The Adventures of Captain Imperfecto

You are here: Home » Train Yard Left to right: Christopher and Nico inside an old train car. September 18th, 2013 We've been taking train adventures lately ever since my kids became obsessed with the long steal machines. My boys are in awe of the towering engines that pull the carts. When we stand to the side and watch them pass my boys wave feverishly at the train engineer hoping that the man who's driving the train will see them and activate the engines loud ear-piercing horn. The boys are eager to see the train and attentively sit up in their car seats with their eye's set on the tracks hoping that a rail car will come their way. When that steal machine doesn't roll through, they look to me as if I can magically it to appear right before their very eyes. However, their dad can't make that kind of magic happen. Since I can't bring the train to them. I bring the train to them. Down in Miami there's a train yard where old trains get a second chance...

You are here: Home » Damn Dogs, A Short Story Christopher at Toys r Us September 09, 2013 Theft doesn’t sound like a big deal to some. But stealing is stealing and when you steal a laptop from a store, you just committed a crime, in the eyes of the law. So when I saw the thief running across the street holding his newly stolen tablet while crossing directly in front of my police car, I gave chase towards the shopper who decided he would make his own 5 finger discount. “STOP, Police!” I shouted. You would think that the presence of my police car with the big letters that spelled out the word:  POLICE across the side doors of the vehicles body, would cause him to give pause but fight or flight took over, so he ran! Or maybe my police uniform with it’s shiny badge and fancy police patches that adorn each shoulder which identifies me as a cop, would have been enough to make him stop right there, in his tracks. But my presence only acted as a repellent forcing hi...

You are here: Home » Mother's Day Take 2 Captain Imperfecto and Mimie May 12th, 2013 When my kids lost their mother a year ago, I thought to myself - How the hell am I going to do this?   Where would I find someone to help me respectably raise my sons. Someone who would love them as much as I love them. Who could I turn to for answers to my questions? God, I'm going to fail miserably.   I couldn't feel sorry for myself for long. After all, the boys needed diaper changes, clothing, and food. They required me to provide for them because they wouldn't do it themselves. I decided to find some help from my family to help guide me in the ways of a parent.   But that help never came. I learned quickly that I would have to learn as I went and use the tools I had gained by helping with the kids with my wife, Mimie. But I knew it wasn't going to be easy. After all, she was a well-educated stay-at-home mom. And she had the boys on schedule.   Before ...

You are here: Home » Bon Appetite Left to right: Christopher and Nico crashing on dads favorite chair. August 22nd, 2013 I've been choking on my food lately and don't know what is happening. This must be a single-parent phenomenon because taking food into my stomach had never been such an issue my whole life before I had the kids. It has only happened now that I am alone, caring for the boys. Just the other day, I almost fucking died by choking to death, and not one person helped me when I practically inhaled a sandwich. I sat down for lunch during my lunch hour. And this time, I was alone with no kids or other people at my table. I try to savor any food when I eat alone because I usually can't enjoy it when I'm with Nico (the oldest son at 5 and Christopher, the baby at 3). I took my time and ordered off the menu, enjoying the lack of planning I usually have to do. This time, I was getting an appetizer that was just from me. Peel and eat shrimp. Which I could...

You are here: Home » And it So it Goes. Left to right: Christopher and Nico in our room at Walt Disney's Contemporary Resort August 9th, 2013 And so, it goes on and on. Another year has come and gone. Like days and nights that fade away, it's just another point in this year's day, a week, a month that only means something to me. Those memories will never recede into tonight's darkness as this day slowly fades away. And so it goes, my memory wanders about, wondering what your souls are doing tonight. Are you happy? Are you cold?  Are you watching your kids' lives unfold? It isn't easy to think of you this way. Still, it's always nice to know that you haven't strayed away from me because I know you're only a dream away or a thought away from keeping your spirit alive. And so it goes, our boys are playing while you're in heaven. They're oblivious to the altered life, but it doesn't mean they don't think twice; when they see you...

You are here: Home »Bubbles Left to right: Nico and Christopher checking out the otters at a museum  August 6th, 2013 My life feels like a bubble that formed from the lips of a child who blew it from the tiny plastic wand that he or she held that kept the soapy substance together. The wind picks me up and I float in the air, lighter then a feather. The sunlight shinning off my surface sparking the pixels of iridescence light making me glow like a rainbow for all those who see me, even in the brightness of the sun.  The air pushes me along allowing me to experience freedom to roam like an animal in the pastures of America’s heartland. Or free to seek out new territories like a wild animal in a great National Park. I  feel safe to embark on these adventures since I am encapsulated in the curvatures of my surroundings where I can feel warm and safe. But this safety is fleeting since my safeness is simply an aberration, These damn surroundings are so unstable...

You are here: Home » Only in the Movies Jumping: Nico and water: Christopher enjoying the captains' boat  July 29th, 2013 I really want to go to the movies today. I just wish I could go. Making this decision is more challenging than it used to be since I take care of the boys full-time and work all the time. I suppose millions of single parents go through this every day, but it still sucks nonetheless.  I just picked up the boys from school and want to take them to a movie since I can't do it alone. The Conjuring is out of the question. That's definitely not for children. From what I've seen in movie trailers, Pacific Rim looks technically awesome. Who cares if there isn't a plausible plot. But no, we can't go see that movie either. R.I.P.D. Nah, it looks dumb, and I'll think of Mimie when I watch it since it's about the afterlife, so I suppose I'll cross that off my list forever. The Heat looks hilarious but too adult. My kids wouldn...

You are here: Home » Decisions, Decisions Left to right: Nico, Captain Imperfecto and Christopher on Finding Nemo, Epcot  July 16th, 2013 Decisions, decisions, decisions. We all have to make them almost every day of our lives. At times, we just have to make the most simple of decisions:  My sons are going to school today.  To the hard mental decisions:  I am going to the gym today.  And maybe argue with that decision:  No, you’re not. Yes, I am. Maybe I’ll go. Ugh, I don’t know, it’s getting late. Well, suppose I go to the gym today. In that case, I already know I can’t go tomorrow because of work, so it’ll be a waste of time to go today, so I’ll go when I can on consecutive days. Okay, settled. NO GYM. Ugh! I feel fat, gym maybe.  Other times, decisions about food can complicate life, especially at a restaurant: Oh, I love the lobster ravioli! What’s this I’m reading? A f**king calorie total at the end of the food description!?  Moving ...