Everything's Gonna Be Alright

I was sitting in the Police station waiting to speak to the officer at the desk when I saw a man walk in with his young son. The boy walked through the door and headed straight to his mom who had already been sitting there waiting for his dad to drop him off. I put the two and two together and right then and there said a prayer for that kid.

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"You ain't living, unless you're giving"

A few months ago I was faced with a real humbling experience. A few days before pay day and the money in the bank was wayyy below my comfort zone. I had to decide whether to risk it and hope nothing bounced or ask my dad for some monetary assistance. I knew that by me asking, I might be showing that buying a house so far away was not as good of an idea as we first thought. Like maybe we bit off more than we could chew with what we spend on gas alone. I decided to ask because I felt that having money in the bank was more important than how low I'd feel asking to borrow some. I picked up the phone and asked and dad told me he kept money to the side for that specific reason. Wait. Did he just say he expected me to come running to him for help? No. It was more like "just in case" and he was happy he could help. We have since paid him back and have been fortunate enough to be in a position to help someone else in their time of need when WE were asked. My dad often talks about how the help you give someone, no matter how small can eventually affect so many people (assuming people continue to pay it forward). He often says, "You ain't living, unless you're giving". Now I don't know if that's something he came up with but I sure can dig it.
P.S. Be sure to check back soon as I will be paying it forward again.

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Throwin' up the "W's"

I'm NOT going to start this post off with a lie. I'll be honest and say I finally MADE the time to accept my sons challenge to a basketball game. In my defense though, the schedule we have doesn't allow us much free time... that is unless you count all the time we sit around in the car while we make our way to and from L.A. I'm glad we finally got to play. The kid has some skills and I should know. I wasn't too bad myself back in the day. I played for Roosevelt High School's B team and would have eventually made Varsity if I hadn't tore 3 ligaments in my knee right before JV tryouts and...well that's enough about me. This post is about him. He hit some nice shots during our games. His initials spell A.I.M. after all so should it be any surprise? He claimed to be nervous during the two games we played and I believe him. As I sat and watched him shoot around after our second game though I couldn't seem to concentrate on one thought at a time. A bunch of things came at me at once. How did he get this old/tall so fast? Is he enjoying this day w/his dad as much as I'm enjoying the day with him and as much as I enjoyed the games I played my dad? Why did it take so long to get out here for a game? We had the small park to ourselves so there wasn't any rush. I left the park with a sore knee, sore foot and the next day felt like I threw my back out but who cares? I also left with a couple "W's" in my win column so I'm not complaining. Hey I have to enjoy them while I can.

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Bridging the Gap

Los Angeles State Historic Park has been in the news a lot lately. This park is being forced to scale back because of California's budget problem. It's funny timing because I've been wanting to tell my story about about my connection to this place and it's place in L.A.'s history so here it goes.

I was thinking back to when I was a kid and remembered some of my dad's wacky ideas about cool things we should do while we were on his weekend. Looking back even now, I wouldn't agree with my mom ("He's just trying to get out of paying child support"). The guy wasn't trying to kill me. On the contrary, on this occasion (at least) he was trying to make sure I'd be able experience one thing he had been able to before it was too late and the chance was gone forever. The bridge you see used to stand over what was once a rail yard and is now a state park. It connected Broadway to Spring Streets and saved pedestrians a hell of a long walk. My dad thought it'd be a good idea for my sisters and I to cross it while we still had the chance(even though its entrance had already been locked and red taped). He dropped us off on Broadway, (on the far side in the pic) jumped back into his orange 1973 VW bus and told us he'd see us on the other side (Spring Street). Since we must have ranged in age from 7-11 at the time we figured he knew what he was doing, "what could go wrong?" We found the answer to that question half-way across the bridge when my younger sister's foot broke through one of the planks. My older sister and I rushed to pull her foot out and after that we hurried to get the hell outta there. Now, if you've ever seen that religious picture of the kids crossing the bridge with the guardian angel over them, that's exactly what we looked like.

When you live in Los Angeles (or just live anywhere long enough) you know how fast things change. Buildings are torn down so that others can be built... and then torn down. I'm able to tell my son what stood before the building that stands now and my dad can tell me what was there before that. This bridge was taken down in either the late 80's or very early 90's and loving L.A. as much as I do, I'm glad I got to cross it while it was still up (barely) . I do regret answering my mom's "What did you do with your dad this weekend" question. I know he wasn't happy I answered that either.

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By The Time I Get To Texas

I'm always saying ,"One of these days I'm gonna go to El Paso, Texas and retrace my family's steps".I want to visit the places they had (if they're still there). I wanna visit the movie theaters my grandma did when she'd pass out pictures of herself to the boys she thought were worthy. I want to check out Ft. Bliss because my grandpa told me once that he and his friends got into a fight there during the time of the Zoot Suit Riots. This story surprised the hell outta me because I always thought my grandpa, Ignacio Gonzalez was afraid of my grandma. How would this guy take part in some kind of riot? My grandma would often tell me though of how my grandpa was back in his day.She'd say "You don't know how he was, he was a real cabron back then". Some people have asked how he get a nickname like "Chino" and not "Nacho" if his name is Ignacio. Well as the story goes, his uncle gave him that name as a kid because when it came to showing any kind of emotion,my grandpa wouldn't and his uncle said he was like a chinese statue. Well my grandparents got married in '51 and 5 years later packed up and moved the family to Los Angeles (Echo Park) .They rented the same house on Everett St. for almost 40 yrs. Grandpa "Chino" was always quiet but I learned a lot from his actions. My grandma on the other hand was not so quiet but she loved me then and now it's a lot easier to see. Grandpa Chino was that 1 person who kept the family together. He passed away in 06 and the family(what's left of it) will never be the same. I was trying to think of the best way I could end this post and then I remembered my grandpa would never say goodbye.He would always say, "Ay te watcho" (See you later) so I can't think of a better ending than that. Ay te watcho.

My grandparents Ignacio & Socorro Gonzalez are standing on the right side of each picture.

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If My Heart Could Speak

People say the day after a car accident is when the physical pain usually kicks in (if it hasn't immediately). I knew for me though it would be different.There wouldn't be physical pain. After the adrenaline wore off, it wouldn't be long before the sadness would kick in. I would begin to think of how lucky my family and I were to be alive and how close I came to losing them all.I would think of how easy it is to take things for granted.I would also think of not only how fast my kids are growing but how maybe I can slow it down by just paying more attention to their everyday lives. It's important for me to show my son more affection than I was shown as a kid and even though that doesn't seem like it would be that hard, it doesn't come easy. I am trying to break that cycle not only with my kids but with my wife as well. I took her out to dinner tonight. It was the first time in too long. The only thing better than dinner was her company. Just like Echo Park, spending time with her always makes me feel good by bringing back good memories while we're creating new ones.

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New Kids On The Block

I know way too many people here right now that I didn’t know last year
Who the fuck are y’all?

Oh Wait....They've been here.
WE were the last ones to move in.

Anyway it has been a year already.
I'll get some "After" pictures up ASAP. I say "After" because I have no "Before"
Gross... I just said ASAP.
I did it again.
What's worse? Saying ASAP or naming the post New Kids On The Block?
I'll be back soon with some pictures.
'Til then keep Hangin' Tough.
That was lame but I couldn't resist.