Remembering Francine A. Virgilio

Note: At the request of the organizer of 2,996, I am posting this tribute early (Saturday evening). I have dated it September 11, however and will not publish any other posts until the 12th.


Our family is reading about the life of Saint Frances Cabrini, an Italian-American saint (the first Italian-American to become a saint). Her real name was Francesca.

So while I was searching for information on Francine A. Virgilio, who died in the Twin Towers on 9/11, I found a message board in which she is referred to as "Francesca."

I don't think that's coincidence.

In reading about this amazing woman's life - her kindness, acts of charity and love of others, I think you could say she was a saint on earth.

Born June 7 in Brooklyn, NY, Francine was 48-years-old when she died in the World Trade Center. She worked there as Vice President of insurance claims for Aon Corp. Francine lived for a short time in Sicily, but always considered New York her home, so much so that she was a devoted New York Yankees fan.

Though she wasn't married and had no children, she served as a "surrogate mother" to her four nephews, who considered her "cool" enough to hang out with without being embarrassed in front of their friends.

As a NY Times article noted:

One Christmas, Francine Virgilio treated her nephews to a show with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and dinner afterward at Mickey Mantle's. She even hired a limousine to take them around.

Cool aunt, indeed!

From an SLive.com article:

"If there was a second mother to us, she would be it," said her nephew, Kevin. "She would always come up from the city to visit us. We are like the sons she never had."

Her other nephews are Salvatore, Joseph and Paul Virgilio.

The NY Times article goes on to describe a little about her life:

An Aon executive, Ms. Virgilio started out as a secretary after high school and worked her way up. She was just as disciplined about her favorite team, the Yankees. She followed them through the bad years, and kept an autographed photo of Lou Piniella on her desk. Last year, she snagged a ticket to the Subway Series and had it framed for a place in her home on Staten Island.

Generous does not seem an appropriate word to describe how incredibly giving Francine was. Her sister-in-law Susan was quoted as saying, "A lot of times it was more fun to watch her give the gift than to watch the person she gave it to open it."

From the SLive.com article, writer David Andreatta summed up Francine's generosity perfectly:

She spent nearly 20 years caring for her ailing parents in their Queens home before settling on Staten Island in 1993. A humanitarian who rarely asked for favors, Ms. Virgilio donated her time and resources to several charitable organizations, including the Alzheimer's Foundation and Save the Children, through which she adopted a little girl.

Even on the day she went missing, Ms. Virgilio had planned to meet her sister-in-law, Susan Virgilio, for lunch in Manhattan, and to give her a 35mm camera so her nephew could take a photography course at his high school.

Unfortunately, that lunch would never happen.

According to the SLive article, at 9:05 a.m., just two minutes after the first plane crashed into the first tower, Francine called Susan from the 98th floor of the building where she worked.

In her seemingly understated way, she phoned Susan and told her she wouldn't be able to make it for lunch, but she would call her later that evening. I was struck by her words. It appears as if she is once again thinking of others instead of herself, not wanting to worry her family.

On September 16, 2001, firefighter John Caputo found Francine's checkbook among the rubble. In the book were photographs of her loved ones as well as a blood donor card, just another symbol of her generous spirit.

In addition to her sister-in-law and nephews, Francine is survived by her mother Josephine Sorrentino Virgilio, and her brother, Nunzio.

If you have the time, please visit this message board to see how loved Francine was by so many.

Also, the SLive article has more detailed information on Francine's life and is very well-written.

God bless you, Francine. God bless you, your family, friends and loved ones. I will never forget you and feel so priviledged to have learned about your wonderful life.

Natalie's B-Day Picture

I can't believe my baby is six-years-old. :(

Here are some photos of her as a baby:





Matthew just turned 10. I'm putting up a portrait of him with Amanda and Natalie (he's not into doing b-day photos...he's too old for that now!). We didn't have a lot of money when he was a baby, so I don't have as many cutie-pie portraits of him. I do have one that I'll have to dig up and post.

Double digits for my little guy. :(

I want to freeze my kids and not let them grow any older.

Heaven = Starbucks Iced Soy Caramel Vanilla Macchiato

After my Starbucks lactose debacle, I took the advice of the kind Starbucks rep and tried both an Iced Soy Mocha and an Iced Soy Caramel Vanilla Macchiato (no whip, of course).

The Iced Soy Mocha was good, but oh my gosh....the Macchiato.....there simply are no words to describe it. I didn't even ask them to blend it for me, like the rep suggested. It was good just the way it was. "Good" is such an understatement.

