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Interview With Robert, Stephani Ayala
Aired November 05, 2003 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The Navy's last carrier battle group led by the USS Nimitz is back from the Persian Gulf. Our Frank Buckley, of course, is sampling the reaction. He knows how to do this well. Outside of San Diego. Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We expect you to be out here, too, Kyra. These folks miss you.
PHILLIPS: Those are our people.
BUCKLEY: We've got some wonderful people here. I want to introduce you right away to one of the new dads. This is Robert Ayala and Stephani and this is little Nathaniel. And, Robert, you just saw your son for the first time here. There he is. Look at that fella. What's it like for you?
ROBERT AYALA, U.S. NAVY: Oh, it's a dream come true, honestly. For the last eight months, every second has been thinking about him, my wife, coming home. And all three, all at the same time, you can't beat that.
BUCKLEY: Stephani, let me ask you. You finally got to see -- we talked to you earlier today. You finally got to see him looking at Nathaniel. Tell me what that moment was like.
STEPHANI AYALA, ROBERT'S WIFE: I can't even describe it. I'm at a total loss. I'll be a basket case for the rest of the day.
BUCKLEY: Were you saying he was on the cell phone with you?
S. AYALA: No, actually, his hasn't been working.
BUCKLEY: Were you able to communicate to each other with e-mail? Were you able to at least see a picture?
R. AYALA: E-mails were like the biggest part of, you know, our relationship, far away. But a lot of e-mails and then a lot of calls home, you know. You got calling cards, whether they're like 20 bucks for 20 minutes, but 20 minutes is enough. That's all you need. That's how we kept in touch.
BUCKLEY: It must be so good to be home. And I know that as much as you were thinking about this fella...
R. AYALA: Oh, yes.
BUCKLEY: ... you were thinking about her, too, right? R. AYALA: Oh, yes. I have a lot -- honestly, my biggest problem is going to be sharing time and love with everybody. Because, you know, I want to hold my baby, I want to kiss my wife, and I want to hug my mom, you know. So all at the same time. It's just going to be awesome.
BUCKLEY: Mom's in Hacienda Heights, right?
R. AYALA: No, just right by the gates. I can't wait to see Mom, brothers, everybody, everybody.
BUCKLEY: Is there -- now that you have some time to think about it during the cruise home, you've had a chance to think about your service, how do you feel about what you did over there?
R. AYALA: Honestly, I feel very proud to be a part of -- I mean, history, to be a part of the fight, you know, against terrorism. I mean, honestly, I just feel, like I said, proud, proud, very proud.
BUCKLEY: Thank you so much, Robert and Stephani and baby. Go see Mom now, waiting on the other side.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 5, 2003 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The Navy's last carrier battle group led by the USS Nimitz is back from the Persian Gulf. Our Frank Buckley, of course, is sampling the reaction. He knows how to do this well. Outside of San Diego. Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We expect you to be out here, too, Kyra. These folks miss you.
PHILLIPS: Those are our people.
BUCKLEY: We've got some wonderful people here. I want to introduce you right away to one of the new dads. This is Robert Ayala and Stephani and this is little Nathaniel. And, Robert, you just saw your son for the first time here. There he is. Look at that fella. What's it like for you?
ROBERT AYALA, U.S. NAVY: Oh, it's a dream come true, honestly. For the last eight months, every second has been thinking about him, my wife, coming home. And all three, all at the same time, you can't beat that.
BUCKLEY: Stephani, let me ask you. You finally got to see -- we talked to you earlier today. You finally got to see him looking at Nathaniel. Tell me what that moment was like.
STEPHANI AYALA, ROBERT'S WIFE: I can't even describe it. I'm at a total loss. I'll be a basket case for the rest of the day.
BUCKLEY: Were you saying he was on the cell phone with you?
S. AYALA: No, actually, his hasn't been working.
BUCKLEY: Were you able to communicate to each other with e-mail? Were you able to at least see a picture?
R. AYALA: E-mails were like the biggest part of, you know, our relationship, far away. But a lot of e-mails and then a lot of calls home, you know. You got calling cards, whether they're like 20 bucks for 20 minutes, but 20 minutes is enough. That's all you need. That's how we kept in touch.
BUCKLEY: It must be so good to be home. And I know that as much as you were thinking about this fella...
R. AYALA: Oh, yes.
BUCKLEY: ... you were thinking about her, too, right? R. AYALA: Oh, yes. I have a lot -- honestly, my biggest problem is going to be sharing time and love with everybody. Because, you know, I want to hold my baby, I want to kiss my wife, and I want to hug my mom, you know. So all at the same time. It's just going to be awesome.
BUCKLEY: Mom's in Hacienda Heights, right?
R. AYALA: No, just right by the gates. I can't wait to see Mom, brothers, everybody, everybody.
BUCKLEY: Is there -- now that you have some time to think about it during the cruise home, you've had a chance to think about your service, how do you feel about what you did over there?
R. AYALA: Honestly, I feel very proud to be a part of -- I mean, history, to be a part of the fight, you know, against terrorism. I mean, honestly, I just feel, like I said, proud, proud, very proud.
BUCKLEY: Thank you so much, Robert and Stephani and baby. Go see Mom now, waiting on the other side.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
