Special farewell to someone who certainly left an unforgettable mark.

Certainly, in the wonderful experience of going through this journey we call life, many are the people who have accompanied us and from whom we learn.

As we advance in age and experiences, we first share with those closest to us: dad, mom, aunts, uncles, brothers, cousins; then schoolmates and friends, later university and other environments, and so it goes along the way, where there are undoubtedly episodes that shape us into who we are.

Moments like moving from basic education to high school, the first love, the first trip with more independence from our parents' direct supervision, reaching adulthood, moving out and living in another city, another culture, learning another language, graduating from high school and entering university, graduating from university, having a child, losing a friend or a parent, finding, losing, or recovering a great love, and so many other special moments and stages so particular to each of us.

Personally, during specific times of the year, I tend to pause to reflect and try to frame different periods of the journey, distinguishing the wonderful company in those moments, those places, those experiences and learnings, and today is a day when one of the moments and experiences that most marked my life, contributing positively to what I am today, comes to my mind and heart.

Although I mentioned it some time ago, not many people are aware that when I was young, at 17 years old, in 1989, I had the opportunity to live as an exchange student in the United States.

I was walking with Roberto Emmanuel a couple of days ago and I asked him to remember how, when he was in preschool, I told him in jest that I was going to exchange him with another child and that in his new home he had to behave well and treat his new "mom" and "dad" with a lot of love, and if he were to have "siblings," he had to get along with them, and to imagine that situation and if he would like to do it, to which he replied he would never do it, and there I told him that I did, to which he showed great interest, since how is it that one can have an "exchange" dad, mom, and siblings? I replied that I was very sad because they had just told me that my "Dad" had just passed away and that he was already in the company of "Mom" in heaven.

I imagine his confusion, but he showed a wonderful interest in knowing something so unknown about his father, and upon finding myself in the position to answer his questions, what happened was that, like someone rewinding a movie to review the scenes lived (in this case rewinding a VHS cassette), I saw myself in September 1989 arriving at Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport, where I was received by a spectacular couple, truly like out of a movie, Pat and Tony Slowinsky, my "Mom" and "Dad", and from that moment, having the fortune to be one of their children, and for how magical the lived moments were, my life has a before and an after.

We were driving from the Twin Cities airport to Austin, MN, with dad and mom in front, and in the back were Carmen and I, she also an exchange student from Chile who turned out to be my "niece," as she would stay at the house of "Peggy," one of the daughters of the magnificent couple I now considered as parents, a condition that I would share honorably with Tom, Russell, Gene, Terry, Ronny, Cris, and Javier, another exchange student who had the chance to live with them years before.

Life offers us great gifts, satisfactions, and honors, and certainly having the fortune to have as "parents" two wonderful people from whom I learned so much is undoubtedly a reason for gratitude and happiness, despite the natural pain for their physical departure, but which invites a stronger existential reflection.

Countless are the experiences and learnings I vividly remember from our conversations, from the initial times when I didn't have much knowledge of the language and he tried to make myself understood, to when he took me to enroll as a Senior at Lyle High School, to later on during visits in subsequent years, talking about history and politics with his fellow World War II veterans, where he served in the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy.

There are so many conversations and topics we could talk about Tony, dad, from his job at one of the most emblematic companies not only in the region but in the country, Hormel, or of his experience in agriculture, especially in corn or soybean planting, or how he taught me to operate various tractors in both planting and harvesting tasks, or how to tend to pig farming or cattle ranching, perhaps we could also talk about his experience in property renovation, especially in the installation of floors and carpets, a trade where he also excelled with great quality, teaching me details and the secrets of his skill. I fondly remember the work done at important clinics in both Austin and Rochester, and at the Country Club venue, and thus hundreds, thousands of memories and places, and I must confess that there are many times I dream and wake up believing I am that age, 17 and 18 years old, which I celebrated there, and when I realize how much time has passed and that they are no longer here physically, it overwhelms me with deep nostalgia, but no, that's not what I want to talk about.

What I want to refer to, and I have the full and absolute certainty that whoever reads these lines can assure, is that Tony Slowinsky fulfilled a very important mission, that of creating a magnificent family whose distinctive mark was unity, he was always there to give the best advice, offer his friendship and unconditional support, and make the Slowinsky surname a very special reference.

His children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends, colleagues, today we mourn his departure, but at the same time, we must thank that we had the fortune to have his company on this wonderful journey, and that from today he is in the company of Pat, mom, and will continue to advise us always with his calm, kindness, and wisdom.

Thank you for everything, dad.