I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ ABOUT MY FATHER AND TAKING A MOMENT TO WRITE IN YOUR TRIBUTES. I DECIDED TO PUT HIS MEMORIAL BECAUSE I WANTED TO SHARE MY STORY WITH THE COMMUNITY OF HOW MUCH MY FATHER MEANT TO ME. THIS BIOGRAPHY WAS WRITTEN BY CARY CLACK FROM THE ESPRESS-NEWS IN SAN ANTONIO, TX. WHEN MY FATHER PASSED AWAY I CONTACTED CARY CLACK AND HE WAS NICE ENOUGH TO VISIT WITH ME AND ASKED MANY QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO PUT THIS STORY TOGETHER. I THINK HE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AND I WILL ALWAYS BE GREATFUL FOR THE TIME HE TOOK TO PUT THIS TOGETHER FOR ME. IT REALLY MEANT ALOT TO ME AND I KNOW IT TOUCHED MANY HEARTS AND I HOPE IT WILL TOUCH YOURS......
IT WAS THE WALK THAT IDENTIFIED HIM. VERONICA'S MOTHER HAD TOLD HER THAT IGNACIO RIVERA WALKED "CROOKED" BECAUSE OF A CHILDHOOD BOUT WITH POLIO.
NOW, VERONICA SAT BEHIND THE WHEEL OF HER FORD FOCUS, PARKED IN FRONT OF THE LIGHT BROWN HOUSE ON THE CITY'S NORTHWEST SIDE, AND SAW THE THE GOOD-LOOKING, SILVER HAIRED MAN COME OUT OF THE HOUSE, DOWN THE PORCH STEPS AND TOWARD HER.
SHE WATCHED HIM WALK "CROOKED," AND THOUGHT, "WOW, THAT'S MY DAD!"
AND SO, ON THE NIGHT OF AUG.19,2004, 26-YEAR-OLD VERONCIA GOT OUT OF HER CAR AND WALKED TOWARD HER CHILDHOOD DREAM OF MEETING HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER.
VERONCIA WAS 15 WHEN HER MOTHER TOLD HER THAT THE MAN SHE THOUGHT WAS HER FATHER-HER MOTHER'S HUSBAND AND A MAN VERONICA LOVED DEARLY-WASN'T HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER.
THE NEWS UPSET THE TEENAGER SO MUCH THAT WHEN SHE STARTED CRYING. HER MOTHER SAID, "I WAS JUST PLAYING WITH YOU."
BUT VERONICA KNEW BETTER.
A CHILD'S SEARCH FOR A BIOLOGICAL PARENT CAN CREATE CRACKS IN THE FOUNDATION OF A FAMILY THAT MIGHT MISTAKE THE SEARCH AS A REBUKE.
BECAUSE SOME OF VERONICA'S RELATIVES AND FRIENDS STILL DON'T KNOW ABOUT HER SEARCH, HER FIND AND THE AFTERMATH, SHE ASKED THAT HER LAST NAME NOT BE USED. ONE OF THOSE RELATIVES IS THE MAN WHO RAISED HER AND WHO SHE CALLS "DAD" A MAN WHO KNOWS THAT VERONICA ISN'T HIS BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER BUT HAS TREATED HER AS HIS.
"I LOVE HIM TO DEATH, HE'S DONE SO MUCH FOR ME," VERONICA SAID OF THE MAN, WHO DOESN'T READ ENGLISH AND WHO SHE HOPES WILL NOT LEARN OF HER QUEST THROUGH THIS COLUMN.
SHE WENT LOOKING FOR HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER NOT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO HURT ANYONE, BUT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HERSELF.
"I WANT TO KNOW MY PAST AND WHERE I CAME FROM," SAYS VERONICA, WHO IS MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN. " WHY DO I HAVE BIGGER EYEBROWS THAN MY BROTHERS AND SISTER OR WHY DO MY EYES LOOK A LITTLE MORE CHINESE THAN ANYONE ELSE? WHY DID I LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT? DID MY DAD LOVE ME? WAS HE FROM SAN ANTONIO, OR MEXICO OR ASIA?"
