The Pure One
My father, El Puro, isn’t an intellectual or an academic. He’s not a doctor or lawyer. Doesnt do people’s taxes or invest their monies. He won’t find a cure for cancer or be elected to any office. He cant explain E=mc(2) or calculate the arc of a baseball. He’s not a famous actor or athlete.
Children have never asked for his autograph.
He’s also not a rich man, my father. He never gave me a million toys for Christmas. I never dressed in designer clothes as a child and he never physically handed me the keys to a brand new Porshe or Mercedes.
Yet my old man, el Puro, being your average blue collar guy, a welder still at the age of 75, provided for me the most bountiful of gifts any father could give his son.
My old man left the only country he’d ever known, the only culture he’d ever lived in, for me. He left his mother behind. He left his brother behind. And he left his sister behind whom he never got to see again. All for me.
That spectacular gift he gave his three year old son didnt come in a box with fancy wrapping. It wasnt given me with much fanfare or along with candle-laden cakes. The gift itself cannot been seen by the human eye yet every waking breath I take is full of it.
My old man gave up everything he’d ever known because he knew that without that sacrifice his son, and daughter, would never be afforded that gift.
Half way through his life, my old man, awash in determination and having an understanding of human nature that most people believe is reserved for those intellectuals mentioned above, brought his wife, his daughter and this son to this country. On his back were the only clothes he owned and the burden of his decision.
From nothing but sacrifice my old man gave me the greatest gift any father could give a son: freedom.
So today, this Father’s Day, I give my old man, el Puro, the greatest gift any son can give a father: my everlasting gratitude and my unyielding respect.
Gracias, Papi, for all the sacrifices, for all the sweat, and for always putting my life and my needs ahead of yours. And thank you, most of all for this greatest gift of all: the freedom to grow to be a free man.
Happy Father’s Day! And to all those fellow American fathers out there, thank you for your sacrifices for this great country. And thank you for so graciously accepting my old man, el Puro, among your ranks.
Posted by Val Prieto Babalu blog
Cubans call their father “el puro” The Pure one.
