In memory of Danny...

As I silently cried for my cousin Danny, I looked up to see the many faces solemnly watching as his casket was slowly lowered to its grave. Their dark sunglasses covering their weeping eyes to hide the pain we were all feeling inside.

Numerous friends and relatives attended the funeral. Some I did not know and others were the old relatives and friends from the neighborhood. What was more surprising was seeing the kids of my day who now I did not recognize as they have all grown to become young men and women. It made me realize how much time has passed and how far removed I have been from my old neighborhood, my family and friends. After all those years, it was good to see the people I grew up with. Unfortunately, it was under those circumstances.

It was a big blow to the family. No one could believe what happened to my cousin Danny. We always hear it on the news…a child, a girl, a boy, an innocent bystander killed by a stray bullet, a shooting... a drive-by. These occurrences are happening every day but which never really affects us until it hits closer to home.

This is what happened to Danny. It was said he died a hero. He took a bullet trying to save his cousin. In doing so, he gave up his family and his life. He may not have been involved but when it’s around us (whether it’s from the people we know, or the neighborhood we live in) it is hard to escape from it.

I felt deep sympathy for Danny’s little girl as I watched her looking innocently about her, not really understanding what was happening at that very moment as everyone gathered around Danny’s grave saying their last goodbyes.

My heart went out to Danny’s wife as she silently cried for her husband, trying to keep strong for their little girl. But most of all, my heart ached for his parents and siblings. They appeared to be crying… crying dry tears from all the lamenting and grieving from the days before when they first received the tragic news. Their shoulders slumped forward as their appearance seem to be one of resignation… that they will never see their son (brother) again.

Danny was killed due to gang violence… a vicious cycle, a never ending story. It should be a wake up call for some, but it’s just another day in the ‘hood. Someone dies and life goes on. The sad part is that it’s always the innocent ones that are paying the price.

As I held a single rose in my hand, I said a little prayer for Danny. Everything appeared to be moving in slow motion. I brought the rose to my lips and gently gave it a kiss. I then released the rose from my hand and watched it fall as it landed on Danny's casket.

Goodbye Danny…

May God keep your soul and may you rest in peace…

In memory of D.H.
7/19/82 to 7/8/07

embarrassing moments...

Embarrassing moment #1:

One morning I got up later than usual and was in a hurry to get ready for work. After I showered, I got dressed and put some makeup on. I proceeded to wash my eyeglasses and took a piece of toilet paper to dry them. I put my glasses on, picked up my purse and ran out the door hoping to catch my train on time.

I got to the train station and had to run to catch my train before it left the platform. I was happy that I caught the train and managed to get a seat. After catching my breath, I noticed that a couple of people were looking at me. Are they looking at me because I’m I was breathing hard from running? Or is that I have something on my face or worse on my nose…?! I got a tissue out of my purse and wiped my nose. Soon thereafter, I notice a guy who was looking at me and smiling. For a moment I thought he is smiling at me. Then, it hit me…oh no… is he laughing at me? Why??? Then I realized something… check my glasses! I took them off and sure enough…I had toilet paper stuck on my glasses! How embarrassing!!!

Embarrassing moment #2

I was at work one morning and was busy printing up my boss’ e-mails. He had received an e-mail with an attachment that was too large to print on my printer so I sent it to the printer in the copy room. I quickly got up to go get the print job and as I did so, my foot got caught on one of the computer cables. I tripped over it and I knew instantly that I was going to fall. My chair was behind me so I let myself fall thinking that I was going to fall right on the chair. As I was falling, my BiG BuTT accidentally pushed the chair back and I fell to the floor instead just as my boss and my co-worker were walking in. “Are you o.k.?” I heard them ask. I raised my hand and waved, “I’m o.k., I’m o.k.!” How funny I must have looked to them. I managed to get up and my cheeks were burning with embarrassment! Oops!

train stories

While going to/from the train station and riding the train, I've seen, heard and experienced many things. Here are a few train experiences, not necessarily my own:

Story #1. A woman was running to catch her train, carrying several shopping bags from a department store in each hand. As she ran towards the train yelling out, "Wait, wait!" the doors soon began to close. In her desperate attempt to get on that train, the lady reached her arm out and slipped one of her large shopping bags in between the doors to try and stop them from closing. Unfortunately for her, the bag did not do the trick and the train left her behind with one less shopping bag to carry!

