Bill Vivio
'A Spiritual Book about Family and Faith'
My mother and dad, Mary and Victor Vivio were born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, in the early part of the twentieth century. My father's parents, my Nanna and Nonno came to America from Italy, arriving at Ellis Island at about 1900. My dad would often say "I'm glad my dad didn't miss the boat!" My parents loved America, loved life and loved their family. They tried to pass on their love and wisdom to their children. This book may make you laugh a little, cry a little, and hopefully enrich your life a little. If so, in writting it, I have achieved my goal.
The idea of this book came about as our family would gather and remember stories and anecdotes from my parents after their passing. I wanted to write a book to honor their legacy, and I wanted share my memories with their children and grandchildren.
As I began to reflect more on my parents' lives, I saw parallels in their lives and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. In particular, as I looked back on 'my father's wisdom and my mother's love,' I began to realize that they were both both filled with the love of God the Father and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. My parents were not particularly religious people, although, they raised their children Roman Catholic and saw to it that we had the opportunity to attend Catholic schools. Beyond this religious foundation given us, the lessons taught us, and the experiences they shared, were very much in line with the lessons taught by Jesus. So, I thought, why not write this book with a broader appeal for people everywhere who would benefit from 'My Father's Wisdom and My Mother's Love.'
Bill Vivio was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 1942. He was raised in the family grocery business. Bill, his brother Ed, and his sister Vivian did all of the various chores associated with a family business to help their parents, Victor and Mary Vivio, run their store.
Bill married the love of his life, LuAnn Yacono, on July 4, 1963; they raised three children, Nancy, Gina, and Victor. The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1972, where Bill began a career in insurance and real estate.
Bill and LuAnn were active members at Saint Helen’s Catholic Church in Glendale, Arizona. Their pastor, Fr. Edward Wjada, suggested that Bill enroll in classes to become a deacon for the Diocese of Phoenix. As Bill likes to say, “In 1977, the same year that Elvis died and Star Wars was born, I was ordained a Permanent Deacon.”
Bill later took studies at the Kino Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego University, and the Spiritual Ministry Center, also in San Diego, to become a spiritual director. After thirty years of working in various ministries in the Catholic Church, Bill is publishing his first book, My Father’s Wisdom and My Mother’s Love: A Spiritual Gift.
Today Bill is retired from his real estate career and enjoying life with his family, which now includes his four grandchildren, Nicholas, Stephanie, Anthony, and Megan.
'Don't Fight It, Box It'
My dad had a wonderful outlook on life. I remember as a kid helping him out in the family grocery store. There, he gave me many challenging responsibilities. I sometimes had difficulty putting the meat grinder “head” on to the grinder. Once, when this happened, I began to lose my temper, as I often did when I could not get an inanimate object to cooperate with me in its assemblage. As usual, I muttered under my breath, but I never cursed in front of my dad. However, he knew what I was thinking and he said, “Don’t fight it, box it!”
This was a phrase that my dad learned as a young man while training to be a boxer. His trainer was a man named, Jake Mintz. Jake would tell his young fighters this statement when they would lose their tempers in a fight, and started to slug-it-out with their opponent (a street fighting style) leaving themselves open and vulnerable to their opponent. Jake would call out to them, “Don’t fight ‘em, box ‘em!” My dad was not a very successful boxer, but he was very wise, and he used every lesson he learned to deal with life, and likewise pass on these lessons to his children.
Sometimes it seems life isn’t fair. Sometimes it seems, we take two steps forward and one step back. It’s easy to lose our perspective, get angry or try to force our agenda on life and others, only to find resistance from both. When that happens in life, “Don’t fight it, box it.” It may be better stated, “Finesse it!” In dealing with life, like a good boxer, we would be wise to first see what life and others are giving us, then just “roll with the punches”, and “look for an opening.” In other words, in a difficult situation, don’t fight it or curse it …finesse it. Better yet, look for the blessing in each situation. Look at what life might be offering, whether it is a lesson to be learned, an opportunity for growth or an opening to another way to accomplish your goal.
I love a particular lesson I learned from Dr. Wayne Dyer who taught this lesson in one of his earlier PBS presentations. I generally remember Dr. Dyer saying that we would be wise to reflect on the lines of the children’s nursery song, ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’1 (Sing along, if you like, you can even sing as a group ‘in a round’)
Row, row, row your boat,
