Things I wanted to be when I grew up.

Dinsmore Elementary School photo

  I wanted to be several things when I grew up. None of them came true exactly like I had hoped. But to be fair, more has happened than I ever imagined. I thought I wanted to be a pilot, or a lawyer, or an actor.  But like many small kids, I started out just wanting to be like my Dad. I was too young to see his flaws. It would turn out he had several.  But still I looked up to him. I never knew my dad was just hired help. I saw him as a man who was responsible, and worked hard. I imagined my dad was in charge, I assumed because he was so good at running the family, surely he must be the same at work. He loved telling us kids what to do. He had a boss who was demanding, but it seemed normal. We all have to take direction from someone in life, especially at work.  I wanted to be like my dad.  The oldest memory of my Dad at work was very early. I was about three. We lived in Kansas; it had to be Kansas, because my sister Anita was a baby. I was born in Texas and she was born in Kansas. During this time my dad worked for a construction company. I guess when you are a kid; it looked like My Dad built a bridge. What a marvelous feat. My four year old self was impressed.  In reality, everyone contributes and the end result is a massive piece of highway system. No one told me, he was just part of a crew that built highway bridges.  Construction work was and still is a good place for uneducated Hispanics to make decent money. We would take my dad lunch on the job site. Plus my mom had four small kids at home, so it was an excuse to get out of the house. I remember seeing the large beams and large heavy equipment on my Dad’s job site. It was massive. My parents only had one car, and my mom would keep it a few days a week so that she could go shopping or run errands.  I remember days they would get in a fight, my dad would not let her keep the car. He used it as punishment.  We would have to walk every where. My parents bounced back and forth from Texas through Oklahoma and up to Kansas. My dad and mom moved where the work was. That was our life for the first few years.  I remember when my Dad’s boss died. It was odd. I was not sure how to feel. I did not know him. But my mom made us go to the funeral home and see him. It was creepy and uneasy.  My mom made us kneel down and pray for the soul of this departed man. It was not emotional, but my mom said it was the respectful thing to do. She lead us all in a prayer. It was like giving a stranger a hug and wishing them well like they were going on a trip. I am glad we did have to really hug him. That would have been super creepy. My dad would soon leave that job; he always claimed they owed him money. Who knows for sure?  But my Dad always had job connections. He always worked.  I wanted to be like my Dad because he was a hard worker and he taught me how important it was to be a provider.