The Iorio Family Story Page

We always listened to my father!!! When Joseph Anthony Iorio, my father's mouth opened, you just never really knew what was going to come out.

He was a man that had lived thru the hardest of hard times including growing up in the depression in a family of 10 kids, surviving World War 2, then having 5 children with the woman he loved, only to have her die at the age of 38 with the youngest child, me Stephen Iorio, being only one year old.

So many stories have come out of his mouth, it is a shame to let them die off. The reason for this blog is to get people to add stories to long list of funny memories that are "The Iorio Family".

I will start with a short one that to me sums up my father:

Although we certainly were not rich, my father was always generous. A few weeks in a row an African American (we called them black people back in 1969) was walking down the street in front of our house in New York with his 2 kids. He looked at the car my father was trying to sell, and never really asked about it, knowing that $700 was far too much for him to pay.

My father went up to him and started telling him what the car was like, the truth always from Joe. When the man said he couldn't afford it, my father gave him the car and said, "Just pay me when you have some money".

My reaction was that my father was an absolute fool, and I told him so. My father didn't say much, but just said, "Don't you worry about it". When a week later I was still telling my father he got ripped off, he finally exploded.

"Can't you see that man has 2 kids and no car. He needs a car and he doesn't have any money. I don't want the money, but the guy wouldn't take the car for free, so I told him to take the car and give me some money when he got some."

It took a little while to sink in, but I realized that my good Christian father was basically doing what he could to help the man. Charity starts at home and moves to the neighbors, the town, and filters out. I am sure that man still remembers the gesture and has paid it forward many times.

There are 3 stages in a man's life:
1- My father can beat up your father.
2- My father knows nothing
3- According to my father

I was in stage 2 at the time.
Stephen Iorio
June 10th, 2009