Tony remembered those wonderful stories of family history his grandpapa Dominic told of growing up in the "old country"; of sausages hanging in long rings from cellar hooks and the wonderful aroma of garlic and tomato sauce simmering on a wood stove. Tony had retired as an engineer from the railroad after 35 years of faithful service. Still a young man at age 59, he sought an interest to pursue and enjoy in his retirement. Tony knew he had a family heritage with dozens of cousins he had never met in the province of Calabria located in the toe of Italy.

So Tony and his wife Angela decided to explore the family tree and go visit the beautiful and historic country of Italia. With the help of his 84 year-old father Rudolpho and the magic of the internet Tony was able to locate and share email with members of his great uncle's family in the beautiful fishing village of Scilla. They were excited to hear from their American cousin and invited Tony and Angela to come visit. They would show him spectacular coastlines that Ulysses viewed during his Odyssey. In fact, Greek still influences the local dialect and ancient ruins from the Greeks and Romans dot the Calabrian countryside. Tony's cousins promised to share the delicious recipes of family ancestors that would be served with generous portions of homemade Chianti poured from a fruity, wooden barrel.

Tony was excited. He bought two new digital cameras, one for photographs and one for video. He would capture the faces, smiles and voices of his family tree. Uncles, aunts and cousins. He would visit family history; the birthplace of his Grandpapa Dominic and discover pictures of his father Ernesto. Tony got an epiphany for a great family gift idea: he would trace and document family genealogy and then make a family history video. He had a large collection of family photographs and slides that dated back to the early 1900's. His grandfather and father had shot scenes of family history on 8mm film. Tony had VHS videotape shot with a camcorder since the mid-1980s. With music and narration his family tree could come alive!

[Mandolins up please!]