Indiana Jones:By Frank Cornacchiulo
Our cousin Vincent "Fritzie" DuBrosa recently passed away at age ninety. We have heard many family stories about his life and traveling around the world. While we recall these memories about Vincent it sort of reminds me of “Indiana Jones” and his adventures. After all Vincent, as a teen of only sixteen years old left his family and join the Merchant Marines by lying about his age he signed up as an eighteen-year-old on the application and shipped out alone to only God knows where. According to the stories I heard from his family they lost touch with him for several years. except for an occasional post card, every now and then.
Vincent must have been twenty-one years old when he returned home from his travels as a Merchant Marine. He saved most of his income so he could live on his own and he settled down in his old Brooklyn neighborhood for a while, and he became reacquainted with some of his childhood friends. It wasn’t long before he left again for Asia for about a year or two. Much of my information comes from family stories and some personal experience. My girlfriend Frances and I, who are ten years younger than her cousin Vincent, we had also set a date for us get married in November of 1963. Meanwhile Vincent came back to the USA and met a Japanese businesswoman, living in the USA and they also planned to wed around the same time as we did. The three of us were sitting around one day chatting about our future plans with Vincent when out of the clear blue, told me that I should not wed an Italian girl. He went on to explain I should Marry an Asian gril because they treat their men like Kings. Frances loved her cousin, but that part of our conversation didn't sit well with her. Well, I married my beautiful Italian gril in spite of his comments as to whom I should marry.
Years went by and Frances became a teacher and I (worked as specialist in the cosmetic packaging industry) we settled in Bellport, New York with three children. Meanwhile Vincent, who worked in the NYC court system, he married the Asian Bussiness girl of his dreams, and they settled in Staten Island, New York. One night when I got home from work Frances tells me that she received a call from her cousin Vincent in China. As Luck would have it we learned that Vincent, was teaching English at the Univerity in Beijing and he suggested that she should meet him there and do the same for one year, He told her that it would be a wonderful experence. At a later time, I said to Vincent, that all our children are adults, married with children of their own and they all have successful careers. I went on to say that I work as a full time teacher and that I have a wonderful marriage. therefore, I will never leave my family and my teaching career to go to China. That was the end of that conversation.
As the years went by we lost touch with many people in our family including Vincent. One day our son Patrick told us that he is in he was in charge of taking a group of his people who are involed with promoting his company's Met-Rx food suplements for mucle building products, to a "Strong Man Competition" in China for three weeks. The group included several body builders, doctors, and product specialists, one of them had to drop out due to illness. So now there was an oportunity for his brother, Frank to join him, Frank agreed to do so. Meanwhile, Frances checked to see if cousin Vincent was still teaching in Beijing, China and he was still there. So she picked up the phone to call Vincent to tell him that our sons were scheduled to be in China soon and could he spend some time with them before the competition?
When Frances talked to Vincent he
was so happy to hear that our sons are going to China for several weeks. Vincent said I'm so excited to meet Patrick and Frankie here to show them aroud Beijing and introduce them to the Chinese friends I made over the years and the different food I eat. I willl take them to the Panda Zoo so that the can see and touch these beautiful animals in their envioronment. We can also walk together on the Chinese Wall as the Chinese people did thousands of years ago. I can't wait to see them. The trip turned out to be a once in a lifetime experince for our sons. Vincent was hoping they could stay longer but the had to leave to attend the Met-Rx strong man competition event and then return home. Well, nothing this good can last foever. As the years went by the Chinese goverment canceled Vincent Visa and he had to come home. He then settled in Brooklyn.
Vincent loved to sit in front of his appartment, smoke his cigar, sip his coffee, while talking to his neighbors and friends about his adventures. Vincent had the opportunity to move back to the old neighborhood and fortunately his nephew Louis Colombo, was totally deciated to his uncle, and Louis became his care giver. Louis took Vincent took him shopping for food, also made doctor appointments due to his failing health and made sure that his uncle Vincent was as comfortable as possible over the years.
Comments