The Adventures of Captain Imperfecto

You are here: Home » Rough and Tumble Front: Nico Rear: Christopher swimming at a local boating island  February 13, 2014 My sons are like acrobats. Rough and Tumble is what I would call them if they were a traveling circus show. They keep me entertained every moment they perform their little acts of unskilled rolling and tumbling. But they also give me a minor heart attack when I'm unprepared for their antics. Raising two sons so close in age (4 and 5) is giving me gray hair quicker than I anticipated, but I am bald, so I am only assuming. Even if I am bald, I know the gray is there! Thankfully, they are keeping their father on his toes. Rough and Tumble can interchange depending on what's happening throughout the day. The boat docks are a fun place to stroll. But when the boys are in the bathing suits, all bets are off. One particular day, we were walking the docks in a small boat inlet, a cove of sorts, where I could moor our boat to get out and walk around the is...

You are here: Home » Out of the Brush, A police story Nico at a photo shoot 2014 January 27, 2014 The brush was thick. But I wasn’t giving up. He was hiding in its thickness assuming I would just give up. But I’m no quitter. And there is no way in hell I was going to let him escape. The K9 dog could not reach further into the brush so someone would have to go in to flush him out. They didn’t have to ask for a volunteer twice. I quickly stepped up front while removing my gun from my holster. “I’ll go,” I announced. I honestly wasn’t afraid. There was plenty of other cops around to shoot if the suspect decided not to go quietly. I just hope they had good aim. I would be in the middle of the gun battle. In this job we have no choice but to trust the men and women with whom we work with. They are the lifelines that will keep my ass alive if something terrible went down.  I no doubt trusted them. This job as a mouse into the trap could only fit one person dow...

You are here: Home » Embracing Happiness Nico on Christmas morning 2013 January 15, 2014 I deserve to be happy, damn it. We all do. So why can’t I accept the happiness that comes into my life, now? I have been contemplating this happiness issue for months. The one thing I can pluck from my mind is that a part of me is afraid that when there is any kind of good that will give me pleasure, some asshole will pull the rug from under my feet and “splat!” right on the damn ground I go. Figuratively speaking obviously, but with the way my luck has been running the past seven years it’s easy to envision Lucy holding that fucking football waiting to pull it away from me, Charlie Brown, so I can fall right on my ass! The anticipation of failure can take so much out of me it has to be killing my happiness but I feel like I’m just not allowed to have it. Sad. Right now however, my mind is filled with happiness. But somewhere lurking in my brains’ subconscious, the little voice is...

You are here: Home » Deep Space Thinking Captain Imperfecto and the Space Shuttle Discover at the  Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar- Hazy Center ,  Chantilly, Virginia January 8th, 2014 I was weak kneed but I did my best to stand up by leaning on the thin metal railing. My hands hung over the side while the cool metal pressed against my skin. I gazed upwards. As if I were begging for food. What I sight before me. I was in front of one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. My eyes traced the outlines of this beauty’s curves caused me to blush with embarrassment.  But I never looked away. I was captivated and I didn’t care who looked at me with curious smirks. My eyes watered with tears as my emotions began to take over. My childhood love affair was in front of me. It was the space shuttle Discovery located at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, VA. It could have been any of the three remaining space shuttles, really, and my emotions would h...

You are here: Home » Christmas, Eh Front: Captain Imperfecto Left rear: Nico and Christopher waiting for the football game December 23rd, 2013 I lost my enthusiasm for Christmas. It's been about five years, but the joy isn't there. I still love seeing the decorations my neighbors have placed outside their houses. I even participate in the activity so my kids will feel included. So much controversy at this time of year comes out on social media that seems to kill the illusion of a Norman Rockwell holiday. But I wonder if that is the real reason why I'm not that much into the holiday. The 80-degree weather here in Florida might bring me down. I know what some of my readers will say, "Try shoveling snow for ten hours just for it to snow again." But driving around in the heat all day makes me forget the time of year that it is. Only when the Christmas music plays will remind me that the holiday season is near. The music will serenade me, allowing me to ...

You are here: Home » Wisdom Left to right: Nico and Christopher checking out a Steam Engine at a train museum December 16th, 2013    Round and round life goes. I can just watch from the sidelines, or I can get involved. But participating can be hard when faced with an emotion I never had to worry about. For instance, I have never experienced these long bouts of sadness. I'm not built that way. I was wired to be fun and outgoing, but I can't find a way to tap back into that.  I have struggled with this unhappiness since last year. I can pretend that I'm happy and slap a smile on my damn face to pretend that all is well in my life. But then I'm reduced to being like all the fake people on Facebook who like to brag about how great their life is. #blessed #lovemylife #happilymarried    I'm pretty cynical now. However, I'm keeping my emotions real.  I hate having a good week, followed by a few bad extra weeks. I could undo the previ...

You are here: Home » Countdown Left to right: Christopher and Nico at the local park December 4th, 2013 School is a pleasant break for any parent. I’m no exception. It’s six hours of total bliss while my sons are in school. For the first three hours the pressure is off my back. And the feeling is amazing! I’m able to what I want in those three hours without any pressure. Home Depot. Check. Doctor. Check. Breakfast. Check. Running around the house, naked. Check. But the bliss is slowly squeezed out by the last three hours of time. I countdown those remaining minutes like a man about to be executed. I feel like Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips with this pressure. Not too much pressure, however. “Okay three hours until I pick my sons up. Maybe I should nap. I could sleep to restore my energy so I can take my boys to the park and we can run in the wide-open spaces. That sounds great! No wait. Thinking about open spaces the walls in the bedroom is so bare. I could paint the...

You are here: Home » The Empty Closet Left to right: Christopher and Nico clowning around November 20th, 2013 I was on my knees in my wife’s closet, staring at the mess that was laid before me. Clothes upon clothes were hanging on different varieties of hangers. I laughed when I thought about how this space is the United Nations of hangers. I was finally cleaning out Mimie’s closet after more than a year since her death. I found comfort in her clothes being stored in our bedroom while I was trying to accept the fact that she was gone forever. Maybe the clothes in the closet gave me hope that all this despair was a dream. Well, I have accepted the fact I have to clean the closest. I still don’t think I’ve embraced that she is gone. Even though no one had opened the closet door and gone inside for some time, the stale air didn’t taint her clothing. All the contents inside the room still smelled like her essence. Every breath of oxygen I inhaled from inside this dark cave...