Mary Teresa Byrnes Clemenz - Happy 25th Birthday, Mommy! :)

Mary Teresa Byrnes Clemenz - Happy 25th Birthday, Mommy! :)

Mary Teresa Byrnes Clemenz

My Mom passed away when I was 13 years-old. We had been out to eat at the Villa Paul Restaurant in our hometown, Hampton Bays, NY. She was insisting that she wanted to get home right away and once she got back into her kitchen, she collapsed and had a heart attack and died on her kitchen floor.

My Mom spent most of her time in the kitchen, so now that I'm older, I can rationalize that she died in a place where she loved to be. It took a few years of psychotherapy for me to see her death in a sort of poetic way.

My Mom was born in Queens, NY (Middle Village). Mary Teresa Byrnes. Her Mom was Mary Dempsey and her Grandmother was "Nellie Nolan." No, that is pretty Irish and that aint no blarney!

My Mom's Dad, Robert ran a "Speak Easy" in Manhattan during Prohibition, so I'm sort of kinda from a "Gangsta" family on my Mom's side. Lots of stories to tell about all that and I'm tying to get it all down and finally finish the book I've been trying to write for years.

In honor of my Mom, I'm sending a Marian ("Mary") Medal with each order received today. I'll put a little note about my Mom in each order sent out. I won't run out of material to write about, I seem to have a memory that's like a "steel trap" with memories about my Mom.

So, Happy Birthday Mommy! You always told me I was "gonna be somebody." And guess what? I am somebody, just like everyone else! Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mom. I'm celebrating you on earth today. "I love you with all my heart!" xo Robert

(With thanks and humble gratitude to Theresa and Gail Francolini, who woke me up with their text message, remembering my Mom's Leap Year Birthday, today!)

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