Ciao Alessio

April 15th, 10:00 A.M. 3.6 Kilograms. 52.5 Centimeters. Ciao Alessio. Welcome to the world.

I got a wonderful call from my friend Angelo to tell me that Alessio had arrived, and that he and his mother were doing fine. At the time of the call, Alessio was all of an hour old. I decided to wait five days to pay him a visit, and here he is, doing what he likes to do best right now, sleeping. Jim Boeheim of Syracuse University had already stopped by, seeing if he would sign a letter of intent to play for the Orangemen in a few years. They could use a tall good looking guy like Alessio as center.

Franci suggested that Alessio would probably wait a few years before making up his mind, and thought that if he wanted a career in sports, he might be better off with a soccer career, as he had done a really good job kicking while inside, and he even would kick as soon as he woke up, before he was feed. Besides, look how well Luca Toni has been doing, first with Palermo, then with Florence, and now with Bayern Munich. So there is a market for tall good looking soccer players here.



Angelo, his father, said it did not really matter to him what Alessio decides to do, as long as he is happy with his life.

When I arrived, Alessio was of course sound asleep. He woke up slowly, with his feet trying to find the soccer ball, and his arms waving around to make sure that he was not called for a hand ball. He looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes, and smiled and said: 'Hi Zio Steve.' Well, maybe he did not really say that, but he and I were in the room together, alone, and I will never deny that he said that, and I will just suggest that perhaps he does not remember if you ask him.

Seriously, while I may not really be his uncle, Angelo and Franci have already told me that I will be called Zio Steve by him, and that I have the responsibility of teaching him to speak English. Nonna , who grew up in Switzerland, will teach him German, and everyone else will teach him Italian and Sicilian. It is our plan to have him quatrolingual by the time he starts school. Well, maybe not that early, but we will get him to speak some words in a bunch of languages.

I welcome Alessio to our world, and hope that we can make it a better place for him and his generation, and that he will grow up strong and smart, with a warm and caring heart, and that he will be a credit to his wonderful parents, and his kind and friendly grandparents. Ciao Alessio, it is good to have you with us.