Vinnie

When I heard the news, I was sad. Very sad that an era had come to an end.

Vinnie Pellizzi -- a man who enjoyed life immensely -- lost his battle with cancer this week. The funeral is today, in Queens. His family and friends will be there. My father will be there. I will not, but my thoughts are with him today.

When I first met Vinnie and Marie I was about to get married. That was in 1980. To me, at that point in my life, anyone who older than 30 -- was old -- and I didn't really pay much attention to what they did or what they were like as people. Or for that matter, I didn't even think that they too were young once and had hopes and dreams.

But meeting Vinne and Marie changed all of that for me. Vinnie was the first adult that treated me like an adult. He spoke to me on the level, not down to me. Marie, of course is another entire discussion. I love Marie and I could speak volumes about her. But today -- it is all about Vinnie.

Vinnie could instantly make my bad moods melt away. He would put a smile on my face with his incredible sense of humor, his silly jokes and his warm hugs. His stories were always relevant and fascinating. Even if he was telling me about his mother -- who came from as Vinnie put it, "From the Old Country."

We always would have our discussions over food. Whether it was a hearty Italian meal in a fancy, schmancy restaurant in New York or our dining room in Lauderhill, it was fun to watch Vinnie eat. He relished meals. And Joel's cooking . . . he adored Joel's cooking.

Once the girls were born, Vinnie would immediately become a child around my girls. He would sit on the floor and play games with them. Tell them stories. Keep them occupied so that I may eat my dinner before it got cold!

However, when Vinnie wasn't feeling well, he didn't want to be seen or see us. I guess he just didn't want us to worry or perhaps he didn't want to be seen as less than what he was.

So we haven't seen much of Vinnie in the past five years. But when we did, no matter how badly he must have been feeling, he always would dress impecably to take us out to dinner and put on a fabulous smile.

I will miss Vinnie, our discussions, our laughter, his stories. These are the memories that I will always treasure of Vinnie.