The Roma Lodge Newsletter

Order Sons of Italy in America

Roma Lodge #254

3097 Magic Hollow Boulevard

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23453

(757) 468-2029

March 2011

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It has been my distinct pleasure to serve you these past 24 months. From the start of my first term in March

2009, my intention was to continually project a positive influence at Roma Lodge. Everything else beyond that

ought to have fallen into place in the form of fun, entertainment, and enjoyment, along with a better

understanding of how our lodge operates. I hope those goals were met.

Thank you very much for entrusting me with this awesome honor and responsibility these past 2 years. It

was a blast.

May God bless.

John William Del Russo, Sr.

President,

Roma Lodge 254

_______________________________________________________________________________

In memory of Roma Lodge member Wilma Regan – a Roma Lodge icon.

To Wilma and her family: May God bless you and keep you in His arms and

may the memory of our beloved Wilma live on in all of us. _______________________________________________________________________________

=== MILESTONES ===

Angelo & Dirce Costa will be celebrating their 65th

Wedding Anniversary on March 8th

.

Juan & Aida Perez will be celebrating their 45th

Wedding Anniversary on March 26th

.

Website: www.roma254.org E-Mail: RomaLodge254@verizon.net

LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY

Roma Lodge Council 2010 - 2011

President John William Del Russo, Sr. .......... 479-0240

Vice President Albert Marra .................................. 301-8797

Past President Bruno Cardo ................................... 495-6711

Orator Anthony Alfano .............................. 424-9546

Recording Sec. John Luizzi ..................................... 490-6448

Financial Sec. Mario Canu .................................... 575-8714

Treasurer Mark Zito ........................................ 495-7802

Trustees Russell Cerro Mary Del Russo Joseph Casto

624-9189 479-0240 481-3860

James Novelli Peter Langlands

426-1970 428-0938

Mistress of Ceremony

Diane Gossett Bonnie Ostrander

368-3632 435-8244

Guard Jose Rodriguez 340-8536

Lodge Chaplain Gerald Hyatt 436-0477

*********************************************

STATE OFFICERS

State President - Marie F. Siebeking

Immediate Past State President - Paul Siebeking

Trustees: John Gossner

Mario Minervini

OSIA FOUNDATION

Recording Secretary - Lorraine Gossner

Ex-officio - Marie & Paul Siebeking

National Delegate - Paul Siebeking

Arbitration Commission: Bruno Cardo

******************************************

******************************************

NEWSWORTHY NOTE

If any member hears of another Roma Lodge member

being sick or going into the hospital or any other

significant event that may befall any of our members or

a member of their family, please call our Sick & Welfare

Chairwomen Florence Alfano (424-9546) or Adrienne

Marra at 301-8797. They will ensure that these

members get rendered the proper respect and/or

visitation from other lodge members who might

otherwise be unaware of their situation. Thank you.

March Friday Night Menus

04 11 Ham (Installation Ceremony) Eggplant Parmigiana

18 (Dance Night) 25 (Birthday night)

Corned Beef & Cabbage Lasagne (Karaoke)

Salad - 6:00 Soup – 6:15 (when served)

Entrée - 6:30 - 7:30

NOTE: Menu is subject to last minute changes.

*************************************************

Birthdays

And

Anniversaries

BIRTHDAYS

Bobby Barone Madeline Barresi

Marilyn Borntrager Theresa Bourgard

Harriett Bulisco Angelo Costa

Raffaela Elliott Adriana Grillo

Carmen Gruhl Sal Iaquinto

Adeline Luizzi Adrienne Marra

Al Marra Mario Minervini

Raymond Nardoianni John Nicosia

Frank Orsino Joe Palmer

Manuela Peralta Debbie Pitrone

Mario Quaglietta Maria Roby

Paul Siebeking Teresa ―Suzi‖ Taylor

ANNIVERSARIES

Angelo & Dirce Costa (65th)

Marvin & Anna Mullins (49th)

Juan & Aida Perez (45th)

MEMBERSHIP

As of January 15, 2011: 303

We are up 49 members

from Jan 15, 2010 (254)

NOTICE

If anyone learns of the passing of one of our Roma

Lodge members, please promptly notify any Council

Member shown above. The Lodge President will then

decide when to activate the ‗Phone Tree‘ with

information that the surviving family member(s) want

announced. It is very important that the wishes of the

surviving family member(s) are followed to the letter.

