One incident before I started in the furniture business

The Holy Ghost Beneficial Brotherhood, the organization in which my father had always been active, “honored” me at a dinner, the first Portuguese resident of East Providence to become a lawyer. The president at that time was an active Democrat. I had clerked in the law office of John Murphy, the Republican candidate for governor, who was invited as guest speaker. The club president, Julio Rocha, insisted on having John Pastore, the Democratic candidate for Governor also at the head table. Despite their political “differences”, they were good friends having been classmates at law school. (Their campaign was the “cleanest” to have been experienced.) I was seated at the head table between the two who carried on a pleasant conversation. This was in January, 1948, and Odie was pregnant with Carlos, born in February. Pastore was eventually elected and from that time until we started going to Naples in the winter (1986), I believe I got to meet every RI Governor. I mention this now because I remember that after a golf date in Florida, the four of us stopped for lunch, and somehow the subject came up and I mentioned that I personally knew a string of governors, the other three from other states were quite surprised-neither had ever met a governor!