When Your Blog Embarrasses Even You

A week ago, I ordered the Italian Curse Word Wine Charms from my Zazzle site so I can give one charm away to anyone who gets someone to buy my book. (Yes, it’s come to this.) All I’m asking for proof is a photo of someone holding the book. Email me at FranTunno.com and we can exchange info.

For a good photo of the charms, please click on this link: https://www.zazzle.com/italian_curse_word_wine_charms-256843637238169227

For a not good shot of the charms, feel free to look at the pic to your right. They look way better than this and when I have time, I’ll retake the photo, but you get the idea.

Normally, I’m not embarrassed by the fact that my mom used to call me things like rat, or whore, (zoccola, puttana, because everything sounds more lyrical in Italian) when she was angrily calling me home. But it’s different when I’m introducing those words, and other equally awful words to an innocent stranger.

I couldn’t find one of the packages of charms I was supposed to receive. So, I had to call customer service.

The set that was missing was the male set with lovely words like bastardo, gigolo, stronzo, and rompicoglioni. Those loosely translate to: bastard, gigolo (it’s the same in English), turd and ball-buster…not the kind of words you want your kids, or grandkids to repeat, but that are funny when you’re drinking too much wine.

So, there I was, on the phone with someone who sounded like a sweet young man, trying to explain that I’ve lost my male set of Italian Curse Word Wine Charms. Then I had to tell him what was on the set and either he was way too mannerly to act offended or had no clue what those words meant. I hope it was the latter so I can sleep easily tonight.

To make matters worse, after he sweetly apologized for any inconvenience to me and ordered a new set of male Italian Curse Word Wine Charms. I hung up, felt better, then noticed a bag on the ground under my chair.

Yes, it was the missing bag, which just added insult to injury. Thankfully, I was able to email him and tell him that I found the bag and to cancel that order. I left him a very positive review.

Just when you think you’ve got it together and can move around the world just like a young person who easily uses computers and phones and never loses things under her chair, you’re faced with the fact that you miss things now, more often than you’d like. God, I hate that!

I am somewhat comforted to see my writer friends are suffering from the same malady and they’re writing about it too. At least I’m not alone. Take a look:

Martin J. Smith, the former editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine wrote this substack essay about trying to act like young men by participating in some back country bike competition. https://martinjsmith.substack.com/p/the-immortality-delusion

And my friend, Petrea Burchard, who was a former LA radio person, and is now an author and audiobook narrator wrote this wondering if Old Women Are Weird: https://petreaburchard.substack.com/p/are-old-people-weird?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3050696&post_id=200920703&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=apw49&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

If we are, we’re weird in a good way.

At any rate, I apologize in advance to anyone who reads my book or blog and is offended by it. As you know, I’ve tried before to stop cursing before and it didn’t go well. Here’s the blog post where I realized I couldn’t/wouldn’t stop: https://atfranstable.com/2015/09/17/about-that-swearing-thing/

But back to Come on Down! A Little Story About My Italian Mom’s Big Dream, if you haven’t read it yet, please buy it because it’s perfect summer reading…it makes you laugh, has great recipes and is short…only 184 pages! You could also listen to it on your next long car ride. I’m told it’s very entertaining. https://atfranstable.com/2026/02/22/you-can-order-come-on-down-a-little-story-about-my-italian-moms-big-dream-tuesday-february-24th/

I only need to sell about 1,050 more books to break even 🙂 Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

I’ll be in downtown New Brighton, PA on June 26th, from 6 to 9 p.m. for the New Brighton Library Wine Walk. Maybe they’re hoping if people drink enough, they’ll buy books. Please stop by! https://beavercountyevents.com/event_listings/new-brighton-librarys-wine-walk/

As always (and definitely not mandatory) if you enjoy this blog and would like to be a supporter so I can dig myself out of the horrendous debt I’ve put myself in while self-publishing, just click on buymeacoffee.com/FranTunno And thanks so much to all of you who are supporting my blog!