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A few weeks back, my friends and I embarked on a little Providence history tour: Crimes and Cuisine on Federal Hill presented by Providence Tour Company! I am a newbie to the Ocean State - I moved here five years ago. One of the things that caught my attention when I was researching where to move back in 2018 after 20+ years in the Pacific Northwest, was the plethora of history found in this part of New England.
And, we didn't even get to Federal Hill! That's where the Crimes and Cuisine comes in to share some of the stories of a few of the interesting characters from days gone by on The Hill. My friends, Melissa and Jenny, joined me and others on a walking tour that included some fascinating tidbits of history about Raymon Patriarca, Sr. In the mid-fifties, he was the newly appointed boss of the New England Faction of La Cosa Nostra (Now known as the Patriarca Crime Family), and he moved the family's base of operations from Boston to Atwells Avenue. He ran the 'business' from 1954 until 1984 from the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business. It was known to family members as "The Office". We also enjoyed several stops along the way to enjoy world-famous Italian cuisine in Providence's Little Italy. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about my new home town and also spotlight some of the Creative Capital's colorful history to out-of-town visitors. If you have family coming for a visit for vacation, or for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays, check out this tour for their visit. Providence Tour Company offers it on Saturdays through November. Learn more about Crimes and Cuisine on Federal Hill by visiting PVDTourCo.com. They also offer tour for folks who are new to Providence!
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So, I got this idea to be The Adventure Broad about a year ago when I was in Scotland visiting my daughter who goes to school there. And I had this ‘a ha!” moment: I am going to be 60 years old very soon. And I started thinking about it. I thought, wow, I most likely have about maybe 20 good years left. I mean, think about it, in 20 years I will be 80 years old. Now I hope as an 80-year-old, I'm still traveling around the world and having a hell of a good time. But I know as we get older, our body starts to fail and health issues come up. As matter of fact, I know one friend who is in her 80s and she's pretty much chair bound. Whereas I know that another gal who is in her 80s, and she travels the world. So, I'm hoping I'm more like her when I'm 80. But in any event, when I put it in the context of I only have a couple of decades left, I didn't do so with the feeling that, “oh, no, life is ending too quickly” but putting some context around what I want to do with the rest of my life. And I decided that I want to live my best life. As we all want to do, right? Well, I am determined to do so. So, I'm traveling. I am working on a film. I'm working on a book. I'm a business owner. I'm an actor. These are a few of things that have come into being over the past couple of years. I want to share some insights that, perhaps, might inspire other women ‘of a certain age’ to live the biggest life possible one small adventure at a time, perhaps inspire you to tap back into some long-lost dreams that you might have had. Now, I know we don't all take the same journey. But I know that many of us struggle with trying to reconnect with a dream, that little voice inside of us that gets buried under all the obligations, all the life experiences. Maybe you chose a path to get married and become a mother and have children. And in many cases, when that journey is pursued, we put a lot of other people's needs in front of our own. Years go by, the kids leave, perhaps you get divorced, your partner passes away, and you can't even hear that voice anymore. I'm hoping this blog will help you reconnect with that long-lost voice so you can reconnect with your inner dream, that voice to help motivate you to reclaim that journey. Just today, I had this wonderful moment, and I want to share it with you. I was visiting with a friend of mine who lives nearby, and she owns this beautiful property that sits on the edge of a lake. And I was staying in the one apartment which was right on the edge of the water. We were expecting Hurricane Lee to come through and fortunately it pretty much stayed out to sea. But we did get some residual weather from it. Namely, a little bit of drizzle and a little bit of wind -nothing too dramatic. But I woke up this morning to the sound of rain and the sound of wind - it was so peaceful. Just to get up and go to the window and hear the rain hitting the water. Hearing the wind rustle through the trees. As I was standing there enjoying this moment, taking it all in, I noticed a family of swans were heading in my direction. They got close enough to the shore, which is about 20 feet away from the house. And just being in that moment with nature was both so invigorating, yet calming. I made my coffee, a cappuccino, and I sat down and I turned on the electric fireplace for ambiance while I journaled, which I do every day. And I had to stop at some point, because I was filled with this feeling of gratitude but that wasn't quite the word. I paused to consider what it was that I was experiencing. Well, it was contentment. And I'll have to admit, I don't recognize moments of contentment very frequently. I'm always moving, doing something. There's never this moment of pausing, and being content in the moment that I'm in. I savored that moment of contentment – it brought a smile to my face, to my heart, that I could be in that moment of feeling happy, safe, healthy, enjoying the solitude in nature, right outside the window, in this comfort, just joyful. I decided that I'm going to make a point of being in that space more frequently. As a matter of fact, as I prepared to head home after such a lovely time, I have a lot of things I should do but I decided that the day would be about making my art. The day would be about creating something. I came home and recorded a video of the first episode of my BroadBand the Podcast Redux. I made a podcast and this blog from that recording, too. I hope that perhaps you feel inspired to pause for a moment – actually, I challenge you to pause for a moment and ask yourself if you are feeling contentment. And if not, ask yourself, what do you need in order to feel it and pursue it I hope you're inspired, even a little bit, to live a big life one small adventure at a time because there is no time to waste even if you have another 40, 50, or 60 years to live.   |
AuthorLet's create a BIG life one small adventure at a time! Here are a few of my experiences - perhaps you may find a little nugget or two that inspires you to take your own baby step to living your dreams! Archives
December 2024
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