Don Perfecto was an Elderly neighbor down the street from where I grew up. He was already in his 80's when I was under 10 yrs old. I really Don't know much about him, except that he was a nice, friendly,and a very giving man. He loved children. Him and his wife never had children, so he used to give out candy, fruits, coloring books, and small toys to every kid he could. He was the neighborhood's grandpa. I do remember him sharing war stories and tales about the old days, how things were like when he was a kid. He used to love egg, cheese, and ham sandwiches. Sometimes he'll ask his wife to make egg sandwiches for us, but I never accepted (because I don't like eggs very much), thus, mine would then be a plain ham and cheese sandwich. We all used to love going to his home because he owned an a small monkey named Tito (I think it was a Rhesus monkey.) He used to let us pet and play with Tito, of course, if Tito was in the mood to play!!.

At some point, he suffered a stroke and was at home most of the time. But that didn't stop him from performing his grandpa duties, he would sit on his front porch, watch us play and hand out the little gifts for us. From time to time, one of us would get him an ice cream, to show our appreciation, and he used to love that!! He had been complaining of stomach discomfort for a few days, then it got so bad that he finally went to see his MD. He was then sent to the hospital, but sadly, he passed away from appendicitis, obviously because he waited so long to see his MD. Everything changed in the neighborhood after he passed. Not just because there were no unexpected little gifts, candy, and fruits anymore, but because we no longer had our guardian angel, our self appointed grandpa, making sure we were safe while playing outside. I love you Don Perfecto, You'll never be forgotten! Sleep Well.......