Happy Birthday, I Think

[WheresFanny]

To The Lovely Ann Ferrante!

(I hope I'm right here. My grandma's birthday was yesterday and I remember having discussions with Mel on whether the 11th was TLAF's birthday before it was Veteran's Day.)

[christie1111]

If it is TLAF Brithday, please let her know we all think she is still lovely!

MWAH!

[kayrharris]

Close enough for me to say Happy Birthday to a
lovely lady!

[MarleysGh0st]

To The Lovely Ann Ferrante!

(I hope I'm right here. My grandma's birthday was yesterday and I remember having discussions with Mel on whether the 11th was TLAF's birthday before it was Veteran's Day.)

I believe you're right; IIRC, the world had a giant celebration on 11/11/1918 in honor of TLAF's first birthday!

[littlebeast13]

Happy birthday to TLAF..... ES's favorite silver fox!

lb13

[Catfish]

Happy Birthday to the lovely one!
Love,

[ontellen]

If this is right, let me add my congratulations to the lovely Mom of Melly.

Marley, your post reminded me of a story David's late aunt told. Her birthday was today too. When she turned 5, she thought it was wonderful that everyone was celebrating her birthday with her. Of course, it was 11/11/1918!

[mellytu74]

Yes, indeedy. Today is TLAF's birthday.

Thank you, Fanny, for remembering and starting this thread.

For her birthday, Boonie and I gave her a snazzy little bag for her laptop, a framed version of ES's beautiful picture (which now hangs on the wall by the desk in the porch in Wildwood), a framed picture of her with her brothers and sisters in my grandfather's coal truck (no coal, just Ferrante kids), and a Phillies World Series tee shirt, with all their names and numbers on the back.

The laptop bag is part of her natural disaster evacuation plan. She has all of her pictures in little albums in a box and she has the bag for the laptop. That's all she needs besides clean underwear. I swear, that's directly from the woman's mouth.

I spent Thursday through Sunday a.m. with her. (Boonie stayed home to drywall the bathroom with his brother. It needed to get done and we were running out of time so he gave up a weekend in Wildwood which is tough for him.) On Saturday, I planned to take her out for her birthday dinner -- someplace nice in Cape May? The Spaghetti House in Wildwood?

No. She wanted a cheesesteak from Bill's, the deli around the corner. So, we cheesesteaked. Later, when I came back from Quizzo, we watched Saturday Night Live. A fine time was had by all.

So, in her honor (and a tip of the cap to my friend Theresa's dad, a WWII vet), I will recount how TLAF got to BE TLAF.

For years, I jokingly called my mother The Lovely Ann Ferrante but only to a few people.

Then, 11 years ago, my friend Theresa invited us to her house for her annual Easter brunch. Theresa is one of seven kids and we all grew up together in the old neighborhood. It goes back generations -- Theresa's mom was my Aunt Lucy's friend and Theresa's aunt went all through school with my Mom.

Theresa's mom always made sure we had our poppies straight on our Girl Scout uniforms when we marched in the neighborhood's Memorial Day parade. It was that kind of neighborhood.

Theresa's dad worked with my dad, Feeney, at the bus barn and was a drinking buddy of his. He asked Theresa and her sister Noreen who was coming to brunch.

They ticked off a list of relatives and in-laws and added that my mother and I were coming. He didn't know who that was. Theresa and Noreen kept telling him he knew us, "You know, from the old neighborhood."

"Well, I know Feeney Driscoll and his brother Emmitt and the girls, but I don't know any other Driscolls."

I should point out here that my parents were married in 1948.

We walk in. Theresa's dad is in the big fat easy chair near the steps. He turns and bellows:

"THERESA! You didn't tell me Ann Ferrante was coming!!" It was so fixed in his mind that she was Ann Ferrante that he never put the two together -- even though he danced at their wedding.

And so she BECAME TLAF, even to my legions of cousins.

[christie1111]

And so she BECAME TLAF, even to my legions of cousins.

And to all of us.

[a1mamacat]

Wishing the best of best days for TLAF.

Mwah from the north!!