On December 1963 I was brought to this world. My parents used to live in Pedra Corrida, a village in the country side of Minas Gerais in Brazil that was used by workers of Acesita Co. My father worked there as a driver.
With six months of age, I was caught by the shameless virus of the polio, a terribly mortal disease. When it does not kill, it leaves an unforgettable reminder in the body of its victims. In my case, both legs were atrophic and I was never able ever to walk in life.
Since then we had about six years of travelling on the lap of my mother from Pedra Corrida to Belo Horizonte, where I was been treated at the Baleia Hospital. These trips were very long, by train, at night, with much coldness and difficulties. But my mother carried all out, with strength and optimism.
During the sixth year of this fight, after five surgeries, plaster literally from the tip of the feet to the neck, heavy appliances made of iron, my sister and I reached the school age. My parents, then, moved to Colonel Fabriciano, where life would provide me with the most beautiful phase of my childhood: trolleys, slides, "birosca" (at other places called marble) and so on.
Later on when teenage years arrived I started studying at Polyvalent School, a very beloved school by this generation. There I made solid friendships. Friends I still maintain close contact. And at this time I had also my first big passion (a platonic one, of course) and because of that I also made my first poetry verses.
With twenty years old finally I managed to win the prejudices against handicapped people and to get a job. I started working at Radio Galáxia-FM. All was too difficult. I used to live very far away, the buses weren’t adapted as they are today for handicapped people, we didn’t have a car, each day a different friend walked me with my wheelchair. To complicate a bit, the Radio was located at the third floor of a building without elevator. It had to raise me trailing by the stairs. But I had energy and enthusiasm.
At this time I wanted to be an announcer, but I grabbed an opportunity as a writer. My work was consisting basically in copying the news of the newspapers, reproducing them to other words and not to be seen as copies. My enormous luck is that in that time the great Brazilian newspapers were tremendously well written, which provided me a gigantic growth in the area of the good writing.
I was using a typewriter that had the same age as I at the time. It left me many calluses on the fingers, but also a great technique to write, of which I live up with today.
I always looked forward acquiring a good academic formation, since I might not be able to earn my living as a footballer or soccer player, who could became very rich without any study. Like a singer, even less, since when I was singing in the bathroom all the neighbors closed their windows not to listen any of it.
Among many studies and much work I was surviving life and its many love affairs. Sometimes I was happy, at other time (the majority of it) frustrated, disappointed, and in other good parts of life I also caused frustrations and disappointments. That is the life!
At the forties, after many struggles, lovers and a divorce, I felt free. But in a short time this freedom turned into solitude. I always had a hunger for knowledge, I did a post-graduation course. I also studied Communication.
During the 60 days that followed, I started to receive e-mails from the coordinator of the course of Human Resources, explaining the qualities, disciplines and so on. At eleven o’clock at night the night before the definite enrolment, I received one more e-mail from him. I found an insolence that I never had received any notice from the coordinator of the course for which I was registered. Then I decided to prestige the one who was giving me such prestige too and started the course.
At the first day of study, a lovely girl was seated by my side. I began to play with "Mafalda" (my wheelchair) against her sit. When, finally, she protested opening the arms and asking: ' but what are you doing?? 'I answered: ' only because you are so pretty you don’t look at me? I am looking at you for 40 minutes and I demand reciprocity. '
She laughed at me. A short time after we began dating got married and we are happy up to today at a simple and delicious home, in one of the loveliest beaches of the "capixaba" coast in Espírito Santo State, Brazil.
God was always very good for me. He did not give me most of the things what I asked. But He gave me many other things I haven't included in my plans. He denied a great deal of my choices instead choose what was better for my life.