Ciao, nuovi amici! My name is Dr. Minerva C. DeNitti. I'm a new resident of Gravity Falls, Oregon as I have taken over the roll of Director at the Gravity Falls Public Library. The local rumor is I'm a witch, but the truth is I just live in a cottage with a huge flower and herb garden. What can I say? I was raised to cultivate an appreciation of cooking and horticulture by a traditional Italian nonna. I especially love lavender.
I'm no artist (I'll leave that to my better half), so I'll have to describe myself to you for the moment...
I'm coming up on my 60th birthday, which is July 15th. I'm middling height, hourglass silhouette, with extremely curly, dark (nearly black) hair, although there's a few gray strands peeking out nowadays. My nose is pointed and has a smattering of light freckles across it. My lips are on the fuller side and I have brown eyes. I have a tattoo of an archaic-style owl on my right shoulder blade. I wear glasses when I'm reading and have (well-controlled) type II diabetes. Ah, the joys of age.
Like I said, I'm Italian on my father's side, but French on my mother's. I was raised in Brooklyn after my mother passed away giving birth to me. My father, Sal (short for Salvatore), remarried when I was about 8 years old to Bridgette, my beloved step mother, whom I affectionately referred to as "Maman." She was French as well, Parisian born. Clearly, Padre had a type. When I was 12, Padre and Maman gifted me with a kid brother, Antonio. Despite our age difference, Tony has always been one of my best friends and confidants. His daughter, Adele, is 10 and the two of us are each other's biggest fan (I may be biased on that opinion and don't care). That being said, I'm a widow and childless. I don't like to talk about it much.
After graduating from PS 618, I was rejected from my dream school, the University of Notre Dame. I received a full ride scholarship and attended Backupsmore University in the early 1970s, where I studied multiple languages and various aspects of European history. The rejection from Notre Dame hurt for a bit, but Backupsmore changed my life for the better. It's where I met my closest friends: Maggie, Deirdre, Jordie, Nate, and Fiddy, along with my Starboy, the man who would become Dr. Standford F. Pines. I've affectionately referred to him as this since we met in the dorm rooms of Hirsch Hall. In return, I've always been "the North Star home" or "the goddess." I'm responsible for that infamous photo of Ford and Fiddleford covered in sticky notes. You know the one I'm talking about. Sadly, the boys had to pay up. Let it be a warning to those who try to best Maggie and I in Euchre. Backupsmore is also where I fell into classical music as I was found to be a gifted pianist and vocalist.
I love cooking large, family-style meals (thanks Nonna), reading (I am a librarian after all), and cross-stitch (there is something therapeutic about stabbing an item repeatedly in order to make art). I firmly believe the best food and wine doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg and that the love songs of Ella Fitzgerald still reign supreme decades after her death. I have six published books: two nonfiction, four novels. I never received any great fame from them, which is fine. Fame has never been a goal for me.
Recently, Ford and I have reconnected after losing each other for nearly 40 years. I'm still trying to process everything as I'm also getting to know his family here in Gravity Falls. I honestly don't know if he likes that I get along so well with his twin brother Stanley (whose sense of humor reminds me so much of my own younger brother). I'm learning more about the anomalies and not-so mythical creatures he's pursued since his youth. I mean, I've seen them before now (this will also be explained later), but after a few decades, it's...an education. Dipper and Mabel assure me this is normal for the geographic area.
These are the stories of my history with the man I call Starboy, our families, and the worlds and dimensions we may never know. I hope you enjoy them.
Ad astra per aspera,
Min