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B
ACK IN
T
EXAS
I
was still conflicted about leaving the Navy, but knowing that I was
going to start Craft gave me more incentive. When the time finally
came, I couldn’t wait.
After all, I was going back home. Was I in a hurry? I got out of
the Navy November 4; on November 6, I was kicking Texas dust.
While I was working on Craft International, my family stayed
back in the San Diego area, the kids finishing up with school and
Taya getting the house ready to sell. My wife planned to have
everything wrapped up in January so we could be reunited in Texas.
They came out at Christmas. I’d been missing the kids and her
terribly.
I pulled her into the room at my parent’s place and said, “What
do you think about going back by yourself? Leave the kids with
me.”
She was tickled. She had a lot to do, and while she loved our
children, taking care of them and getting the house ready to sell was
exhausting.
I loved having my son and daughter with me. I had a big assist
from my parents, who helped watch them during the week. Friday
afternoons I’d take the kids and we’d have Daddy vacations for
three and sometimes four days at a shot.
People have an idea in their heads that fathers aren’t able to
spend comfortable time with very young children. I don’t think
that’s true. Hell, I had as much fun as they did. We’d mess around
on a trampoline and play ball for hours. We’d visit the zoo, hit the
playgrounds, watch a movie. They’d help Dad grill. We all had a
great time.
W
hen my daughter was a baby, it took a bit of time for her to
warm up to me. But gradually, she came to trust me more, and got
used to having me around. Now she is all about her daddy.
Of course, she had him wrapped around her little finger from day
one.
I
began teaching my son how to shoot when he was two, starting
with the basics of a BB rifle. My theory is that kids get into trouble
because of curiosity—if you don’t satisfy it, you’re asking for big
problems. If you inform them and carefully instruct them on safety
when they’re young, you avoid a lot of the trouble.
My son has learned to respect weapons. I’ve always told him, if
you want to use a gun, come get me. There’s nothing I like better
than shooting. He already has his own rifle, a .22 lever-action, and
he shoots pretty good groups with it. He’s amazing with a pistol,
too.
My daughter is still a little young, and hasn’t shown as much
interest yet. I suspect she will soon, but in any event, extensive
firearms training will be mandatory before she is allowed to date . . .
which should be around the time she turns thirty.
Both kids have gone out hunting with me. They’re still a little
young to focus for long periods of time, but I suspect they’ll get the
hang of it before too long.
Taya:
Chris and I have gone back and forth about how we
would feel if our children went into the military. Of
course we don’t want them to be hurt, or for anything to
happen to them. But there are also a lot of positives to
military service. We’ll both be proud of them no matter
what they do.
If my son was to consider going into SEALs, I would
tell him to really think about it. I would tell him that he
has to be prepared.
I think it’s horrible for family. If you go to war, it
does change you, and you have to be prepared for that,
too. I’d tell him to sit down and talk to his father about
the reality of things.
Sometimes I feel like crying just thinking about him in
a firefight.
I think Chris has done enough for the country so that
we can skip a generation. But we’ll both be proud of our
children no matter what.
Settling in Texas got me closer to my parents on a permanent
basis. Since I’ve been back with them, they tell me some of the shell
that I built up during the war has melted away. My father says that I
closed off parts of myself. He believes they’ve come back,
somewhat at least.
“I don’t think you can train for years to kill,” he admits, “and
expect all that to disappear overnight.”
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