Nearly 50 years of memories with Gene. When did it begin? In October 1973, I was in my office at the University of Delaware. I had just accepted an offer to return to Penn State in January 1974 as assistant dean in the College of the Liberal Arts. My secretary came into my office and said that I had a call from a Dr. Melander at Penn State. I took the call. It was the first of many calls--and they were always lengthy encounters. About 1.5 hours into my call with Dr. Melander, I broke into the conversation and reported that I had a meeting to attend, and was there a specific question he would like to ask me. He replied, saying, "would you be willing to serve as a member of the newly formed Bachelor of Philosophy Program". I replied I would. The call ended, and I attended my meeting. As the years passed, I had many such telephone conversations with Dr. Melander. Lovingly, I renamed the man--he was Dr. Eugene Meander. I always loved the conversations, especially as they meandered over the landscape of thought. The conversations roamed everywhere! Fast forward through the years, and this fellow--a great friend, mentor, connoisseur of fine wines and culinary delights, ideas and philosophy--becomes, along with Jackie, a wonderful family friend of the Romano clan, my wife Stephany, and our two children, Alexandria and Bradley. I don't recall how many dinners we all enjoyed--but they were always wonderful encounters in everyone of the past five decades. As the years past, it became abundantly clear to me, that this Minnesota born Swede, with some claim to lutefisk, was an Italian Wannabe--he savored the food, the culture, the people, everything Italian. As the years past and our conversations blossomed more deeply into Italian culture and civilization, once again, it was time to address his name, and he was renamed, lovingly, of course, GEEE-NO! Melandini. To him, I was Giovanni. He was also my personal librarian. He recommended books of all kinds--Italian cookbooks, Italian novels, books on philosophy, culture and on and on. I read all of his recommendations. But he not only recommended the titles--the actual books arrived in the mail. Only two weeks before his unexpected departure, two more books arrived in the mail from GEEE-NO! The last one entitled, "I Am God", by Giacomo Sartori. I suspect, that is where he is, counseling God and others nearby. His was a life richly lived. I miss him greatly.