My parents took my brother and me to a resort on the Adriatic Coast of Italy for our summer vacations several years in a row.
The young son of the hotel owner followed us around all the time.
While my father spoke Italian at an acceptable level, young Mario knew only a few words in English.
But he knew a very important one: “Why?”
If my mother said to go inside to change our clothes, he would ask “Why?”
If my father told us to get ready to leave in 15 minutes, Mario would ask why.
If I said I had played enough table tennis and wanted to go for a…
