by Graziella DiNuzzo

I was on my way to the Bronx for a surprise visit to see mamma and papa. If I let them know in advance, mamma would have yelled at me and make me swear on my children’s lives that I wouldn’t come. The weather is too cold, or hot, there is too much crime happening in the neighborhood, the traffic is going to be bad, you should stay home and do your laundry –  just some of the usual reasons.

So, I learned long ago to wait to call mamma when I got to the George Washington Bridge. No doubt, at 88 and 89 years young they would be home.

I hung up with mamma, who yelled at me for not telling her, etc. She told me she had minestrone soup cooking, but would have made my favorite eggplant, yadda, yadda. Why didn’t I tell her? You always do this!  What if we weren’t home?

Mamma was right about the traffic on the bridge. Truth be told, she’s right about a lot of things.

As I inched my way across the bridge, I thought it would be nice to bring them a pizza. I ask my phone for pizza shops on Allerton Avenue and I call the first name that pops up. Yes, I know I should not have been on my phone but with the usual traffic I could have written an essay and vacuumed the back seat of my car. Nope I wasn’t driving.

“A large pie with broccoli and mushrooms, “ I tell the guy who answered the phone. “Okay, fifteen minutes,” he says in his abrupt Bronx tone.

I go back to the music and my gorgeous view of Manhattan and the World Trade Center Freedom Tower. As always, I think of the day when I crossed the bridge after 9/11 and the towers were gone – it’s still so surreal.

Hitting the first pothole on the Cross Bronx Expressway wakes me from my bittersweet ride down memory lane. I love New York.

These days, Allerton Avenue has parking kiosks – and as many parking spots as a Manhattan street – hardly any. C’mon New York, I’m just picking up pizza – shouldn’t there be a space for that? I circle the avenue a few times and find a spot four blocks away.

I walk into the shop and tell the tall man, “I’m here to pick up a large pie, broccoli and…” Before I can say “mushrooms, “ he looks straight into my eyes and violently lifts his arms up and down into the air and back down to his side and back up again, and down again. He starts shaking his head and walks back and forth in front of the large pizza box sitting patiently on top of the oven.

“YOU CALL ME TO MAKE THE PIZZA AND I MAKE THE PIZZA AND I WAIT AND I WAIT AND I SAY I MAKE THE BEAUTIFUL PIZZA AND YOU NOT HERE AND LOOK!” he yells while opening the pizza box in total disgust.

From my vantage point at the counter, the pizza looked good to me and quite delish.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I say softly, I was in traffic on the George Washington Bridge and didn’t realize…”

He interrupts with more yelling, “I MAKE THE PIZZA AND PUT THE BROCCOLI…”

A young Mexican man sticks his head out over the swinging kitchen doors.

“HER!” The tall, angry pizza man yells at him while pointing at me.

“Oh, she the one,”  the Mexican young man says, “oh, oh, “

I was happy to be the only person in the shop.

I try to apologize again in a damsel in distress tone,  “I really had no idea it would take so long…”

I try again,  “you know I am from this neighborhood and I can’t come home without picking up the best pizza…”

The tall angry pizza man has his back to me and the young Mexican man is just watching my mouth move – still perched over the kitchen doors.

“How much is it?” I ask nervously thinking this is getting deep.

“I DON’T KNOW!” Tall angry pizza man yells while looking down at my pizza.

My pizza. I just want my pizza.

“HOW MUCH?” the tall angry pizza man barks at the young Mexican’s face, which remains perched over the doors.

“$18,” the young Mexican man says.

The tall angry pizza man walks towards my pizza box and slams the lid of the big brown box.

There is silence. I really wanted to laugh, but no one else would.

Okay, what to do now? I just need to get the pizza and get out. I put 20 minutes on the meter, but I hate to leave him in such a bad mood. The pizza meant so much to him. I mean, he made it with so much pride about 30 minutes or so ago and I let it sit there. Poor pizza, poor pizza guy, bad me, bad bridge.

“Hey, don’t worry,” I say to the back of tall angry pizza man’s  head. “I was planning on heating it up later anyway.” I should really just shut up.

But nah, I go in again and keep talking pretending to myself that he didn’t hear me, “hey, don’t worry, I was planning on heating it up later anyway.”

I want to please him. He stares past me, fixated on the the door and hands me the box.

Then he hands me change from $20. I didn’t want the change but that may be insulting. Two dollars doesn’t the cover the cost of what I have done to him. I didn’t want to leave him like that. He looked so hurt.

