<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">
A lovely warm memoir and tribute to Aunt</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3">
</font></span><font size="3">Zita. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">I’ve made comments about the repetition of
the ‘table’ word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">But then I realized
you were doing that on purpose, and I changed my mind about needing to find
alternative words.</font><font size="3"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">The words table and table-cloth have a
musical sound when repeated, <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">and the repetition intensifies the images
and sensations . <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Besides, there are places where you choose
to use the word cloth by itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I love the warmth and images of the
pictures painted in this piece. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">poem
by Alice Jane-Marie Massa<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Aunt
Zita's Checkered Tablecloths</span></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">My
north-facing kitchen<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">catches
little sunshine,<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">but
catches many <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">once-upon-a-time
my memories.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Consider leaving out, my.</span></u></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Atop
the maple table--table in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Indiana</st1:state></st1:place></font><font size="3">—<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Only one table.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">is a
green-and-white checkered parents' tablecloth<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">that
had lain on one of the smaller tables<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">There is a pleathora<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">of tables. See if you can find synonyms</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">for</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3">
</font></span><font size="3">table. You might say cloth in stead of table cloth.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">I’m not sure you can find a good substitute.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">at
my Aunt Zita's Italian restaurant.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Numerous
platters of spaghetti and meat balls<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">once
decorated this tablecloth.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Aroma
of my aunt's sauce and Italian veal<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">still
arise from this tablecloth.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Happy
conversations echo over<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">and
around this keepsake cloth at every meal.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Starched,
ironed, and blessed many times<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">by
Aunt Zita's hard-working hands,<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">this
green-and-white checkered tablecloth<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">lies
softly and casually in my kitchen.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Born
in 1908, Aunt Zita--<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">modern,
ahead of her times--<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">would
smile at seeing atop her cloth<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">a
Downton Abbey teapot<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">on a
dinner plate from my mother's china set<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">and
a silver-blue vase filled with pink silk tulips--<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">because
my aunt had a splendid garden of tulips.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">As I
drink my herbal tea<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">at
this table of memories,<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I am
nourished by the love and strength<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">of
my beloved aunt and other ancestors.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">From
Aunt Zita, I have one other tablecloth--<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">the
red-and-white checkered one,<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">which
is always on my table<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">for
the Fourth of July and Festa Italiana.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Oh,
what a time to celebrate<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">food
and family!<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv1886129862msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>