So, your Nonno just died and you can’t wrap your head around why your younger brother got the Summer house in Cape May and all you got in the will was a moldy tomato? Well, what if you found out that moldy tomato isn’t just any tomato, but an heirloom tomato that has been in your family for six generations? The mold makes sense now, huh?
Well, your great-great-great grandmother, Nonna Celeste, grew that tomato in her garden in Sicily to give to your great-great-great grandfather, Nonno Angelo, before he got on the boat headed for South Philly, one-hundred years ago.
The story goes that Nonno Angelo held onto that tomato to serve as motivation for him to work hard and make enough money to get great-great-great Nonna Celeste to America faster so he could eat her famous gravy sooner.
I think it’s a sweet story, but your Uncle Vinny says it’s a dirty joke.
That tomato has been passed down to the oldest son in the family ever since to serve as a reminder that hard work pays off when you’re doing it for the ones you love, and now you’re holding it, so be grateful ya goomba!
Yeah, it’s almost completely mold now, but truth be told, it was moldy like eight days in and no one ever complained. Just put it in a Ziploc bag and stick it in the freezer, that’s all your Nonno ever did with it. Also, if it makes you feel any better, the Cape May house is pretty moldy too, so you kind of dodged a bullet.
