It’s been a very busy time for me! Last Wednesday night, my son Dan flew in from Florida. He told me he was going to rent a car to get here around seven. It was almost 8 and I hadn’t heard a word from him. I was getting worried. Why didn’t he call? I was going to wait until 8 and then call the police station to see if any car rentals had been in an accident.

Fortunately, at 8, he walked in. His phone was in his suitcase. Then the next day, my niece flew in and called me up to say she was going to visit a friend who had a farm near Hamburg. Her farm house had 20 rooms and was gorgeous! Can you imagine such a huge house!

She picked some fresh strawberries and surprised me! I eat six different fruits for breakfast! I appreciated it.

I’ve got company from both coasts. My niece is the former Ramona Rotunda from Fredonia who married Joe DeMarco from Jamestown. She’s a retired teacher. She’s a great traveler. I always feel safe with her. I have to laugh when I call them my nieces. Gert is a year older than I and Mona is 5 years younger. I wonder how long we’re going to last. I called Michael Fantauzzi over to go over a few details on my funeral. I’m trying to make things easier for Dan. Fortunately, I won’t be around!

Then on Saturday, we had our Valone family picnic in North East, Pa. One of the best things I did in my life was marry into the Valone family! What a great family! I’m the only one left in my generation. I never would have believed it! There I was with all my oxygen and paraphernalia, but I was there! I finished the first oxygen tank and hooked up the second tank. Nobody knew how long a tank lasted.

One of our nephews called up the fire house. Before I knew it, the fire truck pulled up. The driver and his friend were two young men. They guessed I had about two hours left. It takes an hour to drive from North East. One of my nephews and his wife from Buffalo said they were driving home soon and they would be glad to drop us off. Well, I made it one more year, but not for long. I wonder what next year will bring!

I had my physical last week and Dr. Alam said I looked good. Maybe I’ll look good in the coffin! Oh well, there’s always Michael as a back-up. I promised I’ll die laughing!

I’m sorry I used so many “I”s, but I can’t talk about my funeral without using a personal pronoun.

Now let’s talk about words of wisdom. Remember this one:

1. Love, not time, heals all wounds.

2. To ignore the facts does not change the facts.

3. The only way to grow as a person is to surround yourself with smarter people. Here’s a good one – the less time you have to get something done, the more things you can get done.

4. When you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

5. When should you give advice to someone? Only if they ask for it or when it’s a life-threatening situation.

6. Being kind is more important than being right.

7. Sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

8. Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes!

9. Learn that those small daily things make life spectacular!

10. Change your greeting from “have a good day” to “have a great life” – total picture.