Don’t Touch the Tomatoes

By the author of RAISING SIX AND SOMEWHAT SANE, DON'T TOUCH THE TOMATOES is the story of where Barbara's Italian family began, in Cefalu', Siciliy. Giovanni Aquila who owned Aquila Fruits And Vegetables in Lexington Market, and Simone Brocato who owned Brocato Shoe Repair on North Avenue in Baltimore City in the 1920's, came to America as young boys from Sicily. Giovanni married Anna Battaglia and Simone married Rose Centineo who was to be the matriarch of the family. This is their story, Italian immigrants who lived a life of hard work, birthing babies, cooking for tons of relatives, making their own wine, and dancing to the music of the mandolin. The men served in the war and the women served their men.La sua famiglia faithfully loved one another and stuck together like glue through The Depression and two World Wars. It is a story of bravery and determination to make a life in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1900's, not knowing the language or the customs of American life.