Here's a wrenching story about eminent domain from the Ridgawy Record, my hometown newspaper. The proposal involves taking an elderly family's Johnsonburg home to build a long-debated bypass for Route 219.
"We bought this house in 1940 and we've lived here ever since," [Vic Aiello] said. "I have to give up everything."
Aiello said this decision will ruin the family tradition of gathering together and sharing a meal every Sunday and holiday, something his mother started and he continued.
"I just can't understand why they want to destroy me and my family," he said. "Now all of sudden I've got to give this up."
Aiello said since he learned of the situation he has had to see the doctor because of the constant stress.
"It just makes sick to think of it," he said. "Me and my wife aren't in real good health to go through this disaster. My wife has heart problems and I have a pace maker and a defibrillator."
This is not to say that the bypass is necessarliy a bad idea. Many consider it vital to save what's left of the region's manufacturing economy. Maybe so. Maybe not. Either way, at least a road is a "public good" in the traditional sense, unlike proposals that take from one private landowner and give to another in the name of economic development.
Rather, this is just a look at how wrenching these takings can be, whether "justified" or not. This is what we're talking about when we say eminent domain, and we ought to use it as sparingly as possible--not in the cavalier fashion so many prefer.
Note: I know lots and lots of Aiellos from my days in Ridgway. Anyone who has passed through (on 219, actually) would have seen the excellent Aiello Cafe. If you ever stop in--and I recommend it--you can score points by pronouncing the name, er, correctly. In yet another quirky linguistic misadventure, people in that part of the state pronounce "Aiello" as something like "A-lee-o" or "Ail-ee-o." Not as "Eye-ello," like actor Danny Aiello.
Not sure why that is. Either way, my sympathies to the Aiellos if they lose the house. To say that family and tradition are important to these people would be an understatement.
I GOT IT RIGHT THIS TIME
"i.EL'Low" drops the "a"
"A'el.low" drops the "i"
"AYE'Low" uses all the letters and does not cuse a corrution od a three vowl dipthong.
The pleasanT way to say thia is to 'sing' the "AYE'"
like you would say to the captain of the ship.
(Aye, Aye, Sir!)
The "history" goes, that in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, imergrants were more concerned about being assimilated rather than make an issue of their last name.
Today, "language currency" is the deciding factor. the dynamics of cummunication comes before technical accuracy.
Still, I like Aye'lo!
Thanks
Posted by: | April 22, 2006 at 03:53 PM