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Sunday, April 15, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
Dear reader,
Today in print, we published a very nice column by the Chicago Tribune’s John Kass, who writes about a visit to his ancestral home in Greece. (You can find the column here.)
Las Vegas is a young town filled with people from all over the world. Whether home (or the ancestral home) is Greece or upstate Pennsylvania, where do you come from? Do you have a story about finding your family roots or going home?
We’d love to hear it. It doesn’t have to be long or complicated. Send a letter to: Going home c/o Letters to the editor, Las Vegas Sun, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074. Or email: letters@lasvegassun.com and put “Going home” in the subject line. We’ll publish some of your stories in an upcoming issue.
Best,
Matt
Matt Hufman is assistant managing editor/opinion.
Unlike the Chicago Tribune's John Kass, who wrote about a visit to his ancestral home in Greece, I opted at a very young age, beginning in the late 1950's, to reject, and completely turn my back on my family roots from previous generations. Germany is primarily where my family roots originated from. Because of the Nazi dictatorship under Hitler, I let those roots wither and die.
I grew up in a small suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. Truly, and for just cause, I either flouted those family roots, or just leisurely let them dry up, and fade away.
My family roots became established and fixed while I was a United States Marine stationed in Hawaii. It is where I met my wife of today, in the early 1980's, and where our child was born.
The local people of the islands always made me and my family feel like we were "kanaka's". Meaning, somebody who originally comes from Hawaii. It's surprising to most that the native Hawaiian language has the shortest alphabet in the world. It has only five vowels and eight consonants. Many Hawaiian words are commonly understood, even by tourists. Of course, almost everyone knows that "aloha" means both hello and goodbye. This word is also used to describe love, affection and compassion. Other common words include "akahai," which describes one's gentle and modest demeanor. "Lokahi," means harmony and peace, while "oluolu," means agreeable and pleasant. These words truly describe our years in the Hawaiian islands.
We are very proud that our family roots "leis" here. <Yes, pun intended>
This seems like a very interesting subject (finding roots) about every American who's family came from somewhere else. We all have different family backgrounds and history that would be very nice to read about from people willing to share their story.
I opine one must be proud of their roots in order to be a worthy American. I have some not so good roots in my family, being from Italian stock by way of NJ, as does my dear Wife, from Deutschland [Germany]. But we also have some very good roots that we are very proud to have in the family tree. Hardworking, honest, generous and God fearing with an untiring faith in the dignity of all people and their inherent inclination for goodness and pride in the USA.
Carmine A. DiFazio