Out of the Past Cont'd

Granny here,

     Daisy had to find out everything the family knew and fill them in on what she had been able to discover on her own. The clues so far had her dad mentioning the story of an affair, his great, great grandfather having an affair during the war all the stories told in the family down through the years, it was all pointing to the same conclusion, that Daisy's great-great-great grandfather was the soldier in the story. The chain was the missing link to the ring that Daisy had found.
     Leslie's family was curious about the ring too since these stories were well known throughout the region of Calabria, they had been told over and over again by Aunt Maria and Uncle Joe. The soldiers loved to hear about it as they could relate through their own affairs with the Italian women while serving in the military in Italy and other foreign countries.
     The work week was moving fast for Daisy and that was fine with her, she loved the weekends when she could see her friends, have some relaxation and spend some time with Tory, who was becoming an important part of her life, more important than even she realized. Although she spoke with Tory several times during the week, it was not the same as having his arms around her and feeling his lips on hers, that was worth looking forward to on the weekends and she did look forward to it, more that she wanted to admit to herself.  She could only hope that he felt the same and she was sure that he did, at least that was the impression he gave her when they were together.
     Leslie called Daisy Friday afternoon to see if she had some free time that evening after work to meet at their favorite pizza place. She wanted to fill her in on their plans to go to America to make sure everything was complaint with daisy's schedule. They loved meeting for pizza and being best friends they had no trouble spending hours in conversation.
     Daisy actually got out of the office on time Friday evening and headed home to freshen up and change into something more appropriate for the pizza parlor, which happen to be her favorite denim cut offs and a tank top, of course Daisy looked good in anything she chose to wear. She arrived just as Leslie was pulling into the parking lot; they parked beside each other and talked while walking into the restaurant. They were excited about their trip to America but daisy didn't like the idea of leaving Tory. They spent the evening going over their plans, they would leave as soon as Daisy left work on Labor Day weekend, Leslie would take the responsibility of making all the flight arrangements. Daisy made the decision not to tell her family she was coming, she wanted to surprise them . She was really excited about seeing her parents again and she would also get to see her grandmothers, her grand fathers had passed away within six months of each other when she was twelve and that saddened her to think they would never know the rest of the story.
     Tory was not happy about spending the holiday without Daisy but understood her need for making the trip. After all she would only be gone a few days and the space between them would give them time to evaluate their  feelings for each other and give them a better idea how to face their future either together or apart. Tory was proud of himself for the way he had been able to constrain himself where Daisy was concerned, he respected her too much to lower her standards and in ways she had caused him to raise his a little higher.

      The flight to America was a pleasant one, Daisy and Leslie were seated together and therefore escaped the risk of being seated with a chatty Cathy or a boozed up guy who thought he was the answer to a woman's dreams. the food wasn't the greatest but it did its job until the girls could get to their mothers home cooking.
     Leslie had made plans to be picked up at the airport by her parents and they would give Daisy a ride home to surprise her parents, since neither Leslie nor her parents had met Daisy's family this would give them a chance to be introduced. They were waiting for the girls as they came down the ramp, they could see them standing behind the security fence waving to the passengers getting off the plane. Leslie's parents were so glad to see their little girl, she and her dad were very close and it had been a while since they had seen one another and her mother was just as happy to see that Leslie had made it home safely.
     After the reunion at the airport, they drove to the home of Daisy's parents who didn't have a clue she was coming. Daisy had Leslie and her parents go to the door and ring the door bell while she hid behind them, when her parents opened the door they wondered who these people were, they had never seen them before. "May I speak to Daisy, please?" Asked Leslie. "Daisy doesn't live here anymore, she moved to Italy, may I ask who you are?" Replied Daisy's mother with a puzzled look on her face. Just at that moment Leslie and her parents stepped aside and there stood Daisy laughing as hard as she could, but her mother was crying tears of joy and her dad began smiling, there were hugs, kisses and many tears, introductions were made, then Leslie and her parents left Daisy and her family to enjoy their reunion which lasted the rest of the evening.
     
