~Sunday, March 10, 2013
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A couple weeks
ago as I turned on the television and started tuning in to CBS Sunday Morning, something seemed very familiar about the first
story of the morning featuring a massive ocean liner docked at Pier 82 on the
Delaware River in Philadelphia; then it hit me!!! My parents
were on that superliner! Married in
California in December of 1962, a year of planning went into their epic voyage
that would be part of a three month honeymoon
commencing with a cross country trip (by car) from California to New York (with one quick stop in Pennsylvania to visit my mom’s uncle Charlie from
Sicily). Hence, as Charles Osgood, the
anchor of CBS Sunday Morning, spoke
of the “who’s who” such as Harry Truman and Marilyn Monroe as examples of
passengers aboard The Big “U”, I thought to myself, “Leave it to my mom
and dad!” Over twenty years ago I
attended a seminar where everyone was asked to write down the names of two
people we admired the most in our lives.
I didn’t hesitate for a second: My mom and dad. When they reminisce about their trip, they
always bring up how their landlord of the apartment complex at the time offered
them a purchase opportunity. Well, it
was either the trip, or purchase the apartment complex. Of course, they packed their suitcases and
never looked back—my heroes!
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| SALUTE! |
By irony, I also
took a three month hiatus in Europe when I was 20 years old and starting my
career. I remember thinking to myself,
“How often are you presented the opportunity in life to take a three month
vacation?” I will never forget those
three months I spent in my dad’s home town in northern Italy: visits to my
grandparent’s house every day; partaking in the bimonthly “festa” on weekends;
experiencing the true primal Italian lifestyle of bringing home fresh milk from
the cows down the street from a small family farm; and watching my aunt’s daily
rituals in maintaining the family home and ever- fragrant kitchen where lunch
and dinner were prepared with fresh ingredients every day of the week—it was all about the experience that made it memorable.
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| Deluxe theater, first class dining room, and nightly dancing! |
Likewise, it wasn’t
speed alone that made the S. S. United States the superliner that she was. Built in 1952, she was a champion of her time—designed
for complete passenger comfort and enjoyment—a ship with unique and
extraordinary beauty: The experience of a lifetime!
When my parents disembarked at the port in La
Havre, France, their car was presented to them stocked with snacks, a map,
cologne, a full tank of gas, and toilet paper. (You would understand the toilet paper if you’ve ever had the chance to
drive through Europe.) They were
more than ready for the next phase of their adventure (which I hope to continue in a future blog). In one of the
original pamphlets my mother kept as a memento, my favorite description of the
S. S. United States was, “She hummed as a happy ship.” What a perfect statement!
This was truly a
blog I was overjoyed to share with my readers.
I don’t know which story was more exciting for me to tell: My mom and
dad’s spirit of adventure, or the small piece of United States history
featuring The Big “U”.
Hum as a happy
ship; indeed!
