Aaron Gallegos

Back in the 80s, Aaron and I lived together in Santa Cruz, and one of the fondest memories I have of him is when I first decided to try my hand at gardening. There was a box on our porch so I painted it, bought a bunch of perennial flower seeds, and planted and watered them each day. Being a city girl, I felt ill prepared and had little confidence in my ability to make something grow, but when I saw the first signs of life emerge from the soil, I was beside myself with happiness. Every morning I would wake up, run to the porch, grab the watering can and look to see what my precious little flowerbed had brought me.

One day as I sat on the porch admiring my little sprouts, Aaron stuck his head out of the window and pointed to the planter.

“What’s that, Katie?” He asked.

"What’s what?" I answered.

"Look, is that a weed? He said.

I reached down, gave the mysterious greenery a tug, and up from the soil came a big beautiful carrot. I screamed and looked at Aaron. He had a huge smile on his face and we both started laughing. He had covertly planted it, knowing how surprised and happy I'd be.

I'll never forget the sweetness of that moment.

Aaron now makes his home in Canada with his wife Wendy and their new baby boy, Amado.

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