MY DEPARTED SPECIAL FRIEND'S VERY SPECIAL SISTER..........

In yesterday's Sacramento Bee Our Region section on the front page there was a feature story entitled, "Inspired by Jackie Robinson, girl writes of brother's bravery". This wonderful story is about an essay written by an 8th Grade student at Presentation Parish School in Arden area of Sacramento, Stephanie Mauro - the sister of my late friend Alex, who died in March. Stephanie's essay was written for the Breaking Barriers contest sponsored by Major League Baseball, as a memorial to the pioneering African American baseball player, Jackie Robinson. The concept of the essay contest is to contrast Robinson's trailblazing accomplishments and values as a Hall of Fame baseball player, with the challenge of being the first black to play in the major leagues, by recognizing students who facing near insurmontable challenges, have broken through to success. Alex Mauro, who was traumatically and permanently injured when he was thirteen months old, lived with the, "neurological devastation", of his disabilities for the remaining years of his life, until he passed away two and a half months ago at age 20. Stephanie wrote how her brother Alex struggled and the impact it had on her and her family writing, "My life was so much different because of him". And upon learning she was the winner of the essay contest, "Most people don't think about the family of the disabled person. It affects everyone around them. It's hard to go through. Most people don't talk about it". Stephanie's essay was chosen for the grand prize from among 9,000 essays submitted in this fourteenth annual competition which was started by Jackie Robinson's daugther Sharon, who is an MLB education consultant, "to help students identify strategies to overcome obstacles using the values her dad personified". Sharon Robinson went on to say, "We look at how well the children define the oobstacles in ttheir life and how they have grown from it; Stephanie has come out of this as a real advocate for people with disabilities. She hhas shown a lot of maturity". For winning the essay contest, Stephanie and her 8th Grade teacher, Rita Casagrande, each wil receive a laptop computer and Stephanie will attend the Baseball All Star Game in July, with Sharon Robinson. In addition to chronicling her brother Alex's story in her winning essay, Stephanie also wrote of her deceased grandfather, Carmen Mauro, who was a Broklyn Dodgers teammate of Jackie Robinson in 1953. A job well done Stephanie.....Kudos and Congratulations and Thank You for sharing the lasting value of Alex's life and the role he played in reminding others just how special and precious Life is..........
In The Spirit of Family, Fidelity, And The Fruitfulness We As Human Beings Bear, Fr. Troy