Posts (page 2)

My mother came to me, with a sad look in her face, and the  look she gave me, when she at last, gave me the news. Was bad news, just as as I thought.

Your dad is dead; She told me; And we have been invited to his funeral.

And there I was, once more, so young, with a loved one dead,

" I went to mom's room and, said, I don't want to go.!

His family insist that you be there, because you're the only son he had.

 And you carry his name.!" She said to me, and that was that.

As big as my father was, he was buried in a small coffin.

The mountain he was trying to make a good road, fell on him.

My grandma Izabel, came to hug me, when she saw me, at the funeral.

It felt good, the way she wrapped her arms around my body, and told me, she loved me.

Because, I reminded her of  her late son, My father.

The road to the cementery was dented with potholes, after you left the road from the church

and crossed the railrod street, and you had to look down all the time to avoid getting your feet wet.

I was there, when my father was put in a hole, to rest in peace, at last, for him.

Miriam and Izabela, my sisters were there too; And just like me, they shoveled some dirt to the hole

just like I did, to fill our father resting place... 

The day is forgetable now because it happen a while back.

And when JP told me she was gone, the day, became something to remember.

"Maria is gone.!!!" she told me, "I went to see her for some paperwork, and there was somebody else in her office"

Maybe she is sick, and took the day off, I said.

 "No Jorge", she told me, "She is gone"!!!

"There is another lady in her office, and she is from out of town".she said.

I don't like Mondays, and this one became worse than a Margarita made with vodka.

The best HR person who I connected with, the one that I went to see when I needed to know, who was in

 and who called out.

Who told me, to counsel those, that needed it; And to give advice to them that needed it.

She was out.!!!

Wayne, the office manager, told me complained about me being in her office too much.

And the visits to her office became less, and then just nothing.

She never said anything about me being there, to me,

Many times, our conversations turned to family, and the joy of having grandkids.

And those times were ours.

She was rare, Maria, one of kind.

Like an Elephant, big, in control of all things around.

Wise, and motherly to all.

I still remember that day when JP came to me, and told me.

But it was until friday, that I knew for sure.

Adam,asked because he felt lonely, and he got some from Eve, a long time ago.

And from then, until now, when we have a need, we, beg, we plead, we get on our knees and, well, we just hope it will all be alright.

All the hopes, and all the dreams, and a future, that was born just a few days ago, when a new man told you "I will bring change".

And change that was needed, in a country confused by natural and simple truths.

A new man is here!!!

A perfect man, he is not, but he is the man you chose to have your needs go away.!!

A man full of good ideas and great resolve, can bring you back.

And this man, that you elected to lead you; This man that needed you to make him a somebody, in order to make your life better, is just another man.

And just like Adam, he got some, but, this time, he got a lot more. 

I was shopping with my wife at a Walmart store the other day when I noticed a shelf near the books section.

Bottles of water 3 deep and 4 rows down, filled with, hang on to your valuable brain cells, "SMART WATER".!!

The shelves are still full of the stuff last time I saw them, and lets hope the person who invented the slogan is made to drink the stuff; Who knows.? Actually, scares me to think what this individual will come up with next, after drinking it.

Billions of dollars gone, when the institutions that lend money to those who have no means to pay back, did not.!

A young football player at the University of Miami is named, are you ready.! Yourhighness. And it makes me think that those parents shopped at Walmart, or, they have good stuff growing in their backyard.

"Maxim Lappierre, a Canadian hockey player, took up boxing in the off-season to keep in shape, when he was asked about his favorite punch, his answer was, "FRUIT PUNCH".!!!

"Ave Maria Univesity in Naples, Florida, fired basketball Ricky Benitez for using profanity during practice."

YANKEE STADIUM, A cathedal torned down.

That is the way I think.

About the water, Fuggeddaboutit.!!!!

I woke up to the smell of eggs, fried beens, and tortillas.

My mother routine, every morning.

To feed my father before he went to work.

Dad, was not at the table, and I went outside, to the tree.

Where he always had a canvas, to paint.

He was not there!

Our house was on a hill, that overlook the river, and the ferry boat that crossed it.

And I raced to the door, to find my father.

 I went back to my mother to tell her I could not find him.

And she told me he was gone..

In Santa Rita, a small town, next to a river, my father left my mother and me.

And a unpainted canvas, next to our favorite tree.

We were walking east to 5th Ave from Columbus Circle on the left side of Central Park.

The night was just starting, as the Sun had just gone down for a couple of hours, and there was some heat in the air,

and the summer night felt good enough for a walk.

