Tonte Gets Her Irish Up!

Antonino Cuccia in Yorkville 1927

March was nuts in my house. Mom began getting her Irish up right after Valentine’s Day.  My father couldn’t stand it.  Even though he was half Irish, he acted like he was born in Florence. Which I later found odd since his Italian grandparents were from outside Palermo, off the boot. Antonino Cuccia was a shepard, his wife, Giovanna, was a milk maid.

Mom & Joan 1957

So first we got the St. Paddy’s thing going ~ my mother’s family were all Ryans.  We had a dozen family birthdays in March, including me, Mom and her sister, Joan, my godmother.  Those three rolled in one week. The 20th, 24th & 27th.  By the day Julius Caesar got it on the Ides we were ready to go.

Throw in the year round passion for our favorite three saints in all households, Saint Jude, Saint Francis and Saint Anthony. I couldn’t pass a wall in any apartment without a statue or painting of one these three miraculous saints smacking me in the head. Why these three?  My family had many hopeless cases, we loved animals and we were always losing something.

Giovanna Cuccia 1929

The only thing I ever saw Dad do that somewhat acknowledged he was Irish was put a green St. Paddy’s hat on Tonte his dog. Tonte instantly got her Irish up.

Tonte Pryor Getting Her Irish Up ~ 1977 

Our March Madness has nothing to do with basketball.

Our next City Stories: Stoops to Nuts show is tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13th @ 6pm at Cornelia Street Café. Our artists are Claudia Chopek, Joe McGinty, John Newell, Rick Patrick, Thomas Pryor, Rivka Widerman & Ward White. Giving away ten drinks. Getting our Irish up, its birthday week, bring your best game. $7 and saying "hoity toity," gets you in the door with a free drink.

Time Out Magazine  picked "Stoops to Nuts" as a darn good thing to do this week.  See link.