Life is funny that way...one man's misfortune can turn into another man's fortune?. Anyway.... the moral of this story... "Good things come to those who wait" or better yet, "It is better to wait for the next train than to lose an arm or a shopping bag."


Story #2: A woman was chatting away on her cell phone and as she turned to check if the train was coming, she accidentally drops her cell phone on the train tracks. "My phone!" She yells out. "Oh, no! It's gone!" A man heard her desperate plea and jumps off the platform to the tracks to rescue the woman's cell phone. The woman and the onlookers looked at the man in disbelief. Is he crazy! At least that is what I thought not only because he actually jumped on the train tracks but because we heard the sound of the train approaching. A couple of guys immediately reach out to him and managed to pull him up to safety. He stood in front of the woman a heroic man.

Moral of the story... There is no moral! I believe that was foolish! Was it worth risking your life?" Well, it depends on who you talk to...

Next story...

Story #3: The train stops at yet another station. A few people get off the train while others got on. As the train doors closed, there was an old man outside and he slowly came up to a window where a girl sat waiting for the train to move to get to her destination. He taps on the window, just as the train began to move, and the old man gives her the finger. The girl sees this and returns the favor. He taps on the window a little harder and again continues to give her the finger. The girl yells out "What is your problem man!" as she too continues to give him the finger. The train kept moving forward and the man just stood there giving her the finger until he was out of sight. You can tell the girl was upset...actually she was pissed!

Moral of the story... Who knows!

Just another day on the train...!

White Sands, NM

What's that smell....?!

For the past several weeks, the kitchen area was beginning to smell. "Yuck! What's that smell!", the kids would ask. As the days would go by, the smell kept getting stronger and stronger until it started to smell like a dead mouse! It was coming from the pantry or near the fridge. I just couldn't tell.

Just thinking that it could be a dead mouse, I was scared to even move the fridge for fear of what I might find underneath. It gave me the chills just to think about it! Gross!

When I finally got the nerve to search and move the fridge, I found nothing except that I had to sweep the dirt! Phew what a relief! But the smell was still repugnant. Where was it coming from? I went into the pantry and cleaned out the drawers, searched around the shelves and still no dead mouse! I swear, I searched everywhere but no luck! I couldn't find any dead mouse and yet the horrible smell continued to get worse. It was getting to the point where I didn't even want to be near the kitchen! It was aweful!

Last week, my mom came over to visit. I told her what was going on and that I believe I had a dead mouse but couldn't seem locate it. She helped me search and move things around and again we did not manage to find anything. I was beginning to think the dead mouse was inside the wall.

We cleaned out the refrigerator hoping it might be some old left overs but again, we came up with nothing. I didn't know what to do anymore!

Finally, I went back in the pantry and as I was moving things around, behind some containers and the blender I saw my sister's roaster oven which she had left the last time she cooked. The smell was definitely coming from inside that pot. I was afraid to uncover it. Slowly I reached for the cover. When I opened it, I found..... AHHHHH! UGH!!! DISGUSTING!!!!

My mom ran to see why I was screaming and she yells out, "Don't tell me the mouse was inside the pot?!" I wanted to vomit! I couldn't even speak! When I managed to get the words out I exclaimed....

"No, worse!" "You're not going to believe this!"

It was the HAM from THANKSGIVING!!!

What the....???

For the past few weeks, since we've gotten back from vacation, my daughter has been getting up late for school. If she does get up on time, she usually spends way too much time getting herself ready. I am constantly yelling for her to hurry up because everyone is going to be late for school and work.

