Gregoria Martinez, 94, might seem like your typical grandma. She made quilts for her grandchildren, encouraged them to go to church, prayed for them and gave advice.
Except the Vernon, Texas, grandma didn't have just a handful of grandchildren when she died late last month.
She had nearly 300.
Ninety-eight were grandchildren; 164 were great-grandchildren and 16 were great-great-grandchildren — all descendants of her own 11 offspring.
That's without counting her three stepchildren or any of their descendants. The family has purposely underestimated the total count, but believes if all are included it could be as high as 500.
Martinez's survivors packed the 500-seat St. Mary's Catholic Church in Quanah, Texas, for her Aug. 26 funeral.
Nearly three-quarters of the family live in Quanah or nearby, but the rest are spread as far away as Arizona and Missouri.
Great-grandchild Montes said she knows about half of her family members.
"I'm part of a big crowd," she said. "I'm used to being in a big family."
Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News
In France, flu smooshes smooching
Swine flu is in the process of claiming another victim: French kissing. Well, actually, kissing in France. The ritualistic little cheek-to-cheek peck used to say hello or goodbye — la bise — is being seen as a potential kiss of death as fear of the pandemic flu spreads. French schools, companies and a Health Ministry hotline are advising against the practice, taking few chances while trying to avoid stirring panic. But it is being seen as another threat to cherished customs. "Swine flu has already changed our life," read the headline of an article in Monday's Le Parisien about banning the bise. The national government isn't calling for a ban. But the Health Ministry, on its swine flu phone hotline, recommends that people avoid "close contact — including shaking hands and giving the bise." A ministry Web site on the pandemic recommends avoiding "direct contact" with people, "not kissing, shaking hands or caressing the face" of others — especially sick people. It advises keeping a three-foot buffer zone as a minimum, or wearing masks if that's not possible. Lebanon and Mexico had also urged people not to kiss each other on the cheek. The swine flu virus has caused at least 2,837 deaths since it first appeared this year. More than a quarter-million cases worldwide have been confirmed, it said. France has only counted three swine flu deaths.
Defiant in the face of a sex scandal, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Monday that he is still popular because Italians secretly want to be like him.
He denied any strains with the Catholic Church and denounced what he called a "subversive campaign" to unseat a democratically elected leader.
Berlusconi's comments came a day after the woman who unwillingly initiated the scandal — Noemi Letizia, whose 18-year-old birthday party Berlusconi attended — broke her silence.
In a TV interview, Letizia described her relations with the man she calls "Daddy," and her dreams of Hollywood glory.
"I love America and I would love to work in America," Letizia said in an interview broadcast by Sky Italia.
The 72-year-old billionaire and the young model from a Naples suburb have been the subject of speculation since Berlusconi attended Letizia's birthday party in April.
His wife cited his presence there when she announced, shortly afterward, that she was filing for divorce.
The premier has said Letizia is the daughter of an old friend and denied having a sexual relationship with her.
Letizia said in the interview that she calls Berlusconi "Papi" — or "Daddy" — because she has known him since she was a little girl.
In recent months, new allegations have surfaced about the premier's encounters with younger women, including a call girl who claims to have spent the night with him.
Berlusconi has denied ever paying for sex, but said in the summer that he is "no saint."
"The majority of Italians in their hearts would like to be like me and see themselves in me and in how I behave," Berlusconi said Monday during a phone interview on a TV channel he owns. "They also know that Silvio Berlusconi doesn't steal and doesn't use his power to his own advantage."
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