Dear Nicolette

Dear Nicolette:

I hope America is wonderful. I have read stories and have seen pictures; it seems like a completely different world than Vogogna.

 I told the family the news about your engagement! Papa screamed with anger. What a sight he was! Mama and Nonno (“Grandpa”) and I danced when we heard the news! We are dying to see a picture of him! Does he have a little brother I can meet? 

Nonno and I have a new project we’re working on. I told him I that I want to follow in my sister’s footsteps and go to study engineering in America. Papa screamed again. “What a world this is! My two daughters want to be engineers- and in America no less!” You know how he goes on and on about the “Old Country”. Mama was supportive and made a pie to celebrate both you and I. “Please learn to do more than making pies,” she whispered to me while Papa was in his frenzy. 

I have been taking on extra math classes after school every day. Oh! I completely forgot to tell you the project: Nonno and I are building our very own airplane! It’s a biplane; an old Fiat from the war, Model CR.32 if you’re ever in a library. It’s hiding in Nonno’s old shed so that Papa won’t see it. 

There are so many parts that go into an airplane; it’s incredible how every piece has a place. There isn’t a single extra part, and if a single part falls off or malfunctions then the plane can’t fly. In fact, the most important part of the plane isn’t the engine like, like most people think. See, if the engine fails while you’re flying, the plane can still glide at a 10:1 horizontal to vertical ratio, which means that if I’m 300 meters high, I would have about three kilometers’ distance to find a flat surface I could land the plane on; you know Vogogna. That’s plenty of space to work with. However, if the empennage falls off I would instantly fall out of control and tumble down to the ground. That tiny wing in the back is what stabilizes the whole plane and keeps it flying. Isn’t that kind of poetic? 

Write back soon.

Love,
Your Sister, 
Maria Addario