My husband was in Houston for a couple of days this week and had dinner one night at Carraba’s Italian Grill. Go figure.
He met Johnny Carrabba.
He had a celebrity sighting – actor G. W. Bailey, who played Detective Lt. Provenza on The Closer. I miss Provenza and Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and the rest of the Major Crimes Division.
He made a trip to the restroom.
This is significant only because he spotted this photograph on the way back to his table.
His grandfather is in the picture.
Back row. Third from the right. Joe Loverde. Joe’s brother is there too, husband tells me. He thinks there’s a great uncle from his Dad’s side of the family in there as well.
He went back and asked Johnny about the photograph. Apparently it’s some kind of Italian-American club. Something else for us to look into.
Too bad the image quality isn’t better. iPhone, through glass, dimly lit restaurant.
You never know where a bit of family history might be hiding in plain sight.
You find the most amazing stories! I’m intrigued by the banana business of Martin’s family. To recognize a family member in a photo in a restaurant is pretty incredible to me. Especially in Houston. Keep digging!
Martin was pretty surprised to see this picture that he had never seen before. The Carrabba’s and Mandola’s are from Houston (Damian Mandola and Johnny Carrabba are related) and I think someone in their family is in the picture too. It’s nice that they add personal Italian history to their restaurants.
Oh – and I meant to say thanks for the encouragement! 🙂
Wow! That’s way cool!!
I know! He texted the picture to me from the restaurant.
I just wanted to let you know that your blog post is listed in today’s Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/02/follow-fridayfab-finds-for-february-1.html
That’s say cool too!
I make a lot of mistakes when I type on my iPad! Way cool!
What are the chances? Too cool. I was researching for a friend and found one of his ancestors belonged to an Italian-American club in Minnesota. To my surprise, they were still an active organization and sent me contacts to some of their older members to ask questions. It was a lucky break…perhaps you’ll crack that code, too!
Yes, I hope we can. There are some active groups in Houston, so I guess that’s a place to start. Thanks for your comment!
My sister and I always look at our own pictures and joke that one day 100 years from now, we’ll be on the walls of some futuristic Cracker Barrel.
I love Provenza too. I didn’t think I’d like Sharon Rayder as the new head of Major Crimes, but I liked it, and I liked that the other detectives were taking a big part and not merely waiting for Brenda Lee Johnson to give an order.
Lol … I hadn’t thought of ending up on the wall of a Cracker Barrel as being in my future! The new Major Crimes is good. I made it sound as though it’s all over, didn’t I? Between seasons it feels like it.