Half Century, Wow!

26 September 2009

It is a reality that life is a journey and like a journey it has a sequence of peeks and valleys we must negotiate in pursuit of greater knowledge and understanding. Each peek and each valley represents an experience that enriches our life. Peeks appear, at times, much fewer than valleys, but I believe that is due mostly to our perception and outlook.

I reached a milestone in my life, as I am officially half century old. “Half century” sure sounds a lot worst than “50” but again that is depending on the way we look at our life. In my case, I am happy to say that I am fonder of the “half century” definition, as it adds, in my mind, a historical tone to the whole thing.
Fifty years are really a miniscule portion of time in comparison to the Universe, but they are significant to me. I can still remember the day when, at the tender age of twenty, I had the indescribable fortune to move to the United States. At the time, that was the best day of my life, one of those peeks that, when reached, makes one feel as if it just cannot get any better. Truthfully, even today I consider December 7, 1979, the best day of my life, mostly because it represents the beginning of a new life, a life of freedom and self reliance that allowed me to experience so many more peeks for the last thirty years.
Without that day, I would have not met Adriana and married her; and I would have not had my daughter Jaclyn and my son Frank; and I would not have my son-in-law Brian and my daughter-in-law Jessica; and without that day I would not have my precious grandson Noah.
Without that day I would have not enjoy thirty years of liberty, of opportunities for hard work and improvement, both social and financial.

Half century is enough time to be witness to some historical moments. One of the earlier moments that I will never forget was in 1969, when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. If I think back I can still feel the excitement of a 10 year old boy, glued to the television in the middle of the night, completely in awe of what I was seeing, dreaming of the day when maybe I could be the next man to walk on another planet.
One of the events that I would have never thought to be witnessing in my life time was the fall of the Soviet Union. Having been born and raised in a European country, Italy, where the threat of Soviet tanks rolling into our streets had been a real concern, the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, the lifting of the Iron Curtain came as a welcomed change, even if I was already living in the safety of the United States. Witnessing eastern European countries longing and achieving their own freedom from Soviet oppression and Soviet republics gaining independence was a real moment of hope in my life.

There have been many valleys in my half century journey.
I can still remember the tension when in March 1978 former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was kidnapped by the Red Brigades in Rome. I was in my last year of High School and I can still see vividly the Military and Police in the streets and all the schools in lock down, as the government was trying to get a handle on the extent of the attack it was under.
I remember hearing the news of the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut in October 1983 and just couple of months later, just before Christmas the terrorist attack on PanAm 103 over Lockerby, Scotland.
And in February 1993, the first World Trade Center bombing, followed two years later by the Oklahoma City bombing, started to open my eyes to the reality that, even here in the United States, we were not safe from the scourge of terrorism, whatever source it came from. In my mind, it became all to clear that there was a price to pay for our openness as a society.
And the absolute worst day was September 11, 2001 when I finally felt that complacency and misguided sense of security, combined with a patient and resourceful enemy, extolled a grave toll in human lives on America. I will never forget that day, regardless of the attempts on the part of our current political leadership to diminish its historical significance. Those who died on 9-11-01 were innocent people. They deserve to be remembered and avenged.
On a personal level, I can say, with some degree of ambiguity that right now is probably one of my lowest valleys, as I await with trepidation my Marine son deployment to Afghanistan. I am so very proud of him for his service to our country, for stepping up of his own accord to wear the uniform of the Marine Corps. It is understood that as a Marine, in a country in middle of two wars, deployment in a combat zone is a reality to deal with, but actually having to see your own son getting on that bus is a definite low point of my life.

With all this, I must say that I am convinced that the blessings I have received from God outweigh the challenges He has placed on this half century voyage. I may falter in properly express my gratitude to Him for all the fortune he has bestowed upon me, but I know He can read my heart better than I could ever express. He has given me the gift of those people around me that I love do much, that mean so much to me and I could never repay Him enough for it.
And I am ready to face whatever time He has planned for me with the hope that He will continue to bless me as much.

And these are my thoughts!
Frank “Semperpapa”