The best guy i know
My Dad, this hero
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Sometimes I wonder how my Dad has made it alive till today. He was born 69 years ago in the Pacific islands called then the New Hebrides. And even when he was born 3 months premature my grand-dad went on a ship to collect coprah from the islands saying that the baby wouldnt make it, so why waste any time... But when he came back later he tried not to show any surprise at the sight of a healthy & tough 1 year old toddler.
And that was the start of a life full of adventures, fears, love and despair. He went around the world, knew power & wealth as well as cold & poorness. But he's made it until now. Somehow.
I came back in the now called Vanuatu 8 years ago, & found out that my Dad had changed quite a bit to what the locals remembered of him. Apparently he didnt speak much but was a hardworker when it came to cattle & plantation. He couldnt stand injustice whether against him or anyone else. So he spent most of his free time kicking butts. He had a soft side for whisky, or should i say "has", cuz even till today a glass of whisky in the rocks is his little pleasure, a remedy against the flu & a way to celebrate everything and anything. Actually, heh, he didnt really change! The only thing is that today he is a christian believer, and that he puts everything in God's hands. He's not as short tempered as before. Lucky for us! Apparently, when he and the boys had to wake up at dawn to conduct the cattle to another land or to the port, he would kick any of the guys who were sleeping-riding (on the horses) and tell them they were there to watch the cows.
He didnt go far in school. He was too stubborn and couldnt stand the injustice of the teachers. So when he was 12 years old my grand-dad took him to work with him on their plantation. The best life I could dream of. Set aside the even worse temper of my grand-father... But they had the best food in the world and their work was rewarding in many ways. Their bodies were well built and tanned thanks to hard work. They had great horse riding skills. My Dad loved hunting too. Didnt like fishing too much cuz he lacked patience just like his father! So once every six months they would fill the freezer with fish after blowing dinamite in the sea... They could go to jail for that today, but back then, there was just too much fish!
But not going to school far didnt mean he was dumb. No. Far from it. He is a really bright person, has heaps of business ideas, and has great advices in store for anyone who would listen.
I always ask him to tell me stories of back then. People thought he died many times, that always makes him laugh. He was a premature baby to whom his own father didnt give a chance. He caught the meningitis that tortured his spine in the most painful ways. He had the worst kind of malaria that left him delirious and at the edge of death. He went in sea to collect coprah from the islands (just as his dad used to) in cyclone time. People back in his hometown already prepared an empty coffin & a religious ceremony in his memory! But he came back with the whole crew and tons of coprah. He refused to obey his father once, and as a result he got shot at with a 12-12 rifle and had to hide behind the thickest hard wood tree he could find to save his life! He faught during the hard times of the New Hebrides independance. During his enrollment in the army he got involved in a fight with the most athletic and feared guy of the barracks, so respected they called that guy the Ram. Fight over a girl, hehe. My dad's mistake? Dancing with the guy's girlfriend! He managed to knock the ram off, and friends of his saved his ass from the miltary police by hiding him,cleaning him up, and burn his bloodstained uniform. After the independance of his country, the new government stole all of his properties and belongings, saying that colons had to go back to their country. Colons. My Dad isnt a pure colon. His mother is an islander. Anyway, he still went his way, full of anger and bitterness over such open injustice. But always hoping for a brighter future. So he took my mother with him to Central America for some new business that turned out to be a huge fraud. He was wrongly accused of being the crook when the real owner put him as director and hid behind payed lawyers and judges. And as the truth was coming out in daylight even though everybody tried to drown him, all they could was kill him to keep him quiet as they couldnt throw him in jail. But my father fleed with the help of God through Nicaragua that was at the time in full civilian war crisis, and from there to the U.S.A. to France, where we met him a couple of months later after we were sure we'd be safe to go.
And today, after many other adventures, he lives in the Pacific again. But he still has a life to live. Even after heart & prostate operations. He is till going.
