Growing up in an Italian-American household was special. It was particularly memorable for a boy who was given way too much freedom by his grandparents, Giuseppe and Maria, who treated him like a young Italian prince. There were fun and escapades galore, many of which could have ended in jail time for the young prince and his friends had it not been for sheer luck and Grandma's influence. Add to the mixture, a slightly gritty, multicultural city on the banks of Lake Erie as well as the chance association with rare and eccentric people, young and old, all who teamed up to make the total experience magical. Memories of those days, long past, unfold taking the reader back to a time when ethnic families welcomed friends to Sunday meals while their kids played outside away from technology occupied instead with breaking windows, setting off incendiary devices, pelting each other with slingshots and formulating gang fights. Mangia e mille grazie!!!