Grandma Michele

            I was born on June 18, 1947.  I knew my road would be difficult, so I didn’t want to leave my mother’s womb.  I was in the fetal position, upside down, and they used forceps to turn me around pull me out.  Where the forceps touched me, I now have a beautiful red rose birth mark that reminds me of my mother.  Her name is Rose.  I cried fiercely, knowing what was in front of me and what was behind me.  It was going to be a journey, a roller coaster ride more complex than others, because I had made my promise to God that I would try to save the world again.

            At 19 years old, I opened my first business, a wig salon.  When I was 22 years old, I lost my business and my son and I became homeless.  To get to a better place, I reinvented myself and created a new business called 'Michele 71' in the year of 1971. I gave haircuts in offices in New York City for two summer months.  I made enough money to secure a home in Manhattan located at 333 66th Street. I worked three jobs, saved my money so that I was able to open up my first hair salon in Manhattan. I named it Bobby’s Mother’s Place.  After that, I opened three more salons.  Circumstances caused me to close two of them but the two other were sold.

            I met my second husband at Michele Haircutters located at 563 7th Avenue I was a single mother to my son for twelve years and looked forward to adding a husband and his two children to my family. We got married on June 18, 1979. Our marriage lasted exactly thirty years to the date.

            In 1982, I opened Michele’s Restaurant in Calicoon, NY. I also moved to Damascus, PA. I wrote a cookbook and created a sauce company, Michele’s Continental Sauces.  I created and manufactured six gourmet sauces which were featured on Food Network T.V. I also won a prestigious award for best product of the year in 1993, the Tiffany Crystal Award of the Eastern Dairy and Deli Association. This was my Emmy.

            In 2002, due to a family illness, I retired and moved to the active adult community of Pebble Creek, AZ. It was there that I learned to paint. I also reawakened my passion for dancing. I turned 60 on June 18th, 2007. It was then that I remembered my pledge to God. I wrote a book titled “All About My Time Now,” for my own catharsis.

            In 2009, I entered the Ms.Senior American Arizona Pageant, to do charity work for the Alzheimer’s Association There I discovered that I could work full-time and start my own foundation to fulfill my humanitarian dreams. On April 30, 2009, I moved back to Damascus, PA because I was offered a job as maître d’ at the seasonal Villa Roma Clubhouse Restaurant. I worked there for one season and was not rehired for their 2010 season I used it to my advantage to re-evaluate my options and decided to move forward.

            I am available for motivational speaking appearances and performances as a inspirational speaker, restaurant consultant, Intuitive life Coaching, Energy Healing, Past Life Regression Therapy, story teller, and entertainer.  If you are interested, please feel free to contact me through email grandmamichele1117@yahoo.com or telephone 570-224-6544.