The Power of Testimony

Chapter 3
The bravest sight in the world
is to see a great man struggling
against adversity.
—Seneca
Summer’s end wasmarked by three events that I looked
forward to each year: the end of my work on the square, the
start of school, and the grape harvest.
Around the west part of our house sprawled row upon
row of vines heavy with black and white grapes, and every
summer, my father’s extended family—cousins, aunts, and
uncles—made the trip from Constanta for the harvest, and
a week of fun began.
I loved collecting grapes from the vineyard, putting them
into the special machine, and seeing them changed into a
sweet liquid. From the white and black grapes, my family
made sugary grape juice for the kids and wine for the adults.
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