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Who is Pablo?
Our friendship with Pablo began six years ago.
My wife was toiling away in the back yard one warm and sunny September afternoon, weeding the seven small gardens that surround our rural property. Kathy is seven years younger than I am, but her wrists and hands tired easily and I could tell she needed some help.
Why didn’t I help her? Good question and one with two answers. First of all, my ‘real job’ occupies 40 hours of my week and writing this column takes a considerable chunk of my remaining free time. Second, I’m allergic to Poison Ivy and try to stay away from weeds whenever possible.
Being the nice guy that I am, however, I called my neighbor, Carol Relleke, to ask if she thought one of her farm hands might be interested in making a few extra bucks when they were done for the day, by coming by to help out with the weeding project. Because October and the annual Pumpkinfest was just around the corner, Carol said she doubted there would be any time for extra work.
Trying to help us out, she said, "Well, there’s this 10-year old named Pablo that’s just hanging around waiting for his mom and dad to finish up for the day. I don’t know how much help he would be but you could try him out for the job." I asked Carol if she thought $3.00 an hour would be appropriate compensation and she said that should be enough to get him interested.
I drove down the road to the Relleke Farm to pick up our new little helper... a chunky little lad that looked as if he could pull a small tree out of the sandy soil which surrounds our property. Feeling satisfied that the arrangement would be a good solution to my wife’s need for a bit of help with the tedious task of pulling weeds, I drove Pablo down to our place to introduce him to Kathy.
Within a matter of minutes, I was back at my desk, writing my weekly column, gazing out the window watching as the two set about sprucing up the gardens in preparation for a barbecue for the Gateway Chapter of the Buick Club of America, scheduled for the following day. My satisfaction was short-lived, however, as my plan quickly went awry.
After about 15 to 20 minutes (reports disagree on the exact time), my wife looked up at Pablo and asked, "Do you play video games?" (What contemporary ten year old doesn’t?) With that, they got up, went into the parlor and fired up the Playstation! Those were the last weeds that Pablo ever pulled... at least at our place.
Present Day Pablo
That said, however, Pablo has been an invaluable helper to both my wife and myself... helping us out in many a task which required more muscle and/or nerves than we have.
But, more importantly, he has become a true friend... and, although not directly related, we consider him family and he calls us his grandma and grandpa. He’s as sharp as the fin on a fifty-nine Caddie, is always upbeat and with his infectious sense of humor... he has the ability to make us laugh, no matter how bad of a day we’re having. His driving instructor summed it up yesterday when she said to me, "He’s a hoot!"
Shortly after we met, I started dragging Pablo to car shows, swap meets and other car-related events.
Our first outing together was the Buick Club Regional Meet held at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Illinois in August of 2004. Since then we have attended countless auto shows, swap meets and cruises together.
He quickly took a liking to old cars and, unconsciously, I was ‘taking a kid to a car show’... following the mission set forth by a program started by SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, for the purpose of furthering interest in the restoration and preservation of collectible automobiles and trucks.
Here’s a few ‘specs’ which will help you get to know Pablo a little better:
Place of birth: Caseyville, Illinois
Birthday: October 1st.
Favorite subjects: Math and Science.
Career ambitions: Considering enlistment in the U.S. Air
Force and would like to be an architect or work for the federal government– possibly the FBI. (If that doesn’t work out, he wants to be president of the United States.)
Other goals: Want’s to see the world and ‘do it all’.
Favorite fast food restaurant: Can’t decide. Likes all food.
Favorite music genera: Heavy metal.
Bands: Winds of Plague; Asking Alexandria; The Devil Wears Prada and Freak Accident (local). (I never said he was perfect, but I’m working on him. Hope to take him with me to see B.B. King and Buddy Guy Thursday night. I may have to tie him up and throw him in the trunk of the car.)
Favorite movie: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Favorite color: Blue (especially when applied to the skin of a 2010 Camaro).
Favorite snack food: Doritos or just about any kind of chips.
Favorite pastimes: Hanging out with friends; texting, texting and MORE texting; playingGuitar Hero ; cruising and going to car shows with grandpa.
Hobbies: Girls.
Favorite sport to play: baseball;
to watch on TV: football.
Favorite new car: Chevrolet Camaro.
Favorite vintage muscle car: Chevrolet Chevelle.
Turn offs: people who say stupid things or ask questions to which the answers are obvious; people who get into other people’s business and people who talk on their cell phones while behind the wheel.
Languages: fluent in English and Spanish.
Cola preference: Coca-Cola.
Pablo is a member of ‘ACES’, the American Chevelle Enthusiasts Society.
