- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
- Messages
- 69,738
New day - everyone have a good day.
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You too Ed, hope you're doing OK


My Dad told my that he was a very hardworking man, to the extreme. He came to Argentina very poor and worked as a bricklayer. He had little formal education but was able over the years to have his own small business and hire a couple people to help him build houses. My Dad tells me that with no plans or blueprints he was able to build very well built homes, he also had an amazing skill at ordering exactly the amount of materials needed for a project.
At one point he went back to Italy as the economy collapsed and returned again 2 or 3 years later.
During hard times he would go to the port in the town of Rosario and sweep the silos for the leftover wheat on the floor to take home.
I know he was exceptionally honest and would lay all night awake, consumed with anguish if he had a bill to pay or owed money and was even a little late for a payment.
In his later years he got very sick, some type of muscle wasting disease and required total care for several years. The family always believed it was caused by working so incredibly hard.
My Dad's maternal grandparents on the other hand became very wealthy. They had emigrated from Spain. On this side of the family, my great grandfather went onto build a chain of big stores in Rosario. My dad tells me he was a consummate business man and everything for him revolved around money. He would say " show me how much money you got and I tell you how much you are worth " ( what an awful thing to say)
LOLThe spanish inquisition
Morning Guardians
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He sounds a great man Dan, I can see how he would need to be a hard worker, and an intelligent man, to hold his head above water in those hard times. I understand that emigration to Argentina was massive around that time, with many folks lured out by 'agents', and promised jobs and wages, which were unforthcoming. Hundreds were tricked into going to remote estancias, where there was only the company store to buy from, and so they quickly got into debt. Hundreds more ended up having to live out of the dustbins of Buenos Aires. So I think your grandfather must have witnessed some hard times my friend. I think that worrying about money, or the payment of a bill, is extremely common amongst honest folks who have seen hard times, and witnessed others fall due to the precariousness of life in such times. "Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 19 pounds, 19 shillings, and six pence, result happiness. Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 20 pounds and six pence, result misery.’ (I've tidied that quote up for those unfamiliar with the ancient British pre-decimal monetary system!). The want of a few pence could mean the workhouse, debtor's prison, or worse. Thank you for the family history Dan, and for those wonderful photos


Good morning, Guardians!
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Got my nose to the grindstone.![]()
Hope you're not having to work too hard Vince


Has anyone else here tried this seasoning, a jar of which @Reaper AL sent me a while back, and which I've mentioned before? I really recommend it



(Shown here with my Hartshead Barlow)