Keeping On

Email Tuesday:

I've dreamed many dreams that never came true,

I've seen them vanish at dawn;

But I've realized enough of my dreams, thank God,

to make me want to dream on.

I've prayed many prayers when no answer came,

I've waited patient and long;

But anwers have come to enough of my prayers,

To make me keep praying on.

I've trusted many a friend who failed.

And let me to weep alone;

But I've found to enough of my friends true-blue,

To make me keep trusting on.

I've sown many seeds that fell by the way,

For the birds to feed upon;

But I've held enough golden sheaves in my hand,

To make me keep sowing on.

I've drained the cup of disappointment and pain,

I've gone many days without song,

But I've sipped enough nectar from the rose of life,

To make me want to live on.

~~~~~~~~~~

Charles Allen, "The Secret of Abundant Living"

What did I say?

When you are Hispanic and English is your second language it is very easy to take words out of context. My younger daughter is constantly correcting my pronunciation but I have asked her to give up, I will always have an accent and I will always mispronounce not one or two but a bunch of words. To give you and example or two if I want to say "third" she says it sounds like I said "turd", or if I say "Doug" she says it sounds like "Dog" well to me they sound alike.

Not to long ago as I was placing an order for some shipping supplies, the customer service rep told me and I quote, "Do not take this the wrong way, but you sound like Puss in Boots", "What?" I asked and she started laughing as she told me that she said that because I sound like Antonio Banderas. And I always tell people I have a Ricardo Montealban accent. Yeah I wish.

The other day I was going through some adds and this store had a "Pedometer" on sale. Well pardone moi if I freaked out a little bit, but who in their right mind wants to meter my "pedos", trust me I'll be the first one to tell you that they do not smell good I just never realized that someone came out with a machine that actually may trap the intensity of my "pedos" and meter them out. So on a scale from one to ten how do your pedos measure up?, oh wait let me see just hold on a second because I do have a machine that will measure them... oh wow when it comes to "pedos" I'm a six, not bad, not bad at all.

Now if I buy such a machine I would be afraid to let my son use it, he'll break it for sure on the first try... What? Say that again... You want to show me something in the dictionary?

Hold on folks give me a second, I'll be right back...

Pedometer
One entry found for pedometer.
An instrument usually in watch form that records the distance a person covers on foot by responding to the body motion at each step


Oh shit, a pedometer is not used to measure the intensity and smell of my farts...

Well then never mind.

*Pedo is Spanish for fart.

Let's Go Out to the Ball Game!

The Perks

One of the perks of being a manager or a department head as we are now called, is that the people you do business with will eventually take you out to lunch at least once a month and every so often they will also take you to a ball game. This trucking company that I use has tickets for the Phoenix Suns, The ASU Sun Devils, and The Arizona Diamonbacks. I'm lucky to be invited to at least six events per year and this is only one of three companies I use that have such perks.

Not being a sports fan I really wouldn't care much about going to the games however they do wine and dine you before each game and that right there my friend is worth the outing. When it comes to food I just don't know how to say no, and if the food can be washed down with a Mojito or a Margarita it's all the better.

So today for the first time in a long time the outing consisted of a game, a hot dog, and a diet drink to wash it donwn. Except the darn hot dog was hard to swallow because our team was loosing.

Yep, the Diamonbacks were playing the Dodgers and they were getting their butts kicked. Even though I grew up in L.A. I never had a favorite team, we just had too many to choose from and I always root for the underdog anyway. So when we moved to Phoenix I decided to adopt every local team that we have, I don't care if they are a losing team because they still are my local team. To me it's hard to understand why a fan that was born in Los Angeles and lives in Phoenix roots for the Cowboys, it just doesn't make sense but I see it every day and when I ask them why, many of them don't really have an answer other than because I like the team.

So I walked out at the beginning of the ninth inning. The saying goes "It isn't over until the fat lady sings" but for me it was over.

Until the next game... Go Diamonbacks! win or lose I still love ya.

30 Years Later

