Anna M. Aquino

My dad is one of the toughest men I have ever been around in the natural. He was a grunt soldier in Vietnam, and survived an entire tour spending 99% of that time in the bush. To put that in the perspective of statistics, the life expectancy of a grunt soldier in Vietnam was two weeks. Daddy survived thirteen months at the height of the war. Which I will readily credit, was both: the hand of God on his life, and my daddy’s refusal to quit. It is no wonder that while growing up to me, he was a larger than life character. He’s since survived all sorts of health issues, most likely caused by Agent Orange. In short my daddy is a survivor. He had lived through ordeals that most would give up in. He has fought to stay alive in the midst of horrible trauma. He has always said to me, “You have two choices in life: You can either lie down and die, or get up and keep fighting.” I get a little annoyed when I hear people start to whine and complain ...