Francisco Hernandez talks about some of the memories with our grandpa Luis before our grandpa passed away in 2017. He also talks about other childhood memories that he can recall.
TRANSCRIPT:
Isabella Samayoa: What is your name?
Francisco Hernandez: Francisco Hernandez.
IS: Do you have any nicknames?
FH: Yeah Panchito.
IS: Okay, how old are you and what grade are you in?
FH: I’m 12 years old and in seventh grade.
IS: Do you have any memories from when we were little and we would hang out with grandpa before he passed away.
FH: Yeah I remember when he’d take us to the backyard and a bottle of Coke and give it to us when our parents weren’t looking, to sneak it in and they would get mad.
IS: Yeah like with the little blue sodas.
FH: Also this one time when we were washing my dad’s car, and then we finished everything, and then he had the hose and then he started wetting us and chasing us around and it was very funny.
IS: That was really funny. Do you remember when we were little we would play play-doh with him and we would give him his pills.
FH: Yeah.
IS: From when he was sick and stuff.
FH: Yeah.
IS: Do you also remember when grandma had that pink wig in her room and it was all and it was all curled up and it looked so fake. But we would still put it on grandpa cause he didn’t have any hair because of the treatment they were giving him.
FH: Yeah.
IS: That was really funny.
FH: Yeah.
IS: Do you have any other memories that you can remember from that time. I know you were really little like when you would play with grandpa.
FH: Probably when he would take me to the little store around the corner and he would buy me candy.
IS: Yeah.
FH: Also when he would take us to Walmart to get a ball and we would play together, and we would kick the ball over in the street.
IS: In the alley?
FH: Yeah across the alley.
IS: Do you remember anything like from right before when he died?
FH: Mmm not really. Probably just the video your mom and my mom put on the TV.
IS: From his memorial?
FH: I don’t really remember but it was downstairs.
IS: When he had the breathing tube or whatever.
FH: Yeah.
IS: That’s all you remember?
FH: Yeah.
IS: Do you remember how he looks?
FH: Yeah, like really tall, like light skin.
IS: Wait, when you say light skin do you mean white skin?
FH: Yeah.
IS: Nice. Do you remember how he sounds? Like before he got sick, because I know when he got sick his voice sounded a bit different.
FH: No not really, but I remember he’d make jokes to get me mad.
IS: [laughing] like what jokes? Like the jokes Tio Luis tells us.
FH: He would say “Do you miss your mom?” and I would shake my head yes but he would say “No.”
IS: Oh I remember that.
FH: I would get mad.
IS: Grandpa was like that.
FH: Yeah.
IS: Do you remember when grandpa would buy us candy when he would go to Mexico and then when he would come back.
FH: Yeah, I also remember that big picture we brought from the bus with all his luggage and everything all the way from Mexico.
IS: Yeah that was fun. So when you were little, what’s one of the most vivid memories you have when you were like little or recently?
FH: Probably when I was little just playing around with grandpa and now the most recent thing is.
IS: Do you remember when my mom was picking us from school and the little girl fell in the rain.
[Laughing]
FH: The lady too.
IS: She fell [laughing]. Oh that was funny. I think this is gonna be my last question. When we were little do you have any fun memories with grandma? Instead of grandpa.
FH: Umm.
IS: Like that she’s still alive. Do you have any memories?
FH: From when being little, not really.
IS: But what about when we were above the age of six or seven.
FH: Not really. I don’t remember a lot. But now looking back it’s funny how I would talk with her and mispronounce things and say my own things.
IS: You’re a no sabo kid that’s why.
FH: Yeah.
IS: Do you remember when she used to give us, like when we were in La Purisima, do you remember when used to give us those chip bags of the minion coins.
FH: Yeah and we would throw them on the floor and fish with them.
IS: I think it was Tia Lorenza’s house. I think I don’t know. Do you remember we would catch fish and you were scared with them, you would cry like a little baby.
FH: Yeah, I was a little baby and we went in the water with the fish.
IS: You were still scared of them. Thinking they were going to eat you.
FH: No.
IS: Would you ever recreate any of those memories now at the age you are?
FH: Probably yeah. Just the child memories with us because they were all funny.
IS: When you ran over my hand.
FH: Yeah.
IS: That wasn’t really nice.
FH: When we’d play Nerf guns.
IS: You shot me in my eye.
FH: Yeah. Probably all the other memories with our grandparents.
IS: Yeah that would be fun. Especially the ones with grandpa because I don’t remember much besides the wig.
FH: We were very little.
IS: I wasn’t that little. But not old enough.
FH: It was light second grade.
IS: No I was turning six.
FH: Yeah.
IS: So I was like kinder or TK.
FH: I was barely starting school.
IS: He died two months before Valentina was born. If he would’ve stayed alive a little more he would have met her.
FH: Yeah.
IS: That means he passed away like seven years ago. I remember when he died a couple of our pets did too like; Coco, Camelia-
FH: Speedy.
IS: Kitty, most unoriginal name for a cat.
FH: Yeah.
IS: But she was nice. You would always be with Camelia and kitty even though you would be allergic to cats.
FH: Yeah.
IS: Remember when we used to try Tia Joanna’s shoes.
FH: Yeah.
IS: You used to wear her red stilettos all the time and walk in them.
FH: Yeah.
IS: [laughing] That was a good interview, having to redo it multiple times because you wouldn’t stop laughing. Thank you for sharing with me Panchito.
FH: Thank you for having me.
