Life can start again at seventy. Jerry Smith is living proof of this and tells it with a mixture of joy and emotion. “I had just retired, with my wife Tammy we don't have any children, our life was in Colorado, United States, without jolts. I knew I was adopted, my American mother never hid it from me or from the other two brothers. I decided to come to Sardinia because the baptismal certificate mentioned a church, San Giacomo di Burcei. I have not found the church, also because there is no parish dedicated to San Giacomo in the town. I found my family. My mother Maria is no longer there, but there are my four brothers, my grandchildren: life now has another light ».

The unexpected and beautiful gift, meeting his relatives from Burcei, Jerry received on his 70th birthday, last October 21st. These days Jerry and his wife Tammy are back in town for Easter.

Jerry, did you go back to Burcei to stay there?

“No, it's not possible at the moment. I have properties and interests in the United States. But I'm looking for a house in Burcei, I plan to spend six months a year in Colorado and the rest in Sardinia ».

Do you have any memories of when you were a child?

«I recognized the orphanage in Cagliari where I stayed until the age of 4 and a half. It was near the church of San Giacomo, Villanova area. I have two flashes in my mind: first of all that the person responsible for my condition as a child without parents was a doctor. And I have the image of a nun who protects me with a sort of curtain from the rain. Then the dark ».

Remember the trip from Italy to the United States?

«Little, I was little. However, I still have my passport: the midwife reported me to the registry office as Silvestro Silvestro, in the document there is also the title of the humanitarian aid project on the basis of which I was adopted in 1956 ».

Had he ever thought of looking for his real mother?

“Honestly no, out of a debt of gratitude to my American parents who adopted me and two other brothers as well. They gave us a house, the opportunity to study, I worked as a psychologist, above all a lot of love ».

Then that trip, in October.

“My adoptive parents are gone, my wife is retired too, we decided to spend a month in Italy, we had been there four more times. Last stop in Burcei. Thanks to the owner of a B&B in Cagliari, Marco, I started this research, I showed up in the Town Hall, the employee saw me and immediately understood who I was because someone in Burcei knew the story of Maria Muccelli's first child, for everyone tzia Marietta ».

Which?

"That the midwife took me to the orphanage in Cagliari after the birth."

Did you ask for more news of your mother?

“Yes, to everyone I've known. Everyone told me she was a beautiful person, a good woman, hardworking and sweet. Then I learned that Marietta had presented herself to the orphanage, she wanted to recover me: only two days had passed since my birth, they told her I was gone. I also learned that my mother has never forgotten me, that she was in pain having not heard from me anymore ».

From the Town Hall they told her that she had four brothers.

“Yes, but at first I was worried. My two brothers in the US had looked for their families of origin, one in Northern Italy, the other in Mexico, they found them and were refused: bear in your face and not even a greeting ".

Instead in Burcei.

"It was wonderful. Isidoro, Luigia, Graziella and Paolo welcomed me as if we had known each other forever. With affection and generosity. Paolo has made a part of his house available to me, the one where mother Marietta lived, and I'm putting it back in place. Two grandchildren will come to visit us in the United States and with my wife we will help them find a job opportunity. Yes, they changed my life ».

Would you like to know who your father is?

"No, it doesn't matter."

He brought a flower to his mother's grave.

"Yup".

What did he tell her?

(tears) “Thank you for making the hardest decision, giving up on me. I want you to know I've had a good life. Love You so much".

Paolo Carta

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