And as my wife and I strolled the Central Park sidewalk, we heard a sound from across the street.

It was a piano, and I told her, lets go in there.

The place from where the music came was a bar/restuarant; On the outside they have the name in neon lights, just as many places do to get attention.

The name was strange, Les Tuileris, but the piano man was good.

We sat a couple of tables away from the window that looked out to the park, and the view was espectacular.

I order a Bloody Mary, and Mikki a Margarita; The piano player kept playing other customers requests, and he did.

As I was looking out the window and the horses with the tourists riding

For old times sake I asked the piano man to play 'As Times Goes By', a song I like.

He played it as good as any piano player can play it; Just for us; This one time.

A child was born today, and kids come into this world all the time.

But this is one is special, it was born to my daughter Athena.

She named the girl Persephone (Pur-sef-hu-nee); It rhymes with Stephanie.

Her grandma, my wife, is calling her Percy, "her name is to long" she says.

I'm ok with it; It's Greek, like her mom's.

So maybe this is a new thing, mythology names for the kids in the family.

And to keep alive great names from the past. 

So welcome to the world kid.

You got some love you don't know about coming your way!

Reggie came to pick me up a few minutes after 9PM; And I said to him, "Let's stop at the gas station in town and get a pack of beers, before we head back to Memphis".

Ok, he said, and started to drive out from the parking lot, towards the town.

The town is just a couple of miles away from the BMW facility I was visiting, and Reggie drove to it.

He stopped at the gas station just before highway I-55 and I got out to buy some beer.

The attendant was taking care of a customer when I walked in, and I waited my turn, until she was done.

I asked her, "Can I have a six pack of Buds, please"?

 "This is dry a county", she said.

"Maybe I brought you some luck with me today, it rained a lot during the day and all around here is wet"

She told me "No, I'm not talking about the weather, the sale of alcohol is against the law inside the whole county"

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather after that; I walked out of the store and Reggie asked me when I got into the car what happened?

And I told him "Even when it rains, this place is still dry", he looked at me surprised and started to drive towards Memphis.

What did you do for fun when you were a kid? How is it different from what you see kids doing now?
Submitted by jaklumen.

After school was over at about 2pm, we went to get dress to go to the beach.

It was five of us in the group, and we went to the pier to dive for young Conch and Scallops and Clams, and most of the time we eat what we caught on the spot; We usually stayed for 4 hours or just before sundown.

It was a great time.

As you can see this an old story, from my glory days.As far as nights out go, this one was short.

Too short for Mikki, too short for my mother in law, and, maybe for Athena too.

This happened several years ago, but it lingers in my head as one of those things that made a difference in my life.

But it was too long for me, the night: I remember looking down from the balcony at the lit dancing floor below me, a Bloody Mary in one hand, and a cigarette on the other;

The Palladium floor was full of people having a good time, Mikki included; I had just left her to get a drink, and then went over to the balcony.

Earlier in the day we had made plans to take Athena, our only child, who was just a few months old to her Grandma place in Bensonhurst, in Brooklyn.

So that we could have some time, alone, again.

We took the #7  train to 42nd St and Broadway at about 6pm, made the transfer to the B, and got to Mom's place by 7pm; As Grandma's go, she was happy to have Athena to care for; She had some grandkids already from her other daughter, but the first one from Mikki.

And we left her there, with Grandma, with enough milk, and pamper's, until we would come to pick her up, the next day; Mikki and I went back to take the subway to Manhattan, to have a good time.

We got to old theater near Madison Ave, and the crowd was long, trying to get in; We got in.

Mikki, ordered a Tom Collins at the bar, and I ordered a Bloody Mary.

And then we danced for a while, hard, too hard, to sweat as we did.

So I went to the bar again, got me a Bloody Mary, and walked up to the balcony, after getting my drink.

Mikki kept dancing; She loves to dance.

And I saw her from the balcony having a good time; And I thought about my child.

Was she having a good time?; And I thought she was not.

She was not around her parents.

So, I told Mikki, let's go home.

And we went to pick Athena in the middle of the night; And we took the trains to go there, to Brooklyn, and then back to Long Island City, to our place, in Queens.

After that night, we took Athena with us everywhere we went.

We have not dance much since then, Mikki and I.

Athena is grown now, and with children of her own.

The Palladium is gone, and the dancing floor too!

As times go, that was as good a night as any I will ever have.

Athena never saw the Palladium, she would have loved the scene.

She was too young then, and the place is gone now.

Maybe she will find a place of her own to dance, if she is like her Mom.

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