Dear readers;

I would like to take the time to introduce you to someone you might not have known. His name is Samuell Renaldo and he has been a good friend of mine for the past week. I met him out in Blacksburg. He is as close as one could come to being homeless. He lives in a cheap apartment shared by two other families and he is currently attempting to feed his family of four - himself, his wife and his two young hijos (that is son in Spanish for those of you who did not know) Luis and Timothy. Sadly, Luis and Timothy are not in our education system but are homeschooled by Samuell's esposa (that is wife in Spanish), Franchesa.

I met Samuell on a trip across the border into Blacksburg and found him taking a siesta out at Nellie's Cave Park under the shade of his oversized hat. He told me about his predicament and the only solution I could think of was to help the guy out. I decided to give this guy a free ride to Radford University. Why, do you ask? Because he deserved it.

We hopped in my car and drove down I-81 towards Radford with the radio on. I wanted to put on 92.3 or 101.7 or even 105.3 but he wanted to turn on some other type of station. I do not remember the frequency it was because I switched it off later once I dropped him off and went back home.

We stopped at Taco Inn because we both were hungry. I cannot remember what he put on his plate but I ordered a Pepsi and three tacos. It was good stuff, really. I paid the bill because he had no cash on him. Poor guy.

Finally, I drove him to Radford University. We parked in the lot next to Muse that runs parallel to Main Street and the railroad tracks. It was a sunny day and I took him through a quick tour of campus. Showed him the various places to eat on campus. He seemed to enjoy it all. Heck, he even got a free smoothie from the folks at the smoothie store because I told them that he deserved it.

After the tour was over, I brought him to the courses I was taking this semester. We sat through all of those courses. The professors seemed a bit concerned that he was not signed up for their course (and therefore had not paid tuition to take them) but once I told them that he deserved to be there, all complaints were silenced.

Things were quite similar the next day when I took him back to campus. He still did not have any cash but when the folks at the cafeteria below Muse were told that he deserved a free meal, he was able to stop in and grab a bite with me. We sat through the same courses again, this time without any complaints. After all, he deserved the right to be there, student or not. Why should he be restricted from courses because he was not a student, did not pay his bills to be there and was not signed up for the courses?

The following day did not go well at all. After learning that Mr. Renaldo was not a student, Radford University sent him back to Blacksburg and told him that he would need to fill out the proper paperwork to enter the country, I mean, university (sorry, I have been busy today and slipped up there). Once he got back in, he would need to pay what he owed to the university to be able to be considered a citizen of the school. I thought it was a bit bizarre but hey, Radford makes their own rules. They are a country of their own rights and rules if you think about it.

In hindsight, I suppose it would be illegal to take Samuell to Radford to take classes when he was not a student. I, in turn, made him an illegal student. We should have taken the time to enroll him by filling out the proper paperwork and paying the dues that every student has to pay to enter the campus.

Poor Samuell Renaldo. Hopefully his lesson can be learned and heeded by all.