You Are On Vacation in San Diego! Here Is Some Info About Your Father.

 Dear Luca,

    There are some great pictures of your family trip to San Diego, and I enjoyed seeing the whole family at play on the beach, in the pool, and on bikes.  My favorite one is of you and your brother Legend in the pool. 

Of course, I didn't come up to your house because, of course, you weren't there. But I was thinking that you may want to hear some stories about your dad from time to time, stories about when he was a little boy.

    Your papa's name is André (and that is accent on the "e," but we seldom use it any more), but when he was your age until he started school he was called Muggins. You will have to ask your Grandpa Richard how he came by that name. Even today, there are people who knew him when, and they always ask: "How's Muggins?"

    He was born in a cabin at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado. You will soon learn that he was born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1977, at about 5:30 pm. It was a beautiful. cold night, and I stayed awake with him all night long, looking at the stars on that wintry night.

    I did have to leave pretty soon after he was born to get stitches. But he was in good hands. I handed him to my best friend Ellen when he was only about an hour old. Ellen had never held a newborn before, and he weighed only five pounds, so, she later told me, she just kept saying to him, "Please keep breathing. Please keep breathing." He did, of course, and I was gone for only an hour.

    You are very much like him. He was always full of energy when he was your age. He took little naps, but mostly liked to be awake and entertained. His very first words were "Papa," which he started saying one night when he was taking a bubble bath. He said it over and over again: "Papa! Papa! Papa!" 

    We moved to the mountain house when your dad was two years old.  Your Grandpa Richard still lives on that property, but in a different house. It's a long story that you'll hear one day. But your dad is a true mountain boy, just like you will be, I think. 

    There will be other stories about him and his sisters, your aunts, as I continue to write your book. Maybe he will add some of his own.