and Words
Carry on my wayward son
There′ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Ah
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I′m dreaming,
I can hear them say
Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.
I remember the angst and the anger. As I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, I lacked direction. My dad passed away when I was nine years old, a year before I arrived in Florida. In many ways, that single event sent me into a free fall for the years that followed. Perhaps more accurately, it changed the trajectory of my life. Life before that was not without its complications, but it was considerably simpler.
Though my dad had little to no education, he accomplished a great deal during this modest lifetime. He became an accomplished chef through apprenticeships in Hong Kong. He was skilled enough that they sponsored him twice… First, he moved from Hong Kong to Spain; next, he moved from Spain to Puerto Rico. He learned English and then Spanish on his own, without formal education. He eventually opened his own restaurant in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.