Mario Pieroni

My father, Mario Pieroni, was born to hard-working Italian immigrants in Muncie, Indiana. In 1914, of course, doctors had no idea how to treat glaucoma. Dad suffered from painful eyedrops and a botched operation that took what little sight he had. At age four, his world became permanently dark. He could tell when the sun was out but as an adult, had no memory of colors. Intellectually he knew that fire trucks were red but didn’t remember what colors really looked like.

Yet Dad was lucky to have a brother three years older, Charlie, who became his mentor and was the impetus for many of their adventures. My grandparents, Antonio and Eletta Pieroni, allowed the boys great freedom to explore Muncie and when they were teenagers, traveled through Italy by themselves. Their fearless exploring helped my Dad to gain confidence, which contributed to his later success in law and politics.

Charles and Mario, ages 18 and 15, posing in Italy