CULTURE CORNER

MY FISHING STORY

by Mario Minervini

I guess my future was decided when I was

eleven years old. I had just graduated from

elementary school. My father was a fisherman, so I

guess it made sense to my mother to send me to the

maritime trade school in town. There were two

choices of study: the commander or the mechanic of

the fishing boats in Molfetta. I choose the

mechanical part; I always liked playing with tools. I

graduated three years later 1951 with a license as a

mechanic for small fishing boats with up to one

hundred horsepower. I was too young to work on

the boats so I went to work in a mechanical shop

that repaired the motors of the fishing boats. For the

first few months, I got no pay at all. I was in

training. Eventually I graduated to a small weekly

pay, just about enough to go the movies and a small

sack of squash seeds.

Finally, on May 21 1952, I embarked on my first

fishing boat. I was 15 years and 79 days old. I still

have my personal document where all my

embarkations and disembarkations were registered

by the port Captain. The first fishing boat that I

worked on was named Margherita, a proper

feminine name in Italy. It was about 35 feet long by

12 feet wide. It was powered by a 75 horsepower

diesel motor made in Germany by Deutchwerk? It

had three cylinders. The pistons were about 10

inches in diameter, At it fastest, the speed was 350

rounds per minute and that was pushing a lot. It was

a large motor, very bulky and taller then I was, but I

was the proud mechanic helper of that motor! Yes,

that was my title: Mechanic Helper.

I had no idea of what I got into. The big diesel

motor had a forward, and a reverse march, which

was accomplished by way of shifting a gear box

with a large lever and was done by hand and that

was my job. The reverse march was used only when

maneuvering in port. Once in forward, the higher

the round per minute, the faster the boat would go.

When the boat was maneuvering, I had to be down

in the motor room, at the lever of the gear shifting,

paying attention to the guy on the deck yelling

orders from above, ―Forward! Stop! Reverse!‖ I

was proud of the fact that I was maneuvering the

boat! Normal maximum speed was 310 rounds per

minute when going out to fishing. On the way back

home, the mechanic always raised the speed to

325 rpm. Like everyone else, he loved to be on solid

ground as early as possible. I was the mechanic‘s

helper and had to follow orders word by word. I had

to be extremely careful because if I made even the

smallest mistake, I would be punished by being

slapped around, by the mechanic or any other

person on board. I was the smallest by age and by

size, and I was abused. No one to complain to. My

Mother told me, ―If you got hit, you must have

deserved it.‖ And that was the end of the

conversation.

My job was to work on the vessel as a helper for

fishing, keeping the boat clean, and helping any one

that was working. I did things like fixing the

wooden boxes where we stored the fish, repairing

and mending the nets. In my free time, I was

expected to keep the motor and the room around it

sparkling clean.

The fishing was done by trolling a large net on

the bottom of the sea. The duration of the trolling

was determined by the quality of the bottom of the

sea, being smooth or rough. If sandy, the trolling

could last as long as four hours at the very most

BUT between the pulling of the net, there were fish

to be chosen by quality and size. They had to be

washed covered with ice and stored in the walk-in

icebox. The entire vessel had to be washed and set

up for the next pull of the net. Sometimes to do all

these chores could take two hours or more, so you

could rest for the remaining time, which would be at

the most two hours. And this was would he best

case scenario of life on the fishing boat. The two

hours of relaxation, included time for eating,

playing, and conversing. I never had it so good!

Molfetta Harbor

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE ITALIAN PRIDE

by John William Del Russo, Sr.

Thanks to Raffaella Ciccone, I could always say that

I was brought up with 19th century Italian values and a

vivid impression of Italian pride, tradition, and love that

would last a lifetime. I even learned at age four to

speak a little Italian from her, although the Italian

lessons learned were more than just of the language.

There was Italian dignity and respect on the menu to

which she so selflessly gave me. Raffaella Ciccone was

my grandmother who was born Raffaella Casale on

April 5, 1878 in Teora, Italy. Grandma and Grandpa

John Ciccone, my namesake whom I never met (he died

in 1942), came to America in the early 1900‘s. They

lived in Newark, New Jersey and raised 10 children,

one of whom was my mother.

When growing up in Newark in the 1950‘s, my

parents worked during the day. ‗Grandma‘ who lived

with us took care of me from before I can remember

until she passed away in 1963 when I was 9. I was her

friend and she was mine and when I started school in

1959 at St. Augustine‘s just up the block, I couldn‘t

wait to get home. Every morning she would ask me (in

broken English), ―Johnny Boy, do you want-a some

toast an-a butter and coffee?‖ How could I refuse?

