This Man is an icon. He is a star and Guiness Record holder. But to me, He is simply Grandpa.
He is my inspiration and bloodline.
The overwhelming feeling I get when I think of just how much he has shaped me and how special he is to me make it near impossible to even really form words about it. Thus making a blog of this magnitude a bit on the difficult side. But It feels time.
I have spent many a blog posts talking about my lacking ability to try too hard at anything. It is this all encompassing pitfall for me that I desperately want to overcome. And the other day when thinking about my Grandfather, I was overwhelmed with inspiration.
This man was not born into wealth by any means. He was the son of migrant farm workers from Mexico. They had very little in the way of material goods but lots of love. As a boy he was on the path to the cloth. There are pictures of him as litle as 4 years old holding a bible.
Then he found music. He didn't just find it, it found him. And his calling changed. He taught himself every instrument he could get his hands on. HE WORKED HARD AT IT. He was also a gifted networker. Forming groups and bands and working his way up the ranks.
My Grandmother actually met him while he was gigging at a club where she waitressed. She once told me that he would drive past her and lift his shades and do that double-eyebrow lift as to say "Hey there Hot Stuff." A whirlwind romance took place. Just like the movies. JUST LIKE THE MOVIES!
The point is that my Grandpa went after everything he wanted. He worked for it. He wooed it. He studied it. He networked for it. He was unstoppable.
He soared to the top then had a massive fall. People stabbed him in the back and he struggled but he never quit. EVER. It wasn't until he started losing his hearing and Parkinson's set in that he was forced to stop performing. And even then it wasn't his choice. The man was phenomenal
And as his granddaughter I feel that must live in me somewhere. Some dormant capability to see my dreams come true. See them come true because failure isn't even something I contemplate. The gift to dwell in the flow of what I love and know that the growing pains will get me there.
So Grandpa, Thank You. Thank you for making music a source of comfort. A place I call home. For always encouraging my talent and fostering it. For making a me get up in front of crowded clubs and dance like Pee-Wee Herman ALL THE TIME! For teaching me chopsticks when I was 5 and for always wanting me to sing for you. I will never forget the emotional love of music you have instilled and I miss you everyday. Your impact on music goes to all corners and generations and I hope to make you proud. So I will try hard to try hard. I will get callouses on my fingers and sing til my voice is gone. I will act every chance I get and audition for roles I don't think they'd ever cast me for. I will know that my dancing skills are not great but my voice outshines that. I will keep going and trying and learning and adapting. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for living life the way you did.
A Gem From Mr. Daniel "Chuck Rio" Flores
"If someone is talking about you tell them its ok. Good or bad that means you are important enough in their minds to talk about"
I LOVE YOU GRANDPA!
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