“They told me I was gonna be a nun.”

Judi Frabosilo and her husband, Philip, remember how they got married.

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Recorded in New York, NY

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Facilitated by Piya Kochhar.

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Interview transcript

PF: Her father wasn’t around – so I was dealing mostly with her grandmother and her mother, and her mother was really the boss. And Chicky had one day approached me and said to me – that was her nickname Chicky – she said, ‘What are your intentions? Are you really going to marry my daughter?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I’m gonna marry her, but I’m gonna be drafted so I’ll wait til I get back.’ She goes, ‘But do you really want to marry her?’ And I say, ‘Look, if I don’t get drafted I’ll marry her now.’

And Nixon dropped the draft. I was driving down the street, and Nixon got on the – and he started talking, and he said, ‘All you men who are between 1 and 125, I have some good news for you, you’re not gonna be drafted.’ And I just went right through the light, I sailed through the light, because I knew Chicky –

JF: I heard you screaming!

PF: When I walked in the house, Judi was happy – ‘I’m getting married November 18!’

JF: We already made the plans, too.

PF: They had it all set up. No matter what, I was either going to walk to Vietnam or get shot down the aisle.

JF: I thought I wasn’t going to get any more chances in life so I better grab this one who made the offer. Have I ever told you that before?

PF: No.

JF: They told me I was gonna be a nun.

PF: I’ve discovered in life that all of the real exciting things are the things that you don’t expect…

JF: You’re right. The other day, bringing me home those flowers, that was very nice. Thank you.

PF: That’s right. I never buy her flowers because they charge too much and they die too quick but I saw African violets on sale…

JF: See, you had to put a dullness on it. You see, it was so nice.You should not have said that. You should just let it go.
PF: Do you have any regrets, my dear?

JF: If I had any regrets I wouldn’t be sitting here with you.

PF: How about my iderosyncrasies [sic]? Which of them bother you the most?

JF: I’m only here for a short amount of time, Phillip. My life is not long enough for me to repeat them.

PF: I think that our love for each other is so intense and so real that I really think we’re a perfect blend.

JF: I don’t know that we’re really a perfect blend, to be honest.

PF: A lot of times Judy’s wrong. In fact, as a couple, we add up more than the sum of the whole [sic].

JF: Honey, that’s beautiful. Thank you!

PF: You’re welcome.

JF: Did you have that planned to say that?

PF: No, I don’t plan things.

JF: That just came right out? You see you’re just so full of goodness. Start sending some of that goodness my way.