Hector Andres Zuniga was born with non-verbal autism. The 20-year-old lives with his lovely family of four in their small Texas town of 2,300 people, 6 stoplights and one Blockbuster store. Every week since he was 13, Hector would visit this Blockbuster to pick up his favorite movies… for the young man, it was a magical, safe place.
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All of that began to change when store employees pulled Hector’s mother, Rosa, aside to let her know the store would be closing. Immediately, Rosa called her husband, Hector Sr. to let him know the bad news.
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“[Hector Andres] is a happy-go-lucky kid,”Hector Sr. said. “He’s all heart, he’s very tender, but like anyone else, he has bad days. And we knew one of those bad days were around the corner when we found out that the Blockbuster was about to close.â€
While on the phone, the duo came up with an ingenious plan. The closing store would be selling all of its merchandise… so why not pick up a few things for Hector junior?
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In secret, the Zuniga’s spirited away all of Hector’s favorite movies, a wire rack to display them, and even a Blockbuster sign to top off the magnificent gesture of kindness. Even the employees set aside items they knew Hector would would like… it was a beautiful moment!
“The employees told us when they’d start selling their stock, and when they did, I was one of the first customers in the store,”Hector Sr. said
Finally, on April 23rd the big day had come. Hector Andres walked into the room with his eyes covered.
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When he finally opened them, Hector reacted in the most overt way he knew how. “It’s hard for my son to express emotions,”Hector Sr. said. “But when he saw the room, his eyes were as big as saucers.â€
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Hector Andres walked around the room in disbelief even picking up DVD boxes to make sure they were real. After a moment of processing, Hector Andres thanked his dad in the best way he knew how, “His way of saying ‘I love you,’ is by going up to you and grabbing your earlobe,”said Hector Sr. “So he came up to me and grabbed my ear … it was one of those moments that us parents live for.â€
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The young man then grabbed 3 of his favorite movies and sprinted off to his room. Hector Senior, Rosa, and his little brother knew they had done a good job.
It’s wonderful to see family going out of their way for one of their own. Let’s do our best to follow their example!
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