The World is Small But The Responsibilities Are Huge. So Happy To Reconnect With Marino Mauro

I had the pleasure of reuniting with Marino Mauro yesterday afternoon and celebrating his son, Carl, with his wife Rwanda - a doctoral student in Reading and Language Arts at Syracuse University. When I arrived to Syracuse in 2007, I went to LeMoyne to see about possible adjunct work. As soon as I parked, I ran into a Sudanese man and we exchanged information. It was Marino, and he just graduated with his undergraduate degree.

Long story short, Marino entered Upstate to earn his Physician's Assistantship degree and the two of us commiserated over our studies when we had opportunity to catch up during the Sudanese Lost Boys Cow Project. He finished his degree about 6 months after I completed my doctorate.

Time flew by and last December I met a woman named Rwanda who was a new doctoral student in my ol' department. It turned out that she was dating Marino and the two of them were expecting. I got to share lunch, a few beers (and wine for Rwanda) while Carl, Jr. practiced his playing skills with me and learned a little more how to stand up and take steps.

It is amazing to see how much a little squirt can look like his dad. As Rwanda says, "He is his daddy's kid." As expected, Marino is a phenomenal father.

We talked at length about how miraculous his story really is. He came as a Lost Boy in 2001 and in such a short time, he is living the American dream -- buying his first house in Eastwood, actually. With a soon-to-be Ph.D. mother and a medical father, Carl is destined for a wonderful life...the American dream at its best.

I feel rejuvenated seeing the hard work pay off for such a deserving family...and that kid. What an amazingly calm and inquisitive little guy. I look forward to seeing his "next steps" in life. And, as always, I'm feeling older and older, and older!