Welcome all. I haven’t seen a place I have a like to for so, it is a nice place, again
welcome all. I didn’t really want to give a speech. But my brains kept telling me
maybe they will ask me to give a speech until I started to work on it. Each speech
quite a little longer, little longer and longer and so it became obvious that I
needed a speech coach and I got one and she came over and she presented my
speech and says you have kind of slumping over and over again. I didn’t really like
and again she came over and she said that is enough stop it.
And she says the principle is kiss. K-I-S-S means keep it short stupid and go logical
progression with any other stuff. So I prepared two speeches one is ultra short
and it goes something like Anna and Chris, Chris and Anna you are beseeched to
speak so that is [inaudible] should take some 60 seconds [inaudible]. So now I
have [inaudible].
However, since I am as somebody said an elder statesman the father of the bride
and probably this is the last speech I would ever give. There are a few people that
I would like to honor, people who shaped Anna's life and character. So my
amended shorter speech is the title is "A Journey from Freddy to Rosa" (in
eternity) and we will find out who these people are.
The first person I would like to honor was called [inaudible] and he was the
[inaudible] and the word that came to my mind was freshly running man of the
year school bus driver. So Christy was soon as Anna could walk grandpa would
play Christy with her and she really enjoyed that always.
The second one runner he was rather I don’t think he was a marathon runner but
unlike his son who is a marathon runner he and Anna and the reason I bring out
running is one day. One time he was up visiting [inaudible] and Anna was
studying in the first or second grade and she had always [inaudible] school bus
and grandpa set out I will go up either the bus stop but Anna was always a little
afraid that she might miss the bus so she was running and I mean running fast
and she had long hair in those days with the hair was straight and grandpa
looking aloud then he said, well I will run with her.
After a while he actually passed her raced her she kept looking at it and that the
unique part of how does that thinking [inaudible] probably seven and like that.
But what he really wanted to do is he wanted to see this school bus. He was right.
He was a school bus driver and the first time Cathy and that is Anna's mom Cathy
with her they had betrayed him to meet with either parents. When we got
eventually we got there was somebody there but they said we have to go over to
the school bus garage.
So we went over there and there must have been probably not less than two
hundred people over there and their purpose for being there was strictly to
honor [inaudible] grandfather. He was a white man and so before he was a
school bus driver. I mean I think the rule was you have to retire at 65 or
something like this so otherwise he was still a little school bus driver, but before
that he was a foreigner and inventor.
The next person I would like to mention is Dan [inaudible] the physical therapist
and some [inaudible] might remember him. He was very nice man. He died too
young but he became creative with animals. He was in high school and playing
back football this year at the ACL [inaudible] and he became a therapist and sort
of a mentor because he became interested in physical therapy. I would say
without him she wouldn’t probably be a physical therapist today.
So Anna became interested in physical therapy and he was to help her in her
duties. She graduated from University of [inaudible] in 2001 with a Masters in
physical therapy. In 2007 she switched jobs and then became her boss at that
time. She likes her job of all she likes all of her [inaudible] not just physical
therapist but also the occupational therapist into speech therapy after all this is
to whatever to whoever they got.
Then was a service man he had a quite sense of humor and later on to have a hip
replaced and he was my therapist. But 50 years later suddenly and this has been
50 years of illness that last he said 50 years and 2 months.
Now Freddy he is not here I don’t even know where he is but he was kind of
significant in a sense that I could talk hours about Freddy. Cathy you remember
Freddy?
I remember you typing down. I don’t think I mean I knew maybe I do I don’t
know.
Well you might remember me talking about him but the thing was about Freddy
okay, we are going to the mid 70s. I talked in a fairly large [inaudible].
Oh, oh that Freddy okay.
But Freddy was my analyst and just about that time Cathy was living in Ohio that
is where I was and she came to the clinic for services and I happened to be the
examining them and at that time I my passion was sailing raising small sailors and
I had lost my crew because she went off to graduate school and I was without a
crew and I mean I was really unhappy. The one thing is I like my crew but the
other thing was we can't just pick up a crew for a five or five [inaudible] without
going through all the training and so Freddy said Cathy left he says. He also asked
Cathy to be in the crew. She is the only tan and athletic 5' 7" that said.
Freddy was very persistent for about a week or two every morning freshening I
would call Cathy for lunch and finally after a couple of weeks I contacted Cathy
and I told her what I needed and I explained what [inaudible] and she said yes
and so we met after the yacht club and as soon as we chaffed off from the dock
we capsized right off the back.
He turtled it we just didn’t capsize he turtled it.
I could not say we just didn’t capsize I need to agree [inaudible] we increased the
mast straight up. The important thing was this just little air space on the
[inaudible] and Cathy just looked at me very calmly said what you do now? So I
knew right then she was going to be a good crew lead being fearless is the most
important part on that sail boat and to make a long story short we ran many
races in winter many but we did many races in [inaudible] and many more
capsizes and she turned out to be the best crew I ever had.
Jumping ahead now on July 12, 1978 as a result of these many capsizes and I was
going. Anyway I wanted to make a long story short that is my version my speech
coach said no. My speech coach she said you might [inaudible]. I wanted to say
Anna is and beseech the speech but then came July 13 after she was born and
Cathy and Anna came home and was very unhappy about being pushed out for
ever into a dry dusty world [inaudible] and Anna cries non-stop until
grandmother arrived.