Washed out has beens they are not, Earth, Wind, & Fire sounded better than I imagined. It must have been 1975 or 1976, I was going to John Adams Jr. High School in Los Angeles and I didn't know a word of English. I lived in a neighborhood that was predominantly black, therefore the school I attended was about 95% black and 5% Mexican or Hispanic but mostly Mexican. It was hard and it was rough growing up in that neighborhood but we made it, see if you wanted to survive you needed to stay home or join a gang, drugs and fights ruled back then but luckily for me and my friends we started a group of about 20 and stuck together like glue.

Football socker, ping pong tables and gymnastics kept us away from all the bad temptations that teenagers tend to give into. One thing the black kids in the neighborhood were good at (I'm leaving out fights and drugs) was at tumbling, so when they saw a group of Mexican kids tubling on the grass we found something in common that both groups could share.

Another thing that the few of us adopted from the neighborhood was the soul music. The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Four Tops, The Commodores and of course Earth, Wind, & Fire among so many other groups would be all we would listen and dance to. Yeah some of us even learn how to "lock" which back then was a popular dance.

I started buying LP's when I was 15 and EW&F records came with lyrics which were normally printed on the record sleeves, so I started singing with my then limited English, but eventually little by little I did learn the lyrics and yesterday at Cricket Pavilion I reminised of those days and smiled at the fact that here we are some 30 years later going to see our favorite group from our youth and the amazing thing is that they can still sing their asses off but better yet that I could still follow and sing along with them.

About two weeks ago I wrote and posted about my daughter going to the Kelly Clarkson concert and how this young newspaper reporter wrote a piece about how she would be better off with an IPod because this kids at the concert were annoying her with their singing along, well I hope she wasn't there tonight near me because she would totally have hated me. Yep I was singing along like a mad singer in need of a singing fix.

As they said, they do not put groups like Earth, Wind, & Fire on MTV or VH1, but if you want to have the younger generation listen to good music you just have to grab them and take them to a concert like this. The few young ones I saw there were enjoying and loving the concert 100%.

Thanks to my son for passing the tickets to me, not only did we attend a great concert but we also brought back memories that had been in the back burner for a long time.

Earth, Wind & Fire

Just as I was starting to warm the computer up my son came to me and asked if I wanted to go see Earth, Wind, & Fire on concert at the Cricket Pavilion. Being that it's mi chica's favorite band of all time I guess we are going. This means I only have 30 minutes to get ready. Luckily we live only 15 minutes away from Cricket.

The plan for tonight was to take our grandson to the new Cardinals Stadium to see the AMP show Monster Trucks and extreme riding. For some reason he saw the commercial and told us he really wanted to see the trucks. Well he's not home so it looks like it's a date and Earth, Wind, & Fire it is. I'll give mi chica some REASONS to like me even more.

I think it will be a treat to see them live, we grew up listening to their music and to this day we still enjoy them very much. We won't have seats, we'll be on the grass but if you ask me the grass is more confortable than the seats and you can lay your blanket and look at the start while listening to the music. At least the temperature is not over 100 degrees. It's still hot but it's bearable.

Gotta go, I now have only 20 minutes to get ready.

It Sucks!

Ok, so I was writing this thing about how the news shows use gimmicks to lure viewers into watching their news and I was comparing them to the blogger community and how all this gimmicks and games are popping out in hopes that readers come back to their blogs. It wasn't very lengthy or 100% entertaining but it was a nice post (I least I thought so) and then without warning the darn computer decided to reboot itself. Needless to say I am not even going to attempt reconstructing what I had written, so this little post will have to do for today. This used to happen to me while writing a Word Document but this is the first time it happens while using blogger. It sucks!

Angel on 109

So once again here we are and it's Tuesday so you see. It's time for me to post again an email I received. This one is fresh out of the oven as I just received it this week, read it all, you may like it as you may even shed a tear.

