Prologue
Tony had often wondered where his ancestors had come from. Well not so much where they had come from being third generation American, but before the great grandparents. He was Italian or should that be off or of Italian descent. As Ducky had once said, boys of his age still lived with "Mama."
It had been an Italian who began the story of immigration to America, albeit with a little aide from the Spanish Crown, but Christopher Columbus had set foot on American soil in 1492. He returned with tales of fortune.
Although Italy, as a unified nation, did not exist until 1861, the Italian peninsula had sent millions of its people to the shores of North America. These new arrivals thought of themselves as Neopolitans, Sicilians, Calabrians, or Syracuseans. They might not have understood each other's dialects, but on arrival in the United States they became Italian Americans.
It was something every American should do, find their roots. Most had to come from Europe basically, but DiNozzo? Tony had tried to look on the internet, in the Italian phone book, the PagineBianche, but no DiNozzo's in Italy but he did find many Di Nuzzo's, this got him wondering, just who was he, who had his ancestors been and how did he become who he was today.
Chapter One
"Boss, was wondering could I have some time off?"
"Paid or unpaid," Gibbs had asked not looking up reading the report Bishop had just laid on his desk.
"Well paid would be good," Tony replied smiling.
"Leave sheet then," Gibbs answered now looking up and over the rim of his glasses, which were perched on his nose, faced Tony.
"Got something planned?" Tim asked in his usual friendly nosey way.
"Yep, as a matter of fact I have. I have decided to find out from whence I came," Tony answered with all seriousness.
"Rumour has it you were Long Island," Tim replied, "So what's the problem."
"Yep, but before Long Island,…Italy. I mean I am Italian, I like pizza, prosciutto and pastrami."
"Pastrami is really Turkish or Romanian," Tim began to explain, "Comes from the Turkish pastirma, although they do say that early references in English used the spelling "pastrama", closer to the Romanian original. And that the modern "pastrami is an imitation of the American salami."
"You are beginning to sound like Ducky," Tony retorted, "But whatever, yes I did happen to reside in Long Island. It's just I need to know before that, where my great grandparents came from."
"I would say best place to start is ask your dad, get your birth certificates and take it from there," Gibbs now suggested.
"Could do, but dad is always busy."
"Then try the New York Department of Health Vital Records. Get Tim to hack for you," Gibbs continued, pointing at Tim, who smiled the Tim smile as if to say, would be delighted.
"Boss, I would rather just go quietly about it, if you don't mind."