“Thank you…I’m so sorry, “ I say as I take the big brown box. It really was a really, really big box.  I feel self-conscious and awkward.

They are staring at me as I carry the cold pizza towards the door like a dead animal on its way to a burial.

I turn around and feeling quite pathetic say,  “Hey, thank you again.”

They just stare at me in disgust. I push open the door and walk into the blinding Allerton Avenue sun.

When mamma answers her door, I hand her the box and she almost drops it while yelling at me in Sicilian. “Why, why, why, did you do this? I made minestrone…and your father gets constipated eating pizza…blah, blah, blah.”

I walk quickly behind mamma as she struggles to find space on the table for the box. Dad shuffles in from the other room and starts yelling at me – yeah about the pizza.

I sit down and inhale a cold slice. Yummy! When I see my sister later that day, we both wondered if I should call tall angry pizza man to see if he was okay.

About two weeks later, my sister decides to walk into the same shop and order a pie. We’re weird like that.

She says to the tall pizza guy, “my sister ordered a pie a few weeks ago and she said it was so good.”

“YOUR SISTER! “ he shouts.

‘THAT WAS YOUR SISTER! THE GIRL FROM THE BRIDGE!”

This is New York. Now how many customers come and go on any given day from a busy corner pizza shop? Really, really?

Maria starts to laugh and texts me that she’s at the pizza shop and the guy remembers me. I spit out my coffee and laugh out loud.

What!

So yesterday, as I was on my way to another surprise visit to mamma and while sitting in traffic on the George Washington Bridge, I think it would be nice to have a slice.

But this time I know better! I will call when I get a few blocks away from the shop.

I will be early! I will not be late! I will pick up a piping hot work of art and everyone will be happy with me. Mamma and papa did end up eating a slice last time.   And just to be sure he doesn’t remember me I will order something different and keep my dark glasses on.

“A large plain pie,” I say to the man’s whose voice I know. The man I hurt.

“Okay, fifteen minutes,” he says. Fifteen minutes is the magical pickup time for all pizza orders for as long as I can remember.

I walk into the shop with a big smile on my face.

“I ordered a large plain pie,” I say with confidence.

“Yeah, it’s in the oven… a few more minutes,” he says eyeing the oven.

“No problem, I don’t mind waiting,” I say. That’s nice. He sounds like he’s in a good mood, I think to myself.

I am happy. Life is good. Maybe this time mamma will even let me leave the leftover pizza with her instead of forcing me to bring it back home.

The tall pizza guy gently takes the pizza out of the oven and slides it into the very big brown box. He brings the pizza  to the counter and says,

“You’re the girl, the girl from the bridge.”

A city of firsts, Philadelphia is also now the first World Heritage City in the United States.  As such, The Philadelphia World Heritage City Project, a partnership between Global Philadelphia Association (GPA) and the City of Philadelphia, has emerged to promote Philadelphia’s esteemed cultural and economic contribution to the world and its need for continued historical preservation. The

The PWHCP invites the world to invest, live, work, study and visit Philadelphia. Today, Philadelphians can share and celebrate the honor of being a part of a World Heritage City.

GPA also worked to create a World Heritage City Strategic Plan  —a plan that uniquely positions the many new opportunities for economic growth, international relationships, historic preservation and increased tourism. The strategic plan summarizes a series of bold aspirations that come with our new status. And as GPA continues to remind us —this plan is for all Philadelphians!

Have you seen the movie yet? The Philadelphia World Heritage City film is a 28-minute documentary written and narrated by University of Pennsylvania Professor of History of Art, David B. Brownlee, Ph.D., FSAH, and produced and directed by filmmaker Sam Katz. Created to commemorate the historic designation of Philadelphia as the First World Heritage City in the United States, the film offers an
exceptional glimpse into the formation and development of Philadelphia, illustrating the city’s leadership role in the fields of art, transportation, urban planning, medicine and more. The film spans centuries, touching upon the formation of some of Philadelphia’s unique neighborhoods and how far Philadelphia has come from the idealistic plan envisioned by William Penn in the 17th century. Now, with a World Heritage City designation by the Organization of World Heritage Cities, Philadelphia should fully embrace its rich
heritage, as Dr. Brownlee so eloquently reminds viewers.

And as part of the World Heritage Project branding, a World Heritage Seal was created and unveiled on May 26, 2016, by Mayor Kenney at a press conference to announce World Heritage Day, which will take place every fourth Thursday in May. The seal is available for use on websites, brochures, annual reports
and other promotional materials. Use is not authorized in connection with merchandise.