~~~~~~~~~~

A drunk man in an Oldsmobile

They said had run the light

That caused the six-car pileup

On 109 that night.

When broken bodies lay about

And blood was everywhere,

The sirens screamed out eulogies,

For death was in the air.

A mother, trapped inside her car,

Was heard above the noise;

Her plaintive plea near split the air:

Oh, God, please spare my boys!

She fought to loose her pinned hands;

She struggled to get free,

But mangled metal held her fast

In grim captivity.

Her frightened eyes then focused

On where the back seat once had been,

But all she saw was broken glass and

Two children's seats crushed in.

Her twins were nowhere to be seen;

She did not hear them cry,

And then she prayed they'd been thrown free,

Oh, God, don't let them die!

Then firemen came and cut her loose,

But when they searched the back,

They found therein no little boys,

But the seat belts were intact.

They thought the woman had gone mad

And was traveling alone,

But when they turned to question her,

They discovered she was gone.

Policemen saw her running wild

And screaming above the noise

In beseeching supplication,

Please help me find my boys!

They're four years old and wear blue shirts;

Their jeans are blue to match.

One cop spoke up, "They're in my car, "

And they don't have a scratch.

They said their daddy put them there

And gave them each a cone,

Then told them both to wait for Mom

To come and take them home.

I've searched the area high and low,

But I can't find their dad.

He must have fled the scene,

I guess, and that is very bad.

The mother hugged the twins and said,

While wiping at a tear,

He could not flee the scene, you see,

For he's been dead a year.

The cop just looked confused and asked,

Now, how can that be true?

The boys said, "Mommy, Daddy came"

And left a kiss for you.

He told us not to worry

And that you would be all right,

And then he put us in this car with

The pretty, flashing light.

We wanted him to stay with us,

Because we miss him so,

But Mommy, he just hugged us tight

And said he had to go.

He said someday we'd understand

And told us not to fuss,

And he said to tell you, Mommy,

He's watching over us.

The mother knew without a doubt

That what they spoke was true,

For she recalled their dad's last words,

I will watch over you.

The firemen's notes could not explain

The twisted, mangled car,

And how the three of them escaped

Without a single scar.

But on the cop's report was scribed,

In print so very fine,

An angel walked the beat tonight on Highway 109.

Time

Where does time go? What do we do with it? Now that I'm older it seems I have less of it. My granddaughter turns 5 tomorrow and to me it feels like it was just yesterday when she was brought home from the hospital. Three weeks ago she started school and a funny thing happened, that brought back memories. A long time ago on my sons first day of school drama unfolded in the form of a crying boy clinging to his daddy's leg and dragging with it as he screamed "No daddy don't leave me, please don't leave" yep you would have thought that I was really abandoning him forever and ever, an Oscar moment if he would have been an actor if you ask me, but no it was real and it was funny (not to him of course). Two hours later I get a call from school that my son had tried to jump the fence, imagine that, four and a half years old and a fugitive from pre-school. Luckily for all they saw him and his escape attempt did not succeed.

Fast forward to present again, the family is invited to go and be with the kids as they start their first day of school. Unfortunately I could not attend but "mi chica" did and when she called me to work she was laughing because my granddaughter almost duplicated what my son had done many years ago. As I write this I took a moment to just remember and it seemed it was yesterday when that happened. Well my son is now 28 years old and he too laughs everytime I re-tell him this story.

I am so happy that my granddaughters started school, and I hope to one day be the one to tell them stories about important time frames in their lives such as the first day of school, or the time they turned 5 years old. I'm told that tomorrow my son plans to bring my granddaughters to my house complete with a birthday cake so they can celebrate with their grandparents. In my book that means "mi chica" and I are the ones getting the present.

So where ever you are please join me in singing the Happy Birthday song to my little princess.

*Note: I write about grandchildren and tell stories of a long time ago. If based on my posts you are picturing me as an old fart, think again I'm only 46 years old and "mi chica" is only... well 29 of course. And so far he have not one, not two, not three nor four, but five grandchildren, that brighten our daily lives.

Lesson Learned

At the beginning of the year I started writing and one of the things I wrote was inspired by one of my favorite country songs by John Michael Montgomery called Life's a Dance. The second verse goes: "Life's a dance you learned as you go, sometimes you lead sometimes you follow, it doesn't matter about what you don't know, life's a dance you learn as you go".

This couldn't be more true. Yesterday I learned that an 18 year old boy and his father hadn't hug each other since the father's birthday, and it had been some months ago. When I heard this I couldn't help but feel sad for them as I asked myself how can that happen? Where have the family values go? Why is it so hard for some people to express affection with something so simple and pure as a hug or a kiss.

Once upon a long time ago as my then six year old son gave me a kiss one of his ucles teased him by telling him that what he had just done was sissy stuff (I'm putting it mildly), after putting this person in his place for making such a stupid comment I turned to my son and looked straight into his eyes and told him, "Son one thing you need to learn and to always remember is that you will never ever be too old to give your dad a kiss". That was over 20 years ago and to this day and without exception every time my son sees me he will always greet me with a kiss, I think he shows me respect by doing this but ultimately he shows his love form me.

