Introducing the Frankie H. Bivins Memorial Tour
My mother was named Frankie, not Frances, or Francine, but plain old Frankie.
She had a tough childhood, to say the least, with her mother taking off when she was 13, leaving her to in turn take care of her younger sister and six year old brother. It is a mark of what kind of woman Frankie was that after her mother turned up again 15 years later she somehow foregave her, but that's another story.
In large part because of her own interrupted childhood, my mother loved two things above all else -- her family, and especially me, her only daughter, and her home. However, she could also truly be the "life of the party", especially after a couple of her signature "Manhattans on the rocks."
She was a southern lady, Virginia born and bred, and of another place and time. Like so many other southern women she was a true "character" with all that implies. She died in 1997 but for the last five years of her life she suffered from dimentia. That means that my older son, James, now age 21, barely remembers her at all while Jeremy, at 14, never knew the "real" her at all.
So...that brings up to the Frankie H. Bivins Memorial Tour. This is a culmination of an idea we've been talking about for years -- to go on one last true "family vacation" that would most certainly outdo the last 12 years of summers down at Long Beach Island, New Jersey. THIS year we are heading off to Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic, and with a true side trips along the way which I'll get to later.
It's truly a fantasy come true -- and one my Dad (who at 93 is going as strong as ever) and I think my mother would have loved. So...this tour is also a time to remember her, and to honor her.
James, and girlfriend Bryna are going to begin their journey on June 4th, first going off to Greece. They meet up with the rest of us -- my husband Barry, son Jeremy, and I, in Rome on the 10th. We aren't the type of family who jets off to exotic locations...but this is also in rememberance of the fact we all only live once so let's have a heck of a good time on the journey...
We hope you will come along with us...
Jackie B
She had a tough childhood, to say the least, with her mother taking off when she was 13, leaving her to in turn take care of her younger sister and six year old brother. It is a mark of what kind of woman Frankie was that after her mother turned up again 15 years later she somehow foregave her, but that's another story.
In large part because of her own interrupted childhood, my mother loved two things above all else -- her family, and especially me, her only daughter, and her home. However, she could also truly be the "life of the party", especially after a couple of her signature "Manhattans on the rocks."
She was a southern lady, Virginia born and bred, and of another place and time. Like so many other southern women she was a true "character" with all that implies. She died in 1997 but for the last five years of her life she suffered from dimentia. That means that my older son, James, now age 21, barely remembers her at all while Jeremy, at 14, never knew the "real" her at all.
So...that brings up to the Frankie H. Bivins Memorial Tour. This is a culmination of an idea we've been talking about for years -- to go on one last true "family vacation" that would most certainly outdo the last 12 years of summers down at Long Beach Island, New Jersey. THIS year we are heading off to Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic, and with a true side trips along the way which I'll get to later.
It's truly a fantasy come true -- and one my Dad (who at 93 is going as strong as ever) and I think my mother would have loved. So...this tour is also a time to remember her, and to honor her.
James, and girlfriend Bryna are going to begin their journey on June 4th, first going off to Greece. They meet up with the rest of us -- my husband Barry, son Jeremy, and I, in Rome on the 10th. We aren't the type of family who jets off to exotic locations...but this is also in rememberance of the fact we all only live once so let's have a heck of a good time on the journey...
We hope you will come along with us...
Jackie B
posted by Jackie B at 12:28 PM
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