"Don't ask me about my business Kay"-Sicily

🇮🇹 Sicily Learning Journey

The Godfather Reflections: Where Fiction Meets Family Heritage

🌧️ Chapter 1: Any Given Sunday

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Biblical Proportions

Rain is bringing mudslides today, after a deluge of biblical proportions. Yet, despite the state of emergency declared, as I walk the streets of Messina, stop at a cafe and have a Cafe Americano, fiction is better than fact.

The illusion of False Perspective

🌊 The Storm's Lesson

Sometimes the most profound realizations come during chaos. While Sicily faced natural disaster, I found myself contemplating the nature of storytelling and how the narratives we create can be more compelling than reality itself. The Godfather wasn't just a movie—it was a lens through which to understand family, loyalty, and the weight of choices.

I think of The Godfather again. Do I H8 Vito and Michael Corleone or do I want to be like them?

🍅 Chapter 2: The Garden of Memory

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Vito's Garden

Probably the most memorable character in that classic is the portrayal of Vito Corleone by Marlon Brando.

The Garden Scene - Family Legacy

This garden scene could be my Italian Grandpa and me running around his tomato garden. He had the same canister for pest control. Maybe I lost a few IQ points from the pesticides!

👴 Grandfather's Garden

When I revisit the Tomato Patch Scene, it touches my heart because I think of my own Italian Grandfather, Oscar John Zito, and his garden. It is vivid and real and just like this picture, the spray can, the orange slice smiles and all.

⚖️ Chapter 3: Michael's Transformation

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From War Hero to Don

I'm gonna speak Italian to Mike...

Mike Flees to Sicily

Then, I think of Michael from "That's my family, Kay. That's not me." to "Don't ask me about my business Kay". Then the door closes on her, and on him as a war hero and the dream Vito had for him to be legit.

🎭 The Duality of Character

The traits that define Michael as a person are loyalty to family, cunning and strength. I gotta give him that. BUT:

• The loyalty - when he doesn't hesitate to eliminate those who wronged his father
• The cunning - arranging murders while renouncing "Satan and all his works" as godfather
• The strength - which borders on ruthlessness when he kills Sollozo and Captain McCluskey

That probably says it all for me--that he can be that guy.

💬 Chapter 4: Memorable Lines

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From Funny to Profound

I always go back to the dialogue--from funny to profound, like the pizza man--it always delivers:

Leading off Don Vito Corleone (young and old), and later Don Michael: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

On family... Don Vito: "You spend time with your family?" Johnny Fontane: "Sure I do." Don Vito: "Good. Because a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

Sacking up... Michael Corleone: "Senator, you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally."

Woops... Jack Woltz: "Now listen to me, you smooth-talking son of a bitch..." Tom Hagen: "I'm German Irish." Woltz: "Well let me tell you something, my Kraut Mick friend ..."

CSI ... Clemenza: "Leave the gun. Take the cannolis."

Smooth... Michael: "My father taught me many things here. He taught me, in this room, 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'"

🤝 Chapter 5: Business and Personal

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The Art of Persuasion

Absolute Power$... Archbishop Gliday: "It seems in today's world, the power to absolve debt is greater than the power of forgiveness. $600 million." Michael: "Don't overestimate the power of forgiveness."

Biz or Pleasure Sonny: "Hey, whaddya gonna do? Nice college boy, eh? Didn't want to get mixed up in the family business? Now you wanna gun down a New York City police officer, why, 'cause he slapped you in the face a little bit? ... Tom, this is business, and this man is taking it very, very personal."

Everyone needs a Luca Brasi... Michael: "Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract."

💼 Lessons in Influence

The Godfather taught generations about negotiation, loyalty, and the delicate balance between business and personal relationships. These scenes became cultural touchstones for understanding power dynamics in any context.

🍝 Chapter 6: Food, Love, and Tradition

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The Heart of Italian Culture

Food=Love... Clemenza: "Hey Mikey, why don't tell that nice young girl that you love her? 'I love with you all a my heart, if I don't see you again soon I'm a gonna die.' ... Come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you may have to cook for 20 guys some day. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil, you fry some garlic, then you throw in some tomatoes, some tomato paste, you fry it, you make sure it doesn't stick, you get it to a boil. You shove in all your sausage and your meatballs, add a little bit of wine, and a little bit of sugar -- and that's my trick."

On drinking wine... Don Vito: "I like to drink wine more than I used to. Anyway, I'm drinking more." Michael: "It's good for you, pop."

🍷 Sicily's Lesson

In Sicily, surrounded by the aftermath of mudslides, I realized that The Godfather wasn't just entertainment—it was a meditation on family, tradition, and the choices that define us. Sometimes fiction captures truth better than reality, and sometimes a tomato garden holds more wisdom than a library.