Author: Louis Dell'Olio

………………..The photo is of my uncle……..VITO COLONNA…….He was married to my father’s sister Mary……He was her first love…They had two beautiful daughters, Phyllis and Grace…..and I mean beautiful physically, inside and out, with great hearts….He died in France during WWll from a gunshot to the head…..My Aunty Mary, like so many others, was a young widow with two very young daughters…..He was killed many years before I was born so I never knew him. I only heard stories, mostly from my mother, who said he was a wonderful man….very kind, and my mother said….movie star handsome…with beautiful green eyes….His two daughters looked very much like their dad and resembled his family…..My Aunt Mary and her two daughters lived in an apartment in my grandfather’s house where we also lived. The two girls were about the same ages as my brothers so they were extremely close, and always together….like brothers and sister more that cousins….I have lovely pictures of the four of them that my mother gave to me…..My Aunt eventually married again, and had two more daughters…….My cousin Phyllis, the older daughter, had two beautiful talented sons….Ricky and Jim…..She died from breast cancer when she was in her 30s…..This too was many many years ago….I was a teenager ….I remember she was very young, and her passing was very sad…It was very hard for the boys to lose their mother at such young ages….She adored them and they adored her….Her sister, my cousin Grace, had two children….a daughter and a son….Laura and Joe……Grace just passed away from colon cancer earlier this month….She was a wonderful beautiful person with a great wit and a wonderful laugh…She had beautiful green eyes….like her dad……Grace was very close to her half sisters….Grace became the matriarch after my Aunt Mary passed away……….Now they are finally all together…..my Uncle Vito, my Aunt Mary with their two girls….Phyllis and Grace…..who he never got to see grow up, and become wonderful people…or to see his four grandchildren………On this Memorial Day I wanted to remember my Uncle Vito……who I never knew…..but wished I had.

……………..On this past Saturday I presented, with Cathy, a Facebook live show…..QVC was having a HUGE MEMORIAL DAY SALE, and my jewelry was a part of it……so….we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get together for the Holiday….and have a show too!……Cathy arrived at 12:30. They hit lots of holiday traffic, but arrived safe and sound…..I had already prepared all of the trays holding the jewelry with all of the necessary notes….style numbers, colors, sizes, prices, ez pays etc etc….It’s a lot of prep work. The trays were all laid out in my gathering room so Cathy and I could edit….we didn’t want the show to be too long…..At 2:00pm we began the show…..Time seemed to fly by, but the show was 1 hour and 30 minutes long. From the reactions we got it seemed everyone enjoyed it, and truly reacted to the great pricing……The SALE is still going on and will continue until tomorrow night…..If you missed the show you can still see the video! We had a good time. After the show Cathy and I continued videoing and went outside to see my garden and how it has progressed…..I hope everyone who purchased something is happy with what they receive. I think the jewelry, all MADE IN ITALY….looks wonderful, and I’m proud of it…..Have a wonderful MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY……..and remember we are celebrating all of those MEN and WOMEN who sacrificed their lives so we could be free, and enjoy the fruits of our DEMOCRACY!

………….After the show we had a few hours before we had to leave for the restaurant, so I changed into a more festive Memorial Day outfit……It was now OK to wear WHITE……I took them for a ride to see ROWAYTON, CT. where the restaurant was located. It’s a charming town that at one time during the late seventeen, and eighteen hundreds used to be a “whaling town”….where many captains and seamen lived. Many of these cottages still stand, and have plaques on them with the dates they were built. Cathy and Jim enjoyed the tour! Then on to the restaurant….which is called “The Restaurant of Rowayton”…..It’s on the water and the inside is very nautical….We however chose to sit outside under a tented area on the marina. It was perfect!

…………………For dinner we couldn’t make up our minds what to order….there were so many things we liked!……Cathy had the brilliant idea that instead of ordering one main course for each of us….we would order lots of appetizers and share them…which is exactly what we did…..Everything was great, and we were all happy…..Everyone at the restaurant was celebrating, and there was a party boat that was docked in the marina….photo second in from the bottom left…..The weather could make up its’ mind what it wanted to be….First there were ominous clouds and then bright sun, and the clouds again…..At one point it started to rain, but only for a short time. The rain left behind a marvelous RAINBOW….photo upper right. There were two huge swans who came by right under where we were sitting….to greet us…I couldn’t help but to think of Jac…..Maybe she sent them to say hello!……We all agreed….this was the perfect way to spend the holiday, and enjoy the beginning of the summer season……..After dinner we went back to my home for desert!……Cathy had a request….would I make the COCONUT CREAM LAYER CAKE she had seen my post of……Yes, of course I would……This was my second go at this cake, and it came out perfectly!!!! We all enjoyed it very much….Of course when they left I gave them a large piece for the road!…..They were then going to visit with their daughter, who they were planning to spend the rest of the Holiday weekend with…….I always love my visits with Cathy and Jim….two wonderful people!..,……..Have a wonderful and SAFE Holiday!