Tasty toast and butter (m-m-m-m!) done just right and

dunking it into the coffee up to my third knuckle. Even

though I liked the coffee diluted with milk until it was

the color of masking tape, it managed to wire me up so

that I would run around the backyard for hours on end

playing with our dog Butch, not to mention being the

fastest speller in St. Augustine‘s School.

Grandma and I were a team and we had fun and lots

of it. When we played cards, Grandma‘s favorite game

was Steal the Old Man’s Pack. It was the only game

we knew. And when she tried frequently to play a ‗pick

a card‘ type card trick on me, she would ever so slightly

bend one of the corners of the money card, thus easily

revealing that card as the one I‘d picked. She would get

a kick out of me when I would ultimately uncover her

trickery.

Although she dressed mostly in dark clothes - her

black dress with white polka dots was a classic - to me

she was the best dressed and most beautiful of all the

elderly Italian ladies who lived in the neighborhood.

They sometimes would visit, talk Italian, and try to

shove cheese, figs, and other Italian delicacies in my

mouth. Francisco the friendly fruit-and-vegetable guy

with his old 1930‘s truck would also come by and talk

Italian with Grandma as I would listen and pick up

every third word or so. While wearing his perpetual

smile, he‘d always have pairs of cherries connected

together by their stems with one pair draped over each

ear. Francisco - the smiling slot machine.

But all wasn‘t fun and games. There was panic and

drama on occasion. One time I locked Grandma in a

closet by accident. I was about 4 or 5 and when I shut

the door on her, the lock snapped shut. Apparently the

lock was designed for the ‗over 5 and under 75‘ crowd.

Neither of us could open that confounded door.

Grandma tried to talk over my cries and when she

finally succeeded, her calm voice simply said, ―Call-a

Ann, you hear me Johnny Boy? Call Ann-a.‖ I

nervously said ok and went to get Ann. Ann was the

lady who lived upstairs that kept telling me that she was

going to pin my ears back. I was kind of scared of her

but I knew that if she had pinned said ears back, that I‘d

have probably deserved it for one reason or another.

Ann came lumbering down the stairs and muttered the

‗ear‘ line to me, unlatched the door with her ample

fingers, and freed my Grandma from what I could only

have imagined was a horrible time in the dark recesses

of the dungeon-like closet keeping so many monsters

not to mention mothball-scented clothes company.

Despite my occasional boneheadedness, Grandma

NEVER got mad at me for that incident or anything

else -- ever! After the ‗ear police‘ went back upstairs,

Grandma and I looked at each other and cracked up

laughing. And Butch chased his tail around the kitchen.

And all was right again with the world for another day.

There is not a day that goes by that I don‘t think about

my Grandma in my prayers. I am so proud to have

been a part of her life and I am convinced that the

making of these indelible memories are more than any

kid growing up could ever have asked for.

Yes, Raffaella Ciccone spoke mostly Italian to me

and what little English she spoke, I helped out with the

translation as much as I could. One of the reasons I

joined the Order Sons of Italy in America back in 2001

was to promote Italian heritage and among other things,

to hear the Italian language spoken in the background.

It‘s like a favorite song to me that I‘ll never tire of

hearing (and you don‘t even have to know all the words

-- the melody alone gives you a kick!). We‘ve got to

try to come up with innovative ways to make our Italian

heritage stick around long after we‘ve gone. We

shouldn‘t have to try, but we must. Thanks again,

Grandma. And God bless you in heaven for the many

Italian lessons you have given me.

Happy St. Valentine’s Day

by President Del Russo

We don‘t say Happy Patrick’s Day, do we?

Then why is St. Valentine repeatedly slighted? This

year more than ever, I have heard virtually every

wish (on TV, etc) as ―Happy Valentine‘s Day!‖

Valentinus, as he was known in Roman times,

definitely earned his sainthood (see history in next

paragraph). Most people probably do not realize

that he was canonized to sainthood. So next year,

encourage the spreading of ―Happy SAINT

Valentine‘s Day‖ and help to give brother

Valentinus his due.

