Juan Jose "John" Cayado Jr.  1984-2005


Thursday morning, September 22nd, started like any other work day.  Get up, feed Chloe and the boys, take a shower, get dressed, head to work.   Once at work, say hi to some friends, start up my pc, make some oatmeal for breakfast, and get the workday rolling.   I checked some emails, and then came across two that blew me away. 

The first one, in the subject line read "FYI, read first".  The second one read "Funeral information".  These two emails were from a very close friend of mine, Leslie, back home in Miami.  How I know Leslie, she was my meantor, my bestfriend growing up, and a second mom.   We first met at the horse ranch I used to ride at back in '88.  She was married with two kids.  Her daughter Krissy was 8 years old, and her son John John was 4.   Unfortunately, now, she only has one child, because her son John died on September 21st. 

The accident happened about 20 days before his death.  He was riding his motorcycle down US-1 in South Miami heading to work at the Falls.  As he was driving down US-1, a young black woman in a large old Cadillac pulled out in front of him.  Witnesses say he was obeying the speed limit, just cruising along.  The driver told police that she thought she had time to get across before he got to her...

He was airlifted to the Jackson trauma center, where he spent the next 20 days fighting to stay alive.  His injuries were all internal.  His lungs collapsed, a couple of days into it he had a heart attack, eventually his intestines shut down, then his pancreas, then his kidneys.  Leslie said the last couple of days were terrible for him and he suffered immensely.   When he passed on, Leslie was there with him, holding his hand.  He just barely opened one of his eyes, squeezed her hand, and went to sleep. 

The funeral was held in Miami.  They had two viewings, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  He was to be buried Monday morning.  I flew down Friday night so I could attend the viewing and personally send my condolences since they are like my second family.  I arrived at the funeral home Sunday afternoon.   As much as I wanted to see Leslie, and Krissy, and their family, I was also dreading it.   

Leslie was always a strong woman who showed little emotion when it came to affection or sadness.   She told me that being of Norwegian decent, that's typical of that background.  They are typically cold people.  That's not to say they are heartless or mean, they just don't show emotion.   There was no way she was heartless.  She helped me get through so much in my teen years, and taught me so many things as well.  She's an extremely intelligent woman, who loves to read and learn about just anything, knows so much about everything from finances to horses to medicine.  You name it, she knew it.  She's an incredible woman.   And this day, would be the first day I ever saw her cry.  

As I walked up to the funeral home from the parking lot, I saw John's dad, Juan, standing outside with some of his family members and friends.  I stopped to say hello and tell him that I'm sorry for his loss.  His eyes were full of tears, but managed to smile when he saw me.   He introduced me to his family and told them how I was like a second daughter to them.  I was trying my best to keep it together, and just breathe..  Seeing the pain in his eyes tore me up inside. 

Their daughter Krissy was also standing outside talking with some of John's friends.   We hugged, said our hello's and she brought me inside to see her mom.  When Leslie saw me, she was so surprised!  She started off with a big smile, but as soon as we hugged, she began to cry.  While she was hugging me and crying, she said that I was the first person she saw that entire weekend to make her cry because I was always like her second daughter to her.   On one hand, I felt horrible that she cried, but on the other, I knew this was a good step forward in her healing process. 

The rest of the afternoon she introduced me as her 'adopted daughter'.  She told her family and friends how I used to babysit Krissy and John John when they were little.  And how I lived with them the summer of Hurricane Andrew.  They had a house built down in the Redlands on 5 acres.  She had a barn built in the back with horses.  I would live with them Sunday night thru Friday, and then go back home to my parent's house on the weekends.  I would take care of the kids during the week as well as the barn and the horses while her and Juan were at work.   To this day, they still refer to the downstairs bedroom as 'Steffy's bedroom' whenever they have company. 

Krissy and I sat down in the room where the open casket was at.  There were several couches along the surrounding walls, with six foot flower arrangements behind them.  They had a video playing that Krissy's boyfriend had made of pictures of John from when he was a baby up until his adult life with music in the background.   This was a great idea since John looked nothing like himself in the casket.   As we sat and watched the video, it was impossible to keep from crying.  All I could think about were the memories I had of little John John when he was a kid, playing at the ranch, chasing the little girls around.  We had caught him a couple of times showing this little girl Elizabeth his weenkie in the ranch bathroom.  They were doing the whole "If you show me yours, I'll show you mine" deal.  They were 5 years old. 

Even when he was a baby, Leslie said he loved the women.  She told us about the time they were eating at this restaurant, and John was still in a highchair at the time.  One of the waitresses had walked to the table next to them and was bending over cleaning up the table when little John John reached over and pinched her butt.  The waitress, thinking it was a man that did it, swung around and was about to slap what she thought was a grown man, but instead, was this cute little kid laughing hysterically because he knew what he had done.  That was John John.

I saw him 2 years ago for the first time in about 10 years I think it was.  I was talking to Leslie and Krissy out on their back deck, and John came walking out.  I stood up and literally had to look straight up to see his face.  He had grown up to be 6'8" tall!!  I think I said, "Holy shit you're tall!"  And he was still as cute as ever!   Little John John grew up to be this tall gentle giant.  And then I thought, "Man, if I were only 10 years younger.."   We chatted for a while, and one of the memories he had of me was when I took him and Krissy shopping at Cutler Ridge Mall.  We all bought matching Teva sandals and I bought a Saigon Kick tape.  That was also one of Krissy's memories of us all being together.

As I sat in the funeral home, I overheard stories of John as an adult, and what a good man he had grown up to be.  He was known as 'Big John' or 'Big Foot'.  He wanted to eventually get married and have 6 or more kids.  He wanted to become a police officer.   He currently was the Assistant Director of Security at the Falls.  His boss was about to promote him Director of Security.   I watched friends, family, co-workers, come and go out of the funeral home.  To see such a great person die so young is just heartwrenching, who had such a great future ahead of him.   I am thankful that he's no longer suffering though, and he's in God's hands now. 

Rest in Peace John John.  I'll never forget you.

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