Author: HTorres

Morning of September 11 2001

I plopped down at my work chair and with a cup of coffee in hand turned the knob on the radio to KROQ. In minutes Ralph Garman on the airwaves started to talk about planes and New York and with an impulse I changed the station to Howard Stern. 

From moment to moment the news grew bleaker and then someone rolled the office TV out. The rest of the day flew by. We watched through the glass the pain of men, women and children at the other side of the nation. We worried about our own and knew the wold was changing in front of our eyes. On this day…every year hence I’m reminded of the fragility of life and the ugliness of people at their worst. 

Luckily for me I witnessed a throng of little minds pledging allegiance at their school today and it gave me hope.

Dad Stories – Death and Eggs

We had an unexpected talk about the meaning of death around the breakfast table this morning after listening to my kids telling silly scary stories that involved one another.
It’s challenging to hear your kids utter some words and as I heard them a twinge of pain fell over me. I stopped them and asked to talk.
We discussed the finality of death and what it means to loose someone close to our hearts. The dog we recently lost was brought up and that we would never see her again. This hit a nerve. A sad one.
I did not like to break up their imaginative silly talk with a serious conversation. But at that point my adventurers needed to know my feelings on the matter and how it was impacting me. 
It’s not easy this parenting gig and I can’t say I handled it perfectly but I think we all grew up a little over eggs and biscuits.

When I was a kid

When I was a kid I wanted to be zapped by a lazer and get super powers. When I was a thirteen I wanted to use my own Transformer to fight bad guys. When I was a young adult I wanted to write the great American novel. When I turned 18 I wanted to drive somewhere far far away! 
As I take stock now I’d like to think that I DID become a bit of hero to at least a couple of young minds, that I take effort to do right for myself and others, that my little bursts of writing inspire some and that road trips with my family are the best stress-reliever in the world. ?#
Perspective…that’s a super power que no?



Morning Soundtrack

Many mornings I wake up to the sound of horses, squawking macaws, squirrels rustling in the bushes and the dog’s pitter patter about the house. But on very special moments I also get to include the sweet silly songs my kids make and perform when they know there’s no audience.

That’s the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard….

LOVE WINS

I’m not a smart man…but I know what love is. 

I am also an immigrant who came to this country believing in the freedoms it promised and the opportunities my parents sought. I met the best person I’ll ever know and together we are raising a family. My story is peculiar to me but average in the great-scheme-of-things and I’m okay with that.

There have been so many good men and women who have sought the same freedoms but where institutionally denied by a system clinging to old fashioned ideas. Then this week I woke up to wonderful news and I now say that I’m glad that a whole bunch of my country men and women will rejoice in enjoying the same right I had to build a life without a legal fear. 

On the morning of June 26, 2015 I woke up to a country that once again continues it’s path towards becoming a more perfect union. ?#?USA? #USA



The Frill of Air Conditioning

My mother believed that cool air in the car is a luxury to be used sparingly even on hot East LA summer days. So wind swept hair that my kids consider a novelty is for me a reminder of sweaty backs, fried nerves and too little back seat space during scalding afternoon drives in our brown Izusu I-Mark.

Pomp and Circumstance

My kids are not graduating today and yet as I hear the Pomp & Circumstance playing at their campus for those who are I can’t help but feel a little sad. It’s bittersweet to think that there’ll be a flock of good kids I’ve met moving on to higher grades. Along with them parents who have become friends move with them. I’m sure we’ll KIT somehow. Have a great summer everyone!



Spots of Tears

While at my sales meeting I looked down at my black shirt and noticed a couple of spots. I then remembered hugging my daughter at drop off earlier in the morning while she cried. I had to do some parenting and since I couldn’t have her leave with tears we shared an embrace. The two salty spots reminded me of that moment…the one she’s surely long forgotten about by now.

The Unboxing

The kids bough a console with their bday gift money that I picked up this morning. I started to unbox it so it’d be set up when they got home after school today. But then I remembered the joy of picking up my first Nintendo Entertainment System from the Montebello Toys R Us and slowly pulling the component parts when I got home. So it now sits in the box…Mario & his pals smiling at me while I wait a few more hours till the lil’ ones get here.