It was an exciting weekend! All that fuss over bombing New York City. It’s amazing how quickly they got it under control and even found the perpetrator! Everyone has to be on their guard! I didn’t hear of any big exodus out of the city. Those people are gutsy!

I remember when we were in the wig business – we were the first in Western New York to go into the wig business, and we used to go to N.Y.C. often. I loved it. Once in awhile I’d go on a clothes-buying trip with my sister Rose who had Ricky’s Boutique. We used to go by train. At that time, the train used to stop in Dunkirk. I remember there were a lot of soldiers on the trains. Come to think of it, I did a lot of traveling on the plane. I took 10 trips to Italy.

No, we weren’t rich. Igie Parisi and I would plan trips to Italy. I knew a lot of people and Igie had family who used to go with us and we had an Italian bus driver who owned his own bus. He was our connection. Then Igie and I got free trips. We just had to pay for our plane trip.

Probably a lot of people thought I was loaded with money. Now I’ve let the cat out of the bag! Now I’d like to say a few words about Igie Parisi. Igie passed away recently. He was one of the nicest, most respectful (my favorite word) people I’ve ever met. He never swore or told dirty jokes. He had perfect manners. We worked so well together! That’s why when people traveled with us, they wanted to go again. They told their family and friends. They only wanted to travel with us. I think of Carolyn Patton. She was still traveling with us in her 80s. The fellas used to have to give her a boost on the bus. She lost her pride. Everybody loved her! We were like family!

So you see, you don’t have to be rich to travel, just creative and know the right people. Those trips were some of the best memories I have!

My advice to you is do what you can while you can. Memories are precious!

People are precious, too. I have a precious friend named Doris. She comes and sees me on Tuesday and Friday mornings. She’s identified as “my cleaning aide,” but she’s much more than that. She’s so smart! She fixes things that I can’t. She knows where I can buy things I need and at reasonable prices – in all, she’s priceless! I get compliments on my house. “How do you keep your house so neat?”

Answer: “I don’t.”

Doris cleans it on Tuesdays and Fridays, and I keep it picked up the rest of the time.

Did I luck out or what?

By the way, I have a lot of used stamps I’ve been saving. Anybody want them?