As I See It - 01.03.16 - On the road again

Earlier in the week when I was returning back from Ft. Worth, I received a phone call from sister telling me that one of my uncle's had died. He had been ill for awhile.

The funeral was scheduled for January 4 so...I loaded up The Calvinator and headed back to Ft. Worth on Sunday. The entrance to Westpark Tollway isn't too far from The Crib and even though traffic was probably going to be light, I decided to go ahead and take the Westpark to the Grand Parkway...and we were on our way.

Pic(s) Of The Day - 07.18.15 - Saturday In The Park

I was my mother's envoy to a wedding at St. Theresa Catholic Church which is located in Memorial Park. My cousin Roseanna's daughter was the bride. There was a small contingent from Ft. Worth that traversed to Houston, including my sister who took the family photo.

Jukebox Wednesday

This past week has been a rollercoaster of a ride. Some highs and some lows. Some good times and some sad times.

I was with my sister to celebrate her 50th Birthday. Also used the time to celebrate Fathers Day. While it was a time for celebrating there was also some sadness. A cousin unexpectedly died. Mixed in with all this are the day-to-day issues that arise not only for me but for my family and friends. Wouldn't it be nice if things never went wrong? Is that so wrong? Just askin'.

For today's Jukebox Wednesday, I have selected one of my favorite Ray Charles songs. Enjoy!

THANK YOU!

Two weeks ago, I decided to sign-up for AIDS Walk Houston 2009. Because I was a bit late in signing up and knowing these economic times are tough on folks, I set a low goal. Within 36 hours, I had reached my goal so...

I raised it! Well...in a few days that was surpassed and thanks to friends and family the contributions kept coming in. I decided not raise the goal again but it started approaching $1,000 which NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think I could raise that in 7-8 days. So, I was $10 short of $1,000 and Margo made a contribution that threw me over that mark. And the contributions continue to come in...amazing.

I don't know how else to say, "Thank You!" to everyone who contributed and to everyone who was there in spirit. People really amaze me and I am in awe of you.
The pictures (in a previous post) will show you that we did get caught in the hurricane force winds and tsunami rainfall rain. It was all for a good cause.

Here is the honor roll of contributors who live near and far:
Alan
Carla
Don & Hector
Poox
Ken
Mr. T
Roni & Joey
Stuart
David & Jamie
Greg
Merlin
Tom
Joe
Jim S.
The Calvinator
Jim K.
Patti
Blaine & Robb
Margo
Allen
Jolie
David W. (CA)
David W. (TX)
Viv
Bill

Once again, THANK YOU!

The day you knew would arrive is here

Yesterday I met up with Margo late in the afternoon. She was at an establishment that serves adult beverages so I joined her and some of her chums for a couple of beverages. When I got home, I took The Calvinator out for a walk. I didn't have my phone with me so three hours later I noticed my sister had called and left a quasi-urgent message.

I called her back and let's just say I'm gonna have some family stuff to deal with when I go and visit.

The title for this post is from Hello & Goodbye from Evita. There is a day that I have been dreading and it arrived yesterday. I've seen it on the horizon.

What's difficult is that I am 270 miles from my family which I guess isn't that far. However, it's difficult for me to put things in perspective and realize that after my visit for the holidays, my brother and sister will be the ones to deal with this situation on a daily basis. I can't blow into town and tell everybody this is what needs to be done and then leave.

I didn't sleep well last night. I'm sorta not looking forward to going home for the holidays.

In other news...

This weather is freaky. I ran 10 miles this morning in high humidity and then it rained so I stopped after 10 miles. Now it is getting cold outside.

Happy Birthday Roni!

Today is the longest day of the year. Summer arrives today. According to Eric Braate at Your Education Station, summer officially arrives at 1:06P CDT. We will have 14 hours and 4 minutes of daylight today.

Today is also Roni’s birthday. Roni is my only sister. I won’t tell you how old she is today but I will tell you that Eisenhower was President. (hint hint) Roni has been teaching in FWISD since 1981.

I won’t tell the story about how she bit me because I wouldn’t stop reading the comics over her shoulder. And I won’t tell you how she would tell me to go hide because there was a tornado coming…just so I would leave her alone...and the sun would be shining. And I won’t tell you how later in life she turned into a Mardi Gras bead wh_re (I set the example and she learned from the best). I won’t tell these stories because I’m sure she could one up me.

I’ve posted some photos of Roni. If you’re in Ft. Worth and you see her today, wish her a Feliz Cumpleaños!

This is Roni when she was very young. One of my uncles said she was the prettiest baby he had ever seen. (Those words just sting!) :-)

Here we are in coordinated outfits. She is acting a bit coy and I'm doing my best imitation of a Weeble Wobble. On second thought, I look a bit drunk. Maybe this was a premonition of what would happen years later in the French Quarter.

Here are the three siblings.

Here is Roni's Senior picture. All three of us went to Nolan High School in Ft. Worth.

This is Roni & Joey at the Krewe Ball in 2006. Once again, she is acting coy and only wearing a "couple of strands" of Mardi Gras beads. (I'm sure there was a bag full of beads that didn't get photographed.)

Happy Father's Day Joe!

How many of you know the history of Father's Day? I did some research for you and this is what I found out...

The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

I thought I'd show you some family photos and sorta remember the past...

This is a photo of my Grandfather Joe Martinez.

I chose this photo of my Grandfather Ralph Guereca because I'm it and I look cute. (FYI...I was almost 2 years old in this photo.)

Here is a picture of my father Joe Martinez. He was in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. I believe he was in the Army from 1951-1953. Years later, I would go to South Korea and no, I wasn't in the Army. My tour of South Korea was much different from Joe's.

Here is Joe with his saxophone. Years later I would learn to play the clarinet and my brother would become a saxophonist.
Here are Joe and Helen in 1993 at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School Prom. Joe was a principal there for several years.
Here we all are at Joe's Retirement Party in August 1998. (When I master PhotoShop I'm going to get rid of that apple behind my head. For 9 years that has bugged me.)

And here is la familia Martinez in December 2006. Joey (my brother-in-law) must have been taking the pictures 'cause he's not in it. As you can tell, we were trying to get the dogs to pose but we weren't successful...and one of the dogs is missing. At least it's a good photo of Joe and Helen!Little known fact about Joe...

My sister Roni was born on June 21, 1959 which happened to be Father's Day. He became a father on Father's Day.