Dad's favourite motto was "I came into this world with nothing, and I'll leave with less" I think over the years he may have got that wrong.
Having spoken to most of you here, I'm comforted by the fact that he touched so many people's lives, and has so many friends. It's been hard to try and make a list of just 30 people when you realise how many people he kept in contact with throughout his life.
Growing up, dad was away a lot with work. I remember running down the train platform for as long as I could waving, his wave never fading, and as I got older, the running may have stopped, but that wave never did. I had daily phone calls from him, it sometimes just seemed like he was going through the motions, we'd have similar conversations every day, but when he rang, everything stopped, that call was important, even if it wasn't.
Dad always made sure I had anything I wanted, well, as long as it wasn't expensive, and he could share it! The Super Nintendo for my 8th birthday would see me coming home from school, the two of us playing Super Mario till my bedtime, waking up the following morning and playing on until school, only for me to come home again to my dad, not having moved, and progressed through the next few levels. We shared that similarity with computers, even though it annoyed him how long I was in front of a screen!
He was a strong proud man, he was Italy through and through. He was stubborn, he got angry, he was mental, he was caring... Just don't touch that nose! He had an obsession with slippers! You weren't able to walk around the house barefoot without catching a cold! He was sentimental though, nothing proved that more than on my 18th birthday when he presented to me locks from my first ever hair cut, then with a beaming smile, swiftly followed by all of my teeth lost over the years! Which he obviously bought back from the tooth fairy! Imagine my reaction to that!
Dad always wanted to build his own house, he was never one to shy away from work, he regularly "made plans" which we knew would mean a lot of Italian/Dialect/English swearing when things went wrong, which they regularly did. I remember a hole being punched in the bathroom wall when the final piece would not just fit right! I think that's why mam allowed him to have his man cave, complete with balcony, and plans in the works for an extension, either upstairs or out!
It's been nice looking through his beloved man cave over the past few days, it's just a constant reminder of him, the car collection he started then grew bored with, his fathers day and birthday cards from over the years, family photos and his Bob Marley regalia, there's even a Father's Day trophy I bought for him over 20 years ago, you start to realise just how much everything he was given meant to him.
I recently spoke to him about how I'd have loved to have recorded the phone call I made to him on the morning Enzo was born, his reaction on the other end of the phone brought me such happiness, a boy to carry on the family name! Despite Enzo carrying on the name, I know that Nonno loved all of his grandchildren very much.
I only ever wanted to make him proud, he was my hero and I hope in the time we had together I've managed to do that.
He battled his illness as well as he could, and I remember telling him how proud I was of his fight. His appearance may have changed, but he never did, he was still dad, he was still my hero, battling as bravely, and as strongly as he could, against something he knew he could not beat.
You're at peace now Papa Bear, no more pain, you will never be forgotten, we'll all make sure of that.
Ti amero per sempre, Trot.
Nico
11th April 2021