Yesterday, my hubby finally said, "I am fed up!" He called out to her once. Since she continued to ignore the fact that we're trying to rush her, he decided he was going to do something about it.

I had gotten out of the shower and was getting ready for work when I noticed that my hubby and the kids were still here. I yell out of the bathroom, "Do you realize what time it is!?" My hubby said, "Call your daughter to come down." "I want to talk to her." "I yell out, "Dem, come down now, your dad wants to talk to you!"

She comes down the stairs taking her sweet time, without the slightest clue as to the time.

Dad: "Do you realize what time it is?"

Dem: "No."

Dad: "It's 8:15 a.m."

Dem: "What!" My daughter exlaims as she looks up at the clock.

Dad: "Do you know that because of you both you and your brother are late for school?" "How old are you?"

Dem: "I will be 14 in a couple of weeks."

Dad: "You are now old enough to understand the importance of getting up and getting ready for school." "Do you agree?"

Dem: (Nods in agreement.)

Dad: "It is your responsibility, not anyone else's, to get ready on time." "Yes?"

Dem: "Yes."

Dad: "I am tired of having your mom and I continue to yell out to you to hurry up." "Since we've already talked about this and you are already late for school, I am not taking you to school today."

Dem: (I noticed for a second her facial reaction was that of "cool I don't have to go to school today!"). Unfortunately for her, that was not going to be the case.

Dad: "Since you made everyone late for school and work, you are going to stay home and do chores."

Dem: "But"

Dad: "No but's." "You will begin with cleaning out the kitchen." "Once you finish, you will clean up your room, clean the bathroom... and so on and so forth." "Don't even think for a minute you will be sitting down to relax." "Once your chores are done, you will begin studying."

I looked up at the clock and sure enough, I was running late for work! I turned to look at my daughter and noticed that she no longer had a smile on her face, it immediately turned into a frown. By the time her dad finished with the "to do list", she had tears running down her eyes.

I knew there was a lesson to be learned here. I couldn't stay to find out. I quickly rushed out the door and went to work. When I arrived home from work, the house was clean and she was putting some things away that should have been put away a long time ago. She came up to me and gave me a big hug.

Me: "So how was your day?"

Dem: "I've been cleaning and straightening up the house all day." "Ugh!"

Me: "I hope you understand the lesson that your dad is trying to teach you."

Dem: "Yeah, that I don't want to stay home!"

Me: "It's more than that." "It's about the importance of being responsible."

Let's see if she learned her lesson...

This morning she got at 6:45 a.m. and was ready to go on time!

to remember you always...

I had been out of town for a couple of weeks and finally took some time to go through a pile of mail that was on the table.

As I was sorting through it, one piece of mail, in particular, caught my eye. It was sent from the Vet's office. I slowly opened the envelope. It was a sympathy card. I looked at the picture for a couple of seconds and began thinking about my beloved pet, Coqueta, and how much I missed her.

As I opened the card to read it, out came a piece of fur from my beloved pet tied in a red ribbon. My heart ached. I began to cry.

goodbye my pet...!

Coqueta

2/9/91 - 12/21/06

Goodbye to my sweet pet and loyal friend. You were always by my side. So many years together and now I turn around and you are no longer there. Oh, how I miss you so!

You will be forever in my heart.

snow cacti

"Gris!", my husband yells out. "Kristy called and said to look out the window, it's snowing!" "Do I have to get up." I moaned, as it was early in the morning and we were still in bed. (I really didn't want to see snow... what I wanted to see was the sun!!!)

Beebo immediately gets up and rushes to the window. And to his disappointment says, "Ah, that's nothing!"

I got up to look out the window and there were several patches of snow on the ground and a few flakes were falling.

As we were eating breakfast, I glanced towards the window and realized I couldn't see out the window anymore. I assumed because it was cold outside. I opened the door and I freaked! I yelled out "Holy cow!" "It's really snowing!"

I've never seen so much snow in Las Cruces! If it wasn't for the cacti, I could have sworn we were in Chicago.