Russian Women Discussion
RWD Administrative => RWD Announcements => Topic started by: Admin on May 08, 2020, 01:00:37 PM
-
Resulting from concerns expressed from several members as to the absence of our indefatigable member SANDRO43. SANDRO43 was Franco Sandro Flioriani in real life. He lived a full and rewarding life. A life most of us would aspire to. He held a long-term career position with one of the world's most prestigious companies. The distinguished and lengthy family history which was his birthright was something he was rightly proud, and he extended that distinguished service far far into his waining years.
This website, and me personally, were blessed to know and work closely with Sandro. He was not an easy man to please. He had morals. He had convictions and values. There was no saying one thing and then doing something different. Once an agreement had been hard earned as to why a path was to be taken, there would be no meandering. Sandro was a quality person in every way both professionally and personally.
Sandro's wit was sharp, his memory is legendary..... who can forget his Double Dealers...? His sense of humor was disarming and his overall demeanor could not be more pleasant which is not to overlook his sharp snap at those, including yours truly who occasionally failed to live up to Sandro's considerable Standard of excellence. All of us at RWD are better for that and would not change it no matter how it put us on the spot at the time.
A small portion of our membership actually have occasion and inspiration to meet one another in real life. Sandro engendered that inspiration and my time with him was a warm and engaging as any person I have ever met. More significantly, he made my wife (at the time) and daughter feel like they were the most important people on earth. My daughter will be heartbroken of learning of Sandro's passing.
Whatever this online community at RWD is, or was, or will become .... Sandro Floriani had more to do with its construction, much more, than anyone can possibly imagine. Mostly quiet and behind the scenes Sandro would mold and guide and push and cajole .... and .... it would get to where he wanted it to be. And the site was better for it. His visions remained true to the ideals and values established years ago, and he persisted with those ..... even, to my shame, as I abandoned the site for such a long time. It was Sandro who held this site together.
Damn! I miss him. Even knowing he was pissed at me for abandoning my post for so long. I'd gladly take his stern admonitions. As blunt as he could be, I never once questioned his heart or his motives. Sandro was as straight and honest as they come. A rare one indeed. Anyone wishing to learn more about the man and his loves should visit his personal website at http://floriani.it (http://floriani.it).
-
May he rest in eternal peace!
-
Comes as quite a shock.
Sandro was a very singular person.
Was it the Corona virus ?
-
Sandro,
I never met you, and I know I have frustrated you and you've always been a gent.
You loved this board and were frustrated by it's neglect..
Thank you.
-
Sorry to hear Sandro passed away. May he rest in peace.
It's nice to see you back Dan. I hope you're doing well. Don't know if you'll hang around but I just want to say nobody ran this place better than you.
-
Sandro,
Will be missed,
He had the rare combination of class, intellect, education and wit.
-
Sounds like a righteous dewd to the max, RIP
-
What a sad day for the Forum.
Having been in communication with a couple of the members, I had feared this was the case.
There were so many areas that Sandro made as part of his life. I particularly enjoyed the love for history we shared. Whether it be WWII or ships or looking for lost icons, Sandro was always bringing to life how people in another era lived. I particularly loved hearing stories of his father and WWII. When I went to St. Petersburg, Sandro had me looking for a small piece of his own history in all of the curio shops.
Sandro was also the balancing force in the present forum. Absent participation by the original mods and admin, Sandro became the person who operated as the Super Mod. He was always fair, but didn't need to involve himself more than necessary.
I'm sorry I never met Sandro in person. I am envious of those who did. We are all blessed by having a small part in Sandro's life.
-
Sandro, you are remembered as a fine gentleman.
I had the pleasure of breaking bread and enjoying wine with him. Twice in fact, once in Milano. The photo of a yellow roadster that sometimes parades across the top of RWD's forum page was taken by Sandro with me sitting in his car. We made a leisurely drive through the Lombardy countryside to a distant farm restaurant. A touch of la dolce vita and "Dinner with Andre.".
For those who didn't know Sandro, he was an IBM man from way back when IBM was indeed a "Giant" and influential throughout the world.
-
Ecce Homo
Sic transit gloria mundi
those of us left to feel pain in this world of woe
salute you
and will see you on the other side of the river one day...
you can pick the wine...
man, have I got a story to tell you...
-
I have had the pleasure of meeting Sandro in person, and fondly remember him. His incredible contribution will be missed
-
RIP Sandro....and I hope you're now in a better place.
-
As is easily gleaned from his many posts here, Sandro is a classy gentleman (use of present tense is intentional).
When people I know pass on, I always end up pondering the law of conservation of energy, -that energy can never be created nor destroyed, but instead is passed on or transforms. I am led to believe that in life we produce energies of added value that do not simply disappear with the transformation of our solid body, but instead, remain very much intact in the ‘here and now’. That our past, present and future is information, never lost nor destroyed. That we take some of this energy with us to share elsewhere along our journey and some we leave behind to be enjoyed by those remaining for a while in this dimension. That even a simple, kind gesture to a stranger in passing is information that can last many generations and beyond.