“I hope that all Philadelphians can share in the pride of living in a World Heritage City,” Mayor Kenney said. “Whether we were born here or we chose to make our home here, whether we live downtown or in one of our many diverse neighborhoods, this designation is a distinct honor for all of us.”

When Dave Whitman and Robert Jones founded Sunhillo Corporation in 1991, they did not create a business plan – they went right to work. Dave and Robert met at the company they worked for, Formation, in Moorestown, NJ and decided to combine their expertise in radar surveillance technology. At the time, David was Director of Engineering, and Bob was VP of Sales and together they formed a team dedicated to making the world a safer place to live through cutting-edge surveillance technology. After 6 months in business, Dave and Bob landed their first subcontract for IBM, to develop a radar interface for Taiwan.

For the past 25 years, Sunhillo has been developing products and systems to distribute radar data, more specifically, to convert and filter surveillance data used by Air Traffic Automation systems. Headquartered in West Berlin, NJ, within 45 minutes of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC), Sunhillo also provides technical services to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including Atlantic City Technical Center, which is supported by 80 Sunhillo employees. http://www.sunhillo.com/

Today Sunhillo does $20,000,000 in annual global sales and is an industry leader in surveillance data distribution and conversion products

With the need for increased security around the world, Sunhillo data systems and software are in demand. Sunhillo is in every airport in the United States!

In 2001, Sunhillo began to export.

“Between 8 to 15% of our business is international and 7 to 10% is outside of North America. Canada has become a big market for us and growing our international sales is a top priority since we are saturating our FAA business, “says Dave Whitman, President, Sunhillo Corporation.  “The WTCGP has helped provide vital information on exporting and has helped connect us with cost-saving export finance options.”

Sunhillo Corporation has been a member of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia since 2015 and in 2016 received the New Jersey Member Company of the Year Award at a ceremony at our World Trade Center’s Day Awards and Celebration, which took place at the Independence Seaport Museum.

To date, Sunhillo is exporting to 13 countries, which include Thailand, France, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom and Brazil. In the UK, Sunhillo employs a full-time sales person.

While 90% of Sunhillo customers are Government Air Traffic Service providers, such as the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA in UK and China), they also sell to the Department of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security.

Sunhillo surveillance is used to monitor the United States-Mexican Border and by Drug Interdiction personnel in the Caribbean.

And Sunhillo is protecting the President of the United States! The US Secret Service uses Sunhillo products every time the President travels.

And the Space Shuttle! Sunhillo has also been deployed to track several space shuttle landings.

Tasked with the mission to continue to create the latest in surveillance technology, the team at Sunhillo, an employee-owned company, works to protect people, places and things around the globe. It’s no surprise that with increased global security needs, Sunhillo has seen a steady 12% growth in business over the last ten years.

William Harvey performing in a prison in Cameroon

It began six days after the September 11^th terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center towers. Violinist William Harvey, then a freshman at Julliard, performed solo violin for soldiers who were returning to the 69^th Regiment Armory after an emotionally grueling day of digging at Ground Zero. William’s performance penetrated the soldiers’ deep, empty hole of grief and filled it with the beautiful sounds of Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Paganini during his two plus hours of non-stop playing.

William sent an email to his friends and family explaining how his interaction with the soldiers at the Armory had become a life altering experience, and it went viral – regional, national and international publications talked about it. Four years later, William created Cultures in Harmony, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the healing power of music to the world.

I recently met William during an interview he requested regarding inclusion of the Philadelphia World Heritage City Project in his current documentary project where he is spending one week each in 50 states to answer the question “What is American Culture?”

 It wasn’t long into our initial introduction and conversation that we realized that I needed to turn the interview on William Harvey.

Following is my interview with this amazing man who is on a mission to prove that music is the answer for peace and healing. William’s vision of a world “connected, not divided; sympathetic, not suspicious; lit by love, not darkened by hatred,” are words to live by.

G:  What is your biggest challenge while traveling the world on your cultural diplomacy projects?

W: The pace of globalization has exceeded our capacity as a species to grow in understanding. Music is the perfect way to embrace an apparent paradox: both our differences and our shared humanity are cause for celebration. Music speaks to each of us, thereby affirming a common core to the human experience, but just as languages and experiences differ from culture to culture, so does music. The challenge is that too often, people ignore this incredibly powerful message of music, or don’t take it seriously. Funding for cultural diplomacy remains inadequate, and if critics believe that it has not been effective in fostering real change, I would argue that it has not yet been tried at a large enough scale where it might be effective. If you truly listen to music, it is difficult to ignore its message of universality, its radical call to empathy.