THE HISTORY OF ST. VALENTINE

Valentine was the name given to several of

martyred saints of ancient Rome. The widely

accepted tradition is that St. Valentine (latin:

Valentinus) was a Roman priest martyred during the

reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II in about

270A.D. He was arrested and imprisoned upon

being caught secretly performing wedding

ceremonies between Christian couples, and

otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time

being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. For his

persistent Christian beliefs, Valentinus was

condemned to death.

The name ―Valentine‖ is derived from the latin

―valens‖ which means strong, worthy, and

powerful. Let us contemplate St. Valentine‘s

strength and power by envisioning his desire to

propagate love and understanding. PS: Happy

(belated) St. Valentine‘s Day!

***************************************

Saturday February 12th

-- The Annual

Roma Lodge St. Valentine Party

by Bonnie Ostrander

We had a full house. The night was opened with

entertainment by flamenco dancers. The girls were

fabulous. The dancers were followed by a wonderful

meal guest are still raving about! After the meal we

danced the night away! The last guest left a 1:00 pm.

What a great enjoyable night! Thank you to Bruno and

Bonnie for putting on a great party. Thanks to the

kitchen staff who once again brought us a delightful

dinner and a special thanks to Roma Lodge member Rita

Orsino who sold well over 60 tickets for this event.

Festa di San Giuseppe

will be held on

Saturday April 2nd

The annual Roma Lodge Festa di San Giuseppe

which was originally scheduled for Saturday March

19th has been rescheduled to Saturday, April 2nd,

2011. Please make a note of this new date.

So what‘s cookin‘? The Festa di San Giuseppe

Dinner Dance, that‘s what! This Festa di San

Giuseppe will be a special one indeed. This event

will feature the on-premises authentic Italian cooking by

three Roma Lodge members. Bring your appetite as

well as your dancing shoes for this one, folks. You will

not regret it! The price ($25 members/$30 Guests) will

include plenty of authentic Italian cooking, an open beer

and wine bar, DJ music, and much more. Dress is

casual. See full-page ad in this newsletter for this very

special Festa di San Giuseppe event.

********************************************

A ‘THANK YOU’ TO THE MEMORIAL

MASS AND BEREAVEMENT

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS by President Del Russo

Thanks to this year‘s Memorial Mass chairperson

Angie Hughes for arranging the 2011 Memorial Mass

that was celebrated by Father Parke on Sunday, January

16. Charlie and Genevieve Kelly were very helpful with

many aspects of this Mass also. Thanks also to Molly

Carr for your assistance. And finally thanks to all those

who brought in desserts. (Great meal Bonnie!)

Another thank you is in order for our Bereavement

Committee Chairperson Adrienne Marra, Since she has

determined that her original plans for the Bereavement

Committee did not gather enough members to support

this committee, Adrienne has stepped down as this

committee‘s chairperson. I would like to thank

Adrienne and the 11 members that remained a part of

this intricate committee for all of their support and help;

however, the number of volunteers needed were just not

there to form the committee structure as Adrienne had

envisioned. If anyone desires to pursue this or a similar

committee, please contact President Del Russo. Until

then, the Bereavement Committee is hereby

disestablished. The eleven remaining Bereavement

Committee members are Norma Russo, Adele Griffiths,

Dee Clark, Sonja & John Konlande, Mary Del Russo,

Isabel Amante, Catherine Rodriguez, Russ Cerro, Ellie

Bove, Marie Siebeking. Thank you all so very much for

stepping up.

RECEIPT OF UNSOLICITED

MERCHANDISE IN THE MAIL

******** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ********

By President Del Russo

This will clear up the mystery once and for all.

This following problem has been identified in a

previous Roma Lodge newsletter and due to the

continuing nature of this problem from complaints

I‘ve received from members of our lodge, to me this

article is necessary. It will prove beyond a doubt

that you can keep any package or packages that you

receive in the mail that you did not order or ask for.

This trend is particularly disturbing since a high

percentage of complaints are from our senior

members. Last year, one out-of-state relative of one

of our senior Roma Lodge members actually had to

intervene and retrieve over $100 in payments that

our Roma Lodge member had inadvertently mailed

in for an OSIA book because the member had

thought that he‘d been sent a ‗bill‘.

By far, the most common complaint that I

receive is from our members who call and ask me

why OSIA is sending them a bill for a DVD that

they did not order. One Roma Lodge member from

New Jersey, Kathy Harrobin who happens to be my

sister, said that she was sent a letter in which the

sender, ―OSIA CS of Minneapolis, MN,‖ illustrated

to her in a bill-like statement that she had two

options: one was to send the DVD back, and the

other was to enclose payment.

