A letter of sincere and humble gratitude from Tomas, editor of RAD DAD.

 I find it comforting that I announce the end of RAD DAD magazine on Dia de Los Muertos, a day we honor and celebrate what has passed on, what we’ve lost, what we want to remember.

So it seems fitting RAD DAD should end this way on this day; there’s a symmetry I find reassuring because I also have a secret: RAD DAD was never meant to be just a zine or book or even magazine; it was a plea, a promise, a confrontation, a commitment, an action.

We went on for ten years, released 27 issues, organized countless readings and workshops and meetings. We raised over 9000 dollars and I want to sincerely thanks every person that has supported RAD DAD: the writers, the people who offered up their most vulnerable stories, shared their fears, their mistakes, the wisdom, painful and intense, earned from loving fearlessly and openly, from understanding that revolutions truly do begin and perhaps end with how we create our families.

You all taught us well.

You can still purchase the final issue of RAD DAD for 2014 here as well as back issues and other paraphernalia.

I end with something I wrote about my father who passed away. It’s from RAD DAD 12.

"On his last day alive, my father was feeling good enough to go to the library to get some books for his stay in the hospice. An hour later when he found us, he had a librarian with him holding a box of 27 books, most of them romantic novels. I now have someone to blame for my obsession with romantic comedies. 27 books for a man who had less than a month to live. I laughed and said: papa, how ‘bout like one or two?

My father said: chale, mijo, I can’t decide. They all look good. And plus you never know. You just never know.

Needless to say, we checked out every fucking book in the box and stacked them by his bed that afternoon. 

However, he never got a chance to read any of them because he died that night while I was flying home to gather my children. When I told the story to my daughters, they asked me, in their infinite wisdom, if I knew the titles of the books. I realized I didn’t and immediately picked up the phone and called my brother and asked him to write out all the titles.  Perhaps one day, I’ll read them."

Perhaps one day RAD DAD will be back. Perhaps someone else will start something new that we can support. Perhaps we’ll meet in the streets, kids in tow, ready to help make the world a better place.

Because you never know.

You just never know.

Tomas

If you are not a subscriber for the 2014 year, there is still time to purchase either (or both) the summer issue out now and the upcoming final issue out in December at  RAD DAD.