I grew up in Brockton on the South Shore and my Sicilian Grandparents lived with us. Periodically we would make the trip into the North End to buy all the Italian specialty items that were hard to find or more expensive in Brockton. We would always stop at Giuffre's Fish Market on the corner of Cross and Salem Street. They had a large barrel by the store's entrance that was full of "chiocciole" (snails). I was a young boy, 7 or 8 years old, and while my grandparents shopped, I would watch the snails slowly crawl up the sides of the barrel and wonder why they did not seem to try and escape. I remember being shocked when the store clerk came over and scooped some out and told me that a customer was bringing them home to eat!