Well I am here to tell you that the law states that

you, the mail recipient, are not obligated to send or

mail any unsolicited mail back to the sender, nor are

you required to pay any money for anything that

you did not order. Such unsolicited items you

receive are yours to keep free of charge. As shown

immediately below (see RECEIPT OF UNSOLICITED

MERCHANDISE) is all the proof that you will need

to substantiate this fact; furthermore, following this

article are source documents, one of which is the

U.S. Code from which it is derived:

----------------------------------------------------

RECEIPT OF UNSOLICITED MERCHANDISE

A company sends you a gift in the mail--a ball

point pen, a key chain, a tie. But you didn‘t order it.

What do you do? If you are the type of person this

company is looking for, you may feel guilty about

accepting the item without paying for it. Don‘t feel

guilty! It‘s yours, and you are under no obligation

to pay anything.

You, the consumer, may only legally be sent two

types of merchandise through the mail without your

consent or agreement:

1) Free samples which are clearly and

conspicuously marked as such.

2) Merchandise mailed by a charitable

organization that is soliciting contributions.

And in these two cases, you can consider the

merchandise a gift if you wish. In all other

situations, it is illegal to send merchandise to

someone, unless that person has previously ordered

or requested it.

These rules are codified in Title 39, United

States Code, Section 3009. That section of the

Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 incorporates

these protections for American consumers and

makes the mailing of unordered merchandise unfair

methods of competition and unfair trade practices

under the law.

If you do not wish to pay for unsolicited

merchandise or make a donation to a charity

sending such an item, you may do one of three

things (in each case, by law, you have no obligation

to the sender):

1) If you have not opened the package, you

may mark it ―Return to Sender,‖ and the

Postal Service will return it with no

additional postage charged to you.

2) If you open the package and don‘t like what

you find, you may throw it away.

3) If you open the package and like what you

find, you may keep it for free. In this

instance, ―finders-keepers‖ applies

unconditionally.

Furthermore, it is illegal for a company that

sends you unordered merchandise to follow the

mailing with a bill or dunning communication. If

you are aware of violations of the federal law

prohibiting the mailing of unordered merchandise,

or if you have personally had difficulty with such

items--especially if you are sent statements

demanding payment for the merchandise--you

should contact your local postmaster or the nearest

Postal Inspector.

{Source: 39 U.S.C. § 3009 : US Code -

Section 3009; see also the “USPIS GOV”

website pertaining to standard criteria as

set forth under “U.S. Postal Inspection

Service,” or simply Google “RECEIPT OF

UNSOLICITED MERCHANDISE”}

ROMA LODGE

ELECTION NEWS

NOTE: ALL ROMA LODGE MEMBERS MAY

ATTEND ANY ROMA LODGE MEETING

by President Del Russo

There may be a bit of confusion out there as to who

may attend Roma Lodge General Assembly Meetings

(as in the Election Night General Meeting scheduled for

Feb 28th). The rules state that all members may attend,

but please also note that only Regular Members in

good standing (ie dues paid) shall vote, run for office, or

make motions at our General Meetings. If Social

Members (or otherwise non-regular members) would

like to attend any of Roma Lodge‘s General Meetings,

they are, as always; most certainly welcome to do so. In

addition, any social or non-regular member may make

suggestions or comments at these General Meetings.

Any actual ―motioning‖ however must be made by a

regular member. So if you are a social member and

would like to see your idea in action, speak to any

regular member who would support your thoughts, and

simply have them make the motion.

The names gathered from this year‘s Nomination

Committee are as follows: John Luizzi (Recording

Secretary); Liborio DiMaria (Trustee); Bernadette

McClain (Guard); and several other who have expressed

interest but did not yet commit their names to any one

position. If you‘re interested in shaping our lodge‘s

future in a positive way, come on out and vote or run

for office. This is one meeting you won‘t want to miss.

Please also note that the Installation of Officers

Ceremony for 2010-2011 is scheduled for Friday, March

4th at 7:00pm.

