HUSTLE AND GUILE, FOR THE WIN!

MY OTHER DAD PASSED THIS EVENING.  He came into my life when I needed a strong father figure.  And boy, was he strong.  Like you just knew he wasn't to be trifled with and at the same time...

... he had the biggest heart ever.

He had no business getting involved with us.  He and our mother were on and off at best, but he was always on as far as we were concerned.  We had a bond, an unexplainable one that lasted a lifetime.

He taught me tennis, a sport he fell in love with later in life.  I wasn't very good.  I was weak, and gangly, a true late bloomer.  He told me that was an advantage...

... I'd be forced to learn proper technique and my mind.

Always looking for the good in any situation.

But, the best thing he taught me when it came to life and sports was that was okay to be underestimated...

... he'd been underestimated his entire life.

He was a Mexican immigrant, he wasn't very big, his own father had been largely  missing...

... and yet, he'd built a wonderful life for himself...

... because he was a fighter.

So many times I saw him take the court against larger, younger, faster players and drive them absolutely crazy...

... he won through hustle and guile.

He knew it,
they knew it,
I knew it...

... and I loved it.

It was simple and raw and pure.

He was, and remains, a true hero.

A mentor.

A giver.

A father.

As I write this, I'm not sad.  We had a lot of good times during the past year.  Cancer can be kind that way.

He'd lost so much weight the boyish features in his face returned.  He looked like the young man he once was, full of life, shipping off to Korea - cigarette in mouth, a t-shirt, rolled jeans.  Black hair, big confident smile...

... hustle and guile.

Till we meet again, Roberto Alcaraz Gomez.

---

Have you checked out all the benefits of joining the PEDALposse?

https://pedalindustries.com/products/the-pedalposse

---