FOR MAMA on her birthday:
FIREWORK by Katy Perry -- Mama, I chose this video as the first in your collection because I know how much you love the song, and because I thought that it evokes today's date as the 4th of the month, even though the month Katy Perry sings about is July, instead of September! I also liked how the video is one big celebration with, of course, fireworks -- which is fitting for your special day :) Finally, the scenes of the young girl stuck in the hospital room remind me of the many times you stayed with me during my numerous hospitalizations as a child, which I am very grateful for.
FLOWER BOUQUET AT CATHEDRAL in Bath, England -- Mama, this photograph of a bouquet of mostly pink and purple (our favorite colors) flowers, or "fiori" (evoking our Italian family name), in Bath's main Cathedral seems like another perfect celebratory tribute for your glorious day! I wish I could bring you such a bouquet of flowers myself :) <3
MAD MEN SEASON 4, EPISODE 7 "THE SUITCASE": DON LECTURES PEGGY -- Mama, I include this brilliant scene from my favorite episode of Mad Men in your birthday collection because Peggy Olsen's character, and the way she interacts with her mentor, Don Draper, here seems to be so similiar to how you were as a young woman, and how you developed your relationship with Daddy, who was also a mentor for you. I also know how much you love this show, particularly the connection it gives you to the revolutionary era of the 60's which remains so poignant for you.
MACHIAVELLI KITCHEN & DINING ROOM SHOPS in London, England -- Mama, when I walked past these "Machiavelli" Kitchen and Dining Room Shops near Covenant Garden during the London tour, I knew I had to photograph them for you!! I thought of the many times you have recounted the painstainking 10 years you spent writing your book on Niccolo Machiavelli, which you were still working on while you were pregnant and laid up in bed with Jennie and me! Maybe one day, you can visit these shops in London and tell the clerk that you are a reknowned Machiavelli scholar. I imagine the clerk would then give you all the kitchen and dining ware you want for free! :)
MAMA & ME (AS A BABY) HAVING A LAUGH -- Mama, we look so very blissful together in this photograph, don't we? Another perfect sentiment for your special day...
SECOND CHANCE by Shinedown -- Mama, this is the second favorite song that we share. I know how much you admire Brent Smith (the lead singer's) crystal clear voice, and I thought that the story of the video fit this day because it is about second chances. The video is also about a young girl mustering the courage and the "one and only voice" to become independent of her parents and fulfill her highest aspirations in life. I think that is something we can both closely relate to on many levels :)
LINK TO "SECOND CHANCE" Video with Improved Audio --
THE THREE MUSKATEERS AT CHRISTMAS -- Mama, looking at this photograph of the three of us at Christmas makes me smile, and I hope it will make you smile on your birthday, too! Again, we look so "incadescently happy", as Jane Austen would say :)
SHATTERED by O.A.R (Of A Revolution) -- Mama, here is the third song we both never seem to tire of! I remember you telling me about an interview you heard on the radio with the lead singer and how he is so close with his mother, and attributes his success to her. I like how this song takes the Shinedown song one step further, and says that although "goodbye" might be a "second chance", it's "always back to you."
Youtube Link to Shattered Music Video
CHRISTMAS WITH BEN -- Mama, I thought you would appreciate a memory of the three of us together with the (relatively new) addition to the Fiore family: BEN!! Isn't he such a good and beautiful sheltie??
For DADDY on this 20th Anniversary of his Death:
LA VITA E BELLA (LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL) directed by and starring Roberto Benigni -- Daddy would have loved this Academy Award winning 1997 film about how a father uses the power of his imagination to protect the innocence of his young son during the Holocaust of World War 2. The gorgeous musical score and its brilliant juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy adds to the film's enduring spirit of hope against all odds -- something daddy would have closely felt and understood having lived through that period in Italy. I imagine daddy exclaiming "Bonjourno, Princepessa" and "Abbiamo Vinto!" with Roberto and the young boy after watching the film.
TRAILER:
CLIP: "BONJOURNO, PRINCEPESSA!"
