Chief Perez

A photo of a photo.

This is my very first trip to the firehouse;  I was maybe five years old.  This is the beginning of his career as a firefighter.  This is also the beginning of when my dad started being my dad.

16 years later.

Now I'm getting ready to graduate from college and he got promoted this summer to a Batallion Commander for the fire department.  He's only got a couple more years until he can retire and he just barely broke forty years old.  He's a powerhouse. 

This is his station where he has his own office, and even his own bathroom.  Moving on up.

This is the pensive man that taught me how to drive, how make egg sandwiches, how to not take yourself too seriously, how to always be willing to give a helping hand, and how to make a list every morning so that you don't waste your day or get overwhelmed by it.  We were an incomplete puzzle, he was our missing piece.  I'd like to think he's a corner piece, framing our family and keeping us together, keeping us from falling apart.

This is my pops, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.