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TRAVELOCITY |
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"You'll Never Roam Alone..." |
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ur heroes do not come to us from another world, with "powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men".
They were born here. Among us. Men & Women like you and I. Made of flesh & blood... |
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Citizen of the Week! |
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- Photos by Alonzo Quixana |
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IOVANNI PIFFER! |
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Think of him as a retired James Bond with a paint brush... Steven Seagal with a rolling pin.My personal obsession with Batman aside, like most Baby boomers
I was raised on a steady diet of '60s spys, secret agents and military heroes. If you have been following this column, the themes of personal sacrifice, duty & honor stand out readily from the otherwise social details in the mix.
But as any
Impossible Missions Force team member knows, their adventures are completely disavowed. |
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His life's journey began in the
Dolomite Mountains
of Italy, born upon family land that was already an ancient legacy. But his Passport chronicles a wandering soul. A Merchant Seaman
that set out to see the world. He studied with monks. He trained his body & his mind in esoteric disciplines. Multiple generations of local families have known him simply as "Gio," the Operation Manager of the
Apple Farm. His culinary skills primarilly responsible for the restaurant's wide acclaim. But his artistic flair would not be constrained. He began to paint... |
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"Chaos & Creation in the Backyard" |
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He painted his canvases; front & back - sometimes more than once. He painted his walls, his ceiling, his sink.
Layer upon layer his life's blood poured out through his paint brush resulting in a relentless body of work that is as unique in vision as it is comprehensive in style. Realism, Modernism, Abstracts,
Figures, Impressionism; it's all here at his online gallery: www.giopiffer.com. His latest work-in-progress may be his greatest: a triptych of the
Holocaust that may be likened to Picasso's Guernica; itself a testament of war & remembrance. For Giovanni's burden is also his gift to humanity.
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Work-in- progress... a painterly reply to Picasso's Guernica? |
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The black flag of the POW and MIA
soldiers is seen less and less as years go by, but the insignia's promise; "You are not forgotten..." was engraved on the I.D. bracelet of my youth - along with another young man's name that I would never meet. But half a world away, in the steaming jungles of South East Asia, our hero blazed an invisible and silent path. Alone & unarmed he was yet trained & equipped to locate & penetrate unmapped prisons, and rescue our missing soldiers. When he emerged from that morass of intrigue & danger, there was no public fanfare. Today there are no reunions. His closet boasts no uniform or medals. But remember - this never happened.
But your service, my friend - is not forgotten. -- Sir Edmund Dantes |
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"You are not forgotten..." |
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You are listening to "Livin' it up in Morro Bay" |
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by Gregg Stevens |
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"WHERE IT'S AT" |
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The Morro Bay Business Association |
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