Three Roses And A Carnation

Elcor Vincent Aragundi lived his career as a professional racing jockey, but as a native from Ecuador born in Quito, he was first inspired with poetry by his mother when he was still a boy. Between then and the moment he had grown, he began to write poetry in Spanish when he was still in school. He continued to write through the years even after he came to the United States back in March of 1954. Not knowing a word of English when he stepped off the plane in Florida, he ended up getting lost at a bus stop to eat. He returned unable to match the bus he was on with that of the number he held. The bus driver had unknowingly left without him. It took two hours before they could find someone that would translate. English has always been a huge struggle for him, though he desperately wanted to learn. It at times would leave him frustrated from the defied opportunities from his inability to communicate and adapt into the language. That was then; now a proud American citizen celebrating his fifty-fifth year in the United States, he is a renowned poet with trophies, medals, and merits awarded to him for his work, his passion, and his art. Recognized by the International Society of Poets in Owings Mills, Maryland, “A Flight in the Night” was published back in 2002 by the International Library of Poetry. He has been writing in English now for twenty-five years. With over a hundred poems written, half of them reside in Spanish, and the other half in English. His work is not only a milestone but an inspiration of the heart that proves yet that nothing can stand in the way of his love for poetry.

Three Roses: Living with Muscular Dystrophy and Marrying the Ideal Woman introduces a man who knew from his early childhood that he would face life with the ever-present reality of muscular dystrophy. Despite the challenges this condition presented him, Michael S. Hudecki achieved both professional success and personal contentment. His memoir relates the circumstances of his childhood, follows him through his academic years, and relates how, while pursuing his PhD in biology at the University of Buffalo, he came to know and to love the woman of his dreams—Rajmohini Sebastian, a Fulbright scholar from India. Despite three years of living apart following their graduation, they reunited at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Meeting her after she cleared customs checks, he presented her with a dozen red roses and three yellow roses, one for each year they spent apart. They married soon after that. Three Roses opens a window into the life of someone who faces life with courage and faith, who makes a valued and lasting contribution to the world’s body of knowledge concerning muscular dystrophy, and recognizes and follows the beckoning of his heart.

Preliminary material -- PIETAS -- DIVA ANGERONA -- PROFĀNUS,PROFĀNĀRE -- GRAVITAS AND MAIESTAS -- FELICITAS IMPERATORIA -- CUPID AND PSYCHE -- THE GOLDEN BOUGH -- THE GODDESS CERES AND HER ROMAN MYSTERIES -- ON THE MAGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TAIL -- THE ORIGIN OF THE GODDESS VENUS -- ORARE, PRECARI -- AUGUSTUS AND VESTA -- CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS OF ANCIENT ROMAN RELIGION -- INDEX OF AUTHORS CITED -- INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1891.