When it comes to family our love is unconditional, we feed off eachother's love and use it as the main and most important ingredient for our relationships, to us this is a natural part of our everyday life, and it boggles my mind that there are families out there that have lost these kinds of gestures that should be a normal part of their lives. A hug and a kiss are totally free but the value of the gesture is priceless... and no this is not a commercial for a credit card.

So thank you my son for not forgeting such a simple lesson, in the long run it has paid great dividends.

My family is not perfect, our life is not perfect, our relationship with eachother is not perfect, but there's no denying that as imperfect as we may be we are lucky to have each other.

So keep in mind that it's never to late. This kid we met said he'll try his best to learn this lesson too. It really isn't hard to do but as a reminder just sing along... life's a dance you learn as you go, sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow and for some dumb reason you feel that you just don't know, remember that life's a dance you learn as you go.

Cool Tidbits

Congratulations! To my very beautiful niece and her husband as last Saturday their little bunndle of joy was born. We knew she would be a big baby but at over 9 lbs., it was a little bigger than expected. Emma Romero is now the newest additon to our already very big family. We love to have her with us. Both mom and daughter are doing well.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday Mom!

Congratulations to my mom, on the 16th she turned -- ??? years old. To celebrate we got together ate some cake,we even bought a Jellow cake that was totally different from the regular cakes. I love jellow so I for one really enjoyed it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday Sis!

While on the subject of birthdays, congratulations to my sister as today she turns 29... again!

Unfortunately today we won't be able to celebrate with her but she knows she owes us a "cafesito con pan dulce" next week.

So now for next year we will have to consolidate. OK no, Emma needs to have her own 1st Birthday Party by herself.

For My Grandchildren, I'd Like Better

Every Tuesday I post a chain email that I receive, I don't collect them all but every so often as I read through them I find some that actually mean or say something worth remembering and worthy of being past through. I say 85% of the chain emails I receive end with me. So here's one of those that I did keep so read on and enjoy.

This one I can actually credit the writer.

Paul Harvey wrote:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.
I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and home made ice cream and leftover meatloaf sandwiches. I really would.
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's alright if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room. But when he want's to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie and your younger brother/sister wants to tag along. I hope you let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.
When you learn to use computers, I hope you learn to add and substract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your friends when you get your first crush, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandparents and go fishing with your Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy over the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through the neighbours window and that she hugs and kisses you at Hanukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you -- tough times and disappointment, hard work and hapiness. To me it's the only way to appreciate life.
Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do. I'll go to heaven and wait for you.

The Wedding

Being of Hispanic heritage, in my case Mexican when it comes to "Quinceaneras" and Weddings we go way out of our way to have a nice and memorable time. To me a wedding is a big deal because within our family marriage means a life time commitment. We now live in an era where moral resposibilities are not top priority so when I'm invited to a wedding I always hope that the newly weds will make it and that maybe when they say "Until death do us part" they don't say it from their teeth out but instead from the depths of their Heart and Soul.

"Mi chica" and I have been invited to weddings before and for the most part they are all the same, once we even attended a Japanese Wedding, the ceremony was at a church or temple very similar to ours so it didn't feel too different, however the reception was something entirerly different, someone should have warned us to go on a super empty stomach because the meal consisted of, not one, not two, not three nor four but 18 courses, to this day my stomach has not forgoten that experience.

So this brings me to this weekend. Last night "mi chica" and I went to an Assyrian Wedding Reception. We were asked to be there between 6:30 p.m and 7:00 p.m. As a side note you should know that in my little world punctuallity is never at the top of my list but since this particular event was for close friends of "mi chica" we decided to be there early. Well I think we were the first ones to be there and it was already 6:45 p.m. when we got there. Luckily for us another couple we knew showed up almost at the same time.

We got to the hall and I tried to pull the doors open but to my surprise they were closed. However on the hall there were two tables with h'orderves and cheeses. As an attendant passed by I asked why the hall wasn't open and his reply was that we were to wait outside from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 or 8:00 p.m., and then the door would be open for us to go into the hall. Us "Mexicanos" would knock the doors down before we have to wait but well at least the had the h'ourderves to keep us busy.