A FEW YEARS AFTER HER MOTHER TOLD HER, VERONICA ASKED AND LEARNED THAT HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER'S NAME WAS IGNACIO RIVERA. USING THE INTERNET AND WITH THE HELP OF FRIENDS, VERONICA FINALLY FOUND THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF THE MAN SHE THOUGHT WAS HER FATHER.
ON AUG. 18 SHE CALLED HIM AND AND LEFT HER CELL PHONE NUMBER, SAYING SHE NEEDED TO SPEAK TO HIM. THE NEXT EVENING, WHILE SHE WAS AT H-E-B, HE CALLED HER. IN THE CHECKOUT LINE, VERONICA TOLD HIM SHE THOUGHT HE WAS HER FATHER AND HE ASKED FOR HER NAME. WHEN SHE TOLD HIM, THERE WERE A FEW SECONDS OF SILENCE BEFORE HE SAID " I AM YOUR FATHER"
SHE HEARD EXCITEMENT IN HIS VOICE. SHE PAID FOR HER GROCERIES AND THEN SAT IN HER CAR FOR HALF AN HOUR TALKING TO RIVERA, WHO TOLD HER, " I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF YOU"
BOTH NERVOUS, THEY AGREED TO MEET THAT NIGHT AT HIS HOUSE.
AS VERONICA WALKED TOWARD HER DREAM OF BETTER UNDERSTANDING HER PAST, HE WALKED TOWARDS BOTH HIS PAST AND HIS DREAM. MANY TIME, SO MANY YEARS AGO, HE DROVE BY THE HOUSE HOPING FOR A GLIMPSE OF THAT LITTLE GIRL. THAT LITTLE GIRL WHOSE PICTURE HE'D CARRY IN HIS WALLET, THAT PICTURE HE CARRIED NOW AS HE APPROACHED THE WOMAN HIS LITTLE GIRL HAD BECOME.
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DAYS CAN'T BE PUT IN A BOX, GIFT-WRAPPED AND TIED WITH A CHRISTMAS BOW. BUT THOSE WERE THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFTS THIS YEAR FOR IGNACIO RIVERA AND THE ADULT DAUGHTER, VERONICA, WHO HAD NEVER KNOWN HIM.
THERE ARE FATHERS WHO ABANDON THEIR CHILDREN WITHOUT REGRET. BUT THERE ARE FATHERS WHO DON'T SEE THEIR CHILDREN BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES OR AGREEMENTS MADE SO AS NOT TO COMPLICATE THINGS. THESE ARE THE FATHERS WHO ACHE FOR THEIR CHILDREN, AND RIVERA WAS ONE OF THEM.
WHEN RIVERA AND VERONICA MET, THEY INSTINCTIVELY HUGGED AND KISSED.
VERONICA HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER FOR A FEW YEARS. RIVERA HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR HER LONGER THAN THAT. BECAUSE THERE ARE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT HER QUEST TO FIND HER FATHER, VERONICA ASKED THAT HER LAST NAME NOT BE USED.
RIVERA AND VERONICA'S MOTHER HAD A RELATIONSHIP THAT LED TO HER BIRTH NOV. 12, 1978. WHEN HER MOTHER GOT TOGETHER WITH THE MAN WHO WOULD BE HER HUSBAND AND WHOM VERONICA WOULD LOVINGLY KNOW AS HER FATHER, VERONICA MOTHER'S MOTHER TOLD IGNACIO NOT TO COME AROUND.
A FEW YEARS LATER WHEN IGNACIO CALLED VERONICA'S MOTHER TO EXPRESS CONDOLENSES ON THE DEATH OF HER NEPHEW, SHE ASKED HIM NO TO CALL HER AGAIN.
RIVERA KEPT A PICTURE OF VERONICA DATED 02-19-1979, WHEN SHE WAS 3 MONTHS OLD, IN THE HIS WALLET.
HE DROVE BY THE HOUSE OFTEN, HOPING TO SEE HER PLAYING IN THE YARD.
THERE WERE LATE NIGHTS WHEN NO ONE WAS OUTSIDE AND HE'D HAD A COUPLE OF DRINKS AND WOULD DRIVE BY AND BLOW THE HORN, AS IF IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO ASSERT HIS PATERNITY.
