Lefty's Journey

Ralph De Falco was born on the island of Ponza, Italy. His family was able to immigrate to the United States after one of his sisters married a naturalized American citizen that was originally from Ponza. It was in America that he realized that being left-handed was not considered sinister. Thanks to his and artistic talent and his ability to absorb things easily, he was quickly noticed by the teachers in the public school system of New York City. This was instrumental in him achieving a measure of success, as he was encouraged to attend the High School of Art and Design, which was one of the better high schools in the city. He worked for General Motors, which was instrumental in him getting a mechanical engineering degree and retired as a senior product engineer with thirty-five years of service.

When Ralph arrived at the row house in the South Bronx, he had to step back as his family made their way up the steps. Theystarted to creak as they carried their luggage, and all that went through his mind was that they would collapse if he also climbed those steps. Where he came from, all the steps were made of either marble or granite. How in the world would these wooden stairs hold up? Ralph had been surrounded by the unpolluted blue Mediterranean that reflected the ever present blue sky. If the temperature became too hot, he cooled off in that blue water to his heart's content. Now, in the bowels of the South Bronx, the only thing that turned blue was his demeanor.His only relief from the stifling summer heat, along with some of the boys from the neighborhood, would be to illegallyopen a fire hydrant when the police were not around. Ralph De Falco was born on the island of Ponza, Italy. His family was able to immigrate to the United States after one of his sisters married a naturalized American citizen that was originally from Ponza. It was in America that he realized that being left-handed was not considered sinister. Thanks to hisand artistic talent and his ability to absorb things easily, he was quickly noticed by the teachers in the public school system of New York City. This was instrumental in him achieving a measure of success, as he was encouraged to attend the High School of Art and Design, which was one of the better high schools in the city. He worked for General Motors, which was instrumental in him getting a mechanical engineering degree and retired as a senior product engineer with thirty-five years of service.