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North American B-25 Mitchell bombers fly near Mount Vesuvius during its last eruption in March 1944.
By Sara and mamma (Melissa Cannavo-Marino)
Nonna and nonno guardavano il telegiornale e ho sentito che recentemente volcani (Grandmom and granddad were watching the TV newscast and I heard that recently volcanos) have been big news). Volcani are montagne o colline che prendono forma di un cono. (mountains or hills shaped like a cone.) Hanno (They have) a crater or vent through which lava, hot rock fragments, hot vapor and gas erupt from inside the earth’s crust. Hearing this kind of upset me because qui in Italia ci sono tre famossimi volcani e alcuni meno conosciuti (here in Italy there are three very famous volcanos a few lesser known ones). The three famous ones are Vesuvio, Etna, and Stromboli. Nonno dice che quello più pericoloso è Vesuvio. (Nonno says that the most dangerous one is Vesuvio.) That seems kind of scary to me because we live just 73 miles away. Sembra una bella distanza, ma lo stesso mi fa avere paura. (It seems like that’s pretty far away, but it still scares me. Nonno mi dice “non ti preoccupare.” (Nonno says not to worry.) The last time it erupted was March 1944. I not sure that what nonno just said makes me feel any better. So I just go back to playing with my giocattolo (toy) and try to not think about it.
Then I hear mamma saying to nonno that she hopes Etna stops erupting. Etna! “Cosa c’è ora con questa Etna?” (Now, what’s with this Etna?) Mamma tells nonno, “I don’t want to have to deal with Etna next week when we go to visit the family in Graniti.” Then I remember Graniti is mamma’s hometown in Sicily, and I remember going for walks at night there and mamma looking at a mountain not far from Graniti that had an orange glow at the top. Oh no, that must have been Etna. Next week I will be living just 20 miles from a volcano!
Mount Etna looms over Catania.
Then I hear nonno tell mamma. Io non mi preoccuperei. (I wouldn’t worry.) Lava can’t reach Graniti because we are two valleys away and on another mountain. We might just have to put up with an ash storm that just messy and a nuisance. I say to myself, “va bene” (OK). “If nonno says there’s nothing to be afraid of, and I have spent lots of time before in Graniti, then it’s probably nothing to worry about.” So it’s back to playing with my giocattolo.
Alla prossima volta, ciao ragazzi.
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