**************************************************

OSIA of Tidewater Inc. Elections

Monday, March 28th

, 7:00pm Not to be confused with the ROMA LODGE Elections

The OSIA of Tidewater, Inc. election of officers always

occurs on a separate night from that of the Roma Lodge

elections. And just as with the Roma Lodge elections,

all positions are open. The OSIA of Tidewater, Inc.

election night is traditionally held on the fourth Monday

of March each year. This year, the OSIA of Tidewater

Inc. elections will be held on Monday, March 28th

shortly after 7:00pm in the main hall. If you‘re

interested in shaping our lodge‘s future in a positive

way, come on out and vote or run for office. This is one

meeting you won‘t want to miss.

ROMA LODGE ELECTION EXTRA

Help shape the next generation for our lodge. This

is your chance to project ideas for our lodge from a

Council seat. And remember, there are now only 12

Roma Lodge meeting nights per year for council

members in contrast to the former 24 meeting nights

as was the case last year. This makes holding a

Roma Lodge office all the more easier. If you are a

Regular member in good standing and desire to run,

simply be there on Election Night and throw your

hat into the ring for the 15+ positions available.

You can thusly be nominated from the floor on

election night. Members that are unable to commit

to run for any office are asked to consider any

Roma Lodge ―committee‖ or ―event‖ positions

that may become open in the coming weeks. We

need to keep moving Roma Lodge upward! Many

hands make for easier work for all of us.

*******************************************

ROMA LODGE INSTALLATION OF

OFFICERS CEREMONY

Also known as the ―swearing in‖ ceremony, the

Roma Lodge Installation of Officers for 2011-

2012 (for those elected to office on the previous

Monday’s election night) will be held at Roma

Lodge on Friday March 4th at 7:00pm following

that night‘s meal. The initiating officer will be

Susan Yungbluth, the Grand Lodge Deputy to

Roma Lodge.

*******************************************

Our 3rd Annual Super Bowl Bash

captivated right to the end (zone)!

It was quite a game throughout and it was a shame

that someone had to lose, but the Packers eventually

topped the Steelers 31-25 to take home the Vince

Lombardi Trophy for Super Bowl XLV before the

settled-in jovial crowd at the Roma Lodge Cerino

Room on Sunday, February 6th. Lots of food from

others member‘s kitchens was sampled and coupled

with the fun, the beer and the wine, it made for

quite an event. We are thankful for the event

coordinators Pete Amante and Ellie Bove who again

(for the 3rd

year in a row) put this party together.

Did you know… that there is a play on Broadway titled

“LOMBARDI” which honors this great Italian-American

football coach for whom the Super Bowl Trophy is named?

ITALIAN HEROES SHRUGGED

by President Del Russo

Why aren‘t true Italian heroes celebrated as much

as the Hollywood‘s stereotypical imagery of our

people? To me, Italians and their American

descendants deserve to be shown in a more favorable

light—one that makes all people proud. Instead, we

are consistently exposed to the distorted Hollywood

version that seems to almost always portray Italian

culture as a celebrated criminal element. What about

Columbus or Fermi or Verrazano or Serpico or Scalia

or hundreds of others that have signified ‗Italian

Pride‘ over the years?

As I proudly hung the newspaper clippings of

Italian mobsters on my bedroom wall in Belleville,

N.J. when I was 12 or 13 (just because they had Italian

sounding names like mine and were further made

‗cool‘ in my eyes with their accompanying

nicknames), my Father strolled into my room, took a

look around and on his way out he pointed to the

pictures on the wall and casually said to me,… ―and

they‘ll take your last dime, too.‖ Short… to the

point... my Dad -- and I never forgot it.

Goodfellas is purported to be the unequivocal

benchmark movie for how it really is to live in that

part of the underworld. To me the original

―Goodfellas‖ are Da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and

the like who were instrumental in teaching the

WORLD how to live.

Would you believe that about 10 years ago there

were two prime time TV shows on the air and both

actually depicted a positive side of Italian-American

life and Italian pride? (You can go to IMDB.com and

check out their summaries). First Monday was a

drama about the US Supreme Court and featured a

level-headed Associate Justice who happened to be a

dedicated Italian-American family man. Another

show was That’s Life which featured a young Italian-

American woman in her 30‘s who strove to better

herself by going ‗back to college‘ and helping out in

the family restaurant. Both shows however were short

lived. My guess is that the network powers-that-be

determined that the respectable Italian family theme

isn‘t near as good for big ratings as showing Italian

mobsters battling it out on the screen. That‘s a shame.

Where did all the positive role models go for our

people?

