During the Christmas Decorating Season of 1986, I informed the White House Chief Florist that I will be resigning from this prestigious position as a Christmas Freelance Decorator after twelve wonderful years at The White House. I was exhausted with the workload of my three stores which was suffering financial perils and on the doorsteps of bankruptcy court in the middle of the country's worst recession since the depression. I went broke trying to pay off the company's debt and when the rope was around my neck, I surrendered the business, the three store chain that I built from rock bottom, to the government for court protection against my creditors on the day before Christmas Eve, the following year. Next to my Mother and Father's death, this was indeed, the darkest day of my life. The cross was lifted from my shoulders now, with the Government Court taking control of my stores, it was time to move on and start a complete new life. Dad was right when he once told me, "If you ever loose your shirt, go down to Montgomery Wards and buy yourself another shirt!" With the White House decorating years behind me, my both parents now deceased, my three beautiful stores "gone with the wind" and my dating life down to zero, a state of depression started to approached me. I kicked it out as fast as it came, knowing that the "new me" had some of the "old me" inside of me, I was a damn good fighter. "I remember the words from Infantry school at Fort Polk, "Hang in there, till it kills you"! I endured all the knowledge from Hill's two greatest books, The Laws of Success and Think and Grow Rich. Thanks to the writings and tapes of the great Napoleon Hill, and the power of the Rosary, I managed to come out of all this with flying colors. Did I do the right thing by dropping out of Queensboro Community College to go and decorate The White House? To start my own part time business as a florist in fea markets in between times? Yes, I will do it all over again. I wouldn't trade my White House recognition on my resume and the experience I was blessed with for all the degrees at Harvard. The years to come after my fame and glory days in business and at The White House were very propsperous and my new lifestyle was flourishing well. I had a new homebased business, moved to a new neighborhood with many new friends and rebuild from the ground up whatever I had, and it wasn't much. Remember, Like my father use to say to me, "Frankie, when you loose your shirt, and you will loose plenty of shirts, just go down to Montgomery Wards and buy yourself another shirt!" The problem was, Montgomery Wards was out of business too! So I made a shirt. If you can't climb the mountain, go around it, but just keep moving. Good bye to all my viewers and dear friends, and thanks for reading my e-book, I hope you learned something too about life and not giving up, remember, it's always dark before dawn. keep in touch with me. I'm just an email away. Use the contact link in my store and click on "Contact Page" - and good night "Mom and Dad" where ever you are, thanks for having me!
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| Frank with The President and Mrs. Carter - photo taken in the Cross Hall during the Christmas Decorating Season of 1979 - It was their last month in The White House. The following month was Inauguration Day for President Elect Ronald Reagan |
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