Beautiful memoriarches, one of the best legacies a parent can bestow on a child, is a lifelong gift. The fondest memories of my youth are with family and friends around the dinner table. Our doors in Connecticut were always open, our table always welcoming, even to strangers needing companionship or nourishment. But one of my greatest memories, a most influential experience in my life, was when my parents took me to Abruzzo, Italy, in 1949, to visit my maternal grandparents.