Although we have to accept the fact that we and

our descendants will forever be linked as a nationality

made famous in part by the Mafia and organized

crime, Hollywood is the dubious ‗gift that just keeps

on giving‘ via their lack of exposure of positive

Italian-American role models. Hollywood‘s

perpetuation of this gangster imagery comes in all

forms, even for children as the cartoon movie Shark

Tale has shown us.

I believe that some segments of society push the

envelope to where they believe that it is okay to

offend another culture without receiving punishment

for doing so. Italian-Americans are Hollywood‘s

prime target for what I call ―racially offensive

permissiveness‖ -- complete with a big target painted

on the heads of all upstanding Italians courtesy of the

mindless Hollywood goons that keep insisting on

playing mafia make-believe.

If as Americans of Italian descent we don‘t speak

up in defense against this sort of thing, I‘m afraid that

we will deserve every barb and insult that comes our

way. So, keep fighting the good fight in defense of

who you are -- who WE are.

Reprinted and revised from the original

Primo Magazine, February / March 2009 article

*********************************************

The Roma Lodge inaugural

Centennial Committee

meeting set for Feb 26

by Pete Amante

The Roma Lodge Centennial Committee will

kick off its inaugural meeting on Saturday,

February 26 at 7:00pm in the Roma Lodge Cerino

Room. All members are invited to attend this

meeting. Topics for discussion are the theme of

―100 Years of Family Tradition‖ or the possibility

of a different theme. We would also like to hear

members‘ suggestions of what our lodge can offer

to the Hampton Roads community in order to draw

in more members. The start time of 7:00pm was

selected so as to give some a chance to go to church

on Saturday night.

Those who would like to attend and have a bite,

we can order out and share the cost. After the

meeting we can chat and play cards. If you are

planning to attend and have suggestions, please

contact Pete Amante at 430-8473 or Ellie Bove at

410-3450. Come help stoke the fire for our grand

scale ―100th

Anniversary‖ celebration which will

occur in 2014 – less than 3 years away! WE need

your support. So mark that date on your calendar –

Saturday, Feb 26, at 7pm - and come out and

enjoy a couple of hours with people who together

care about our shared heritage.

MAP OF WORLD TO

SUPPLEMENT

MAP OF ITALY

by President Del Russo

Thanks to the members who‘ve already phoned

in and emailed their Italian city of origin for this

map project which is still slated for a start date in

Spring 2011. Now that the groundwork is started,

let us add another map mural for good measure.

The map that will accompany the map of Italy will

be a map of the world.

About 25% of Roma Lodge is comprised of

Social Members (that is, those with origins from

places other than Italy). That percentage of

members is misleading because some members who

are not of Italian descent and who are married to

those members who are of Italian descent, are by

OSIA law considered to also be regular members.

So we can then conclude that the actual percentage

of members who do not have an Italian lineage is

higher than 25% -- probably closer to at least 35%-

40%.

This is why a map of the world would be

fitting – so that we might honor ALL of our lodge

members with this project. We are truly a melting

pot here at Roma Lodge. But it is important to note

that we all have one thread in common… our love

for Italian heritage.

This ―map‖ project will be maintained much like

our Veterans List and it will show the region or

town from which all members or their ancestors

have hailed.

Brother Mario Minervini took this idea a step

further and said that this list should also contain

map coordinates (ie: D-12) which would enable us

to keep this listing in a binder near each map so that

anyone interested could view ‗who‘s from where‘

and thus draw us closer together as a lodge.

A large professional mural of the map of Italy

and now a map of the world are planned for the

Roma Lodge Cerino Room (at no cost). This would

enable any member with map coordinates in hand,

to find any other members‘ origins within seconds.

Please email me your name and town/region that

you or your descendants originated from and let‘s

keep this new ball rolling. If you have no e-mail

capabilities, then call me at 479-0240 and we will

note this info for inclusion onto our Roma Lodge

Member’s Origins List that we will be publishing

in a future newsletter. This list as mentioned will

also serve as the index for the proposed maps.

Let us enjoy our lodge unencumbered and to the

fullest without any reservations whatsoever. Never

forget that this lodge belongs to all of us. It is not

any one member‘s lodge.

NOTE: You can see a full color artist’s rendition of the

map of Italy mural as it would appear on the Roma

Lodge Cerino Room wall by visiting our website at

WWW.ROMA254.ORG. Go to the February or March

2011 newsletter page. The World Map rendition is still

being assembled. Stay tuned … we’re having fun now!

