“North Beach”

“The delicatessens, like small-scale food circuses, charmed me, but there was more, far more in North Beach to discover and be delighted by. I loved Italy and Italians and the way they lived their lives: their focus on children and family, their faith, and the enjoyment of the senses God had endowed them with. Life was fun here and that word had almost lost its meaning to me. As I meandered down Columbus Avenue, slowing my wonted urgency in order to inhale as much of what surrounded me as I possibly could, my head constantly pivoted to take in sights across or down the street. Church bells rang, minutely echoic, sending clean metallic sounds vibrating through the skies. At a corner, a cluster of young mothers, with their simple baby carriages and well-swaddled infants, stood gossiping. They were stunned by the sudden loud honk of a car horn followed by the squeal of tires as a youngster with his ultra-tuned Trans Am flashed past a black-kerchiefed matron and rocketed down the street.”