Category: Dad Stories

Ancient Tech

While on a walkabout the kids found an olde antique shop in San Dimas. There they came about an ancient device with some odd dial for sale. They pawed at it with wonder for a minute before I stepped in. I told them a land-before-time tale of phones without screens. 
They stood there in wonderment of them simpler times.

Something Ain’t Right

Something doesn’t feel right. That’s the emotion you get sometimes. 
Maybe it’s when the tires finally reach your driveway and the faces are not looking at you from the windows. Other times is when your eyes open after a deep sleep and the usual weight at the foot of the bed is now missing. A dull dread creeps in and soon you find yourself searching, pacing, and calling out names. Nerves fray further with each passing minute. Imagination takes over and you run through countless scenarios and outcomes each worse than the last. 
Then you may discover something…the swaying side gate, the unlatched door at the cage or a dug-out hole at the far southern part of the fence. 
That’s when the real concern kicks on and guilt mixes with fright and you wonder if your family will be whole ever again.

My dad never

My dad never taught me how to fish but he showed me that grown men do cry. My dad couldn’t instruct me on how to drive but he drove me to the driving school. My father didn’t teach me English but I learned from him that words on paper can be powerful. My father didn’t have a lot of time for me after work but I saw in him the ability to will himself into performing one more shift. My old man was too tired for basketball but he made enough so I’d have shoes and a ball. 
There are so many things Silvio didn’t, couldn’t, was unable to do when it came to me and I resented some of those at the time. Now near 40 and with kids of my own I’ve come to see the flip side of those things.

Class of 2017

It’s been going on for at least a couple of weeks. 
Special days that once seemed so far off finally come to pass. For so many of you, I’ve cherished seeing the great many photos of the graduating class of 2017. From elementary school to college there are so many smiling talented young people who have reached a goal line. Along with them is a throng of proud parents and caregivers who with tears in their eyes got to witness the manifestation of so much hard work and sacrifice. If the group of people in the caps and gowns are the future then I am hopeful of what things may come. 
Congrats to all the 2017 grads!

Wonder Daughter

My date arrived at about 7 minutes before 11. Twenty minutes or so later the action started on the screen and the princess she had been waiting to see emerged into the picture. For the next couple of hours I saw her mouth wide open as the heroine made tough choices. She giggled at how naive she was as a young woman in the world. She fidgeted in her seat when it seemed that there might be a kiss on the screen. She tugged at my watch when the going got tough for Diana and it wasn’t certain that she’d win the day. 
When it was all done and over and we were making our way out of our Krikorian she proudly looked at me in the eye and told me that “I want to be her.” I smiled and told her that in so many ways, she already is.

Lost Connection

At about 18.6 miles past the teeny-tiny town of Springville, CA I lost cellular connection and was cut off from the world (electronically) for four days. My heart didn’t sink but my grey-matter registered the moment. Into the Redwoods we went. 
On Monday the 29th of May at about 16.4 miles from good ole Sprinville my phone came back to life and with it a myriad of familiar pings, dings and screeches. My grey-matter registered the moment and my heart sunk quite a lot.

Life Aquatic

I could not wait to get into the water so I ignored my mother’s order to walk and not run towards the surf. 
This was the early 80s and unlike kids today I did not have to wait to apply sunblock or unload a myriad tools. No, all I had to do was open the car door and jet out towards the water with my parent’s yells become less loud with every rushing step. I stuck to the shallower part of the beach for some minutes allowing the frothy water tickle my toes. This made me shiver. Eventually I stepped further into the beach and started to really size up the waves breaking up ahead.
I must have taken a step to far before I realized I was out of my depth and instinctively turned around to head to dry sand. Too late, a big heavy wave pulled me towards it and heavy water pounded on my shoulder and head like a hammer. The next sensation was the pressure at my back pushing me into the depths while my scream let out a hundred air bubble out. Next came the sting of a rock hitting my knee and the feeling that this would never end. Somehow I found footing and I raised myself enough to get some air. That’s when the next wave hit and I was plunged back into the fear. Finally I felt a tug at my hand as my dad fished me out. 
When I cleared my eyes I saw him standing there with the water barely lapping his shins. He asked if I was okay. I told him I was. 
Years later, right before he died he retold me recounted his memory of that day. He said he thought I’d be okay in life because moments soon after this happened I was once again chortling out belly laughs while in the surf while occasionally keeping an eye on the breaking waves.

Master Linguist

I’ve developed a bit of a bad habit as of late.
 Whenever I’ve caught one of the Torres children using an idiom I find myself inquiring on whether they really know its meaning. 
I don’t want them to play things by ear. Saying random things not knowing their meaning is for the birds. So I rather hear it from the horse’s mouth if they really know the meaning. It’s my goal that before I kick the bucket to teach them the fun and wonder of language. So as a parent I am taking the bull by the horns by quizzing and teaching. One may even said I’m taking care of two birds with one stone.

The Belt that Binds

My old man used to promise me “the belt” from time to time. 
It was one of his most priced possessions and one day he’d pass it on to me. I could not care less of it. It represented how it bound him to the house that I wanted to leave desperately so I could go hang out with friends like other teens. In time I moved out permanently at what happened to the belt I do no know. I only thought of it today as I shopped for one so I could keep my most used tools near now that I’m working on home projects left and right. They aren’t chores and I have fun doing them.
 I suppose I have fallen in love with Casa Torres. My children might say I’m bound to it.

Grad Information Nite

So here I sit. 
Among a throng of about 30 other shell-shocked parents about to discuss the last 30 days of Elementary school life for our children. How fast a half dozen years went by! How common did these school grounds become! How invested did we get in the daily ebb and flow of PTA and more. How familiar are we with many of the faces in the room. 
I find myself in awe of the family we have become as time has passed by. I also now realize that we are due more shell-shock in a few months