Dad's Pictures

Sydney and Jack,

Here are some pictures of your Papa. Aumont Hernandez (Monty), I have no idea his age, under a year I am guessing
Look at all that hair!
Dad, age 6.
He always liked this picture
Dad and Grandma Anita
Dad in elementary school
Dad, the Marine. 1966
He really liked this picture!
He always wanted it out in a frame

The back of the above picture.
In 1998, a year before he died, but before I had kids,
Dad dedicated this picture to me and his future
grandchild. Forward thinking.

1966, in Vietnam.
Your Papa did TWO TOURS.
(that was crazy then)

Another dedicated picture

September 1966
Vietnam
Dedicated to you Sydney in 1998,
2 years before you were born!

This picture used to hang in my room as a kid,
in a little round metal frame.
I can picture it in my mind.
The other matching frame
held a picture of your Nana
and uncle Jimi.
My Dad is at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, Ca
I dig my dad's moustache.

The family picture.
That's me, the baby.
Check out Nana's dress. Short huh?
That picture (an oil painting on canvas) on the wall hung
in my house my whole life growing up.

Me and my Dad.
My 1st Birthday, December 1975
Pie? Really?

Ahhhh, the famous "Pizza Man" pictures.
These pictures used to make my Dad cringe.
It was the 70's and I guess men got perms then.
Funny huh?
This picture was taken outside of the Norton Simon Museum
in Pasadena California. Sydney, I have taken you and Sadie there.

I remember this day.
I thought my Dad was so old.
Guess what.
He was turning 35!
The same age I will turn next month.

THAT IS CRAZY.

I remember he really liked this cake with the Marine Corp emblem
and the way my brother set up the dining room
table with all the army men.
March 10, 1982
This in 1988. I knew just by looking at this photo that I was in the 8th grade.
And if you look closely, I had braces. (Geez!)
We were at Aunt Linda's home in San Gabriel, Ca.
Nana always worked Christmas day, so we usually would stop by someones house and celebrate with them.
In this picture is your Papa, me, Uncle Jimi with Grandma Anita on the bottom row.
My cousin Steven with my uncle Michael (Papa's brother) and his partner Phil.
And that's my cousin Bobby in the back row with me.

Ahhh, this is June 6, 1992.
Uncle Jimi's wedding.
Don't Nana and Papa look nice?
I like this picture because it was the only time
I ever saw my Dad in a tuxedo.
And a nice smile to boot.
Love it!
He was happy that day.
Genuinely happy.

This is the Dad face I am all too familiar with.
Just seeing his face, his stance, makes me uncomfortable.
I literally have a reflex.
I take a deep breath and shoulder up, waiting for the tidal wave
of criticism, or anger, or whatever was coming.
Sad huh?
But it is what it is.
My Dad had a tough side.
A side that wasn't always gentle, or calm, or loving.
And this was the look that told you
brace yourself, because its gonna get ugly.

Ahhhh, Sadie.
If anything or anyone ever mellowed my Dad out it was Sadie.
The Grandchild.
He adored Sadie.
She could do no wrong.
And I am sure he would have been

exactly the same with each of you.

All the macho, all the drill Sargent was gone once Sadie was born.
He loved that little girl.
When she was around, he just lit up like a Christmas tree.
What I have always loved about this picture was the fact
that Sadie looks so in love with Papa.
She looks like she wants to just leap and kiss him.
I also like this photo because it shows my Dad's arms the way
I remember them.

As a kid, I remember my Dad's arms being strong and
always tan from being outside all the time.
These weren't arms that hugged me a lot when I was a kid
or at least I can't remember,
but they were arms that worked hard and always
made me feel safe in our home.
And check out Dad's pocket.

He always had pens in his shirt pocket.
Always.

Halloween with Sadie.
That's Auntie Dani, Sadie's mom in the picture.
This is how I remember my Dad a lot.
Indian style on the floor.
Whether he was shining is work shoes or playing Barbies with Sadie, he was Indian Style a lot.
Look at his face.
Pure love for that little girl.

I love this picture.
In this picture my Dad changed from being a Dad to a Papa.
And I'd give anything if he could have been a Papa longer.

So there you go kids. A bit of your Papa. I am sorry that I can't find the words to write more.
Its just all bottled up inside.
Just know that your Papa was a complex, funny, firm, loving, strong, smart man.
And he would have loved you more than life itself.