SALOME/JUDITH WITH THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST by Titiano -- As a Roman Catholic and lover of the arts, Daddy would have appreciated this postcard depicting Titiano's famous painting which we got at Rome's (his home city where he grew up) Galleria Doria Pamphilie when we visited several years ago. I wish I could send the postcard to him in heaven! <3
ROMAN BATHS in Bath, England -- I also wish Daddy could have been with me when I took these photographs of the Roman Baths in the city of Bath! Even though this wasn't in his city, he would have appreciated the history of Rome present in another country.
127 HOURS directed by Danny Boyle and starring James Franco (based on the memoir BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE by Aron Ralston) -- The young adventurer, Aron Ralston, as well as the actor, James Franco, who portrays him in the Academy Award nominated film based on Ralston's memoir, both remind me of Daddy as a young man for different reasons.
The young Daddy would have shared Aron's passion for the mountains, and, had they ever met, they would have had a great conversation about mountain sports, and the 10th Mountain Division, who according to p. 152 of Aron's memoir, "are named for infamous battle of Riva Ridge in Italy" which is where my father lived as a young man! Daddy would have also strongly empathized with Aron's near death experience in Blue John Canyon in 2003 since Daddy had a similiar near death experience as a young man when he fell through the ice while skating on a lake with some of his friends in the Swiss Alps. And he would have liked the medical aspects of the Aron's story as portrayed both in the memoir and in the film, since he originally was studying to be a doctor before his accident on the ice!
The conversations between Daddy and James Franco would have been just as lively, but would have centered around their mutual scholarly interests as professors (Mr. Franco is going to many schools in order to become one!) and literature enthusiasts! I imagine Daddy would have taught James Italian :) The pivotal scene when Aron envisions his future son would have resonated strongly with Daddy since little did he know as an adventurous youth in Italy that he would come to America, get married, and have twin girls later in life!!
TRAILER
CLIP LINK: ARON'S VISION OF FUTURE SON
"Color bursts in my mind, and then I walk through the canyon wall on my own this time, stepping into a living room. A blond three year old boy in a red polo shirt comes running across a sunlit hardwood floor in what I somehow know is my future home. By the same intuitive perception, I know the boy is my own. I bend to scoop him into my left arm, using my handless right arm to balance him, and we laugh together as I swing him up to my shoulder...The boy happily perches on my right shoulder, holding my arms in his little hands while I steady him with my left hand and right stump. Smiling, I prance about the room, tiptoeing in and out of the sun dabbles on the oak floor, and he giggles gleefully as we twirl together. Then, with a shock, the vision blinks out. I'm back in the canyon, echoes of his joyful sounds resonating in my mind, creating a subconscious reassurance that I somehow will survive this entrapment. Despite having already come to accept that I will die before help arrives, now I believe I will live. That belief, that boy, changes everything for me."
--Aron Ralston, Between a Rock and Hard Place, pp. 290-291.
DADDY'S PASSPORT PHOTO -- Young Daddy looks so handsome and distinguished in this photograph for his passport to come to America. Although Daddy was born in Pittsburgh and had dual American & Italian citizenship, the passport officials got his name wrong -- they recorded his name MAFDI instead of MAFALDO, so he had to sign at the bottom under "Firma nel Titolare" using the name they gave him.
INCEPTION directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio -- I imagine Daddy's arrival in America to be echoed by the powerful ending scene of Inception when Leonardo DiCaprio's character supposedly wakes up from the dream, walks through the airport (accompanied by a brilliant musical score), and upon arriving home, is reunited with his two small children -- unsure whether he is still in the dream world or he is now in reality. But, his grip on reality doesn't matter anymore because he's able to see his children, which is his whole reason for the dream journey. I think Daddy would have been intrigued by the concept of this film and its striking conceptual similiarities and references to Dante's Inferno. He also would have been proud of Mr. DiCaprio, a fellow Italian.
TRAILER
CLIP: ENDING RETURN TO CHILDREN
DADDY WITH MAMA IN FLORIDA SHORTLY AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE -- Daddy looks so perfectly happy with Mama :) Talk about a "Second Chance"...
NEVER GONNA BE ALONE by Nickleback -- If I could send Daddy a video that shows how much I have missed him these 20 years, this would be it...
DADDY WITH HIS LITTLE PRINCEPESSA -- I could stare at this photograph of Daddy and me for years! A beautiful memory <3
