Family Storytelling Tradition With Papa Fiore

If you are following along with my family stories, I recently shared about how I helped Matthew and Michael start small businesses while they were in high school in a 2-part series (Part 1 and Part 2).

Papa with Emma, Michael, and Matthew on a hike, October 2009.

I share all this as a backdrop to my next topic, which is my dad, or as the kids call him, Papa. I have shared a few mentions of him in my stories, most recently, about our trip to California last week and the connection to us buying the most comfortable bed.

During this visit, I was sharing with my dad some additional details about this website and his interest to learn more. On the plane ride home, I came up with the idea that he could be a guest writer on the site. My dad is a great storyteller, though it is sometimes hard to determine where the real story ends and the exaggeration begins. I also think that each time my dad tells a story, they have gotten a bit more exaggerated, always keeping us wondering how real or how imaginary his stories are.

As I was pondering what angle I could have him share his stories, nestled in the Rooted & Refined Living lifestyle section, I initially thought his 60 and 70-year-old friendships that started in high school and college respectively could be a great starting point.

The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: 

"Don't worry about accuracy. Preserving family history through storytelling can be a great way to pass on memories and feelings of nostalgia to future generations."

We bounced around a few ideas and within a few days, my dad shared his first story, and true to form, he wrote about an imaginary person that was born from real life events of his childhood. My kids heard these stories all the time and now they will be chronicled as a part of this website as my dad shares his stories growing up in Staten Island through his friendships today that have lasted 60 and 70 years.

With no additional introduction, here is my dad's first story. There will be more to come. One last thing. My dad writes all of his stories on yellow legal pads and then takes pictures. I then use AI to convert it to text which is a huge time saver for both of us.

Papa's handwritten notes. He also writes in all caps as you can see. I used Google Gemini to translate this photo to the text below.

Papa's Introductory Story

Hi, my name is Tony Fiore. I am Steve's Dad and I live in Orange County, California. Steve lives in a small town west of Boston. He recently came to visit me and enjoy some sunshine after enduring some very cold periods in the Northeast.

His web site, Rooted & Refined Living, is doing very well and he asked if I would like to contribute some articles based on my life experiences. I agreed and this will be my first contribution.

Steve and his wife Marybeth have 3 children... Matthew 23, a recent Bryant grad and currently employed in Human Resources. Michael, 21, a senior at Keene State College and Emma, 19, a sophomore at University of Connecticut.

About 15 years ago, I was visiting Steve on a cold January day and the kids who were 6, 4 and 2 wanted me to tell them a story. So I made up a story about a young boy named Little Johnny. I introduce other characters who interacted with Little Johnny such as George, the school bully, and Mrs. McCarthy, his teacher.

The stories became so popular with the kids that when I finished one they wanted another.

I got a kick out of how much laughter they got out of these made up characters and stories. Little Johnny was always in trouble but somehow figured a way to come out on top at the end of the story.

Then, on a cold wintery day as I was nearing the end of my visit, Marybeth said Matthew would like you to walk him to the school bus stop. I said sure and bundled myself up for the walk to the bus stop with little Matthew who was in first grade back then.

When we got to the bus stop there were about 10 moms and dads and their sons and daughters waiting for the bus to arrive. I exchanged a few hellos and stood in line for the bus. At that moment Matthew in a clear, loud voice says "Papa (that was my grandfather name), my mom says 'All your friends are imaginary'."

Everything went silent and I could see moms and dads yanking their kids hands and pulling them away from me. I'm thinking, OMG what must they be thinking? Should I try to explain that I have real friends? How the heck does a 6 year old know the word imaginary? When the heck is this bus coming?

So I did nothing – just stood there looking guilty waiting what seemed like an eternity for the bus.

Here is a visit to Lake Mead on our trip to Las Vegas. We flew out and my dad drove to meet us.

Then, the bus came and as Matthew was boarding he said "Papa are you going to pick me up when I get out of school?". Before I could answer some woman with a scowl on her face says "I hope not".

I'm sure those parents had a good chuckle at my expense.

Anyway, that's my first contribution. I have a few others and maybe some of my imaginary friends will pop up.

Do you have a funny story that your parents or grandparents tell over Sunday dinners? If so, please share in the comments section below.