DAILY NEWS PEOPLE : ELAINE MARCHESANO.To keep up with Elaine Marchesano, you'd better learn to swing, tango, rumba or fox-trot - preferably all at the same time. The peppy singer and dancer joins organist Saul Taplin every week at the Wilkinson Senior Center in Northridge to parody such '20s to '40s numbers as ``Carolina in the Morning'' and ``I Don't Know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. Why I Love You Like I Do.'' Marchesano also sings with the center's choral group at local retirement and convalescent con·va·les·cent adj. Relating to convalescence. n. A person who is recovering from an illness, an injury, or a surgical operation. convalescent 1. pertaining to or characterized by convalescence. 2. homes. Her favorite activity is ``taking off on my own with a partner and really dancing up a storm,'' undoubtedly creating roomfuls of foot-tappin' gaiety Gaiety See also Cheerfulness, Joviality, Joy. Gallantry (See CHIVALRY.) butterfly orchis symbol of gaiety. . AGE: 73. RESIDENCE: Chatsworth. BORN AND RAISED IN: Born in Brockway, Pa. Raised in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , she came to California in 1962 and moved to the Valley in 1972. OCCUPATION: Retired waitress. MARITAL STATUS: Widowed. Her husband, Louis, died in 1990. CHILDREN: Daughter Carole, sons Michael and Gary, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. VOLUNTEERISM: On Tuesdays, Marchesano helps with bingo games, socializes and joins the chorus for gigs. She performs and leads sing-alongs on Thursdays with Taplin and a band. ``I'll do a little singing, a little dancing, a little schtick schtick n. Variant of shtick. Noun 1. schtick - (Yiddish) a little; a piece; "give him a shtik cake"; "he's a shtik crazy"; "he played a shtik Beethoven" schtik, shtick, shtik , tell a little joke.'' She'll do any dance requested, from a waltz to a tango to swing. Marchesano also raises and allocates funds and helps administer programs as a member of Wilkinson's board of directors. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?: ``When my husband died, I was looking for a bereavement Bereavement Definition Bereavement refers to the period of mourning and grief following the death of a beloved person or animal. The English word bereavement group. I went twice ... It was too depressing.'' She then joined Wilkinson (``my lifesaver''), went to dances and began entertaining. WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER?: ``Because I love it ... I love people. I like to make everybody feel comfortable. I'm a big hugger and a kisser.'' BIGGEST DILEMMA: ``The fear of becoming ill. Thank God I have my health ... I'd like to keep my legs so that I can keep dancing.'' FAVORITE DAILY TASK: ``I like to go shopping.'' BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ``That I can't make up my mind Can't Make Up My Mind can be either of the following:
GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ``My three kids and my grandchildren.'' GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: ``Just be happy and keep my health ... I don't think you could really have a long-term goal because life changes from minute to minute.'' WHO RELIES ON YOU THE MOST AND WHO YOU RELY ON: ``I think my best friend Ramona. We're like a crutch crutch (kruch) a staff, ordinarily extending from the armpit to the ground, with a support for the hand and usually also for the arm or axilla; used to support the body in walking. crutch n. for each other because she's a widow, too. When you lose your spouse ... you have to learn to rely on yourself.'' HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?: ``Having somebody to love you and (having) happiness ... and having your health and good friends.'' FAVORITE VALLEY HANGOUTS: ``I love to go to Skoby's Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in Chatsworth,'' where she sings with a banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. band once a month on Senior Night. ``We get up and dance in the middle of the aisles.'' FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: ``Dancing. I'd rather dance than eat.'' HOBBIES: My hobby is dancing. (Also), I like to cook, I like to bake.'' WHAT WOULD BE A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU?: ``Get up in the morning, go out and have breakfast, go up to the Channel Islands and (then) go someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. to dance.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Elaine Marchesano Tina Gerson/Daily News |
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