The Adventures of Captain Imperfecto

You are here: Home » Ticket to Heaven, a short story. The boys are getting so big. (Christopher left, Nico, right.) I entered this short story into my first competitive contest. I didn't win, so I will publish it here. - cf June 9, 2016 I shifted the steering controller of my fighter plane hard to the left. I wildly pulled the stick to the right, hoping I got enough zig-zag to thwart the attacking, relentless enemy plane. The G force of the plane made me dizzy. I squeezed my muscles to prevent blood from rushing to my brain. I know through my training that if too much blood is drained from my brain, I would black out. "I'm okay, I'm okay," I shouted. I was only reassuring myself since I was the lone occupant in this cockpit. I needed to think, but my adrenaline created such extreme tunnel vision. I have to focus and get away before I die!  "Fly forward, fly forward," I shouted. "Keep focused!" The plane darted south and upward...

You are here: Home » Breakup Anthem, part II Nico enjoying some KFC and caught him off guard before the picture!   June 1, 2016 *This blog is not a reflection on anyone that I know, including not a reflection of myself or my current situation. It was just a thought I had after talking with a few people regarding their own situations. It was 1400 words so I broke it into 2 parts. This is part II" - cf You need to stop throwing a tantrum and viciously complaining that I hurt you, when all you do is hurt me, with your words, without any regard for me, or my feelings. You want to snap at me because you think I haven't done enough for you. Frankly, I have done too much for you. Only a child would seek out what he or she lost without giving much thought of what he or she once had. I will no longer take the blame for your insecurities and watch you toss my good times away to satisfy your inner child. Grow up I didn’t raise you. Stop searching for the pas...

You are here: Home » Memorial Day Thoughts of my Dad Christopher graduating from Kindergarten. Class of 2028. May 26, 2016 My dad served in Vietnam. He didn't volunteer to go. He was drafted when he was just a kid. Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be an 18 + year old kid and hearing the rumblings from the news of a war brewing and being told that you may be forced to go? How scared must my dad have been? After all these years, can you believe I never even asked him if he was? That's pretty damn selfish of me. When you're sent to war against our will, given a gun, and told to kill, what does that do to a man? All those kids who were sent off to war and land they more than likely never heard of to fight a person they never would have met in their lifetime must have been a nightmare. Being a father now, I would be petrified for my children to be carted off overseas into battle without them actually volunteering to go. When I was 18, I was told I had...

You are here: Home » Return the Love, part I Nico (left) and his brother, Christopher, enjoying a lazy sunday morning  05/22 May 24, 2016 *This blog is not a reflection on anyone that I know, including not a reflection of myself or my current situation. It was just a thought I had after talking with a few people regarding their own situations. It was 1400 words so I broke it into 2 parts. This is part I" - cf Part I Why does it seem that most people I have been encountering do not want to be happy? Is this by design? Maybe it’s in their DNA to be miserable or mean to people? Come on guys and gals let us try, and at least be civil towards one and other. Return the love. These people have no reason to be intolerable. We are not in a purgatory digging a ditch. The angry people seem nice when I meet and greet them at restaurants, or in line at a store, or when I’m stopped behind their car while waiting at a red light while I observe them yelling into their phone...

You are here: Home » Swimming in Alcohol Nico (front) and Christopher getting their hair done did. 4/16 May 16, 2016 My boys swim like a fish. My sons are mammals, so I'll correct myself by calling them dolphins. I should go jump in the pool with them. Who cares that I'm wearing a nice collar shirt and blue jeans. The hotel guests may complain that a fully clothed man just jumped in the pool. Wouldn't that be better than a fully grown man being naked who just jumped in the pool? My kids are so damn skinny. I feed them so much, and yet they have zero body fat. Forget the fountain of youth. Maybe this is the pool where the sun's glare shimmies off the water, giving anyone in the pool a "weight loss appearance." Those boys are the only ones in this very large pool and have no fear. As for me? When I was a kid, I wouldn't swim in such a large pool with minimal people out of fear that a shark (even in freshwater) might eat me. And even worse, if I wen...

You are here: Home » Minute by Minute Nico (left) and Christopher enjoying lunch that dad brought to them during "lunch with your kids" at school. April 25, 2016 Slow the hell down, life. Thank you, I'd really appreciate it. I figured you out, and now you want to excel yourself through the second half of my life. This is just one request for now, so back off! Let me enjoy the corrections I made from my past mistakes in the first half of my life while I excel in something better in my second half. You know what I mean, life? I should be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I know I'm getting old, and I don't need to look at my aging face in a mirror or hear a happy birthday song sung by a bunch of Chili's employees as a reminder. However, I will enjoy my chocolate syrup-covered vanilla ice cream. It is sad to see icons I watched growing up dying. Their death reminds me that time waits for no one. People like Prince and David Bowie, Shandli...

You are here: Home » Different Days Nico (left) and Christopher enjoying the Florida winter. 2016 March 25, 2016 The metal of the car was being ripped apart at about the same time I received text pictures of my boys, Nico and Christopher, as they were having a great time at the beach.  A car accident occurred in real-time, but I hadn't been made aware of the crash yet. Today is like any day for people who work, live, and pray. But our experiences can greatly vary. I recall smiling at that picture from the safety of my police car. I can't imagine the SUV driver having fond memories unless his life flashed before his eyes as the fear of what was occurring began to register with him.   The smile beamed across my face, seeing those pictures of them standing on the beach. The sun was out. The water was blue, and it was a perfect day for them. It would have been better if I could have been there. The driver of the doomed SUV was being tossed and turned with each...

You are here: Home » Ramblings of a Day Christopher (left) and Nico having some BBQ. March 15, 2016 I sit on the grass while I'm wearing shorts. I feel the blades of the green grass brush up against my exposed skin. It feels so alive to be sitting outside. I'm lucky to feel the breeze on my face and the sun's warmth on my skin. My mind starts to ramble about what this particular day represents. I notice a bird on the power line. He is perched about 16 feet in the air. That bird doesn't care about me. I'm too far away to bother its view, and he isn't worried I will prey upon him. I'm not moving. I marvel at him just as he marvels at the world where he has the best viewing spot. A gust of wind blows, pushing the bird, but he doesn't move from his spot. He is content where he is, the wind be damned. His little talons grip as hard as he can as he titters back and forth. He survived the first winded wave. And he still gazes. The sky is blue, but t...