Finally at around 7:45 p.m. the doors were finally opened and we all went inside, the place was beautifully decorated, all tables and chairs were fully covered and a special section was set in front for the Bride and Groom and their court of honor. Well so far if was to compare Assyrian vs. Mexican, we were pretty close. (Note: "mi chica" tells me that they had been partying for five days already).

The bar opened and we all started getting drinks which in turn started building up the level of excitment, getting to know the people around us and and just basically getting ready to wait for the Bride and Groom to make their grand entrance into the hall. What I saw next I was not prepared to see, nobody warned me about the intensity of the next five or ten minutes as the MC started announcing in Assyrian (no English translations here) the name of the court of honor and eventually the newlyweds.

Every woman had a "Wedding Handkershief" which has these decorations all over the edge of it that when shaken make a chimmy noise, they also carried this very decorated I'll call them canes for lack of a better word. The music started and the court started passing through as the noise which I imagine was a plethora of good wishes would not die down. I got chills and goosebumps because the unity and happiness of the Assyrian community was very evident. (And I thought us Mexicans were loud).

After a wonderful meal, choice of chicken or beef and the endless mixed drinks. The dance started and again although I had seen similar celebrations portrayed on TV, I was not even close to being prepared at the level of fun and unity. I don't know what they call their dance but for the sake of explaining to you I'll call it "line dancing". Everyone held hands together, it doesn't matter weather you are male of female, to form the chain we, were all one and we danced to the rhytms of a music that was totally foreing to me, words that unlike French, or Italian, or Portugese were I can understand enough to grasp the meaning of the sentence, this would lose me totally as to me it's just a sound. However the rhytm was awesome and iviting and dancing to these sounds came extremely easy for us.

Well all in all, a different kind of celebration with tons of excitement and fun, food and liquor, oh and don't forget cigarette smoke. Let me tell you those cigarette ashtrays were full to the max. One thing that I have learned from this experience is that Assyrians like Mexicans know how to party.

I thank our friends for inviting us to this wedding and for "mi chica" and I, it was an honor to be a part of this celebration.

Kelly Clarkson's Concert

The other day Kelly Clarkson's concert took place at the Cricket Pavillion, for what I heard it was a good concert. That's why I got so upset when a young writer for the local newspaper gave us her 2 cents worth by saying and I quote "I'm better off with an iPod". In her article she states that she didn't know how to prepare herself to be surrounded by thousands of sweaty 14-year olds, clinging to their friends cell phones, the T-shirt they just bought and their bling-bling purses. Like maybe she was the only one not sweating. If you live in Phoenix then you know that Cricket Pavillion is an outdoors concert facility, and that in mid-July the temperature is well over 105 degrees.

In the article she went on to critizise how these half pint 7-year olds wear were wearing 3-inch stilettos and skimpy clothing, but the moms accopaining them were not safe either, yes according to her they were wearing just as few articles of clothing. So in her mind she was the perfect concert goer, at roughly 23 years of age she dressed appropiately and refrained from using her cell phone. She said she was not prepared for the karaoke that went on during the concert, how dare people sing along and sing all the wrong notes, how was she ever going to prepare for that, and then to close her article she said and I quote "If I wanted to go to a freak show, I'd go to the fair"

Why do I care about what she said? Well, because my 21 year old daughter and 17 year old niece went to that concert, and because they are young and they like to dress nice, maybe wear some nice high heels, and my daughter probably took her Coach purse, which she'll take care of like it it was made of pure solid gold. They love Kelly Clarkson and probably know the lyrics to most if not all her songs and as I read the article I kept thinking that maybe, just maybe they were the ones sitting right next to this girl and the thought of thinking of my daughter and niece as freaks just didn't set well with me.

I am almost 100% sure that most of the concert goers were young girls that really wanted to see the Original Idol in person, it was probably the highlight of their month if not their year and to unknowigly be called freaks is not right nor is acceptable. I already sent an email to the "letters" section of the newspaper to let them know how I felt and now I'm just venting here because I thought this would be a good place for me to vent out.

So, do you really see freaks at the fair?

