Our story (a sampling of what to expect in the Premier Memebership version)

by Frank Scozzari Adamo

 

How we met

Celly (Araceli Reyes Feraren) and I met in an unemployment office one day in 1970. The office was in downtown Los Angels at 610 South Broadway. Celly had returned from the Philippines and was looking for a position as a chemist. If I recall correctly, she had already been called in to the interviewer's office.  I had attended UC Santa Barbara to seek a PhD, but that really wasn't for me. So I had returned to Los Angeles to look for a position. was the only other person in the waiting area who was seeking position as a chemist; consequently, hes asked me to join them. Aparently, he decided to kill two birds with one stone.

 

After a few minutes, he left the room. I don't recall who began the conversation first; however, knowing me at the time, I'm certain Celly had to have started the conversation. I was rather shy and not too talkative.  I don't exactly recall how I asked for Celly's address and phone number, though she said that I had told her there were always teaching assistant positions at UC Santa Barbara. If that's what I said, it had to be a come on.  You need to be a student to be a teaching assistant.

 

In any event, I got her address and phone number that day. If I hadn't, my entire life would have been so much different--and quiter, particularly in our later years. You see, I came back the next day expecting to see her, but she never returned--a potential missed chance. Instead, she decided to interview for an accounting position at Pacific Bell.

 

On the way back home, I decided to drive by where she was staying. I then went to find a payphone (there was no such thing as cell phones back then).  I mentioned I was in the area and if I could drop by.  Again, how I got the nerve to call, I'm not sure, but I did.

 

Well, Celly apparently thought "nearby" meant 20 to 30 minutes away. In reality, I was--nearby, i.e. within 5 minutes away.  I came over. She was staying with Eny, her classmate. They invited me to dinner which included dried fish and plastic spaghetti. I also remembered that Celly was in shorts and a flowery blouse.

 

That's how it all started

 

How and why I proposed

I really hadn't planned to propose to Celly; however, I had applied for a chemist position in Columbia, SC with General Electric. I spent two full days there and fell in love with the area and the potential position. The interviewer took me around the city and the countryside. He took me to the nearby lake where we had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the lake. It was Mayberry USA from the Andy Griffith show; tranquil, nature flourishing, and a place to enjoy fishing once again.

 

After returning back from SC and expecting I would hire for the position in SC, I picked Celly up and took her to Echo Park, a park we had frequented. Unbeknowst to us that the park was not a safe environment at night.  There, while setting on a park bench, oblivious to any potential danger to our safety, I decided to ask Celly if she would marry me and if she would be willing to move to SC with me.  Many days went by as I waited for an answer about the position. Finally, the interviewer recommended that I accept the offer I had in Los Angeles. Though the position was still available, the interviewer felt that position would not be stable.

 

After accepting the position in Los Angeles, I began to wonder why I proposed so soon :). Regardless, we were married about a year and a half later.

 

Our Wedding Day

Something special and unique happened on our wedding day. Now, we held our wedding at St. Basil's Caholi Church where the Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.resided. In all the time Celly and I had attended Sunday services there, we never had seen Cardinal McIntire. After the wedding, we were taking photos on the balcony when suddenly Cardinal McIntire appeared; the first time in a year and a half to two years. Almost immediately Celly, I think, asked Cardinal McIntire to bless our marriage--and he did.

 

Now, you would think that being blessed by a Cardinal, 2nd only to the Pope and 3rd only to Christ, and such a rarity would have meant that we would have had a tranquil marriage for life.

 

Au contraire. Sure enough, we had a fairly tranquil marriage and our marriage today is quite good; there there was period of several years our marriage and family relationships were quite rocky. I've come to realize that being blessed by a Cardinal does not quarantee a blissed marriage. Rather it signifies that we will have the strength to overcome the trials and tribulations that will surely come in our lives.