The American front porch

For most of my life, I've been torn by a dual  love of country: a love for my Sicily and a love for my adopted country, America.
At times it causes great pain because of the cross pressure becomes hard to take. I love both of my countries dearly but I love Sicily a little more. For example I absolute love New York, it is my city and yet the only place where I really feel truly at home is Castellammare del Golfo. Never mind the ridiculously taxing bureaucracy, the totally socialized system that has turned many into clients of the paternal state, and never mind the self imposed sense of inferiority imparted by those from the north who despoiled the entire South with a special emphasis on Sicily. At the time of the so called unification of Italy,  the Kingdom of the two Sicilies was richer and even more industrialized that the north. What transpired was was a rape of Sicily, one of the richest  Italian regions and the imposition  of Piedmontese laws and customs by a royal house made up of quasi imbeciles. Is it any wonder that the great emigration occurred after this so called unification that amounted to a colonization and annexation? But history is written by the winners and  much of this reality has been hidden. Of course that data exists and thanks to many impartial non Italian historians, these facts have been known for many years. As Italy celebrated it's 150th year of unification, a lot was written and a lot of the truth
reached the surface. Nevertheless, what I find truly abhorrent is that this concomitant self imposed belief of cultural inferiority whose real cause is an externally imposed ideology by these cultural rapists. One sad result is that the Sicilian language, Italy's first literary language, even the northerners must reluctantly agree, is slowly being lost. Fewer and fewer people speak it. There is this belief
that  using it shows lack of erudition. Of course the opposite is true. It shows total lack of intellectual acumen. Enough history lesson and enough rant. The original thesis was my national duality.
Therefore as I enjoy this glorious place with it's intense colors, flavors and feelings, yet I still long for those American summers whose emblematic symbol of easy living is the shaded  front porch where cold lemonade is served so one can cool off on hot afternoons.
Ergo the photos that I'm posting.