Just imagine a hot, hot day, and getting this delicious, cool, venti drink. It even looks delicious....a mixture of brown latte and golden caramel, with the white vanilla and soy swirling in between.

And when you take a sip....oh my gosh!!!! (I have to stop using that phrase so much, but that's how I feel!) It's cold, coffee-ish, and vanilla-ish, and then you actually sip the caramel syrup through the straw and it just melts in your mouth.

If you haven't tried it, do it now!!!!

And don't forget to say hello to my renter Dutchy! She has a brand new, pretty template to look at.

My numbers aren't so good on this first rent campaign here. I have WAY more readers here than I do on my other blog, yet my rental stats are HUGE over there, and not so much here. Help a girl out and help me get those numbers up!! Thank you!!

John Cusack's Stalker Emily Leatherman on Being a "Victim"

Stalker, I mean victim, Emily Leatherman said she's not crazy. She's simply trying to get media attention after being drugged, raped and made a victim of sex trafficking.

Ooooooh. Okay. So that explains all of the love notes thrown over the fence of John Cusack's house. That explains why she said she'd harm herself if he didn't respond. She was simply trying to get the world's attention for the torture she underwent! Let's all breathe a sigh of relief now.

Watch the video of her explanation here.

I Broke Rule #1

Okay, it wasn't really a rule, per say. But, it was something I said I'd never say. And, well, I didn't really SAY it, I did it, so maybe I didn't really break anything.

Anyway.....Remember my list of 10 things I'd never say? Well, last week, I had to do the dreaded "go out in public without my make-up on."

But, it's even worse than that. Let me explain....

Rob was home waiting for the car place to let us know they were done working on the van so we could go get it together. I wanted to work out. He said he had to leave as soon as they called so he could get right back to work.

I took my chances and did a full-on step aerobic workout (it was Carribean Workout on FitTV...I LOVE that channel!)

As soon as it ended, and I mean the second it ended, he yells, "Let's go...it's ready!"(They'd called him on his cell and I didn't hear it)

So, I go out in my workout shorts and sweaty tank-top. So everything from the neck down probably looked good. BUT, my face was beet red. And my hair was pulled up with a hair clip thingie holding it up. I don't even look remotely good with my hair pulled up. I look hideous.

Picture Pamela Anderson's body (I know I'm flattering myself...but work with me here), with Kathy Griffin's face, only without make-up, with sweat pouring down, and her face the color of a sunburn (see...I can balance my egotistical side with a little self-deprication! But do know that I don't look THAT bad in reality, lol!)

Now here's the thing. Men must have a magical ability to separate the two body parts. Because when I was getting into the van, I got a bunch of cat-calls from the mechanics. I'm thinking "You've got to seriously be on something!" but then I realized they probably weren't looking at my face at all.

Which makes me wonder about all the cat-calls I've ever received in my life. Does it really mean I'm pretty? Or were they always mentally putting a bag over my head?

For my ego's sake, I'll let myself think it's the former.
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Note: Don't forget to visit my fine friend and renter Dutchy! Tell her Pamela Griffin sent you!

Blonde Moment #462....

in which I run to our local rec center from the parking lot in the rain with my sandals on, only to have one come flying off of the back of my foot, while I fall forward and magically stop myself from making a complete fool of myself by falling flat on my face.

Somehow, I managed to catch myself, but then I couldn't find my shoe. Until the guy behind me, who witnessed the whole thing and had a huge smile on his face, found it for me in the gutter.

Yeah. It's good to be me!

Turning the Tables

My husband kept getting calls at his office from an unknown, out-of-state phone number. He never answered, but the calls persisted.

So, he googled the phone number and found out it was a time-share business that was notorious for harrassing people trying to sell them a timeshare. The next time they called, he answered and the conversation went something like this:

Rob (in a thick, Italian New Yorker accent): "Joe's Time Shares. How may I be of service to you?"

Telemarketer: (explains what she's selling...time shares in Orlando)

Rob: "Hey! It looks like we're in competing businesses! I've got some time shares in Orlando, too!"

Telemarketer: "Yes, how about that? Anyway....(she goes on trying to sell him one)"

Rob: "No, I don't have a need for anymore time shares, but how 'bout you? Would you like a time share? We've got some really nice ones."

Telemarketer: "Well...I don't really have the money...."

He then has HER on the defensive, making excuses and wanting to hang up. Typing the story SO does not do it justice, because his accent is hilarious!

And yes, I used to be a telemarketer, but I still think they're annoying. :)