This man was standing around waiting, ready for work in 1897, coincidentally the same year three of my grandparents were born. He worked for the telegraph company. I imagine he could shinny up a pole faster than I can text a message on my cellphone. This painting is for sale.

My grandfather was a very special person in my life. He had serenity in a chaotic word, he was patient and affectionate with annoying children like myself, and he liked to laugh. As a very young man, he escaped poverty in Calabria by getting on a boat and starting a new life in the United…