For years, Charlie and Ann Durso commuted three hours every day to Manhattan, 'the city that never sleeps.' Today, situated in their bucolic Pennsylvania environment, Charlie and Ann look back upon those days and cringe. "There's no air-conditioning on the subways," says Charlie. "And in the cold, there's no heat. It's so busy you can barely get inside. There's graffiti everywhere, and you'd witness two fights a week." Adds Ann, "You practically risk your life in the train."
In Manhattan, Charlie observed people stressed out from their work, suffering in silence under the weight of business politics. Charlie loathed his accounting job. "When I saw this business, I viewed it as a vehicle, as my route out," he explains. "I wanted to be free." Today, the Dursos, who met as youths while living in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, rarely take the subways. Instead, they have more time to spend with their sons, Charlie, Jr. and Danny, and their daughter, Dayna.
Ann resigned her career as a travel agent in 1982 to start their family.
Charlie resigned his employment in 1990. Says Ann regarding their business, "It's given me the best of both worlds. It's provided me time with my children and a career as well."
The Dursos are hoping that other people in their neighborhood will take advantage of the same potential they identified in 1981 when they launched their firm. "I believe absolutely that New York is a sleeping giant for this chance," claims Charlie. "More than 17 million people live in the tri-state area of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. That's powerful potential. We're educating individuals in New York on what this company is actually all about. They're beginning to discover that there's life after the metro!"
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