Not to come off as someone I’m not, but our family has lived in Southern California for many generations. My grandfather was in the army in the 1940s, and was in Italy, where his grandfather had actually lived for a time as well. The elder’s nickname was “Pomi” (he was a D’Orino, not a Nace) and he fit in quite well, being one of the golden variety. He moved there permanently because of marriage but most of us remained over on this side. Eventually he was involved at the University of Perugia, in some kind of precursor to genetics.

After the war, grandfather resettled here and was best known for his work in print advertisments. We grew up around some greens that were very well-known, but mainly we’ve stayed true to our historical roots. We’re from a robust line related to Brandywine, (just a little less seedy) and proud of it.

As for the celebrity status, it’s nothing serious... we are proud of Mom because, though it wasn’t a career, she did make appearances in some films during her youth. Her biggest hit was the second “Killer Tomatoes,” though she’s more fond of being on stage than in front of the camera. We also like to talk about how cousin “Capsi” was a longtime fixture on the Colombian telenovela “No Mire al Suelo” during the 1990s, but technically I’m not blood-related to him.