Frankie Goes to Italy - a blog is born

Just started a new blog, folks -- but this time, it's all about my father, Frank ...

You see, the process of applying for a Passport and booking round-trip flights to ITALY is a huge event in his life. He is 88-going-on-89 {this year} and he has not set foot on European soil since he left Germany after World War II ended. That was a mighty long time ago, friends.

So follow along as FRANKIE GOES TO ITALY, if you like.

http://frankiegoestoitaly.blogspot.com

-- Davielle

Edyth's Passing - 5 years ago tomorrow

My mother, born Edith Yerkes Dickinson {and through the years, known as Edith Meinhardt; Edith Antelline; Edith Russell - among other surnames - but mostly known by the last name Antelline} left us on February 28, 2004. Five years can seem like forever; it can also seem like a flicker of a heartbeat in time.

this page, a tribute to Edith, was photographed out of the MEMORY SCRAPBOOK I created for my father, Frank Antelline, September 2008, on the occasion of his 88th birthday.

and the next page was a continuation of the tribute to Frank & Edith's relationship ...

and this next page showed Mom as she got older, enjoying time spent with her children and grandchildren ...

Along with my brother Jay and my sister Francia, and our children and our grandchildren, we ALL remember {with a mixture of horror & delight} HOLIDAYS spent with mom ... because she was notorious for visiting Neiman Marcus as she got older, EACH CHRISTMAS SEASON, just to get a handful of their glossy red bags -- emblazoned with the NM logo in gold -- into which she poured all manner of goodies & surprises for everyone in the family. We each got our own bag, and this is likely where my passion for BAGS began ... be they gift bags, handbags, or grocery gabs {okay, so I'm kidding about the grocery bags}.

So where, you ask, did the horror come in? Mom was a prolific writer of poetry, and a holiday just wasn't a holiday, to her way of seeing things, unless she had Center Stage for a moment, during which she would regale us with her latest prose. THE FAMILY'S ALL TIME FAVORITE had to be her "Badges of Maturity", for the sheer shock value alone -- several of us, I clearly recall, snorted a beverage out our nose that Christmas afternoon when she ripped into this one:

"Ye Gods,

there are crinkles in my cleavage

a creping here

a sagging there

When did all this happen

It must have been while I was nappin'

or too caught up with doing

I certainly wasn't inspecting my anatomy

as carefully as I should have

while I was pursuing

life's demands and pleasures

else I really would have

noted

these badges of maturity

that come with Social Security

Crinkles creping sagging there may be

but still in my heart is a dance

a romance

a spirit that is free."

-- Edyth Antelline, 1989

Niece Barbara had a friend or two over that day, and needless to say, it was a Christmas they'll never forget !!!

Mom was quite a character, and was ALWAYS a free spirit. She sure was.

We miss you, Mom. RIP.

-- Davielle, your youngest

HEART Afloat

My heart is so full ... this afternoon.

Both my daughters have been here all day, working tirelessly and creatively on the scrapbook for their grandfather ...

And now, my "grand", Kaia, is also here, cheering them along.

The end ... completion of the project ... is now in sight, and we couldn't be more pleased with the way this gift of love & remembrance for Dad is turning out. We hope that he is as touched with the viewing of it, as we have been with the reading of everyone's contributions, and we expect that he will be as moved by the photos - old and new - that everyone has provided.

THIS truly is - a labor of love, by all in the family.

We can only say ... "thank you", with our hearts full of gratitude.

-- D.