**************************************************

GRAND LODGE SCHOLARSHIP

REVIEWERS STILL NEEDED

One representative is still needed from Roma Lodge

to review scholarship applicants for the Grand

Lodge of Virginia Scholarship Program. Anyone

interested, please contact President Del Russo at

479-0240 as soon as possible. Thank you.

******************************************

Please join us on March 5th for a special

evening out

You will choose your entrée

and we will cook to order.

Limited seating - Reservations Are Required

Menu:

Antipasto

your choice of:

Peperoni Ripieni

with sage roasted potatoes

- or -

Penne Alla Vodka topped with grilled chicken breast.

and

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with black bean

sauce

Limoncello Cake

Complimentary bottle of wine on each table

Price per person: $29.95 per person

Please call

Bonnie 438-8244 or Bruno 288-9544

*****************************************

Michelangelo‘s Italian artistry

by President Del Russo

How‘s this for Italian pride? Between 1508 and

1512, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel

ceiling. At this website link (below), you will see

virtually every angle of Michelangelo‘s masterpiece

almost as if you were inside the Sistine Chapel.

Features include a ―zoom-in/zoom-out‖ capability

and with simple movements of your mouse, you

will be able to maneuver to every corner to view

each of the great works within.

For those who have access to the internet, copy

the below link into your address bar. For those of

you who do not have computer internet access, copy

the following sequence of letters down exactly as

shown, and when you visit someone who has a

computer, and have them type it in their address bar

and you will both be duly amazed.

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

******************************************

Lodge Notes

Lodge News via E-Mail

To better keep you informed of emergent Lodge

news, we continue to assemble an e-mail list of

participating Roma Lodge members. Since April

2009, we have amassed 178 e-mail recipients! Join

in and send your e-mail along with your name to:

RomaLodge254@gmail.com

Your e-mail address will be added to the Roma Lodge

‗e-mail roster‘. Your e-mail address will also be kept

strictly confidential via ‗bcc‘ mailings. We will not give

your e-mail address out to anyone else and we promise

not to send you any unnecessary e-mails. What we will

send you is an informative ―e-weekly‖ we call the

ROMA LODGE WEEKLY NEWS which contains among

other things the detailed menu (right down to the side

dishes) for the upcoming Friday Night Meal. It is

e-mailed every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

******************************

All Roma Lodge members should have now received

a 2011 dues letter from our Financial Secretary. If you

have not yet received this 2011 dues letter, please

immediately call our Financial Secretary Mario Canu

at 575-8714 ... There‘s always room for musicians: If

anyone during the course of our Friday night meals

would like to play the piano located adjacent to the

stage, please help yourself! As a matter of fact, if you

have any instruments you‘d like to bring and play, you

and your instruments are always welcome!

See our latest Roma Lodge newsletter posted IN

LIVING COLOR at www.roma254.org. Also, did you

know that you can view past Roma Lodge newsletters

back to 2007? So curl up with your laptop and have a

nice historical read of what‘s been happening at our

lodge...

When is 12 better than 24?: Much to the delight of

the Roma Lodge Council Members, there are now only

12 meeting days a year. That‘s because a motion was

passed several months ago to hold the Council meeting

at 6pm on the same night as our General Assembly

Meetings which follow at 7pm. Instead of both meetings

being held on separate nights, Roma Lodge Council

members now save time, gas, and lots of unnecessary

driving back and forth…

Who was that masked man? Apparently John

Diamante is the man to see to get the job done. From

rewiring the salad bar (old plug posed a safety hazard),

to linking up our website with our ROMA LODGE

WEEKLY NEWS, to rifling computer tips via e-mail

which save other members loads of time, the list goes on

and on, and did I mention that he recently started Roma

Lodge on Facebook? Here is the link and before I

forget, thanks a million Brother Diamante!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.

php?id=100001933926324 You can also search Facebook for:

Sons of Italy VaBeach **************************************************

Roma Lodge is not responsible for any

typographical errors or omissions in the newsletter

NOTE: The deadline for newsletter articles

Is the 2nd

Monday of every month.

EDITOR-IN-CHARGE: John V. Luizzi

My E-Mail - luizzi@cox.net

**************************************************

CARNEVALE CANCELLED

The Carnevale for the Kids event originally scheduled

for March has been cancelled. No further date has been

set for this event. Please note this cancellation: It

supersedes and cancels any dates or information that

may have been handed out or distributed.