Moore n’ More about People, Places and Things: Love Edition

Posted on: Feb 12, 2010

I type this post-one day before it’ll be published and you’ll read it-on the one year anniversary of the day my life  forever changed.

Yes, that sounds dramatic-and those of you know me know I have that flair … but this time, it is true.

One year ago today I received that middle-of-the-night phone call from my mother that spurred my last-minute trip to Texas, the fight to arrive at my father’s side “in time” and the inevitable services and formalities that follow when things don’t go as you’d hoped.

One year ago today, I was still a rather naive American living the dream in southern Italy.

One year ago today, I had that sense of indestructibility of people who’ve never been crushed.

One year ago today, I didn’t think we’d make it.

But we did.

I’ve been thinking lately about the events in our lives that forever change us. It doesn’t have to be something as dramatic as a middle-of-the-night phone call or as traumatic as the death of a loved one. For many of us it is the moment we met our future spouse, the day your children were born, the day we moved abroad.

And it is that positivity of change I want to focus on today.

4196216840 7f6e005c97 Moore n More about People, Places and Things: Love Editionphoto credit: dodo1976

For starters, I want to welcome Leanne of from Australia to Italy to bella Calabria. She and her bel ragazzo (aka: new fiance) recently relocated to Malito in the province of Cosenza-about an hour northwest of me here in Catanzaro. They have a lot of things in the works up there and I wish them good luck with their new endeavors.

Elsewhere in Calabria, Michelle of Bleeding Espresso has been talking about Zen in the Pen and one of her kids, Pasqualina, was recently entered into a photo contest at Huffington Post. I gave her a “10″-and you should, too … but I still don’t see the family resemblance, Michelle.

Natalie Trusso Cafarello of Letters From Tuscany recently wrote about a love affair of a different kind-a love affair with a woman, whose tough past and complex future is often at odds with Natalie’s own plans for this lovely lady. It is poignantly written and soulful, and I’m sure this woman’s other lovers feel the same way about her.

Speaking of love affairs, the Italophile site has information on dating and mating in the bel paese, complete with facts and data about marriage in Italy, who the Italians are marrying, when they are marrying and why, while Jessica at Why Go Italy has helpful hints for anyone wanting to snag-snag, guys, not shag-an Italian.

If you already have that someone special, visit Melanie at Italofile for a roundup from the Twittersphere of the most romantic places in Italy locals go with their sweethearts.

As for me and my sweetheart, we are going to lay low this weekend, reflect upon the events of this past year and give thanks to all of the loves of our lives. Valentine’s Day is not just a day for lovers, it is a day for love. It’s a day for friends-both real-life and virtual-and a day to celebrate the impact these people have in your life. And I, for one, am glad you are here.

Happy Festa di San Valentino!

The Life and Legacy of Buddy Moore

Posted on: Mar 16, 2009

 
When I last left My Bella Vita I was rushing to the airport in what I hoped would be a superfluous trip to Texas where I’d eagerly meet my family at the hospital, encourage my mother and sister and aid in my father’s slow, but inevitable recovery.  I convinced myself somewhere over the Atlantic that my trip would be a homecoming of sorts and that we would all laugh about how Dad had given us a scare, but had once again pulled through.
 
However, this time it was not meant to be.
 
I arrived at the hospital at 4:30 on the afternoon of Friday, February 13 … my dad passed away an hour later.
 
What transpired over the next few days was a muddled rush of numbed emotions, crushing moments of clarity and difficult decisions no child wants to make. I am proud of the way my mother, sister and I united, agreeing on every aspect of the services we would hold to honor my father’s life and legacy. Our extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were unbelievably supportive and went above what could have possibly been expected of them.
 
The Kountze community, KISD and especially the teachers and administrators where my mother is employed at Kountze Elementary School outdid themselves, and my admiration and respect for them has skyrocketed.
 
Oh yes. Dear old Dad would be proud.
 

first communion The Life and Legacy of Buddy Moore

 
He would have been proud of my sister and me for collaborating on his obituary and for mustering the courage to share our favorite memories with the standing-room only crowd that gathered on that rainy Tuesday afternoon.
 
He would have been proud of the articles that were written about him, from Editors and Publishers Magazine to the Beaumont Enterprise, Silsbee Bee, Hardin County News and Orange County Record.
 
He would be proud of his family, his community, his journalist buddies and all of the people who traveled long distances by air and land to show their respects.
 
