This is the story of one man's journey from one end of the world to the other. It's a journey that begins in the coldwater tenements of the North End of Boston, leapfrogs to the foothills of Phu Bai in Vietnam and comes full circle to the immured tenements of the North End.
Author Ralph J. Masciulli grew up in a close-knit historical section of Boston. It was a close-knit neighborhood because it was comprised primarily of people of Italian extraction in the early part of the century. It was a milieu where everyone knew one another, everyone cooked Italian, and everyone spoke Italian. It is historical because two landmarks grace its landscape - the Old North Church from where the "One, if by land, and two, if by sea" signal lanterns were hung to warn of the British march from Boston on April 18, 1775, and the house in which Paul Revere lived a short distance away in North Square.
For the first two centuries Boston was home to the fashionable and elite Brahmins who were first to establish roots in the North End. Some of their mansions still grace the Boston landscape. After the Revolution there were changes that reshaped the North End. The Brahmins moved out to points south and west leaving behind a settlement in which the Irish were able to settle after the potato famine of 1842. The potato crop failure led to a great influx of Irish immigrants who set sail for anywhere - and landed in Boston. Many came from humble beginnings and established roots in the North End taking up residence in the homes vacated by the Brahmins. They worked menial jobs to gain upward mobility and their children enrolled in local schools. As they prospered they moved north to Charleston and south to South Boston or Southie as it is called, allowing a new generation of immigrants - the Italians - to settle in the North End after the Civil War.
As the Italians moved in, the North End took on significant changes. The Jews were the last remaining group to exit leaving the North End comprised of residents primarily of Italian extraction. They brought their culture to the North End and made significant contributions to society in the field of education, science, politics, art, music, theater, and entertainment to mention a few. They used their entrepreneurial expertise to open businesses to provide services. Here is where Ralph Masciulli grew up; sampling his mother's meatballs and gravy before the usual Sunday pasta dinner, and then meeting in Coogie's coffee chop for the usual morning discourse with friends and the honing of his intellectual skills. He demonstrates his Italian ethos and lifestyle throughout the book: where he "hung out", the camaraderie he shared with his North End buddies and the servicemen in Vietnam who came from other parts of the country - and from diverse cultures.
The author draws on his intellectual acumen and Italian upbringing to deliver a journey that took him full circle - from the "caverns" of the North End to war-torn Vietnam and back.
This is Ralph Masciulli's story - one that delivers a unique account of his childhood, his upbringing and the activities he shared with his North End buddies; one that traces his activities and those of other servicemen in a heated war zone; one the truly comes full circle.