G:  What is one of your biggest rewards?

W: Those moments in cultural diplomacy that achieve genuine connection represent the greatest reward. In Zimbabwe last summer, Cultures in Harmony facilitated the first ever performance by the Musicamp Orchestra of black Zimbabwean music when Oliver Mtukudzi joined us for my arrangements of three of his songs. Some of the white teenagers were not previously that familiar with Mtukudzi, who is a national hero for black Zimbabweans, but by the end of the rehearsal process, they were taking selfies with him and were proud of the collaboration. Conducting the Afghan Youth Orchestra in sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in February 2013 was another thrill. For many thousands of Americans who experienced our US concerts and the publicity surrounding them, the fact of Afghan girls and boys performing side by side proved that progress has been made in Afghanistan, and served as a powerful reminder that girls and boys everywhere share similar aspirations: to express themselves, to be educated, to excel.

G:  While living in Afghanistan how did you remain safe? Americans have this notion of Middle Eastern people living in extreme oppression – music is banned by the Taliban and women are denied an education. How did you manage to teach music to women?

W: In Afghanistan, I benefited from working very closely with my boss, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, the founder and director of Afghanistan National Institute of Music. He is the one who deserves primary credit for these advances. I supported his efforts through my own dedication and artistry, and I believe that our relationship offers an alternative model for how the relationship between our countries can look: trust brilliant, dedicated, honest, and visionary Afghans to manage their country’s reconstruction, and where necessary, play a supporting role.

I felt very fortunate to be embraced by most members of the Afghan public, who became familiar with me when I served as a guest judge on Afghan Star (equivalent to American Idol) and subsequently saw me conduct the Afghan Youth Orchestra frequently on Afghan national television. I learned Dari and frequently performed Afghan music in public. A middle-aged Afghan friend once described me as follows: “This is the greatest man that America has sent to Afghanistan. We need more people like him: musicians, not men with guns.”

His kind words affirm what those of us engaged in cultural diplomacy have always known: whether in Afghanistan or Zimbabwe, in New York, Jacksonville, or Philadelphia, cultural exchange points the way towards a future illumined by greater understanding and respect.

G:  How is your search for the answer to “What is American Culture?” going thus far?

W: With the American culture project, Cultures in Harmony seeks to catalyze a national conversation. The project will succeed only if and when millions of Americans start to share their own definition of American culture on social media with the hashtag #americancultureis; when we start to schedule concerts, exhibits, and events affirming and celebrating the open-ended nature of this question; and when we start to accept that we may never arrive at a single definition of our cultural, social, or political life. That acceptance, that willingness to agree to disagree, is disappearing and may soon be past the point where it will be possible to recover. This project seeks to do what our international projects seek to achieve: bringing people together. In this case, we bring people together around a commitment to validating diverse interpretations of our culture. America must remain a welcoming home to those who speak Spanish or English or another language; who are Christian or Muslim or another religion or secular; who are conservative, liberal, centrist, or any combination thereof. Your identity, your values, or your interests need not define you in this country: you are human, and American, and that should be enough.

My own search is not the point of this project. To the extent that people feel that the project is only about a violinist from Indiana getting to see the country, it is a failure. To the extent that the project inspires people to contribute their own definition of American culture or consider a definition that differs from their own, it is a success.

 G:  What are your feelings about Philadelphia as a cultural destination?

W: As a classical musician, I grew up with the highest respect for Philadelphia as the location of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Curtis Institute. During the American culture project, I discovered how much more Philadelphia has to offer. It is both the home of the Liberty Bell and of a powerful new museum honoring George Washington’s slaves. It is home to both the famous cheesesteak…and the sandwich at DiNic’s named best sandwich in the US. It remains a proudly multicultural city, and I greatly enjoyed climbing the greasy pole at the Italian Market Festival. Philadelphia’s status as the first-ever American city to be named a World Heritage City highlights its claim to be the birthplace of the USA, but it remains so much more than that. Given that few cities capture so much of our country’s unique characteristics as well as Philadelphia, it was an outstanding choice to represent America’s contribution to world heritage.

Click here to see video and interview with Zabeth Teelucksingh, Executive Director, Global Philadelphia Association (GPA) and John Smith, Board Chairman.

For more information on Cultures in Harmony visit www.culturesinharmony.org