Fran's World…and Welcome to It!
A Blog by the World's Fastest Talking Female.
The Decision
Posted July 28, 2006
When last I left you guys I was flying the country as a spokesperson for
Auntie Anne's pretzels… well I'm still doing that but the one thing I didn’t tell
you was that in the process I have a lot going on personally.
When I wrote the first blog I mentioned that I had a one year "trial" living
arrangement with my fiancée. We have been together six years, engaged for
three (remember the Harley was my engagement gift.) Anyway, after a short break up, we decided we really loved each other and needed to make some changes. So my son and I moved into Steve's condo in Ossining, New York. Steve and I figured we’d do this to either move ahead and get married or break up. I sublet my Howard Beach apartment as my escape route just in case things didn't work out. Hey, a girl has got to plan.
Our "decision date" was June 30th, because that's when my one year sublease
agreement with Tracy was up. I had to let her know if I was moving home or not, it was only fair, couldn't leave the girl hanging.
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The World's Fastest Talking Spokesperson
Posted July 21, 2006
 I love the internet… it has led me to so many fascinating jobs and adventures including my latest one… being the spokesperson for Auntie Anne’s National Pretzel Perfect Tongue Twister Contest. (Now there’s a mouthful, and we haven’t even gotten to the pretzels yet. Okay, let me explain.)
I know a lot of you know that I’m a stand up comic, motivational speaker, voice over artist, author, and adventurer… but I don’t know if you knew that I have been a spokesperson for various products and that 90% of my work has come through the internet and involves fast talking (what a surprise).
Anyway, I believe my latest summer gig was destiny. I’m was in the city one
day (Manhattan, for you out-of-towners) eating one of those delicious hot
cinnamon Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, which I hadn’t tasted in over five years. The very next day I get an email asking me if I would like to host their contest,
which is part of their re-branding and awareness campaign. Feeling this was more than coincidence and still having the taste of the pretzels in my mouth, I said yes, thinking maybe I could barter a year supply of these delicious treats as
part of my pay.
After a couple of emails and a conference call with the client and their PR
firm, The Richards Group, my work details were set.
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Going once, going twice...Sold!
Posted July 13, 2006
 A few blogs ago I told you all about my adventures in teaching my son, Spencer to drive. What I didn’t tell you was how we got him a used car in a unique way as a graduation gift.
After considering the facts that sharing a car with my son was inconvenient, that we live upstate where the deer, skunk and raccoons roam freely and public transportation isn’t easy to come by, and that he was graduating high school with a business scholarship to Iona college... I figured a car might make a nice graduation present and solve a lot of problems at the same time.
Now I’m not talking about a new car, because besides the cost and insurance factor, the reality is, he was probably going to get a few knicks in his first few months of driving...so a used car acting as bumper car would be the perfect answer.
The search began. At first his dad said he’d give him his car, but that turned south when the transmission went on it. Then we went to used car lots, but felt the salespeople were trying to sell us some snake oil as well. Then we asked friends if they knew of anyone, but most of the car deals were in Florida or Arizona...where they were driven only 80 miles in the past 20 years by an elderly couple who are now legally blind.
This was becoming a long, tedious and sporadic process, and time was a factor since he started his summer job in a few weeks and had no wheels to get there.
So I did what my friend Janette calls the "Full Fran" or "Complete Capo" and focused all my energy. "Okay Spencer that’s it. We are going to find you a good car in the next few days. Let’s cover every angle. We are going to do this quickly, efficiently and relatively inexpensively and be done with it."
Spencer said, "Oh boy, I know that look...watch out."
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My Night at the Haunted Castle
Posted July 7, 2006
 It all started when my friend Dale told me he met a guy who owned a
haunted castle. The guy's name was Steven Feldstein, a self made millionaire by the age of 30 who stumbled across this stone relic by turning to the wrong page
in the New York Times on the same day he received divorce papers. One thing led to another, and against the advice of his attorney… this self-proclaimed ghost
skeptic, became the proud owner of Phareloch Castle. A haunted castle located
in Basking Ridge, New Jersey set on 150 acres of wooded land. A castle that
was featured on the TV show, Unsolved Mysteries. Steve felt he was drawn to it
by fate.
Now the main ghost that is supposed to haunt the place is said to be
that of Bill Beatty, the architect of this 17th century replica of a French
Normandy Castle, who unfortunately died before its completion. However many
psychic investigators have since gone into the historic building with their wide
array of ghost buster tools and have picked up some 37 positive energies. In
other words some other friendly ghosts hang there too.
I asked Dale if there was any way I could get a personal peek and write
about it for my blog. After all, they were supposed to be friendly ghosts… like
Casper… not poltergeists, so how scary could it be?
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