And Justice For All

In the past week I have read more than one article aimed at the Hispanic population. It seems that we are now the biggest threat this country has ever had. I have been living in the United States since 1973; I was 13 years old when I was brought over from Mexico City to live in Los Angeles, California.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to show me that I was now in a strange land, with a strange language and different customs, coming from the big city that is Mexico I was not shocked at the size of the City of Los Angeles. Yes we were once living here illegally, yes we broke the law by living here illegally, but not once in our wildest dreams we ever thought of ourselves as criminals. All my dad wanted to do was to give us a better chance at surviving by living in America than if we would have stayed in Mexico. I will never stop thanking my father for having the guts and the drive to do what he did. He left his family and his country to search for the American dream for his wife and children.

Our example is one of millions I'm sure. But rest assured nothing comes free in this land, I remember getting my first permit that granted me the chance to live here without deportation, at the age of 16. Being deported was the least of my worries but now I had the assurance of knowing that deportation would not be in my immediate future.

Thanks to the Amnesty of 1986, I was able to request my residency. It took almost five years and an endless amount of paperwork and money to supply all the required forms, pictures, fingerprints, medical reports, etc, etc, etc. but finally in 1992 I was granted permanent residency.

I was now ready for the next step; I needed to become a US Citizen. So again we filed for citizenship and again it was a long and costly process, full of hurdles and requirements. Finally in the year 2000 on September the 18th (My birthday) I became a citizen of the United States of America and a legal voter. So it took well over 14 years for the whole process to be complete.

There is no legal way to come into the United States, if you can come here legally you don't need to be here, chances are you have the necessary money and meet the requirements to get a visa. Most people that can come here legally are probably well off and can afford vacations and or to have their children come here to get an education (Just look at all the Hispanic celebrities living in Miami). If there was such a thing as "the legal" way, you think emigrants would risk their lives crossing a desert. Many don't make it and that's the ultimate price to pay for trying to better your way of life.

So yesterday, I read in the newspaper that Arizona wants to pass a law that makes English the state's official language. Do they think we don't know this already, will passing such a law make thousands of immigrants magically speak the language? Come on wake up and smell the coffee. It's hard enough for immigrants to just survive to be concerned about what our official language is. Bottom line is, if I need to convey a message, I will find a way to do it even if it means bringing my official translators.

Second article I read was on the "letters" section of the newspaper. A Caucasian woman was upset and venting because even though she filled the requirements for a position, she didn't get the job which instead was given to a Hispanic woman whom also met the qualifications and was bilingual, the position was at a school on a border town with a predominantly Hispanic population. The Hispanic woman was American and obviously more qualified but to this other woman she was "The stupid wetback" that took her job.

Third article, a woman vowed to never go to a fast food restaurant because all the staff were Spanish speaking and she claimed she couldn't understand them. I personally think this woman will have to cook home from now on; even fancy restaurants in the best neighborhoods employ a huge amount of Hispanic workers.

Last article came to me via a motorcycle newsletter that I subscribe to. On May 1st millions of Hispanics took the day off and marched requesting some form of emigration reform, I took the day off and the warehouse staff decided to do the same, the next day we were all called into the office and were written up. We were told to and let me quote "Let the politics for the politicians", it didn't matter that three of us have been with the company over 15 years.

The motorcycle article suggested that all bikers assemble at a local dealership and rally by riding to the Mexican Embassy to counter the previous emigrant marches. I'm a biker, and I am a patriot and I'm also American but this is one ride I would not participate in. I cannot forget where I came from; I cannot forget my roots so when only 24 motorcycles showed up they called it disappointing. What did they expect?

Well my biker buddies are at it again, they want to send a loud and clear message to all "illegals"to let them know they are not welcomed here, so they have now organized another ride which supposedly will go through the corridors that illegal emigrants use to come in, and they will be the two wheeled minute men. Good luck to them, although the only loudness in this ride will be the rumble of their pipes. I truly hope the only bikes that show up belong to the organizers.

So there I vented, I'm not into politics but enough with the name calling. I'm all for securing the borders, I'm all for deporting those who get caught, you know we'll be back anyway. I'm all for building a fence to separate the U.S. from Mexico, truly I'm all for that, but remember that where there's a will, there's a way. All I'm asking is stop already with the name calling and the hate; after all we are not a different race because we are all members of the human race.

PEACE!

Tips to Survive Parenting

Today is... yeah you guessed it's email Tuesday. This is the day that I pick one of those never stopping chain emails and publish it here so enjoy... or not!

• Motherhood ~ If it was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!
• Shouting to make you children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results.
• To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.
• The smartest advise on raising children is to enjoy them while they are still on your side.
• The best way to keep kids at home is to make the home a pleasant atmoshphere and to let the air out of the tires.
• The right temperature in a home is maintained by warm hearts, not by hot heads.
• Raising a teenager is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
• Parents: People who bare infants, bore teenagers, and board newlyweds.
• The joy of motherhood: The time when all the children are finally in bed.
• Life's golden age is when the kids are too old to need baby-sitters and too young to borrow the family car.
• Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
• Grandparents are similar to a piece of string ~ handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of grandchildren.
• A child outgrows your lap, but never outgrows your heart.
• God gave you two ears and one mouth... So you should listen twice as much as you talk.
• Adolescence is the age when children try to bring up their parents.
• You know the only people in this world who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.
• Cleaning your house while your kids are at home is like trying to shovel the driveway during a snowstorm.
• Oh to be only half as wonderful as my child thought I was when he was small, and half as stupid as my teenager now thinks I am.
• There are only two things a child will share willingly, communicable diseases and his mother's age.
• Adolecence is the age at which children stop asking questions because they know all the answers.
• An alarm clock is a device for awakening people who don't have small children.
• No wonder kids are confused today. Half the adults tell them to find themselves; the other half tell them to get lost.
• Kids really brighten a household; they never turn off the lights.

Well that's it for today, if you have kids this is just food for thought. Some of this apply to mi chica and I, it's always fun to read this things again. Luckily people with nothing better to do sit down and come up with these.

My Baby Sister

Hello everyone, I just want to write a few lines to introduce to you my little sister Chely. She is starting a blog and hopefully will post a few of her memoirs which no doubt will include me. It's funny because she starts her first post going back in time some 30 years ago, and let's the world know that she found of all things, a magazine of naked babes, all I will say in my defense is that I have no recollection of such magazines ever being in my possesion. They probably belonged to my roomie, yeah that's the ticket it was my roomate's magazine.

See, back then, I couldn't stand her because she was young and obnoxious as most little sisters are, after all she is 5 years younger than I am. However when she turned 15 and she could go with me to the kiddy discotheque, things changed and we became really good buddies. And yes I taught her everything she knows about dancing. I was no John Travolta... I was better. LOL

Anyway there's a line here to use the computer (remember we only have one) so I'll cut this post short and let me invite you again to go and read Chely's Memoirs, I promise it will be some fun reading, she won't disappoint. Join me in welcoming her to the blog community and if you can, give her a few comments of encouragement.

Sunday Night

The darn weekend just swoshed over our heads and in no time we have to be ready for another work week, seems to me that's all we do. Too much work and not enough play, that's just the way our cards have been dealt.

But wait some hope is in the immediate horizon, mi chica and I will be celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary in October but to celebrate we planned a four day cruise with our kids. This will definitely be the highlight of the year as not only our kids are coming but their spouces too, my mom, my sister, her husband and their daughter, my sister that lives in California and her three dauthers, and maybe one or two more stowaways. So the tally is that about 17 of us will go on the cruise.

To say we are excited is an understatement, mi chica and I took a three day cruise three years ago and it was a blast, I kept wishing our son and two daughters were with us and now it seems that the wish will become a reality.

It's fun to see the girls think about clothes and such, while us guys just stay behind and let them do everything, mi chica bought me clothes for the cruise that have been hanging in the closet since March, it seems that pretty soon they'll be coming out to see the light of day. From Hawaiian shirts to Polo shirts and my youthful shorts (mi chica thinks I'm not buying shorts that are appropiate to my age i.e. cargo shorts). It's not that I'm living in denial but hey you are only as old as you feel and I feel pretty darn young.

Now if I could only lose an inch or two around my waist and grow six little humps over my stomach area I'll be styling while wearing my Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts. But I gave that dream up since I turned 30, my father in law told me once that after you hit 30 it would be very hard to get rid of the big belly, I thought we was lying... he wasn't.

So a few more weeks and we will be taking the trip but in the meantime the anticipation continues to build, and the daily routine kicks in again and oh yeah I have to work again tomorrow. So let me bid adeu and wish you all a good nite.