He would be proud that none of us can remember a time – politics aside – when he muttered a negative comment about another person. 
 

new dresses 007 300x225 The Life and Legacy of Buddy Moore

 
A friend told me that losing a parent is like losing a limb … you will always know it is missing, but you will always feel like it is there. I know he is gone and I feel his absence in more ways than he could have ever imagined.
 
I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my virtual and “real life” friends for your emails, comments, Facebook messages, letters, phone calls and cards. Although I haven’t yet responded to each of you, I did see your messages of support and I felt your thoughts and prayers each day.
 
Thank you for bearing with me over this past month. It is good to be back.
 

Daddy's Little Girls

Posted on: Jun 17, 2007
Much to my father’s disappointment (although he would never admit to having such delusions,) I am having trouble getting this going; searching for the first few lines to begin a dedication to the man who, so far, has made the biggest impact on my life.

He became a father very late in life, marrying my mom, whom he affectionately called his child-bride – 22 years his junior, when he was 44. I was born 13 months later, and by all accounts, I could do no wrong. I don’t recall even one case of corporal punishment, and I remember one raised voice. He carried his girls, my sister and me, on his hip until our legs dragged far too low and my mother became embarrased. Perhaps it was his age, or maybe it was his character, but my father had unlimited patience and self-control. This, I did not inherit.

He was a newspaper man all his life, owning at one point three weekly papers throughout Southeast Texas. He says publishing is in his blood – and, I believe it. He tried to retire no less than three times, but constantly found himself back in an office, sitting at a desk, looking at a computer screen, before his stroke in October, 2000 forced his hand.

Now from a home office, where even the dreaded diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease has yet to quench his writer’s palate, he continues to conjure ideas and organize thoughts for that next great story. The eternal optimist and dreamer, my father never loses hope – or faith – that something great is around the corner.

He recently completed a novel about a small-town journalist on the heels of the story of her lifetime. I am helping him type and get the text manuscript-ready. I SO hope this happens for him.

One would think that by the “ripe ‘old age of 80″ (I just had to use one of dad’s favorite expressions here,) he would have walked a daughter down the aisle. Knowing his disease is degenerative and he is already experiencing movement problems, he “works out” two-to-three times a day…walking up and down their driveway, back and forth, five times.

My father is a hero of a man, full of interesting facts and historical information. He can talk for hours (and hold your interest,) or sit for hours and just listen. I HAVE NEVER HEARD HIM SAY A BAD THING ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON…how is that possible?

Here is a picture taken of “Daddy and his Girls” at Christmas a few years ago.

daddy%27s+little+girl Daddy's Little Girls

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! I love you.

Parking comes at a price.(Property)

Sunday Tribune (South Africa) November 21, 2010 BYLINE: Property Reporter Parking in most South African cities is at a premium, with estate agents reporting that a parking in Durban can cost between R25 000 and R100 000. here best parking nyc

Remax’s Adrian Goslett said parking was becoming an increasingly important factor in property values. He said there were about nine million cars on our roads, increasing by 50 000 a month as the the middle-class population, in particular, continued to grow.

Space constraints and land costs meant parking added value to a property.

Parking rates range from around R500 a month in the Joburg CBD to more than R1 000 a month in the Cape Town CBD, while a parking bay in a sectional title scheme in Joburg fetches up to R80 000 and in Clifton, Cape Town, as much as R500 000 with one last year going for R2 million.

Goslett said 6 000 vehicles were stolen each month in the last year, according to police.

Tony Hickman of Seeff said parking was a priority for buyers in complexes and flats without parking took longer to sell. see here best parking nyc

He said banks were loath to fund new developments without adequate parking or grant loans to buyers in complexes with insufficient parking.

Chris Tyson of Tysons said older, built-up areas lacked parking because it had not been needed at the time of the developments. Public transport had been good.

It was hard to provide more than one parking per unit in new developments in such areas due to land constraints.

Parking added between R25 000 and R10 0000 to the price of a flat, said Tyson.

Keith Wakefield of Wakefields Estate Agents said parking was at a premium in most established, higher density areas and was worth between R50 000 and more than R100 000 depending on the area and building.

He said parking availability in the CBD varied from zero to 80 percent. Most flats in Gateway had a parking bay with the option to buy another limited, from R60 000.

“It should be noted sectional |title units are sold with parking that cannot be sold on to a third party,” said Wakefield.

Heather Sudding of Pam Golding Properties said: “Parking is important to our buyers and tenants. Most apartments offer one parking.

“On the Berea, many blocks have garages on the road and although the owners have the luxury of a parking, security becomes an issue. Many complexes have reconfigured the common property land to maximise parking facilities, but land sizes are small.

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