A Memory...

Fabio. With his luscious strands of blonde hair, his taut abs, his muscular arms and thighs, that noble nose and seductive eyes. Fabio. With his mystical stance and the dreamy faraway look in his eyes when he's staring out over the vast ocean or into the eyes of a beautiful woman. Fabio.
No matter what book cover, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' commercial, or any other type of TV/Movie/Book persona he endorses or graces, Fabio will always now and forevermore be a reminder of my grandmother, whom I lovingly call Momo.
My Momo absolutely loved Fabio. She loved his looks and his accent. She loved his smile and his body. She was a Fabio FANATIC. Every romance novel with Fabio on the cover would be sure to be found on her monumental bookshelf. Every commercial featuring Mr. Blonde Hair Whipping in the Wind would be sure to have been noticed and commented on. I'm suprised she never recorded them!
Everytime I see Fabio, or a company he's endorsed, I think of Momo. Everytime I think of Momo, I think of Fabio. He was her hero! He was her 'dream man!" He was her get-a-way. Momo retreated into her books more than anyone I've ever seen. Many things drove her to bury her nose between the pages of a sweet smelling romance or a heart racing suspense novel. Mostly she just loved to read.
I think I get my passion for reading from her. I remember trying to read with her, although at that age I wasn't allowed to read such explicit material. I remember sitting down with my Value Tales collection next to her couch (she would lay down on her couch to read) and try to turn the pages whenever she did.
Whenever I would visit her in Rossville, Georgia, I always loved the trips to K-Mart I took with my Aunt Sandra and my cousin, Nicholas. He was younger than I, but nonetheless, one of my favorite cousins simply because he was around a lot more than the others. Everytime we'd leave to go to the store, we'd ask Momo, "Momo, do you want anything while we're out?" and she'd look up from her novel, a gleam in her eye and a grin on her face and reply, "Yes! Bring me a million dollars and Fabio!" After hearing this from her for years, one day when I left with my Aunt Sandra, I bought her a notepad that looked like a one million dollar bill and a book with Fabio on the cover. I gave it to her, laughing. That's the best memory ever!
I love this memory because of the feelings it invokes in me. Some of them are sad, because now she is gone. Most of it is happy because I'll always have the memory. I'll always have that moment in time that was me and her, reading. Together.