My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

The Kidnapping of My Mother
MY FAMILY STORY
My father was Manuel da Ponte Pacheco, Junior. He was born on
August 4, 1900 in the Parish of São Roque. My mother was Maria
da Encarnação Moniz. She was born on March 25, 1913 in the
Parish of Sāo José, both in the county of Ponta Delgada, Island of
Sāo Miguel in the Azores, a group of nine islands in the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean. The islands were discovered by the Portuguese
Navigator, Gonçalo Velho Cabral in 1432. They are located
approximately 800 miles from the mainland Lisbon and 2000 miles
from Boston.
My father was thirteen years older than my mother. He was a
young businessman, an entrepreneur, with a reputation as a bon
vivant, known for an extravagant life style, which was not very
common in those days, especially on such a peaceful island.
My father making a speech at the Governor’s office
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