happy birthday, deacon

my mom told me that this man walked from limón to panamá because he heard about a job on the canal.  years later, he apparently predicted that the u.s. would invade panamá, so he took the bread he made from working on the canal and moved his family to the states.  these are things he would never tell anyone.

growing up, i was equally as intrigued as I was scared of my grandfather – he was mostly quiet and soft-spoken, but he read people for filth in true Sag fashion whenever he felt a way about something. he wasn’t warm, but he was über kind, quick to forgive and extremely supportive so even if he pissed you off by saying something wild, you couldn’t stay mad at him for long because of how he showed up – he was solid. 

he was also my partner in crime.  i was raised under strict rules so going outside to play or visiting a friend’s house was out of the question.  deacon sterling was not a fan of this so on sundays, he’d take me to church with him and when church was over, he’d ask which friend i wanted to see and drop me off at said friend’s place, shop for groceries, scoop me back up, get some doughnuts and then we’d ride back home together.  because we’d arrive with grocery bags and snacks, no one ever questioned why we were late... getting away with this gave me a rush of excitement – sundays were lit!

i miss you and your infectious laughter…. i love you tremendously, abuelo! i’ll be banging pata pata and two-stepping in celebration of your life today.