Lately after having kick boxing fight with one guy after a party at my place (the guy was uninvited got drank on our drinks and drowned my mobile phone in his glass of whisky for a laugh), my Dad told me to tell him that if my Dad found him he would still kick the shit out of him even if he was 69 years old. But then he said that its good i knew how to take care of myself. Thats how he wants his girl to be. Free & strong. Like her Daddy.
And that was the start of a life full of adventures, fears, love and despair. He went around the world, knew power & wealth as well as cold & poorness. But he's made it until now. Somehow.
I came back in the now called Vanuatu 8 years ago, & found out that my Dad had changed quite a bit to what the locals remembered of him. Apparently he didnt speak much but was a hardworker when it came to cattle & plantation. He couldnt stand injustice whether against him or anyone else. So he spent most of his free time kicking butts. He had a soft side for whisky, or should i say "has", cuz even till today a glass of whisky in the rocks is his little pleasure, a remedy against the flu & a way to celebrate everything and anything. Actually, heh, he didnt really change! The only thing is that today he is a christian believer, and that he puts everything in God's hands. He's not as short tempered as before. Lucky for us! Apparently, when he and the boys had to wake up at dawn to conduct the cattle to another land or to the port, he would kick any of the guys who were sleeping-riding (on the horses) and tell them they were there to watch the cows.
He didnt go far in school. He was too stubborn and couldnt stand the injustice of the teachers. So when he was 12 years old my grand-dad took him to work with him on their plantation. The best life I could dream of. Set aside the even worse temper of my grand-father... But they had the best food in the world and their work was rewarding in many ways. Their bodies were well built and tanned thanks to hard work. They had great horse riding skills. My Dad loved hunting too. Didnt like fishing too much cuz he lacked patience just like his father! So once every six months they would fill the freezer with fish after blowing dinamite in the sea... They could go to jail for that today, but back then, there was just too much fish!
But not going to school far didnt mean he was dumb. No. Far from it. He is a really bright person, has heaps of business ideas, and has great advices in store for anyone who would listen.
I always ask him to tell me stories of back then. People thought he died many times, that always makes him laugh. He was a premature baby to whom his own father didnt give a chance. He caught the meningitis that tortured his spine in the most painful ways. He had the worst kind of malaria that left him delirious and at the edge of death. He went in sea to collect coprah from the islands (just as his dad used to) in cyclone time. People back in his hometown already prepared an empty coffin & a religious ceremony in his memory! But he came back with the whole crew and tons of coprah. He refused to obey his father once, and as a result he got shot at with a 12-12 rifle and had to hide behind the thickest hard wood tree he could find to save his life! He faught during the hard times of the New Hebrides independance. During his enrollment in the army he got involved in a fight with the most athletic and feared guy of the barracks, so respected they called that guy the Ram. Fight over a girl, hehe. My dad's mistake? Dancing with the guy's girlfriend! He managed to knock the ram off, and friends of his saved his ass from the miltary police by hiding him,cleaning him up, and burn his bloodstained uniform. After the independance of his country, the new government stole all of his properties and belongings, saying that colons had to go back to their country. Colons. My Dad isnt a pure colon. His mother is an islander. Anyway, he still went his way, full of anger and bitterness over such open injustice. But always hoping for a brighter future. So he took my mother with him to Central America for some new business that turned out to be a huge fraud. He was wrongly accused of being the crook when the real owner put him as director and hid behind payed lawyers and judges. And as the truth was coming out in daylight even though everybody tried to drown him, all they could was kill him to keep him quiet as they couldnt throw him in jail. But my father fleed with the help of God through Nicaragua that was at the time in full civilian war crisis, and from there to the U.S.A. to France, where we met him a couple of months later after we were sure we'd be safe to go.
And today, after many other adventures, he lives in the Pacific again. But he still has a life to live. Even after heart & prostate operations. He is till going.
Lately after having kick boxing fight with one guy after a party at my place (the guy was uninvited got drank on our drinks and drowned my mobile phone in his glass of whisky for a laugh), my Dad told me to tell him that if my Dad found him he would still kick the shit out of him even if he was 69 years old. But then he said that its good i knew how to take care of myself. Thats how he wants his girl to be. Free & strong. Like her Daddy.