My ‘Rents are the Coolest!

My dad, like all dads, is a
great man. Even greater now that I do not live at home, under his rules.
Also, like so many dads, he learned much between when I was 12 and 22.
In just ten years he went from an out-of-touch tyrant, to an
intelligent, wise man, which of course, had nothing to do with my
maturing from a foolish runt to a young man.

My dad is quite the talented
one, though he is shy to admit it. He can build anything from a set of
plans, quite a few buildings around the world bear testament to that,
and he can build a few things without plans, a good son being one of
them.

Right now, he is working in
Vero Beach as a carpenter, taking it easy in the Florida heat. He does
get up before dawn to catch the sunrise over our intercostal waterway
bridges on his 5-10 mile runs. Actually, these days it is probably more
like 10-15 miles a day. He ran a 1/2 marathon at Disney World (See the Runner
Photo) and he is hinting that he will run a marathon in the near
future, and I wish him well. Just remember to drink a lot of water, dad.

He is also an artist when he is
not keeping trim. He can do wood, stone, steel and concrete sculptures,
mixing mediums and styles to make beautiful art. Carlos never stays with
one medium long, he was working on painting and wood blocks when I left,
so no telling what he’s into now.

On top is Neptune, one side of
a carving he made from sandstone. The other side is an Indian woman
carrying a basket, while on the bottom is a Tiki made from a palm tree
section. Dad also made tikis from thick oak sections and small sea
urchin spines.

When my parents were traveling,
he made beautiful leather goods in their van, the ‘Bit O’
Sole,’ as they drove all over Europe and South Asia. The stories
they tell from that experience, about taxi rides in India, Turks with
razor blades, snow angles in France, and ice cream shops in Germany are
what inspire me to get up and walk out the door each morning to see what
is over the next hill.

My mom is a wonderful and very
patient woman, she has to put up with my dad and I. Now she is a
librarian for an elementary school, after going back for her Masters
degree. Before that, she was a teacher in the elementary school in the
next county.

I didn’t have her as a teacher
in my school, but she sure did teach me when I was home. I remember one
summer I had to learn all the states and their capitals on a road trip
to Texas. My parents would drill me constantly, withholding cookies and
candy until I memorized them all. Now can have those Oreos?!

My mom is the best mom in the
whole wide world! (yeah, better than yours, too!)

Unbeknownst to many, my mom is
the real traveler in our family. She is the one who wanted to see the
world when my parents got married, and she’s the one that organized
their trip to Russia and England in the summer of 1998. My dad is the one who makes the trips fun, always
finding a way to get us into trouble.

I am one of the few people I
know who likes to travel with his parents because they are so cool on
the road.

I love my ‘rents.