THERE WERE DAYS HE WOULD CALL THE HOUSE, HOPING VERONICA WOULD ANSWER SO THAT HE COULD HEAR HIS DAUGHTER'S VOICE.
EACH YEAR, HE WOULD SAVE THE NEWSPAPER FROM NOV. 12, HER BIRTHDAY.
WHEN RIVERA AND HIS WIFE WERE ON THE SOUTH SIDE, HE WOULD TELL HER THAT HIS DAUGHTER LIVED THERE, SOMEWHERE.
VERONICA LEARNED ALL OF THIS FROM RIVERA, JUST AS SHE WOULD LEARN FROM SOME OF HIS FRIENDS HOW MUCH HE TALKED ABOUT HER BEFORE AND AFTER THEY MET.
THEY SAW EACH OTHER EVERY WEEK AFTER AUG. 19 AND TALKED NEARLY EVERY DAY BY PHONE. RIVERA BECAME CLOSE TO VERONICA'S HUSBANDS AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN, HIS GRANDCHILDREN.
"HE WANTED TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THE YEARS IN ONE DAY," VERONICA SAID. " HE TREATED ME LIKE THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD."
SHE LOVED AND RESPECTS THE SPECIAL MAN WHO RAISED HER, THE MAN SHE CALLS "DAD" RIVERA ALSO RESPECTED HIM, TELLING HER, "YOUR DAD DID WELL"
ON HER BIRTHDAY, RIVERA GAVE HER A COAT, A BRACELET AND A CARD THAT READ IN PART, " I ALWAYS HAD YOU IN MY HEART. NOW I FINALLY KNOW YOU."
SHORTLY AFTER KISSING VERONICA GOODBYE DEC 9, RIVERA WENT INTO HIS HOUSE AND DIES IN HIS SLEEP AT THE AGE OF 55.
"I CAN'T STOP CRYING" VERONICA SAID. "BUT GOD GAVE ME THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING HIM. I HAVE TO THANK GOD FOR THOSE 113 DAYS. WHEN I MET HIM, I DIDN'T KNOW WE WOULD BECOME MORE THAN BEST FRIENDS, LIKE FATHER AND DAUGHTER.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY STORY, OUR STORY.
IT'S ALREADY BEEN 4 YRS SINCE HE LEFT US AND IT STILL FEELS LIKE YESTERDAY. THE HOLIDAYS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, BUT I KNOW DEEP IN MY HEART THAT HE IS CLOSER THAN I WILL EVER IMAGINE. WHEN I MET HIM AND HE BECAME PART OF MY LIFE, I HAD TO INTRODUCE HIM TO MY KIDS. I REMEMBER TALKING TO MY DAD " I HAVE TO GIVE YOU A NICK NAME " I DIDN'T WANT MY FATHER WHO RAISED ME TO HEAR HIS NAME. I WAS AFRAID MY KIDS WOULD SAY " I MET A REALLY NICE MAN NAMED IGNACIO RIVERA " I REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME " I WOULD LIKE TO BE CALLED GRAMPA. WE BOTH LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND SMILED. WE BOTH AGREED THAT GRAMPS WOULD BE THE PERFECT NICK NAME AND SHORT FOR GRAMPA.
EVER SINCE THEN, HIS NAME BECAME GRAMPS. MY KIDS EVENTUALLY KNEW THE TRUTH, BUT WE STILL KEPT THE NAME. UPTO THIS DAY, " WE MISS GRAMPS " I MISS MY KIDS ALWAYS CALLING OUT HIS NAME. THEY WOULD JUST GET SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM.
