Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 181
from A & M, she lived in my single-father home for practically 17 years, until she got
married on June 23, 1995, at age 27. She saw me through all my pain with the divorce
and later with a couple of failed relationships I endured. She was my friend, supporter
and confidant. She not only lived with me, more like raising father, but also worked with
me at Aerofit. I knew every friend she had, although in all honesty I sometimes wished
she did better. When she finally got serious with Ricky Soto, now her husband, she
entered into a compact with me. I would give her all my support, even allowing her to
live with him at my house, if she promised not to marry him until he graduated from
college. Ricky responded without a hitch and she became his guiding light. They are
now happily married and have given me the greatest joy I could ask for – two wonderful
granddaughters who now bring new purpose to my life.
Family life at home extended to some of my nephews and nieces also. As I indicated
before, my brother Chuso made the decision to stay in Bolivia and fight against the
communist takeover promoted by the Soviet Union and its Cuban surrogates. The
Bolivian front often flared into violent actions and his house was bombed a couple of
times. His children were under constant threat. To seek some safety, all three spent
extended times with me in my home in Bryan in preparation for their higher education.
The oldest one, Diana, and the youngest one, Nicky, spent their whole senior high
school years with me, just one year ahead and one year after Lis. Diana also became
my good friend and supporter. She is now a very successful energy/high tech executive
in Houston. I often felt that they were doing more to raise me than I was doing for them.
Toqui and Napo’s son, Danny Araujo my nephew, became very close to me while he
attended TAMU. His oldest sister, Tatiana, also made my home her base of operations.
Later, Christian Madsen, one of my children’s cousins from Denmark came to live with
me also, staying for about a year and working at Aerofit. Other cousins from France and
Bolivia also dropped by for shorter periods. My home was an open house for family and
friends wanting to visit. I think these were great opportunities for growth and
understanding of other cultures.
Eventually, when I married Susan, it dawned upon me that my family had benefited a lot
from, and contributed some to, Bryan-College Station, Texas and the whole nation. I
began thinking that our love for our adopted country was so real that it would be proper
to leave a tangible reminder for my descendants. My life’s story, though not unique,
could be used as a source of values and unity for those whom I touched. I passionately
felt that, as the first Galindo Anze to appreciate America in its fullest form, I had a
historical obligation to communicate my thoughts and feelings to present and future
generations. I wanted to formalize the completion of my becoming an American. That
desire was also the genesis of this book.
To accomplish this goal and to celebrate the planting of my family’s roots in Texas, I
decided to call all the people with whom I had crossed paths in a significant way since
my arrival in 1957. I asked them to provide me with a biographical summary of their own
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