Mr. Burke's Home Page:
I come from Irish and Northern Italian descent. My father is Irish and my mother is Northern Italian, hence why I have pale skin with freckles and reddish blonde hair. Below is a picture of my parents on their wedding day. They have been married for 35 years!
BELOW: This gentleman standing next to my mom is my grandfather (my mother's father). As you can see, he has the typical dark hair of an Italian and he was short too. He was actually 5 foot, 4 inches. Despite his height, he was a dashing and charming man who had an adventurous life.
BELOW: This is my Italian grandfather trying to be funny. He is posing by the lodge fire place mantle pretending to be writing out a check to pay for the wedding. In American culture, it is customary for the father of the bride to pay for the wedding. On the other hand, my mother was a very independent woman. Her family did not approve of her engagement to an Irishman because the Irish and Italians had always been at odds with each other since they first came off the boats in the late 1800's. They were bitter competitors, and fierce rivals in business. And they hated each other immensely.
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When my mother said she was going to marry an Irishman, my grandfather said he was not going to pay for the wedding. And he did not pay for the wedding. My mother planned and paid for the wedding herself. My dad, the typical Irishman he was, just showed up for the wedding and the booze. |