My wife was toiling away in the back yard one warm and sunny September afternoon, weeding the seven small gardens that surround our rural property. Kathy is seven years younger than I am, but her wrists and hands tired easily and I could tell she needed some help.
Why didn’t I help her? Good question and one with two answers. First of all, my ‘real job’ occupies 40 hours of my week and writing this column takes a considerable chunk of my remaining free time. Second, I’m allergic to Poison Ivy and try to stay away from weeds whenever possible.
Being the nice guy that I am, however, I called my neighbor, Carol Relleke, to ask if she thought one of her farm hands might be interested in making a few extra bucks when they were done for the day, by coming by to help out with the weeding project. Because October and the annual Pumpkinfest was just around the corner, Carol said she doubted there would be any time for extra work.
Trying to help us out, she said, "Well, there’s this 10-year old named Pablo that’s just hanging around waiting for his mom and dad to finish up for the day. I don’t know how much help he would be but you could try him out for the job." I asked Carol if she thought $3.00 an hour would be appropriate compensation and she said that should be enough to get him interested.
I drove down the road to the Relleke Farm to pick up our new little helper... a chunky little lad that looked as if he could pull a small tree out of the sandy soil which surrounds our property. Feeling satisfied that the arrangement would be a good solution to my wife’s need for a bit of help with the tedious task of pulling weeds, I drove Pablo down to our place to introduce him to Kathy.
Within a matter of minutes, I was back at my desk, writing my weekly column, gazing out the window watching as the two set about sprucing up the gardens in preparation for a barbecue for the Gateway Chapter of the Buick Club of America, scheduled for the following day. My satisfaction was short-lived, however, as my plan quickly went awry.
After about 15 to 20 minutes (reports disagree on the exact time), my wife looked up at Pablo and asked, "Do you play video games?" (What contemporary ten year old doesn’t?) With that, they got up, went into the parlor and fired up the Playstation! Those were the last weeds that Pablo ever pulled... at least at our place.
Present Day Pablo
That said, however, Pablo has been an invaluable helper to both my wife and myself... helping us out in many a task which required more muscle and/or nerves than we have.
But, more importantly, he has become a true friend... and, although not directly related, we consider him family and he calls us his grandma and grandpa. He’s as sharp as the fin on a fifty-nine Caddie, is always upbeat and with his infectious sense of humor... he has the ability to make us laugh, no matter how bad of a day we’re having. His driving instructor summed it up yesterday when she said to me, "He’s a hoot!"
Shortly after we met, I started dragging Pablo to car shows, swap meets and other car-related events.
Our first outing together was the Buick Club Regional Meet held at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Illinois in August of 2004. Since then we have attended countless auto shows, swap meets and cruises together.
He quickly took a liking to old cars and, unconsciously, I was ‘taking a kid to a car show’... following the mission set forth by a program started by SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, for the purpose of furthering interest in the restoration and preservation of collectible automobiles and trucks.
Here’s a few ‘specs’ which will help you get to know Pablo a little better:
Place of birth: Caseyville, Illinois
Birthday: October 1st.
Favorite subjects: Math and Science.
Career ambitions: Considering enlistment in the U.S. Air
Force and would like to be an architect or work for the federal government– possibly the FBI. (If that doesn’t work out, he wants to be president of the United States.)
Other goals: Want’s to see the world and ‘do it all’.
Favorite fast food restaurant: Can’t decide. Likes all food.
Favorite music genera: Heavy metal.
Bands: Winds of Plague; Asking Alexandria; The Devil Wears Prada and Freak Accident (local). (I never said he was perfect, but I’m working on him. Hope to take him with me to see B.B. King and Buddy Guy Thursday night. I may have to tie him up and throw him in the trunk of the car.)
Favorite movie: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Favorite color: Blue (especially when applied to the skin of a 2010 Camaro).
Favorite snack food: Doritos or just about any kind of chips.
Favorite pastimes: Hanging out with friends; texting, texting and MORE texting; playing
Hobbies: Girls.
Favorite sport to play: baseball;
to watch on TV: football.
Favorite new car: Chevrolet Camaro.
Favorite vintage muscle car: Chevrolet Chevelle.
Turn offs: people who say stupid things or ask questions to which the answers are obvious; people who get into other people’s business and people who talk on their cell phones while behind the wheel.
Languages: fluent in English and Spanish.
Cola preference: Coca-Cola.
Pablo is a member of ‘ACES’, the American Chevelle Enthusiasts Society.
Content copyright . Bruce Kunz. All rights reserved.
