R Stevan Jonas:
CLASS OF 1963
Monroe High SchoolClass of 1963
Rochester, NY
R Stevan's Story
Life
Following Monroe, there was Cornell, then two years alternative service for the draft, then grad school and teaching Special Ed (Emotionally Disturbed), then school administration, then retirement. One marriage, one divorce, then almost ten wonderful years with Francine Collier, who died in December of 2006. We moved from Saranac Lake to the southern coast of Sicily, and lived the happiest years of our lives here. Finally we were catching up on our reading, writing, and living. We slowly learning how to pick olives, make olive oil, and enjoy all there is that is new and different and old and wondrous in this part of the world. Now I am living a solitary and rewarding life in Sciacca, a small fishing and agricultural city on the south coast of Sicily.
I get to the US about once a year, and try to keep busy traveling around Europe. I also hope to get to Morocco soon, and perhaps Israel.
Slowly, as I get better and better at Italian (I am still not great at it), I am beginning to pick up Sicilian...Expand for more
as well, and with the help of some friends from Germany, also German. Anyone who remembers me in French class, where, ahem, I did not do well, would be surprised, as I now speak fairly good French and Italian, some Spanish, a little Sicilian and a little German, and of course a bit of English.
Living here has introduced me also to a whole new world of literature, and I am trying to read it in Italian as well as some of the good translations into English. Eventually I will probably need to learn Latin, and perhaps Greek as well.
Ah me, at least I seem to have time for all that.
Future dreams include learning how to cut marble from a friend who does it for a living, learning how to bake from another friend who does that, picking more olives, learning a bit about wine making here with the native grapes, and on and on with the culture of Sicily.
Since writing that I did get to Israel, a one time trip for me, as it felt more dangerous than the vutcheria at night. Morocco is the next one I need to get to.
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