Mike Vitar

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always looked forward to family events because I would be able to laugh with my cousins, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. While I was thinking about what would occur later in the day, a familiar voice caught my attention. "Go long Gigi!" I heard my uncle, Mikey shout from about twenty feet away. My uncle, and my two youngest siblings, and I were tossing a rubber football on the sand a few weeks ago, on Thanksgiving. Later that day, I was too worn out to keep playing, so I had decided to lazily stomp inside and help my mom cook. Throughout that entire sunny Thanksgiving day, all I could think about was how great my uncle is, and how lucky and thankful I am to have him.

I was sitting down at the dinner table with my three siblings, my parents, my two grandparents, my aunt, and my uncle. We had just ended one conversation talking about how thankful we were to have each other, and then somehow, my uncle, Mikey started telling a story about one of the outlandish calls he had gotten the day before at the station.

My uncle Mikey is a firefighter in Downtown L.A., and he is the father of three kids, Eli (7), Wesley (4), and Norah (10 months). He is married to my aunt, Kym, and he is thirty-five years old. Mikey is my uncle, and my godfather, and he is the most hilarious person I know. Mikey can crack a joke out of almost any word said, which is why having him around is so spontaneous. My uncle grew up here in Los Angeles as the youngest of three siblings. He was raised by his grandmother most of his younger years because his parents were at work. Mikey's grandmother taught him to be the polite, young man that he is, although sometimes all those lessons disappear! His grandmother taught him how to make his bed, clean up after himself, tell hilarious jokes at the right time, cook, and speak Spanish fluently. Being the youngest, and being seven years apart from his closest sibling, Mikey was often left out of his older siblings' events, and usually tagged along even if he wasn't wanted there. Because he was always following my mom and her friends, like any annoying little brother, my mom decided to nickname him "booger", and the name has stuck.

Six years ago, when my uncle, Mikey was 29, his oldest sibling, (my other uncle, and my mom's older brother) passed away of colon cancer at the age of 45. My entire family was devastated, and because it was my first experience of death, I didn't understand why I couldn't see him anymore, but Mikey was there to help the whole way. When my uncle left us, he left behind his wife, three kids, and his two dogs, which is why Mikey feels the need to be the rock of our entire family. My uncle Mikey had to continue to take on the most important role of our family as we all grew up and years passed. Two years ago, my grandfather had a stroke, and his whole right side was paralyzed until he had been through rehab for about 3 months. Mikey was there everyday at his father's side, and constantly helping him remember all of us and other details about his life, even though it took him almost an hour to get there each day. Even with all the craziness of my family, Mikey still had his job, his family, his pets, and no matter what the situation was, Mikey always saved a great story to tell. My uncle never complains about his job because he loves it so much, but even when he has to wake up thirty minutes after he falls asleep to save a cat, he enjoys every minute of it. There was another time where he had to rush out of his bed at the station at 3:45am to go save people out of a burning house, or when he was called suddenly on Christmas Eve to put out a dangerous fire.

Mikey still lives here in Los Angeles today, right across the street from the other cousins in Chatsworth. I love spending the night at their house, and hearing more adventurous stories about his live saving job, but most of all, it's just nice to hangout with the coolest uncle in the entire world. My uncle, Mikey is my hero because of the fantastic person he is, and because of how much he loves everyone. He risks his life for others almost everyday, and he loves doing his job. My uncle is consistently smiling, and he never shows any pain. Mikey is brave, hilarious, supportive, athletic, and loving. I adore my uncle, and I appreciate him more and more each time I see him, and I realize how thankful I am to have him.