Health & Fitness
The Greatest Man in the World
Each of us have someone we admire; someone who stands above all others and who helps us be all we may be. Here is that man for me.
He was born in the shadow of WWI grew up in the depression and came of age during the Second World War. He was a middle child of six. He was not very different than others who grew up in the Italian ghettos of Newark. He let go of personal pleasures to help the family work through the depths of the depression. Family always came first.
This young man did not possess exceptional physical prowess but had the keenest of minds. He skipped more than two grades and graduated high school at the age of 14. The older children of the neighborhood paid him to do their homework.
An inner ear infection kept him from the military but also took his hearing. He could speak in three languages, not counting the Italian dialect he learned from his grandparents. He attended college for a short period but left to help support his family and also due to the lack of maturity his early high school graduation gave him.
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He loved all sports, especially baseball. Every fighter was compared to Rocky Marciano and every baseball player to Joe Dimaggio. None ever met the challenge. He married Angelina Colatrella and had four children. Throughout his life as a parent, he never said anything ill of another race or ethnicity. He taught his children to treat all as they wanted to be treated and to not comment about others till you walked a mile in their shoes. He urged them to do their best and always to do the right thing regardless of cost.
Age was not kind to this man. An avid reader his entire life, he found this impossible as diabetes blinded him. His hearing also faltered so he was blind and very hard of hearing during the latter years of his life. He called his sons and daughters and conversed as if nothing were wrong. At family events he would smile and answer questions never asked. All accepted the answer as if it answered someting.
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Seventeen years ago tonight this man passed away. This man was my father, Ralph Splendorio. No books will be written of him. Few today outside his family may think of him but to me he was the greatest man who ever lived. I think of him every day and especially on this one. If my children think of me when I am gone as I do of him now, I will be the most successful of men.
