47. Meet Carlos Randolph, the “Dad Around Town”

I want to introduce you to someone new.  He’s a dad by the name of Carlos Randolph living in Tower Lakes with two young children, Hannah (5) & Noah (3).  I first spoke with Carlos when I interviewed him last spring, four months after he lost his wife, Margie, to cancer.  I started following Carlos on Facebook.  His posts crack me up.  This guy is seriously funny and totally into technology so I asked him if he’d consider sharing his sense of humor with us here at 365Barrington in the form of stories about life as a dad in Barrington.  I thought he’d think I was crazy, but he agreed.  And now, I’m SO EXCITED to welcome our newest contributor here at 365Barrington.com, Carlos Randolph, otherwise known as the “Dad Around Town”!

Hello.  My name is Carlos Randolph

by Carlos Randolph, Father, Technology Guru, Tower Lakes Resident & The Dad Around Town

How did I become the Dad Around Town?  Well, it’s complicated but here is my story.

I moved to the Deer Park area from Rochester, Michigan in 1985 as freshman in high school.  Yes, I’m a big Detroit sports fan, especially for the Red Wings.

During high school I met my future wife, Margie, and we were married 10 years later and were together for 25 years.

We lived in Chicago for most of the time and had a daughter, Hannah, before moving back to the Barrington area in 2008.

When we decided to move back, we wanted to be in Barrington 220 for the schools and to live in a close-knit community.  We chose Tower Lakes and were happy.  We welcomed our second child, Noah, in the summer of 2009 and life was wonderful.  But as life some times does, it threw us a curve ball.  One month after Noah’s birth, Margie was diagnosed with breast cancer.

For two-and-a-half years Margie and our entire family battled the disease, but in January of 2012 she lost her battle.  It’s important that you know these broad level events because most of this changed my perspective and role.

Although I had a lot of help from both our families who live in the area, I essentially became a single parent having to work full-time and take on most of the family work load.

As fortune would have it, I wasn’t alone for very long.  Shortly after Margie’s passing I met someone, April, who has assumed the mantle and many of the responsibilities of a mother.  Fortunately, April has been accepted by both of my families and life continues to move on for us.

Because of all of these events I have met many people during the process.

One of them that I met is Liz who runs 365Barrington.  She did an article for the Wellness Place featuring myself, my daughter and Margie.

We’ve stayed in touch through Facebook and I was asked if I would contribute to the 365Barrington site with stories and information relating to family, Barrington and other general stuff.

If you know me, then you know I have some interesting stories and opinions.  Some you may agree with, some may make you laugh and some might make you wonder, “Why did he say that?”

For being a naturally introverted person, I’m sometimes very extroverted with what I write online.  You may not agree with some of it, or all of it.  But it’s from the heart and I try to share things that I feel are important.

I’m a graduate of Computer Science and have been involved with computers and technology for over thirty years.

I’ve been involved with the social aspect of computers since playing with Bulletin Boards back in the late eighties.  I consider most technicians to be either nerds or geeks.  I fall into what I consider the “cool” category of geek.  I’ve been told on a couple of occasions that I don’t look like a computer kind of guy.  I’m assuming that’s a positive thing.

Politically, I have more liberal than conservative traits.  I try to keep to the center but, these days, I can’t seem to find the center anymore.  Beyond that, I really don’t care what someone’s beliefs are. Those are their beliefs.  The only thing that gets me going are right kind of issues.  The one thing I will promise is that I will leave the political stuff for others to write about.

As far as Barrington goes, I really love the area.  The schools are top on my list, something I will expand upon in an upcoming article.

The unique shops and businesses are another thing I like.  I like that I can go to Deer Park or Lake Zurich for standard stores but come to Barrington for the unique places.

Besides being here on 365Barrington, you will find me typing away on Facebook and on Twitter.  Search for my name on either site or look for “macnlos”.  I’m a complete Apple geek as well.

“Macnlos” was my first online computer name back in the 80’s and it stands for ‘Mac’ and ‘Los’.  Mac being for Macintosh computers and Los being my nickname for Carlos.  If you do a google search for my name or Macnlos you will find a fair amount of hits out there.

So that’s me in a nutshell.  Hopefully you will find some interesting things with the articles I submit.  I will try and keep them related to the Barrington area as much as possible.  I hope that, if you have an opinion, you share it with me on the site.  I’m both happy and honored to be able to share some of my world with each of you.  Until next time…

*Final Note: Carlos and his family are again leading a team in the Wellness Place Community Cancer Walk and Run coming up at The Arboretum of South Barrington on Sunday, May 19th. Their team, called “Hannah’s Hope” is named after Hannah Randolph and they’re walking in memory of Hannah’s mom, Margie. CLICK HERE to find team “Hannah’s Hope” on Facebook and, to find the “Hannah’s Hope” fundraising page,  CLICK HERE.  Wellness Place is a resource for cancer patients and their families to go to for support during and after struggles with Cancer.  For more information about the event, visit WellnessPlace.org.