     Leslie had a wonderful evening catching up on all the news from her parents and filling them in on the saga of the mystery ring which they found to be very fascinating. Her parents couldn't believe the that all the facts surrounding the ring proved that daisy's family was actually the rightful owner of the ring, that was just too strange, how could such a thing happen after all these years? Was it fate that Daisy's great-great-great grandfather was the soldier in the family story and now she had proven it to be true?
     Daisy and her family spent the evening just as Leslie and her parents, catching up on all the news. She had plenty to tell them about Italy, about her villa, about Tory, and of course about the ring she had found, its value and the story she was discovering to be attached to it. She still had a lot of pieces of the puzzle missing and hoped her dad would be able to help her find them either in his memory or at least her grandmothers.
     As Daisy broke the news to her parents that she had also discovered the chain and Lt. Neilson's dog tag, they were stunned. It was almost unbelievable but when Daisy took out the ring, the chain and the dog tag, there was no denying that it was true. "This story belongs in Ripley's Believe It or Not", said Daisy's mom as she looked at all the evidence.
     Grandmother Sophia was a lovely lady in her late sixties, fashionable and gracious and more than willing to talk about family secrets and rumors. Since Daisy's mother had already discussed the story with her, Daisy's grandmother had pulled out all the family albums, letters, etc. that had been passed down to her husband through the years, anticipating Daisy's visit.
Daisy so wished that her grandfather was alive to tell what he knew but for now they would have to rely on what information was contained in old photos, letters, papers and family members.
      They spent hours going over everything Sophia had in her archives which gave them some interesting information. Sophia had birth certificates from years gone by and her husbands mother had even more information in the old family Bible. They looked and looked until their yes hurt and daisy was about to give up when she saw the name, it was the name of her great-great-great grandfather, Robert Alexander Neilson. Daisy almost fell off her chair. "Look, mom, it's him, he is the soldier and he is the man."
     It seems that Robert Alexander Neilson did have a way with the ladies. Daisy's great grandmother, Elizabeth had more letters and dates in all the papers she had kept, she even had a few letters from Alex, telling the story that no one wanted to believe.
     The story as told by Alex, was, that he had rented the villa (the same one that Daisy now lived in) with a military buddy and lived there off base during his duty in Calabria. He had been assigned to escort duty for the Countess Victoria Francesca Castalina and the two of them had fell in love and had used the villa as a meeting place for the entire month she had been in Calabria. She had given him the ring as a token of her love before they parted but the chain she had placed it on had broken and he had lost it but had no idea where. He left Italy without ever finding it and only had his memories to console him for the remainder of his life. Although he came to America he had left his heart in Calabria.
     The family had always gotten a kick from hearing the story, they all had their doubts that the story was true, but now with all the evidence there was no denying that alexander had been telling the truth all along. Daisy was so fascinated listening to her grandmothers tell the story that she didn't want them to stop talking, she was ecstatic that she had now found the missing pieces to her puzzle and putting it altogether they now had a picture of what happened to their ancestor many years ago. Daisy was shocked that the mystery of the ring had come full circle and a member of her family was the center of it all.
    Later that evening Daisy and her family went to visit her great-great grandmother Anna who was over one hundred years old living in a nursing facility with her memories. She was a delightful lady, still feisty and full of life. She was in a wheelchair and had lost her sight some years ago but her spirits were good and she loved to talk and enjoyed her visitors. They spent about an hour listening to her recollection, what she had of the famous affair. She was excited to have this chance to reminisce about her life and what she remembered of Robert Alexander. By the end of the hour, Anna was exhausted and had to be put to bed, Daisy gave her a kiss and made her exit quietly realizing that this was probably the last time she would ever see her.
     With the mystery of the ring solved, Daisy had accomplished her goal for coming to America. Leslie and she would spend their last few days with their families for the holiday and fly back Monday morning, Daisy had to report back to work Tuesday and she needed time to touch base with tory, whom she missed miserably. It had been a god and productive visit and both of them were glad they had made the trip but were also glad to be going home.

From These Walls

Granny here,

Just wanted to write a little about the fun I've been having lately having a yard sale right from my living room couch thanks to the local yard sale page here in the city where I live. I'm sure that most cities have one going and it can prove to be profitable as well as giving the opportunity to meet new people.

I have been busy listing all the extra items that my mother and I have accumulated over the years, things we have made in our many hours of crafting and just stuff in general. So far we have generated extra money to the tune of around $700.00, not to bad for a few postings on the web site and a few trips to a local parking lot to make the exchange.

I've met some nice ladies in this process and I hope they feel the same. I have been able to supply a few things that they were looking for and they have been able to take them off my hands, kudos for everyone.

This is a great idea but there are drawbacks, there are those that post comments that are rude, people who have a personal conflict going on with another person on there, those that will promise to buy but never do and those that never show up while you're waiting in the designated meeting place. There are always those rude participators who try to kill it for the rest of us but you just have to take it in stride and keep on going.

For the most part everyone has proven to be on the up and up and have come through with their end of the bargain but there have been some disappointments. But for a pasttime that has it's benefits the downside is worth it and we can hope that it gets better as we go along. So for now I will keep posting and hope that customers keep coming and my mad money stash will take me on a vacation before summer is over.

Granny here, just saying!