Dear Readers,

A December sweep of my desktop detritus with an Italian Connection continues…

Frank Sinatra fans among my readers never fail to remind me they expect an annual Happy Birthday Frank mention come December (Frank’s Compleanno Dec. 12, 1915) because although he left us May 14, 1998, laid to rest in a coffin he had custom made from drapes and fittings taken from the late Sands Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, (according to authors W. Schonell and L. Quirk in their book published in 1998) his memory and music continues to linger on and enrich our lives.

Did you know that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of Sinatra’s heroes, was the first president to invite Sinatra to the White House eager as any other fan to meet The Voice.

Over the years that their limelight coincided, the two met occasionally for tea. On one of those visits, in the early 1940s, Roosevelt even asked Sinatra to tell him what song would be Number One on the week’s Hit Parade.

Frank Sinatra, thought the world of this man and such was Sinatra’s admiration for Roosevelt that he and Nancy named their only son Franklin after him and not after O’ Blue Eyes himself as most fan believed.
Years later, in 1961 Sinatra helped plan and produce the Kennedy inaugural. Twenty years later, 1981 Sinatra helped stage another grand fate for his new president Ronald Reagan.

A reminder that perfect for all Sinatra fans on your gifts list is the book “The Sinatra Treasures”. Intimate photos, mementos, and music from the Sinatra family collection. Created in conjunction with the Sinatra estate, the Sinatra Treasures tells the story of Sinatra’s life with rare and never before published quotes from those he loved and those he worked with and from the chairman of the Board himself.

More than 200 black and white and full color images from several Sinatra archives as well as 30 removable facsimile reproductions of items, such a script for one of his radio shows and a Sinatra family photo album, provide a behind the scenes glimpse into Sinatra’s world and talent. Also included is a new compilation CD of rare interviews and songs, featuring such gems as a monologue onstage at the Sands Hotel and Sinatra singing a parody of “High Hopes” for John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

The Sinatra Treasure Book also contains removable reproductions of tickets to Sinatra’s performance overseas in the 1980s, such as his 1980 performance in Brazil, (his performance in Rio De Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium to a crowd of 175,000 people, then the largest paying audience ever assembled for a solo performer was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records) as well as Argentina (1981), Japan (1985) and Italy in 1987.
It always touched Sinatra’s heart to have the opportunity to perform in Italy. Sinatra loved his Italian roots.

Author Charles Pignone had been president of the Sinatra Society of America, the largest Sinatra fan club in America, since 1984.
The book is available ($45) from your local bookstore, amazon.com or Rizzoli Bookstore, 31 West 57th Street, N.Y., N.Y. 10019 or call toll free 1-800-52-books.

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Judge Edward Domenico Re passed away earlier this year (in Sept.) but I just heard about it. I dislike being a December downer during this festive season, but those of you that fondly remember meeting or having a chat with Judge Re, through the years, will understand.

The sudden passing of a truly great man who was a Jurist, an Educator, a Law Professor (at St. John University) and an outstanding man despite his advanced age, 85, has left quite vacuum within the Italian American community particularly and throughout the entire nation as well.

In an interview with "America Oggi”, he was asked how he would like to be remembered. His answer was telling. "As an Italian who arrived here at age seven and with hard work and sweat, and serious studies, was able to do something, to give a good name to his children and grandchildren, and was a person who had the privilege to teach law to thousands of students who still remember the values of justice, and to treat everyone fairly." Such philosophy was with him all his entire life, from the early years in America, as a boy, to the prestigious government positions offered to him by three US Presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter.

Judge Re was born in the island of Salina, one of the seven forming the Aeolian Islands which are part of the province of Messina. A graduate of St. John University, he set aside a professional career and joined the U.S. Air Force. At the end of the war he left the uniform, having reached the rank of Colonel. He opened a law office and began writing books, some of which became textbooks, both for students as well as for scholars. His writings attracted the attention of young President Kennedy. He was given the Federal Office at the Board of Higher Education of New York in 1961. President Kennedy appointed Judge Re as the Chairman of Foreign Claims Settlement of the United States.

Later President Johnson appointed him as Assistant Secretary of State for Culture and Educational Affairs, an office Judge Re held for many years. President Carter acknowledged Judge Re's intellectual value and appointed him, 'Chief Justice of the International Court of Commerce'. Meanwhile, Judge Re was collecting numerous honors, particularly the "Distinguished Service Award of the US Junior Chamber of Commerce" which he received in 1957, the “St. Thomas Moore Award” from the University of San Francisco in 1987.
He received many more awards.

In 1961, his profound judicial expertise became the passport to a prestigious position: Special Adviser to the Nunziatura Apostolica” (the Vatican’s UN Embassy) in New York.
Judge Re is survived by his wife, twelve children and twenty-four grandchildren.
Someone once asked him if he felt he had become “Americanized”. His Sicilian good humor provided his answer: “Yes, I feel Americanized, but I have contributed to Italianized America”.

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Words of Wisdom:
You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot do by force.

Worry is like a rocking horse. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

People are like wine-age sours the bad and improves the good.

No one needs a vacation so as the person who just had one.

Few things are as uncommon as common sense.

 

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