This is a Test!

This is a test of the Joe Cool broadcasting system. My daugther Nikki has designed this prototype template for me and we are just giving it a try. My old posts read kinda funny with all kinds of symbols which in turn make it a little hard to read, however I hope that the new posts come out OK.

Anyway what I'm asking from you out there or at least to you my regular friends that come and visit is to let me know your opinion on the template. Hopefuly based on your input my daughter will be able to make some changes and or scratch this one and start a new one.

This concludes the test of the Joe Cool's new blog template, if this would have been a real emergency I would have pay someone to do it for me, but thankfully my daughter is smart enough to play with these templates and I know she will come out with something nice and exciting for me as well as for you to see.

In advance thanks for your comments in pro or con of this template.

Break a leg Katharine!

The term "Break a Leg" is an old superstition that performers use to wish good luck to each other before they come out to the stage. Kat oh Kat, you took it literally. That definitely means you will have much success in your future. The news reports said that she actually didn't break her foot but fractured it and that she will be able to continue on the tour.So Kat let me remind you if they tell you again "Break a Leg" they are only wishing you good luck.

How much higher will it go?

I didn't want to do it, I have been biting my tongue and keeping quiet, it has been getting worse and it seems like there's no hope things will turn around. Yes it hurts my eyes when I see it, and it's also been hurting my pocket. Who do they think I am? Senor Rockefeller or Senor Trump, well I'm neither, I am just a poor sucker that works hard for a living and loves driving his Mustang everyday.

That's right, I have to bitch and complain because today I set a new record at the gas pump, my car has a very small gas tank that used to get filled with $14.00 of super unleaded when I bought it back in 1999. So who cared that it had a 5.0 under the hood, I was not rich but $14.00 was not going to break me either. That's why today I had to take a double take when I saw my gas receipt $40.80 is just a little bit more my pocket wants to pay for gas, except the gas mafia is not asking me for my opinion and obviously they are insensitive to my funds or lack of.

But hey I love my Mustang and so far I have been getting away with only one tank a week, since we use our minivan over the weekend. (Mi chica won't ride my Mustang only because I don't have AC, can you believe that?) Just because the temperature these days is over 110 every day and my car becomes a rolling pony on fire.But hey, why complain there's always the other side of the coin. I could be driving an SUV, which in turn would have made this posting look a hell of a lot different and my bank account as dry as this desert I live in.

God's Greatest Gifts

I thought that our kids were life’s greatest gifts, but then grandchildren came and pretty much voided that notion. I believe there is nothing more precious than to hear the little ones run, scream, and fight all over the house, this only means that they are healthy and full of life.

Mi chica and I have been blessed with five of them so far, each one unique and special to us. We raised three of our own and I think we did a fairly good job at raising them, yes someone out there may fight me on this one but our kids were and still are special and no matter what there’s no way we are parting ways in any way, shape, or form. So to this day for us our kids are still very special.

Unfortunately they’re no longer our little kids as they all decided to make their own life, oh yeah they were going to conquer the world and move on to bigger and better things, or at least that what the plan. So why is it that they are all living with us, why is it that we still have to be the parental units to them but they won’t act as our kids no more. Yeap that’s kids for you, they will never begin to understand what being on their own is until they try it.

I thank God because he sent me three good kids, compared to what I see out there, and what I see on TV, I shouldn’t complain because we were pretty lucky in that sense. So now I see these little ones running around the house and it feels me with joy and there’s nothing that makes me happier than to know they are here with us.

So let it be know that there’s nothing that disappoints me more than to come into my house and not be greeted by them because “they were bad” because at that point the punishment is not only for the kids but also for us. At three and two these kids cannot be that bad and fighting with each other is something that we will have to get used to as they are boys and they will have to rid of their energy somehow.

I believe it’s the parent’s job to monitor and teach kids good behavior, and the grandparent’s job to spoil the hell out of them. Mi chica and I are doing our part. I just hope our kids learn to do theirs.

I remember my kids were always priority one, and mi chica was always ready to protect them against the whole world if necessary. I just hope my son and daughters return the same favor to their own kids.

There’s nothing more important than a child’s happiness, which in turn becomes our happiness.

All I ask is do not deprive me of hugging my grandchildren as soon as I come into my house, unless of course they fell asleep on their own.