Chito Solomon: My Dad

As I've said in the past, I'm a daddy's girl. I know it all too well. Every one says I'm a spitting image of both my parents. I don't know if it's just me, but I didn't appreciate hearing this from people in the past because I wanted to be me, not a person that resembles other people. But I have to admit I'm starting to see it. The more time passes, the more I see them in me.

I get my wisdom (what wisdom I have) from my Mom. Many people go to her for advice and somehow, she just knows what to say. She's a wonderful listener and a great friend to many. She's an accomplished business woman and a hard worker.

I get my passion from my Dad. He's the type of guy that puts everything on the table. When he commits to something, it's always 110%. If something isn't done properly, he'll roll up his sleeves and do it himself. He's always been that way. He wants the best, to live life to its fullest, work hard, and reap the rewards. I've written about my Dad in numerous posts, mainly "Happy Birthday Daddy!" He's someone I look up to very much and last week, he has proven once again to me that he's a force to be reckoned with.

This week he was, once again, published in a magazine for his amazing car collection but this time was different. I remember this shoot. My whole family went to Las Vegas for the weekend of Thanksgiving 2009 and he stayed behind. He's not much of a Vegas kind of guy but he stuck around LA mostly because he told us someone was doing a photo shoot for his cars at our house. We've heard it before as his cars have been in different print magazines, online magazines, blogs and forums before. We didn't think much of it, until now. It turns out, my dad has been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time. This is the first time a magazine has covered ALL (okay not all, there's actually more if you can believe it lol) his cars in one article. Not just his Euro cars, not just his Japanese cars, not just his go karts...all of 'em. Even the rare parts he's got in our 2-car garage at home that aren't attached to any moving vehicle.

UK based Retro Cars Magazine published a 7-page article about my Dad in their March 2010 issue. Reading about my Dad couldn't be more strange to me. Knowing that he's made a name for himself in his community is surreal and definitely a goal I have for myself. Reading the article made me so proud of him. Proud to know that his passion for cars has brought him places, proud to know that he's well-respected, proud to just be his daughter.

Congratulations Dad!! I'm lucky to know you and be your daughter. I couldn't be more proud. :)