Time flies here like Superman in his hey day so let’s get started with the updates…
The other day, my dad called me. It was a typical call, mostly. He just wanted to check on me, yada yada but then, just before we hung up he said, “Oh, by the way, I don’t know any Norberto. That’s not my father’s name.” This is the second time my dad has referenced my blog since that day my mom abruptly hung up with me to join him in reading it. The first time he mentioned it he wanted to clarify that my Uncle Eddie did in fact pass before I was born and wanted me to help him leave a comment. “I’m not in front of the computer right now little girl but you gotta walk me through that thing. It’s like all crazy, asking me to sign in or sign up…I don’t know what the heck that’s about.” I chuckled, assured him I could help and proceeded to wonder what type of comment he wanted to leave. Now, back to this Norberto issue. My father continued “…his name was Eladio and they called him Galo for short. So, I don’t know where you got Norberto from but remember that your grandma can be a storyteller sometimes.” My stomach dropped a bit. Immediately, I pictured myself sitting across from an extremely upset Oprah Winfrey explaining to her why her producers can’t seem to find any record of a Norberto Gonzalez ever existing. “But Oprah, Mama told me his name was Norberto...”
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| Oprah frying James Frey |
I snapped myself out of my mini nightmare and remained confident that I had heard correctly. After all, Mama and I had extensive conversations about my dad’s father and I consistently refer to him as Norberto as to not get him confused with Victor (the man I call Papa). In no way does Norberto sound like Galo! Like not even a little bit! I do know that when Mama doesn’t want to tell the truth about something she often explains it away with a little white lie. Is that what she did with Norberto?? Could she be leading me on?! I knew I had to address this and fast.
It took me a few days to find the right time to address the subject but I knew I couldn’t let it go. I’m looking for facts not stories. So, one evening we were sitting in the living room, chatting about the novela we just watched and sipping on our nightly tea when I said “Mama, Papi said that he doesn’t know a Norberto, he knows Eladio or Galo…” A smile crept across her face. “Yes, mi hija because Norberto was his middle name. That’s what I called him because I never liked Galo or Eladio.” “Wait. So you were the only one who called him that?” Her smile broadened, “Yes.” “Ohhh! So that was your special name for him??” Blushing and unable to mask her pride, she responded, “Yes.” Case closed. Eladio Norberto Gonzalez aka 'Galo' is my paternal grandfather.
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| RETURNED! |
Let’s see…what else? Oh! Car news. This news is a bit sad…I returned the Suzuki (moment of silence please and thank you). While I am proud to have haggled en español, I felt like I still overpaid for what I got. Sure, it looked nice and shiny, but it had a lot of miles on it and after driving it for a few days, I felt like it needed some work done on it. Luckily, my neighbor knows a mechanic who attends her church. We took it to him and he confirmed that while overall it was a good car, I definitely paid a little too much for it. Not only that, it was going to need over $300 worth of repairs (that was just for the parts which he graciously called to confirm for us)! I have to admit, after hearing that news I felt, well, how do I put this…quite frankly, I felt stupid and extremely frustrated!!!! The mechanic must have sensed my anxiety as he refused to charge me for the visit. He also told me that legally I had three days to return the vehicle after purchase. Guess what day it was? DAY 3! Yep, my last chance to get my money back…thank you Lord! So, my neighbor and I headed back to the dealer. Of course, we were met with some resistance…you know, they offered to fix the car free of charge, then they said they’d try to see if they could get my money back but made no guarantees, then they tried to sell me a ’09 Hyundai instead (for double what I paid for the Suzuki). In the end, they realized I just wanted my money back. I knew that if could get my money back I would take more time to think about my next purchase. I’d shop around and even consider Mama’s proposal for a new car. I’d also use what I learned from this experience to make a wiser purchase. I’m happy to report that by the end of the week Mama and I had our money back. So, for now, I’m back to borrowing one of my aunt’s cars (which is way nicer than the pickup I had before) and preparing to hit the streets with my Mr. Miyagi uncle next week. Let the good times roll…
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