BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.1//EN TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:VEVENT UID:403@usrotary.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20270128T070000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20270128T083000 DTSTAMP:20260731T212802Z URL:https://usrotary.org/events/program-joseph-thomas-author-my-nonna-janu ary-28-2027/ SUMMARY:Program: Joseph Thomas\, Author\, "My Nonna\," January 28\, 2027 DESCRIPTION:\nJoin the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featu ring Joseph Thomas\, attorney in Mexico and author of 'My Nonna.'\n\n\n\nT he \;program will be presented on Zoom on Thursday morning with the Zo om line opening at 7 a.m. \; The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. \; \;No registration is required\, and th e program is free.\n\n\n\nThe meeting will be available via Zoom. \; C lick here to join the meeting Thursday morning. \; The Zoom line will open shortly after 7 a.m.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMy Nonna: True legacy stories sh ared by dreamers who gave freedom to their children.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA cent ury ago\, the author’s Tuscan grandparents took an irreversible decision . With an infant daughter\, Grandpa was offered work if he became a black- shirted \;squadrista. Instead\, they chose for him to emigrated alone\ , leaving his loved ones safe with their families while he gained their Am erican citizenships. \;\n\n\n\nNearly six years later he did\, sending the document and money for them to join him. But\, Nonna needed a permit with the Fascist seal to leave on a ship. As a single mother\, Nonna spurn ed the  \;‘Facta’with the power to keep her as his lover and have her daughter to breed five soldiers for the dictator. He brutally stole th eir travel money by ordering the village idiot to violate her younger sist er in front of the family\, forced to remain seated to watch.\n\n\n\nWith faith and determination she took them across an ocean before the immigrati on registry filled its yearly quota of family members. If so\, she would h ave to pay to go back to Italy on the same ship to try again the following year.\n\n\n\nWhen finally she got both of them through the immigration ga te\, there was still the cost to cross half the new country to reunite the ir family. Despite a massive snow storm delaying arrivals\, they were able to give thanks and celebrate Christmas morning as a reunited American fam ily.\n\n\n\nThe author\, Joseph Thomas\, was the protagonists´ first gran dchild and the only one who understood Italian\, remembering when they sha red their experiences escaping Fascism. Growing up immersed in literature\ , he worked on four different newspapers to pay tuitions to graduate with Journalism and History degrees awarded by Bradley University\n\n\n\nHe bec ame an Army lieutenant with paratrooper wings in the famed 82d Airborne Di vision. These highly motivated soldiers are called on to enter any world t roubled spot after just an 18-hour notice as combatants or peacekeepers\, by force if necessary. He was appointed the commander’s news media spoke sman.  \;\n\n\n\nLater in the U.S. Forest Service\, his writing\, para legal\, and communicator abilities led to protecting large tracts of prist ine land from undo commercial development. After a catastrophic volcanic e ruption\, his public information bulletins helped survivors avoid entrapme nt\, threatened by an raging river of ash and mud.\n\n\n\nImmigrating to M exico City\, his multi-lingual skills served in the selection of local bil ingual executives for international corporations entering under the then n ew Free Trade Agreement. In 2023\, he became the first U.S: citizen in 25 years to be licensed as a Mexican attorney\, protecting all with the rule of law\, most particularly the 100\,000+ Americans seeking full-time resid ence.\n\n\n\n\n CATEGORIES:Speakers END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261101T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR