Cliff Stopped By

I got together with a childhood friend of mine the other day and he told me a story that made me smile.  He said that his father was a bigot and he called their neighbors daygos because they were Italian.  Daygo is a derogatory word that was used for Italian immigrants that were forced to work in the coal mines and they would get paid cash-in-hand at the end of each day, thus they were getting paid as the day goes, hence they were called Day-gos.  My friend Cliff did not realize that his dad was a bigot, because he was young and he thought that the Italians that lived next door to him had the last name of Dagoes.  One day when he came home from school there was a sign on his door that said your package was left at the next-door neighbor’s house.  Cliff went there rung the bell and when the lady gave him the package, he said, “Thank you Mrs. Daygos” and he wondered why she gave him a funny look.  It was good to share the old memories that I had with Cliff.

Written for Di’s Three Things Challenge prompt words – Memories Smile Childhood.