Love Laugh & Organize

I remember trying to look out the window of the 1984 standard Ford pick up truck
On the bumpy dirt road me and my parents were on
All I was able to see was the never ending sea of cactus’s

I was five years old the first time I went Valparaiso Zacatecas
A place I knew about in old white and brown pictures of
Old profile and
wedding pictures
dating back to my great great grandparents in our photo album
right before the page of my dad with his
boot cut hippies jeans and his fluorescent green and blue slim silk shirt that was too cool to be buttoned all the way

“Porque tienen luces los nopales” I asked my mom
don’t get me wrong
I had seen Cactus’ before in my
dad’s favorite clint eastwood movies or
when my mom would put them in my frijoles
but these were different
these had what looked like
bright red lightbulbs that
blanket the gorgeous green cactus field
as if it was christmas eve during the daytime.
“Mijo, esas se llaman tunas” my mother told me as she noticed
my confused American look trying to figure out what were these zacatecan delicasees

TUNAS?
Now I was really confused
Those bright red lightbulbs looked nothing like what my mom would pour out of those small cans
to mix with tomatoes, celery, onion, mayo and mustard

My parents were half amuzed
at my confused logic and
half surprised that their five year old son
had never tried the fruit that gave them memories of growing up

When we got to my grandparents house
my mom told them about how I thought tunas where lightbulbs!
And with a calm smile
my grandmother took my five year old hand and
We took a seat on their porch
overlooking the ceros, nopales, and empty dirt roads

She started telling me stories of
how when HER mother was pregnant with her
she would eat a tunas every evening after
she had dinner
in order for her to end a good meal
with a treat.
And about how MY grandfather
would come and visit with a
batch of freshly cut tunas for her mother
in order to let them to talk near the house door
And how HER great grandfather
would treat her and her siblings with
ice shavings and tunas every time she would visit him.


She handed me a piece of tuna that
her experienced hands cut
and placed it on
my five year old hand
and as I looked down at the tuna
the sight of all the seed grossed me out

Looking at my disgusted
my grandmother told me that the seeds
were good for me and
that the more seeds each tuna had
the stronger I was going to be when I grew up.

Told me that she used to play a game with my mother that
her great grandmother taught her

Every evening they would sit outside on the porch and
each would peel and eat a tuna
They would each count the number of seeds each tuna had
as it passed their tongue
They would tally them each day and at the end of the week
the winner would get to pick their favorite song
so HER grandfather can sing it to them.

Being so excited about this new game
I ran into the living room where my mother was and
I told her I learned a new game and wanted to play with her

The last time my mother played this
was 27 years ago before she left with my father to el norte
I could tell she had a burst of emotions cuz
I saw her and my grandmother exchange smiles
as tears started flowing out of their eyes.

There we sat
me, my mom, and grandmother
three very different generations
letting our counting do all the talking between us
just like they did years ago

Now
everytime I go home around late august
my parents, myself, and my 7 year old brother
sit on our front porch overlooking
pavement, cars and onlookers
Counting tunas
At the end of each count
it doesn’t matter wins
as long as we get to do this again tomorrow


-DM