Grandma's Buffet was her "pride and joy" and when it was given to me by her I understood what she was giving me. It was not a piece of furniture that appealed to me at the time but I so understood the significance of the gift. As the years have passed I have come to treasure it more and more. Grandma taught me about hospitality both in a positive and negative way. Family was always welcome and fed well, while as many people of that era, there was little tolerance for anyone that was different from you. My father, whose parents emigrated here from Italy, was considered undesirable. From my mother I learned to embrace differences, which is definitely a big plus when you want to be hospitable.