La Famiglia E Sempre Famiglia - Family Is Always Family

Ciao a tutti,

We all live such busy lives, and time goes by so quickly, there isn't time for much other than what is starring us in the face. And yet, there is so much that we wish we could incorporate into our lives somehow, but we just don't know how to do it.

It is no coincidence that on our Filippo and the Chef show has a few mottos we like to say and live by, and the majority of them revolve around family.

"In Our Kitchen, You're Family."

"Join Our Family."

"We invite you to cook along with us, drink along with us, and enjoy life along with us, after all, we're family."

I truly feel that way about all the people we work with and the fans we are developing. And I try to live my life with as much family as I can. Ironically, when I am performing I truly feel like I am performing for family.

I have created a family of people that I work with on the show. I am really close to a handful of friends and to me they are family. And as far as my immediate family is concerned, I try to see them as often as I can. So, I have truly created my life around family and surrounded myself with family.

But when most people think of family, they think of their immediate family. But to Italians, family extends many generations far up, down and across the family tree, probably as far as you can imagine.

There are even names for the extensions of the family members. I hardly know them in English, much less Italian.

I am talking about first cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed, second cousins three times removed, and so on. I don't know how it all works but I do know that family is family and that's all there is to it.

Well, all this to say that I have family all over, as I am sure we all do nowadays. The majority of mine is in San Diego, New York, Milan, Rome and Sicily. I got to visit with family in San Diego this past weekend and it did me good. And again, when I say family, I include fourth cousins, and beyond.

This weekend was special because there was family visiting from Sicily for the first time, and all of us that could, took the opportunity to get together to meet and spend time with them. We all gathered at my Uncle's house, otherwise known to me as "Parrinu," my Godfather, and we had a great time.

It was so exciting seeing how well everyone was doing, and how beautifully everyone got along, related and had a great time.

You know how there are parties when the adults get together and the kids keep to themselves, or leave early, or better yet, don't come at all.

Not in this case, all the kids hung around wanting to get to know us and spend time with us all too. All the generations were represented and we wouldn't have had it any other way. I guess that sense of "famiglia" is born in us and we cherish it.

I asked around if anyone wanted to be included in this special post on my

blog of a subject and a group of people that were very near and dear to me. All of them said yes. Now, not all the pictures came out good and because of that and because it would just be too many pictures, I won't be posting everybody in this post but I will hopefully have another occasion soon to post more.

As I am writing this post and uploading pictures and running out of space, I had to laugh that I don't think I got pictures of half the people there.

The other funny thing is that the people at the party are probably only one tenth of the family I have in San Diego.

That is not to mention all the people that I have known all my life or the friends and fans that I have made through the years there. The family just keeps getting bigger, and what could be better. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The family also is expanding in a big way and in many directions. We are all so different and yet all the same. It is interesting how through marriage some of us have married into other cultures and how their cultural differences have enhanced our living experience.

Interesting however when we get together it all seems very Italian however.

Even though most of us still are Italian, those that aren't feel Italian at times. And even if they don't live Italian throughout their everyday lives, it is fun to come together and party as Italians, with good Italian wine, Italian food, and lots of Amore, (Love). Now, that's Italian!


What can I say but "E Viva La Famiglia," "Hail to the Family!"

Filippo

P.S. Speaking of family, I really like what Martin Scorsese did back in 1974 when he filmed his parents Catherine and Charles "living" family life, Italian style, whatever I mean by that. I say family because there is the interaction of him and his parents as well.

By the way, it is so New York Italian, just to listen to them, to hear what they talk about, the way they relate to each other, the cooking and everything. Now it is a little different from a Californian Italian interaction, but it is still Italian. How different? We can get into that another time.

I don't know what more to say but you'll get it if you watch it. I like this kind of thing. If you do too, then enjoy a slice of Italian-American family life as Martin Scorsese filmed it in "ItalianAmerican" and as I got off of Youtube.com (In English)