Five Years to Live
Page 21
My brother Michael is fifty. Wow, does that make me feel old. I recall growing up believing that Michael was the gifted one. Just like God gave us Dad to teach us life with integrity, God gave us Michael to show the world that one person, even under the most adverse circumstances, can bring great joy and happiness to the world and be an inspiration to thousands of people.
Regardless of where he was—either living in Dunkirk, or at Canisius, or working for Aces, or living in Delhi, or in the hospital, or all the years in Phoenix—people were and are drawn to Michael. People want to associate with Michael. People seek his advice. No matter how many people seek his help and counsel, Michael never refuses anyone. He accommodates everyone. He makes everyone feel better about themselves simply because they know Michael .
How does he do this? It’s not just words...talk is cheap. It’s the way he conducts himself; the strong moral principles that guide his life; his ability to take more pain and suffering than any human being I have ever met and still smile and still be positive and still inspire others.
We all prayed for a miracle when we learned of the accident. We asked God to let Michael walk again. What we have been missing is God gave us several miracles already. It is a miracle Michael survived that accident. It is a miracle he has lived far beyond the life expectancy for someone with his injury. It is a miracle he has the strength and determination to perform all his amazing acts of goodness and kindness. It is a miracle another generation of Battaglia’s/Mancuso’s has enjoyed the pleasure of his company. It is a miracle for all the youth he has guided and counseled. It is a miracle that Andre House has such a wonderful benefactor.
What the past fifty years have proven is that Michael is indeed the gifted one. The world is a better place simply because he was in it, and we have been given the gift of knowing him and sharing his love.
Thank you, God, for giving us the miracle that is Michael Battaglia.
In May 2012, the family was together in Phoenix. Michael was watching the movie The Count of Monte Cristo with his nieces and nephews. At the birthday toast scene, Michael said, “I love this scene,” and then he said the words along with Edmond Dantès: “Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome: ‘Do your worst! For I will do mine!’ Then the fates will know you as we know you. As Albert Mondego, the Man.”
His nieces and nephew sat there for a moment in breathless silence. They knew that their uncle not only believed those lines, but he also felt those emotions, he exemplified those words. He made it the DNA of his destiny, the commencement of his character. To them he was the living definition of that statement. It was the way he chose to live his life, it was the philosophy that made him the man that they all loved and admired.
Today Michael Battaglia continues to live an exemplary life. He continues to proclaim that he will survive his accident and injury by fifty years. It would not be wise to bet against him .