Everyday Heroes: Torres Family

Credit: Facebook

Credit: Facebook

Seeing the smiles that the world of dinosaurs brought to her children inspired Lisa and Cesar to try to extend that feeling to people in the neighborhood, many of whom were going through the same isolation that the Torres’ family was experiencing.

The first dinosaur installation was put up around Halloween of 2020, with a lot of positive feedback, Lisa said, so the family ordered some Christmas-themed dinosaurs, then then moved onto Valentine’s Day, Easter, and on and on.

Lisa said she then started adding encouraging messages to the display with large cutout letters. For Valentine’s Day, she installed “Smile” to the mix, and people started commenting that they looked forward to the new displays at the newly minted “Dunwoody Dino House.”

“Whatever I was feeling at the time was what the signs said,” she said. “During April, which was Mental Health Awareness Month, we had a sign that said, ‘Your life matters,’ and we got a lot of great feedback from people.”

Lisa said her husband, who was working at home at the time, would see school buses stop in front of the house to check out the latest installation.

“It was so great to see the kids go nuts on the bus,” she said. “And Cesar would take pictures of parents and grandparents walking their kids by the house and stopping to see what we had up.”

Credit: Family handout

Credit: Family handout

Lisa, a Dunwoody-based State Farm agent, called the experience “spiritually fulfilling” for the entire family and said the love for dinosaurs has extended to the entire family.

“I was afraid that as Coby got older his love for dinosaurs would fade, but that hasn’t been the case, and now it’s all of our identities,” she said. “Part of it is the realization that what we are doing has the power to make someone’s day better.”

The installations were threatened with extinction in September after a complaint lodged by a single person said the signs violated Georgia Code of Ordinances 20-34, forcing the city to issue a citation that called for the family to deflate the dinosaurs.

The family had until Sept. 20 to take down the inflatables, but after the community rose up in support with petitions and messages to city officials, the deadline for removing the dinosaurs was stayed for 30 days, and then indefinitely.

“I got a letter from the city on Oct. 20 saying that it is working on a permanent solution in the code and that there is no action needed on my part at this time,” Torres said. “So, we are continuing on.”

Torres said the controversy and subsequent events have made the family even more convicted that the dinosaurs and the messages should continue.

Credit: Cathy Cobbs

Credit: Cathy Cobbs

After Dunwoody High School graduate Rose Lubin, an Israeli Defense Force patrol officer was killed in action on Nov. 7, the family erected a dinosaur in honor of her. The day after the “Rose” dinosaur was installed, members of the Lubin family dropped off roses and a note to thank her for honoring their daughter.

“To be in that kind of grief and yet thank us for what we did just proves to me that we are trying to bring good to the world,” she said.

Torres said her family’s life has changed exponentially through the experience. She was asked to speak at a State Farm meeting that was attended by 400 agents, not about her insurance business, but about community and the need for everyone to play a role in providing hope during dark times.

“I believe the dinosaurs started out to rescue me, and now they are rescuing others.”