ANOTHER GOOD MEMORY OF MINE, WAS HALLOWEEN OF 04. MY KIDS WERE ALREADY MAKING PLANS FOR THAT DAY. I STILL HAD NOT GOTTEN THERE COSTUMES AND MY DAD WANTED TO GO SHOPPING FOR THERE OUTFITS. HE SAID, IT'S BEEN OVER 25 YRS THAT I HAVE NOT GONE SHOPPING FOR A COSTUME! WHERE DO I STRART? I COME TO LEARN THAT HE WAS AS EXCITED TO GO TRICK OR TREATING WITH HIS GRANDKIDS. HE ASKED HIS WIFE, PLEASE HELP ME PICK OUT THERE OUTFITS. THAT HALLOWEEN NIGHT MY KIDS GOT DRESSED AND I EVEN WENT WITH THEM. MY DAD WAS JUST WALKING VERY FAST. HE WOULD LEAVE EVERYONE BEHIND. TOO ME THAT WAS JUST TOO FUNNY. AFTER A GOOD LONG WALK, I CATCH UP TO HIM AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE NIGHTS I WILL NEVER FORGET. WE TALKED ABOUT SO MANY THINGS AND PLANS WE HAD FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. I FELT LIKE THE COOLEST KID IN THE BLOCK.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK ALL OF MY DADS FAMILY. WHEN I WAS FIRST TRIED TO CONTACT MY FATHER, I MET HIS MOTHER IN LAW ( MEMO ) AND SHE WAS SO POLITE OVER THE PHONE. I BEGGED HER TO PLEASE TELL HIM TO CALL ME. I REMEMBER TELLING HER THAT I WAS NOT A BILL COLLECTOR AND I WAS NOT SOMEONE THAT WAS GOING TO HURT HIM IN ANY WAY. SHE NEVER ASKED ME QUESTIONS AND PROMISED ME SHE WOULD TELL HIM TO CALL ME BACK. WHEN I MET MY FATHER FOR THE FIRST TIME, I MET MEMO AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER. SHE IS SUCH A SWEET LADY AND RIGHT AWAY WELCOMED ME TO THE FAMILY. THE SECOND PERSON I MET WAS MY DAD'S WIFE. I REMEMBER I WAS IN MY DADS ROOM AND HIS WIFE WALKS IN ON US. SHE JUST LOOKED AT ME AND SMILE. MY DAD ASKED HER, DO YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS? SHE SAID, NO! SHE IS MY DAUGHTER! MY DAIGHTER! SHE FOUND ME! SHE IMMEDIATELY GAVE ME A BIG HUG AND CONFIRMED TO ME THAT MY DAD WOULD ALWAYS TALK ABOUT ME. ( MARIA AND MEMO, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND FOR MAKING MY FATHER HAPPY) MY FATHER WAS SO IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE AND HE WAS A HAPPY CAMPER. I WILL ALWAYS THANK HER FOR TREATING HIM VERY WELL. THEY HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE FIRST MOMENT TILL NOW. AS I MEET THE REST OF THE FAMILY, THEY WERE ALL SO NICE TO ME. I HAVE ALWAYS FELT WELCOMED. THANK YOU!
I ALSO MET MY BROTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME A FEW DAYS AFTER MEETING MY DAD AND IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO HAVE A BIG BROTHER. NACHITO, " I LOVE YOU"
MY FATHER WORKED AT MEYER MACHINE FOR OVER 20 SOMETHING YEARS. WHEN I WAS AT THE FUNERAL HOME, I HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET ALOT OF MY DADS CO-WORKERS AND I HAVE TO ADMIT " WHAT A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY" I SAY FAMILY, BECAUSE I KNOW HE SPENT SO MANY YEARS AT MEYERS AND THEY BECAME MORE THAN JUST CO-WORKERS. HE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT HIS FRIENDS AND HIS CUSTOMERS. I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTIONED... MARIA AND MEMO WOULD GET UP REALLY EARLY IN THE MORNING AND MAKE TACOS FOR BREAKFAST AND MY DAD WOULD TAKE THEM TO WORK TO SELL. MY DAD WAS A HUSTLER. ANY WAY HE COULD MAKE MONEY, HE WOULD. HE HAD HIS REGULAR CUSTOMERS THAT ALWAYS BOUGHT FROM HIM. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE AT MEYERS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. THEY SHOWED SO MUCH OF THERE LOVE FOR MY FATHER AND THAT REALLY MEANT ALOT. I WISH I CAN MENTION EVERYONE'S NAME, BUT I JUST CAN'T. THANK YOU!
FOR ALL THE READERS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS. FEEL FREE TO WRITE TO ME ANYTIME AND LEAVE YOUR TRIBUTES
KOSHKAENIGMA@HOTMAIL.COM
