My Father and the Oscars

This is Oscar time- Hollywoods salute to itself- the Academy Awards, or as they are called the Oscars.
There will be glitter, flash, red carpet, limos, movie stars. evening gowns by the top designers, and of course egos.

My father loved the Oscars. He grew up in Spain with dreams of coming to America and becoming an Academy Award winner, a great actor.

In Spain he did some radio shows. When Spain broke out into a civil war everything changed. His family became poor, and his father was executed.My father had to have half his stomach removed- the stress causing severe bleeding ulcers.

In 1949, he came to the United States- with the dreams of becoming a great Hollywood star.

Things did not quite work out the way he had hoped. He met a woman who was soon to become his wife, my mother, and soon found himself working as a waiter.

There were no English classes sponsored by the government in those days- so everynight he would get together with my mother and other co-workers and practice English.

He soon learned enough English that he was able to get a better job at the Grand Union.
In 1953 we moved to the D.C. Metropolitan area.

My father still had dreams of becoming a great actor, but with two kids and rent he had to put those dreams on hold.
He eventually got a job working at Giant Food, where he stayed for 30 years.
The Oscars were still a big deal to him, so every year around Oscar time, he and my mother would make a big production on Oscar night.
We would all gather around the coffee table, there were now 4 kids,where there would be a platter with Havarti, cheddar and swiss chees, Escort crackers, Cold Duck(an inexpensive champagne)and soda for the kids.
My father had a sheet of paper where he had made winning predictions on the Oscars the day before- it sort of reminded me of a person handicapping the horse races.

It was a great night and the look on my fathers face as the winners were announced, and he had guessed correctly was one of happiness.

These were great parties and they soon expanded into parties for the Emmys and the Tonys.

My father died at the age of 63. I am sure he was disappointed in not becoming a great actor- but I know that to his family and in his heart he knew he was a great father.