SARAH SANZO

Put this in your good news hopper:
She's going home to see her papa.
It's a trip she can't afford,
But an airplane she will board.
She's been given a ticket proper.


The Roanoke Times, 21 April 2009:

Coming together so she can say goodbye

Hard economic times haven't dampened the generosity of the employees or owner of one restaurant, as the 'little Italian lady' at the Olive Garden near Valley View gets the chance to make a special trip home.

"It's about a good deed by some fellow employees and a restaurant chain for one of their own, someone confronting the impending death of a loved one and a longing for a faraway home."

"And the employee is Sarah Sanzo, 62, a part-time hostess and greeter at the chain's Valley View location."

"Sarah has been married 42 years and is a mother of five and a grandmother of six. She came to America from Sicily in 1967 to marry Anthony Sanzo."

"Other members of Sarah's family are still in the old country, including her father, Joseph Colletti, a retired farmer who's 96 and lives with his son outside Florence."

"Sarah battled cancer three years ago, which left her with a lot of medical bills."

"Those are partly why she's working at Olive Garden."

"Here is where the sadness and longing comes in: Sarah's father is dying, and she couldn't afford the trip home."

"The good news today is Sarah already has her plane ticket and leaves Wednesday to see her dad."