A Father's Day e-card for my dad, who's life is, and always has been, more inspiring and amazing than most of us could ever imagine!
My father, Philip Vito Festoso - AKA Sam, was born August 28th, 1933 in Chicago - Cabrini Green to be exact - which, back then, was heavily populated with Italian immigrants.
His mother, Margaret (my own daughter is named after her) was born in 1894 in Denton, Texas.
Being the independent, free-spirited girl that she was, though, she took off to Hollywood to make it as a movie star. One silent movie later (Cleopatra?) she headed to Chicago via New York, and proclaimed from that point on she was "from New York."
His father, Umberto, was an orphaned immigrant from Sicily. He was certainly not a constant in my father's life, but what little parenting he did provide was certainly more than he received as an indentured servant in Italy.
So my father and his mom struggled to make ends meet during the great depression in the inner city of Chicago. This is my father at five years old:
He and my mom, who grew up in WWII and post WWII Europe, like to playfully argue about who was poorer. Every time my mom sees this picture she laughs and says, "at least you had a bike. I never had a bike."
Not many years after this picture was taken, before my father even turned ten, he got his first job - at Wrigley Field. He cleaned up programs after Cub games for pennies. To this day you won't find a bigger Cub fan.
These are his childhood friends:
Some of whom he still keeps in touch with, and others who have passed on. They don't know my father as Philip, though. They know him as Sam. You see, my dad had no idea his real name was Philip until he started middle school. On the first day of school, when the teacher called out Philip Festoso, he told her she had the wrong name. It wasn't until he got home that afternoon, and told his mother about it, that she said something to the effect of, "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that."
So he finished high school and, though I'm pretty sure he had never even met a college graduate, my father decided to go to college - and somehow convinced his buddies to join him. These are his buddies:
No doubt troublemakers
Well, being the man he is, not only did my father finish college, but he then went on to serve in the Navy aboard the destroyer USS Savage for two years. Upon returning from sea he started law school at night while working during the day.
That's when he met this girl:
"A distraction," said the law school dean. "Wait until you've graduated before getting married."
This is three months before they got married - or should I say three months after they met ;)
Not to worry - he graduated from law school and got the girl. That was 55 years ago - and they said it wouldn't last!
Then this happened:
And then this:
And after a whirlwind of cub scouts, girl scouts, t-ball, baseball, basketball, college tuitions, graduate school tuitions, weddings, and grandchildren - he's still the same dad I've always known!
With his wife of 55 years and 12 grandchildren
Against all odds he has remained a devoted husband, a loving and nurturing father, a proud grandfather, a successful entrepreneur, and a constant inspiration in my life. And of all the amazing memories I have of my father, there is one that will forever stand out - a young girl sitting on her father's lap, listening to him tell her, "you can do anything you want in life. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
I'm sure it's a line many fathers tell their daughters, but the older I get, and the more I understand what he overcame, the more significant his words have become.
I love you, Dad
Happy Father's Day
