Humans of Downey - Dario

"Some character traits I am modeling and training my children to build into their lives are patience, how to work with other people for a common goal, and the acceptance that some things require hard work to accomplish. My dad, who made his living in construction, taught me to work hard with my hands. My job requires me to use my hands. My children see me and I bring them alongside with me to work around the house as I repair things, work in the garden, and in my woodworking. This table I'm building will be strong enough to last long after I'm gone. I want my children to be part of things that will last. These character traits will help them accomplish lasting legacies.

"A quirk my family has is that we make our own wine. We purchase the grapes, then at my dad's house we use a giant stainless steel press to squeeze the juice out. Then there's a long fermentation process where you leave the juice in the vat and mix the juice and the grapes over a period of time. When it is ready, you filter out the solid pieces and leave just the wine. The art of turning the grapes into wine and not vinegar is in the ingredients and timing. If we mess up, the results are useless. But if we do it correctly, which is most of the time and mostly because of my dad, we have our own vintage of wine to drink."

~ Dario