Slick

My grandfather passed away today. His name was Fred Avalos, but we would call him Tata Slick. He was the father of my mom.

When I was growing up I would often stay at his house afterschool and we would play connect four. He would always show me a coffee can filled with coins and when it was filled to the top, we would count them and fill penny rolls. He was also a carpenter so he built my first skate ramp: a four foot half pipe that didn't have a flat bottom to it.

When I got older, Tata Slick stayed in my life. He would come to my birthday parties, to our various family interventions, and we would visit his house to make sure he was fine. In 2005, he accompanied me and my wife to the Chula Vista courthouse to serve as a witness to our marriage. I'm not sure if he knew exactly what was going on but he smiled and joked the whole time.

My mom called me this morning telling me he passes. I said I would fly down to my hometown for the services. I'm thinking about taking Diego, but maybe not.