I have always been obsessed with leaving some kind of legacy, some kind of indication that I was here.  The great American novel? Cure for cancer? New App for the IPhone?  I think it’s safe to say that the ship may have sailed on those great endeavors for most of us. So the question is how do we achieve some sort of immortality? What will we be remembered for? What will be our legacy?

My oldest friend, Marianne,  (the friend I would choose for one of my sisters, if I had a say in it) recently lost her Dad, and she has been grieving for him.  It got me thinking — traditions that are passed down from generation to generation may be the only real way to immortality —  we will always be remembered at least in the minds of our loved ones whenever they carried out the traditions we passed down to them.  Maybe that has to be enough.  So on Easter Saturday we decided to honor her Dad — Frank E. Loscalzo (“Frankie” to those who knew him best)– by keeping his tradition of making Easter Pie.

My daughter, Lindsay, and I  were greeted by the sounds of Italian music.  The counters were laden with mozzarella, dry Italian sausage, spicy cappicola, provolone, hard-boiled eggs, and ricotta cheese. A heart attack waiting to happen?– Maybe, but we were making future memories while holding fast to the past.

Marianne, Lindsay, Lynn and I got down to it.  We made dough and layered all the ingredients into our Easter pie.  We followed Frankie’s recipe and soon the kitchen was filled with the unforgettable delicious  scent of Italy and Easter Saturday’s past.  We toasted ourselves and the memory of Frankie with good wine, lots of laughs, and hugs and kisses all around. Salute!

I leave you with this thought — “If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality.” — Norman Cousins–    In loving memory of “Frankie” — You are missed, you were loved, and you were here!