Even today, I recognize Sandro as an authoritative resource on a wide variety of topics, with a canny ability to be direct, but remaining humble and human, even when scolding. His substantial knowledge learned the hard way without much reliance on our modern internet search tools. He really 'knows his stuff’, whether it be language, history, music, flight, or his many other loves, and shared these riches along the way.
Here at RWD Sandro not only teaches me about the importance of language and humility among other things but shares a generous trove of information and insights as well. His website Floriani.it (http://floriani.it), thousands of posts here (http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?action=profile;u=986;area=showposts;sa=messages) at RWD and his very informative book “Men of the West, Women From the East’ (http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?action=ezportal;sa=page;p=47) remain worthy of discovery and more than casual perusal, adding much value to this forum.
The last addition to his own website not long ago was his MIDI rendition of "A Taste of Honey" -Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow- which seems to particularly 'fit' the mood. This new musical association with Sandro will stick in my head for a good while to come.
Thanks, Sandro, bon voyage!
p.s. Thanks to Boethius as well for noting and caring about Sandro’s absence, prompting the search as to his whereabouts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcdTSFxSu8
-
We met Sandro in 2014 in Milan. It was around 2:30 pm and we just arrived in the city. We were early to check in at the hotel so I called him and asked him to meet. After a circus-like car chase we finally got together. We sat at a park and after a brief intro from my family we sat at a bench and talked.
Boy did we talked. He told me stories of his family specifically his father and WWII. He took us from Italy to Spain to the Alps to Trivoli during the war and it was just fascinating listening to him tell the stories as a well-written page-turner novel. One thing we still didn't get used to our stay in Italy was that many restaurants close between lunch and dinner and very few places where to sit down for a cocktail and gab.
Around 6:30 he told us he was taking us to dinner at this place, his treat. He was really taken by my son as they engaged in lively conversation. It was hard to follow him on his Miata during rush hour but I stayed glued to his rear. Suddenly he stopped or should I say double-parked and came over. "I'm getting your cigarettes, wait for me." As if I was going anywhere. He came back with the cigarettes and asked me if I ever raced in rallies because he was impressed how I stayed with him on these twists, turns, and rotaries.
This place was somewhere in a neighborhood and run by middle eastern people. The first thing he did was to order a bottle of wine. I look at the owner bring a bottle and discuss with each other the wine. I'm assuming because my Italian is almost non existent. He had a sip and flavored it. Then spit it back in the glass gave it back to the owner and told the guy he had some special guests and wanted something accordingly. It was just a matter of fact, he was not angry nor the owner took it as an offense. The owner came back with another bottle and proudly proclaim "PRESTO" this is the one. Sandro sampled the wine and immediately smiled. "Let's have dinner" He asked us if seafood was good with us, shellfish or plain fsh and the he ordered for us. Everything was exquisite.
That's my recollection of our meeting with Sandro. Both my wife and son were sad to hear the news.
Godspeed Sandro, and pedal to the metal my friend.
-
Thanks to the member that alerted me to this topic.
I had some very brief dealings with Sandro maybe a decade ago, but I didn't actually meet him. I found him a very pleasant and personable fellow.
Godspeed Sandro. RIP.
-
Wow,
Not sure what to say. My condolences to his family and to his extended family here. Rest in peace and god bless.
-
I always enjoyed his historical posts and his wit made everyone of his posts pure joy to read. Rest in peace my friend. You will be sorely missed .....
-
Sad to read this. Sandro always struck me as gentleman in the truest sense of that word. R.I.P. Sandro!
-
Sandro's pleasantness and wisdom will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, friend.
-
Terrible to read that Sandro is gone. I'll miss reading his thoughts, and feel bad for those that knew him well.
Fathertime!
-
Very sad news to hear. Thanks Jon for notifying me of Sandro's passing. I had always had a dream of meeting him in person. We had many, many text exchanges and his personality seems to fit with the comments made in posts above. Both being pilots brought our interests together. I hope his incredible library is preserved so that others may access it. May his soul rest in peace.
-
Had been out for surgery and found this posted.
We both have enjoyed the music thread.
I looked for his Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/franco.floriani (http://www.facebook.com/franco.floriani)
Sandro was 77.
Sandro loved to sail.
This is for him-------------------------------Magic Ship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsSLWeTYims
-
A steady hand on the tiller........in a sea of "crazies". He will be missed dearly. R.I.P.
Capt B
-
Just read this post ~ truly a sad one to read. RIP!
With respect and admiration.
-
It's been a while since I checked in here and just saw this. Sandro always seemed like a true gentleman and a quality person. I am really sorry to hear the news.