heard it.
"I didn't have a name when we came over on the boat." ( My Italian relatives all came over 'on the boat,' as if a single vessel made every trip. )
"Somehow I got separated from my mother and father. But they found out whose kid I was and they found out that my parents were going to the Big Apple. So they took a magic marker and wrote 'TO NY' on my forehead."
Then he would look at you with a confused/questioning expression and you couldn't help but laugh out loud. Again.
He was the family joke teller, my dad's companion at many holiday events of late - most of the older males have gone on - and just a funny, dear soul I always loved to see.
He was 93, and made it to last Friday.
RIP, Uncle Tony
Here's to old Italian men and their endless senses of humor....
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I won't be able to make it down to be with family, so it means a lot.
Happy to hear he lived a long life!
Sorry for your loss. To Uncle To NY
He would have some red wine and say Salud!!!!
like the time my grandma and sisters opened a porthole and flooded part of "the boat." They got in serious trouble....
Those old Italian men are and were a mess. Their generation is thinning out, and they will be sorely missed.
and to you, too.
I'm so sorry for your loss, Tsiyu
back atcha
I hoisted 1 1/2 Jack Daniel's Jack Apples last night in his honor. Wasn't the requisite anisette, but I don't think he'd mind.
I hope all the old Italians are somewhere together reminiscing about the old days.
he missed his 93rd by 2 weeks back in Dec. 2004. 
to Uncle Tony
I know you remember yours with love, as I do my Uncle.
I appreciate the kindness of my DU friends. Our family gatherings won't be quite the same now, but we have good memories of times spent together. On some occasions there are several tables to accommodate all in attendance, and the table where Tony sat was always the loudest and happiest.
Even for a Sicilian!
Thank you for your kind words.
Your kind words are much appreciated.
I have an aunt who makes me chuckle endlessly, I so love talking with her and will miss her humor and frankness when she's gone.
I loved reading your Uncle's little story, Tsiyu, and I'm very sorry that you've lost him. All my sympathies to you!
I love hanging out with the elders. They can be so funny and so wise.
I hope you have your aunt for a long time to come.