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& & as we ready ourselves to bid this year farewell, & we finally arrive at the long awaited 2010, I reflect. & a question posed to me by a friend comes to mind; 'what if your life went up for auction, would you bid on it?' Yes, of course I would! I replied, a true reflection of my feelings. & as the world tries desperately to recover from the mistakes of greed, we at Franco's managed to keep our heads above water & we are thankful for the cogs that churn & keep us & our staff in a positive light. & we celebrated the marriage of our dear Claudia to Deon this year & I was given the honour of walking my niece down the aisle. A privilege I thought I may never get, having been blessed with only two lovely boys. & the Forleo's, the McClellan's & the Folgore's, all united in song & dance. & we ate & partook in traditional festivities as we shared the first hours of the newly weds new life. & I take this opportunity in welcoming Deon into our tightly knit family & hope to share many family reunions together & to also pop a cork or two, something we know he is capable of doing… welcome Deon, we wish you & Claudia 'auguri e tanti figli maschi' & with celebrations come also moments of sorrow, & we bid farewell to zio Antonio Folgore, a true gentleman through & through… 'nu vero pezz' i pane!' & for my mother, the grief felt when receiving news of the passing of my uncle Premio & that of my aunt Yolanda & also of my cousin Salvatore, was a lot for her to endure, all in one year. & on a lighter note, we heard stories of the Big Apple from Ricky & we suspect that part of him stayed behind. But he did bring back with him, a souvenir, a Les Paul electric guitar. & when all good people retire & the owls come out in prey of mice, you can hear the sounds of this instrument filter through the stillness of the night, (what wonderful neighbours we have!). & with this, Ricky composed a unique wedding march & played his cousin down the isle, a special moment for all to remember. & Frankie cruised through yet another year & how nice it was to have him help me even more at the restaurant. Dividing himself between three jobs had become a juggling act, but to my delight some of these ended, & it gave me pleasure to have all three boys working together, this year. & I do believe that as good as it was for the boys to throw anchor into stability, it was equally beneficial for the ship we sail, during turbulent navigational times. & Dear Massi, who usually prefers to fly's low, under the radar, surprised us all with a wonderful speech at his sisters wedding, partly Yiddish, Scottish & a little Napolitano thrown in too, a true linguistic pirate is he! & as the world prepares itself for 2010 & all eyes are upon us as a nation, the question most asked is, 'can we or can't we pull it off?' & with this grand event we too will add to the celebrations, as Nona will be turning 80 Brava Nonnina…! still fit as a fiddle & lucid as the stars in the sky! & who was that....? There it goes again….! Can it be…? No it can't…! Yes it is…. It's TINA! What the ---- is she doing on the back of that Harley? Breakfast runs & all…. Well, I'm FINISHED….! as Jay would say, & speaking of Jay, who kept me in good working order this year, with her lectures on cholesterol, exercise & remember, not to have too much of the juices from the vine tonight…. OK! One glass, remember, otherwise I'm phoning Dr.Bosman! (my physician). & to my partner of life I say this, that if ever I were to run the marathon of life again, I could think of no one better with whom to jog it through with…. & as for me, I spent time on my arts & also my crafts & did a bit of this and a bit of that… amongst which I build a new website www.francoforleo.co.za & I also took on the mammoth task of scanning over 300 old, & some very old family pictures, which took me back on a very emotional journey. & I compiled some photo books so as to preserve some of our history…. & I just did what men usually do, who gaze over the summit of their hill, trying to keep the old ticker ticking, eating less, ( not so easy!), read lots & lots & do as many Sudoku puzzles as one can…. & with this dear friends, I believe my space is up, which leaves me with only one line to wish you all well over the festive season & have a glorious 2010. PS &…………….Thank you for being our friends. |