Dear Little One

Dear little one,

I do not know you. I do not even know your name. But I love you because you are the daughter of a fine man who was a good friend of my daughter. She passed away, childless. He went on to marry your Mom. So, altho you are not legally mine, you hold a very special place in my heart.

I am American, you Italian. I am Jewish, you Catholic. Way back in 1937, my 27 year old brother died in Spain, in a desperate battle against fascism. Mussolini was a friend of Gen. Franco’s. You will have learned this from your history books.

In 1952, when my husband, Gordon McIntire, was offered a job in Rome with the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, my first reaction was negative. I was afraid we would be met with both religious and political prejudice, but it turned out very differently. (We had trouble with our own government but not with yours). We found friendship, beauty, good food, good wine, good skiing -- I have wonderful memories of more than 20 years in your beautiful country. So my advice to you is: Give life a chance!

Take risks. Do your best at all times, seek and give cooperation, think for yourself, study hard, play hard, work hard, and love what you are doing.
There will be peaks, and depths – that’s life – but in the long haul, if you make the right choices and obey your own instincts, I pray you will become an active young woman, doing your bit to make a safer, happier, and healthier world.

Granny Peg (will be 96 years old on October 2nd, 2006)