She came to see her first grandchild but today after she was old and she picked
up Anna and suddenly stopped crying. She said grandma conveyed to Anna that
we do have water that the world would scream and that signs of life was
springing up everywhere. So grandma was a great confidant and not just for Anna
but sort of come to speak to even outside of her family so much so even today
when she saw me come up they gave off the what is called the [inaudible] she
knew I must be nervous and have it right so and she [inaudible] a glass of water
as grandma.
So it is hard but [inaudible] Anna brain versus mind but probably none of you
agree with me and [inaudible] basically what I am saying is mostly everybody
when they talk about the brain that point here I mean the mind that point here.
What I want to say is make it or leave it. The mind is not in the brain. The brain is
in the mind so we can skip Anna's brain for a while. I mean she had a child brain
and she was growing up and was pretty verbal and immature and all this and but
beyond that the mind is gaseous I want to get that true.
So in Anna's mind she saw that she had her arms and hands [inaudible] and she
decided to break them she better not be a cry baby and be nice and smile a lot
and be friendly making [inaudible] and it turned out that they did and Anna
doesn’t have a favorite aunt or a favorite uncle to this day all special. They all
spoiled her lot and so she. The other thing she saw that she had no cousins and
she looked around and she thought about it just well may be fine real nice and
less and friendly maybe they some of my uncles and aunts are going through and
so now we have six of them.
So that was about Fred so jumping at 1981 at Ohio too many Anna was 2-1/2
years old and I again I wanted to make long speech about Anna's school years
and me elementary school and high school but my speech coach says no. The
exception is it was not mandatory in school but it was some fun and [inaudible] is
called lip sing and Cathy could have had a career [inaudible] she could have had a
career in Hollywood as a writer, promoter, director and whatever goes into she
took well costume maker also, Cathy's acts and [inaudible] first place for two
years in a row. Anyway it was great fun [inaudible] in 2004 Anna bought an old
house on the busiest street in [inaudible] they build in 1885 and has an old
functioning elevator in it and a carriage house. More about the carriage house in
a minute.
Coming to the end in fact I have only about five more pages. So I spent in
everybody's life [inaudible] and Anna had kind of period like that there is nothing
serious I mean it wasn’t rocky. She didn’t give into change or anything like that
but I was trying out but I did not know what to do. Somehow I knew I wasn’t the
right person and I prayed and prayed a lot and there was a miracle suddenly and
two angels appeared out of nowhere. The first one was that she is Barbara
[inaudible] recently has been sending a delicious foods make coconut cup cakes
maybe for his wedding. I suddenly loose my speech she [inaudible] for if you are
my pre-motive cortex [inaudible] you do all that and those yes to Franklin right
there and psychologist.
She was my speech coach. She has attended several triathlons for physical very
athletic. Five years ago she went to Japan and set off the biggest earthquake and
tsunami I have ever seen. So two very powerful beings, I am very grateful to them
and I submitted their names to Pope Francis [inaudible] and if you look carefully
you can see that halo kind of over their head. So I am grateful for all of your
attendance here. You are a very divine group. A list of the all people who are here
will also go to Pope Francis. We will see what happens to it [inaudible] Rosa
where is she again.
So going from Freddy to Rosa, without Freddy there would be no Cathy there
would be no Anna and no wedding today. Without Rosa there would be no Chris
and no wedding today. Heaven is here there is no where else heaven is now
there is no other time now in the last days Jesus.
With wholeness grace places Rosa's function. One day Rosa and also visited their
office and Anna went to the hospital for full lunch and they just saw on a table all
eyes were on him this handsome fellow. People all [inaudible] and Anna said to
Rosa now there is a guy at the door for you. Two weeks later Rosa went to lunch
again this time with a friend and she saw Chris again at his table by himself and
somehow Rosa had imagined she set the way and in the first look [inaudible]
Rosa your job is done you can go home now. We thank you and people touch
you.
Two years ago I wrote an entry in my diary which goes like this. Anna when you
were born the world was transformed cleansed and softly brushed with beauty
and today her hush inadvertently missed it. I am a lucky man so what for just she
saw them everyday. As for Chris the fiber optics guy nicest guy you will ever want
to meet. He has a heart as gold and pockets full of copper. He likes playing that
means he is a fiber optic guy and as we came over here he said I worked in this
film and that film and that film. He was all over me and [inaudible] they just
installed the fiber optics which is a much faster speed of communication, but the
old bill is the first thing they have to do to pull out the copper wires and they get
it heated so we have lots of copper and it is quite valuable.
He and Anna make my life is as good as can be. When he had the nerves to ask
me for Anna's hand I said yes I would like him to get rather that noisy hallway he
had. So nice guy as he went melted it out and turned into Anna's engagement
ring it is a nice. I called Dr. [inaudible] I asked physician and they gave me all
these pills to prolong my life that they make me feel real s**t so he said for Christ
sake take the [inaudible].
Chris and Anna have different backgrounds but they share many interesting
including her recent 3000 foot climb on [inaudible] mountain which was like total
six hours back to the carriage house. In the old days before people had
automobiles people who had means they added on a building which would have
two horses a carriage and a hay loft now. Now the bond is Chris's present test or
what I call Chris's museum. Instead of horses and the hay the horse [inaudible]
and boxes and boxes of copper wire.
And everything is nice very neatly ready for inspection. Now comes the short
[inaudible]. About a month ago I received a letter from a friend of mine from
[inaudible] and she has a daughter down Washington DC area and [inaudible] and
has four children and it has always [inaudible] physical and mental tension and
she finally decided that she probably should go now and help out [inaudible]. She
sold the property and left for Washington DC so. About a month ago I get this
letter and what she found down there.