No Monkey Business in This House!
by
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Papa’s admonition to young people who tried to test their sexual waters in his house was, “No monkee bee-he-nus in dees haou!” (“No monkey business in this house!”) His pronunciation of this book’s title was a family classic and became the theme of some of our family reunions. One story of where his use of this phrase began, as Amy recalls, was when Nelson and Jack had taken the girls to a movie. By this time Isadore Friedman had changed his name to Nelson Erikson at Dolores’ behest. Erikson was his stepfather’s surname. As will often happen with people in love, they lingered a little too long, and the young men had missed the last ferry to their home on Staten Island. The girls thought that Papa would allow the boys to stay over due to the unusual circumstances. Imagine their surprise when Papa answered their request by saying, “Both you and them can stay out of my house tonight. No monkee bee-he-nus in dees haou!” It was only by Mama’s intervention that he somewhat relented and allowed that the girls could come inside, but the guys were on their own.
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About the Book
A lot can happen in six centuries.
Experience the sadness, confusion, uncertainty, conflict, and desperation of the Pelliccia as they suffer through plague, three wars, the Renaissance, murder, untimely deaths, economic depression, eventually some comfort and joy. During their journey from Carrara, Tuscany (Italy), to Corsica (France), Puerto Rico, and eventually to the United States, they had seen and experienced the full range of human experience.
As they build a new life for their children and their children’s children, the family creates the roots of a hard-earned family fortune in Puerto Rico coffee plantations—only to lose it. Anxious but not broken, they set their sights on immigration to the United States. Once there, the family suffers profound hardship during the Great Depression. The culture shock, financial hardships, and generation gaps all play roles in the family’s successes and failures. As some of the older generation crumbles under the stresses of life in a new world, their children find joy and comfort in the rich soil of American opportunity and possibility.
But through it all, one thing remained a constant: the love of family. In this detailed, narrative family history, author John Urrutia’s novel style invites you into the many challenges and triumphs of family.
About the Author
John Urrutia majored in communication arts at Seton Hall University. In preparing this book, he researched his paternal roots in the Basque country in Vizcaya (Spain) and visited every location through which his maternal ancestors traveled during their migration to the United States. A widower with three adult children and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, he currently lives in New York.