{"id":404,"date":"2010-07-04T13:50:26","date_gmt":"2010-07-04T21:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=404"},"modified":"2012-06-29T20:46:37","modified_gmt":"2012-06-30T03:46:37","slug":"fireworks-spectacular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/fireworks-spectacular\/","title":{"rendered":"Fireworks Spectacular"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As the muppets conclude Week 32, Gramma J and Grandpa Stavo are kicking off their 32nd<\/sup> year of marriage. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!<\/p>\n

America, the great melting pot, has long been populated by immigrants. Most of us know the story of nervous and scared poor Europeans making the long journey across the Atlantic on a steamship \u2013 dreaming about success in the land of opportunity. Grandpa Stavo is just such an immigrant. But he did things\u2026differently.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Grandpa Stavo comes from a humble Italian background but he certainly wasn\u2019t huddling against the bow of a ship wondering what was to come. Instead he came to this great nation via cruise ship. He didn\u2019t see Lady Liberty welcoming the tired, poor and huddled masses. He arrived in Miami, via the Bahamas, seeing liberated ladies of the 1970s partying the night away.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Grandpa Stavo spent his twenties as the matradee on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Song of Norway. He flirted and schmoozed his way around the world in five languages. When plans to become a nightclub proprietor in the Bahamas fell through, becoming a success in the U.S. was the next logical step.<\/p>\n

So what is a guy who has spent years working in a flush cash-only environment to do as he plans the next steps of his future from a beach in southern Florida? Well the obvious of course. Open a wine and cheese boutique shop in the San Fernando Valley of southern California \u2013 the perfect way to settle in America \u201cfor persons who want to be granted immigrant status in the United States for the purpose of engaging in a new commercial enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So he did. He and his fellow cruise line employee, Mario, abandoned ship and opened \u201cTwo Gentleman from Verona,\u201d (clever isn\u2019t it) selling gourmet cheeses and wines to oenophiles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Meanwhile, back at the ranch (style suburban house), Gramma J and her friend Mary had just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise. Gramma J had a tan and Mary had a crush on Mario. So off they went to the mall to find a wine and cheese shop. While Mary went in search of Mario, Grandpa Stavo introduced himself to Gramma J and started to get his own flirt on.<\/p>\n

Ever the suave Italian, Grandpa Stavo casually asked if Gramma J wanted to go out that night. \u201cHow about my place?\u201d After Gramma J indignantly explained she was not that kind of girl, Grandpa Stavo explained that My Place was the restaurant across the way from his shop.<\/p>\n

On Independence Day, July 4, 1978, the two exchanged vows. I\u2019m not sure if Mary ever got a date with Mario.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So boys, you come from a well-loved and determined family. We know you\u2019ll be just as successful as you grow up. But when you start meeting girls, try to use a better pickup line.<\/p>\n

Happy Fourth of July! May all your fireworks be a celebration today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Search<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Destroy<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the muppets conclude Week 32, Gramma J and Grandpa Stavo are kicking off their 32nd year of marriage. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! America, the great melting pot, has long been populated by immigrants. Most of us know the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5,15],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-6w","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3817,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/stop-wine-with-the-septuagenarian-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":0},"title":"Stop Wine with the Septuagenarian","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"PapaStavo turned 70 over the weekend. In 1944, $1 was the equivalent of $12.43 today. Europe was in the throws of World War II. But in a small abode precariously situated in the province of Verona, Italy, a boy was born. So I packed up the boys and headed south\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_4067-e1395785853720-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":573,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/third-generation\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":1},"title":"Third Generation","date":"August 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is the muppets three-month birthday. To celebrate, I picked up my dad from the airport this morning so he could meet the muppets (really just a coincidence). GrampaTavo\u2019s moniker is a play on the name his nephew used many years ago. When he couldn\u2019t pronounce the mouthful \u201cGustavo,\u201d he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/08\/logan_grampastavo_18-28-10.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":990,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/a-bloody-birthday-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":2},"title":"A Bloody Birthday Cake","date":"December 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Grandpa Gary\u2019s birthday is the day after Christmas. This year, that also happened to be the day of our fancy family dinner. I set out our fine china \u2013 complete with wine and water goblets. The table was lined with the linen tablecloth and cloth napkins we received for our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/12\/christmas-2010_murdercake_12-26-10-e1293571010716.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2841,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/pig-pen-and-the-flying-leap\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":3},"title":"Pig Pen and the Flying Leap","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Felix Baumgartner leapt from space today. Destroy was impressed. Grandpa texted, \u201cWe\u2019d love to have you and the boys come over to pick pumpkins.\u201d These events are related. Aww\u2026we\u2019d love to! I was impressed that they\u2019d successfully cultivated pumpkins in their backyard. I had visions of my little muppets hugging\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Destroy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Pig-Pen.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/are-you-my-grandmother\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":4},"title":"Are You My (grand)Mother?","date":"April 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I never had much difficulty identifying my grandparents. I only had one grandfather. He lived in Southern California, so he was Grandpa. His wife, my mother\u2019s mother, is Grandma. My father\u2019s mother still lives in Italy; she is Nonna. My mother recently decided she wasn\u2019t a fan of how \u201cGrandma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Names"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4173,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-story-of-santa\/","url_meta":{"origin":404,"position":5},"title":"The Story of Santa","date":"December 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Tis the season. And so the muppets explained the story of the Fat Man to me. Search: Did you tell Santa about our new address so he\u2019ll bring the presents we talked to him about? Destroy: Santa only brings presents to nice boys. You can\u2019t have to sit by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}