Yes, I Have a Son

Several weeks ago, I received a Facebook message with a photo of a 39-year-old young man named Cory. DNA tests confirmed last week that he is my son.

As it turns out, a very brief dalliance with a young lady when I was 17 was the source of this Thanksgiving surprise. I had no idea that she was pregnant. I have not seen or heard from her for 40 years.

Once, when I was in college, I received a call from my mom who said that a lady had called and said I might be the father of her daughter’s child (as I remember it). I think I told her that it was highly unlikely, and that was the end of that. I’ve always wondered about that phone call but never really took it seriously.

But then I saw the photo. He has my cheeks, my nose, and my smile. He is my son. I chatted with him last week for the first time, and it was an eerie experience. It felt like talking to an old friend.

He is currently in Palestine, Texas, working on an oil rig. He’ll be back in a couple of weeks, when I intend to meet him and his wife Madlyne for the first time.

I don’t know what his expectations are, but he seems okay with the situation. I am overjoyed. I hope we get to know each other. I hope it’s not too cold in Palestine.

I hope he is pleased that he is a son of the Republic of Texas, with roots in the Lone Star state that trace back ten years before the Texas Revolution. I hope he develops an interest in Cuba because he is one-fourth Cuban American, a fact he probably did not know until recently. I hope he likes my songs. I hope he is pleased to learn that he has a very warm and large extended family, a grandmother, a grandfather, two aunts, an uncle, cousins, and second cousins, and great aunts and uncles, and on and on. I know they will welcome him and his wife as part of our amazing family if they are interested in being a part of it.

And I hope he knows that I am very sorry that I did not take that phone call more seriously when I was a crazy twenty-something in 1980. 

I am thankful that Madlyne found me. I am thankful for having a wonderful family. I am thankful that I have a son.