Guest MINDSETTER™ Fitzpatrick: What Buddy Cianci Taught Me
Monday, February 08, 2016
As my class ended, I turned on my phone and a voicemail appeared. It was from Buddy. A week earlier I called for advice on how to navigate the highs and lows I experienced during my first semester at Fordham University School of Law. When he answered my phone call moments later, I asked him a question he knew and understood all too well. “How do you get back up after getting knocked down?” Without hesitation, he said, “that’s just it, you get back up, and never quit.” He went on to tell me that when you encounter adversity you look to your family, your friends, and most of all to the future. He was always the eternal optimist.
My last conversation with Buddy was just as remarkable as the first. It all began when I was a high school freshman at Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I decided to write Buddy after watching a television segment that chronicled his career as mayor of Providence. The captivating story of his life lived almost entirely in the public eye and his revitalization of an old industrial New England city compelled me to write him. Buddy was nearing the end of what he often said was a “speed bump” in his life. I didn’t expect a response from the former mayor, but he proved me wrong. Buddy answered my letter and explained to me how he helped to reinvent and reinvigorate Rhode Island’s capitol city. Throughout the remaining year of Buddy’s prison term, we exchanged letters regularly. He always concluded his correspondence by telling me to study and work hard in school.
True to his word, Buddy and I finally met in 2007 when he returned to Providence. Since then, I have visited him in Providence with my family and called him for guidance. It has always been my intention to enter a career in politics. As a mentor, Buddy taught me that public service is about what is possible. It is an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. Buddy loved Providence and the people he served. When the nation viewed Providence as a decrepit and dying city without a future, Buddy knew it was possible for the city to become a nationally renowned artistic and cultural destination. He knew it was possible for Providence to become one of most livable cities in the country. He knew it was possible for the people of Providence to be proud of their city.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBefore we ended our last conversation, Buddy told me he wanted me to succeed. “Don’t give up, kid,” he said. If there is anything that I learned from Buddy Cianci, it’s to always get back up after getting knocked down and never give up.
Related Slideshow: Cianci Through The Years
Related Articles
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Christi Reiss: Beyond the East Side: Different Post-Mortem of Cianci’s Defeat
- BREAKING: Former Providence Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Has Died at 74
- Buddy Cianci’s History in Pop Culture
- The Many Faces of Cianci: The Journal’s Jihad by Artin Coloian
- Dr. Patrick Conley: I Hated to Like Cianci
- Only City Flags Will Fly at Half-Staff for Cianci, Raimondo Refuses to Lower Flags
- Cianci To Marry Haywood
- EDITORIAL: The Dumbest Idea Since Cianci Wanted a Helicopter
- Cianci Threatened to Sue Author Ann Hood
- Breaking: Buddy Cianci Collapses After Portrait Ceremony
- NEW: Cianci Checks Out of Hospital After Collapse, Attends Celebratory Dinner
- 1-on-1 with Vartan Gregorian, Former Brown President, on Buddy Cianci
- Funeral Arrangements for Cianci
- Don Roach: Buddy Cianci Will Never be Forgotten
- WPRO’s Big Problem Filling the Cianci Time Slot — Who’s Next
- Final Details Released Regarding Buddy Cianci’s Visiting Hours & Funeral
- PHOTOS: Cianci Lies in Repose in Providence City Hall
- Jencunas: Remembering Buddy Cianci
- Matt Fecteau: Honoring “Buddy” Cianci’s Legacy
- PHOTOS: Buddy Cianci Through the Years
- Siedle Calls Cianci “Rhode Island’s Least Dangerous Politician”
- Raimondo Changes Mind, Will Fly State Flag at Half-Staff for Cianci
- PHOTOS: Day 2 Vincent Cianci in Repose at Providence City Hall
