Michael Alessandro learned all that he could about running the one and only Bakery in the small village of Moratuzzi, Italy from his father and mother - He had mastered those skills long before he inherited the bakery from his parents. Although the times and the customer’s tastes’ have changed over the years, Michael had payed attention to what his father had taught him about being a great baker, and a decent and fair person. As a result he became the ‘go-to-guy’ whenever someone was hosting a special event, such as a birthday party or a wedding. Although baking fabulous cakes, pies, and pastries was an extremely valuable part of running the bakery… the bread part of the business was still very important to the bottom-line. Legions of young children from Moratuzzi had grown up delivering loaves of bread on their bicycles for his mom and dad, and that tradition continued into modern times.

His father had a plethora of dedicated customers that patronized the family’s bakery for decades. And as he was growing up; his parents taught him how to run things in an honest way, and Moratuzzi citizens transferred their confidence from his mom and dad over to him. The business continued to grow, and after a few years Michael was becoming comfortable with the fruits of his labors.

Often Michael would have vivid dreams about Watson & Willie… The two talking mouses [sic] that his father and mother had befriended. He often thought about being on the ship that transported his parents, Watson & Willie, and him to New York City. Although his recollection wasn’t as clear as he had hoped for, he did recall the friendly rats that were aboard that ship, the talking cats, and the wonderful time that his family spent with his father’s relatives at the N.Y. Pizza Parlor… But he did remember the amazing skyscrapers and the automobile traffic in New York.

Moratuzzi was now starting to have it’s own traffic jams, and there was talk over at City Hall about installing the hamlet’s first traffic light. As people began to move to the Tuscany Region, Moratuzzi was growing by leaps and bounds thanks to the tourists who visited the village. Many of them loved the region so much, that they never returned home.

If you’ve been a fan of the Watson & Willie books, (Book #1 - #4) I hope that you’ll enjoy reading about Michael as the adventure continues.