Vincento D?lessandro always told the same story to the little ones?
?That rickety boat must have carried half the island! And the rats! More rats then people? not a single bite of food, unless you brought your own along. Your great-great ?Nonna wasn?t in the best of health, so she sent me alone? I remember it like yesterday. We had to pull up roped buckets from the ocean for drinking water. Filthy I say?!?
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?Baruch attah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha?olam. . . .?
Rebeccah D?lessandro had become a bat mitzvah, just as her great-grandfather had always desired. He was always worried his family would convert to the typical choice for Italian-Americans; Catholicism. You know, you just didn?t hear of many Sicilian-Catholics. But that suited Beccah just fine ? she was always the odd one out. Misunderstood for most of her existence up until this point, the ceremony of most 13 year old Jewish girls was not that different - but the Oneg which boasted biscotti, pizzelles, and espresso was a bit odd.
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The next 13 years weren?t as accepting as the last 13, and Beccah found herself to be 26 and a fledgling law student in the capital city. For her, there were two choices ? the straight and narrow, or the corrupt and disgraceful. She chose the first option, which dictated the she leave her family behind. Italian Jews pushed two stereotypes together into one ****** up package ? power beyond understanding and the wealth to make it something dangerous. The D?lessandro family was a New Jersey powerhouse who dodged accusation after accusation and covered their tracks in everything they did.
It just wasn?t for her.
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She chose a different life, in a different place, but she was a JAP in the truest sense of the word no matter how she tried to escape it. And on top of all that ? she was a rich Italian.. even though she didn?t want the life that was hers, did that mean she could flee the criminal mind and shady background?
