In 1982, my Nana Frances and Grandpa John were walking in the park near their neighborhood in Riverside CA. They were both young and in love. Although they had been dating for under a year, my Nana felt as though she had met the man of her dreams. Fairmont Park was their favorite place to go because it wasn’t too far from the neighborhood and it had a lake full of huge catfish that anybody could catch as long as they had a fishing pole. On this particular day, my grandpa John forgot to bring his fishing pole. They could have gone back to get it but they didn’t want to waste the time that they had together. Not yet adults, they both had a curfew that they had to respect. After taking a walk around the park, Grandpa John asked my Nana if she dared him to try and catch a fish by using a rock. She didn’t think he could do it. Before he tried, she wrote my Dad’s full name in the dirt: “Johnny Samuel III”. She wasn’t yet pregnant but would sometimes dream of being a mother and wife. Shortly after, my Grandpa threw a rock at the fish he was trying to capture. He hit the fish and it knocked the fish out cold. He took it out of the water and claimed it as his catch of the day. My Nana says she made a wish just before my Grandpa captured the fish. She wished that my Dad would enter their lives soon so they could be a family. My Dad was conceived not long after and my Nana always says that the catfish my Grandpa captured gave its life so my Dad could have his. It may not be entirely accurate but my Nana has told this story many times over the years.