Heritage...

Fans, I will continue about my parents. My mother has had a hard life, especially in her childhood. She was one of the oldest daughters,she has one sister, four years older. Well, out of the eight remaining children, for whatever reason, she was the only one who never attended school. She was sent to work in the tobbacco fields, at the age of 8. The fifty cents a day she got was collected by her father. When he saw that it could bring him problems, he took her to a house to serve as a maid. There she had to wash clothes,dishes, iron care for the pets (two dogs) and in the room, for the dogs, she slept in a cot. In this house she dislocated her arm, yet with her arm in a sling, she still had to do her work. From there, she was taken to a house where the only daughter of the lady, was getting married. She liked my mother and one night even put her wedding dress on her (which my mom took as a bad omen) to show her how pretty she looked. She was sad to leave this house but she was sent to another and by then she was fifteen. In this home the husband didn't work and he tried to "force" himself on mom. Luckily, the lady came home to get some paperwork she'd forgotten. My mother always wore "hand-me-downs" from my grandmother. When she was small she once received a glass doll and was so thrilled, she ran to show it to her sisters and fell. Yes, it broke into little pieces. She'd receive, most of the times for the Holidays, ribbon (to put in her hair) or yards of fabric (to have her mother sew a dress for her) but these were rare occations. That's the reason why, when she met my dad, she thought he'd take her to a better way of living. Yet, he took her to live at his mother's house, till both my sister and I were born. When my sister was eight months old and I was sixteen months, my parents came to New York City to stay with relatives,in search of the "American Dream".

Dancing With The Stars

Need I say anything about Drew and Cheryl, if you, fans, watched the show tonight? They were, no doubt the best! I like Jerry Rice and "la Stacy" was good but why didn't she and her partner (knowing this is the showdown) do such a "lame" dance at the end? So, fans, I need to see the "true" winners of this competition, and we all know it was Drew & Cheryl. They gave their all and deserve to get the trophy. Thanks to them for a real exciting time on t.v. I'd also like to congradulate the other dancer, celebraties who participated and gave their all. None of you were professional dancers yet you did your best. It's painstaking and difficult to learn all the moves, lifts and technics involved in the different dances. My hat is off to all of you! But may the "best man" (Drew) win".

Divorce

Fans, I decided to write about this subject cause I've been through alot, after mine. I'd like to tell the women going through one or on the verge of one that the saying (whoever said it ), "there is light at the end of the tunnel," was totally right. It's not easy because you are thrusted into something you thought would never happen. You're hurt, you wonder was it your fault, you feel empty, unloved, confused. In the beginning, of mine, when me left the house and said he needed time "to think." I couldn't stay in my home, I'd just would walk all day. See it was a marriage of thirty-two years, where I thought we'd grow old together and our only problems would be with our Florida home repairs, as time went by. But life has ways of showing us that we could do better and live "fuller" lives than the one we were living. I learned that I was stronger than I thought. I learned to drive, which was something I swore I'd never do. I've met wonderful people, some not so wonderful but life does go on and we learn from our mistakes. Good luck to all of you and remember you will come out of this better than you were.

Heritage

Hi fans, I decided to write about where I came from. My mother was born one of thirteen children, of which only eight survived. Some died at childbirth, back in the countryside, in Puerto Rico. Others died of illnesses, perhaps not known in those days, how to cure. My mother was born right after a sister, age 3, had died and my grandfather named her the same name as the one they had lost ( except mom didn't get her middle name). In future years, my mom learned she had been celebrating her birthday, October 30, yet her actual birthday was the 19th of October. Seems the sibling before her was also an October baby. But the family continue to celebrate the 30th. Today, they are all still around. My mom's oldest sister and two brothers live in Puerto Rico. My favorite uncle lives now in Toms River. Two aunts live in Hoboken and the last uncle lives in Florida. My mom and dad met on a ranch my grandfather was tending and my dad came to work there. They eloped, once my mom found she was expecting, me. I even got to go to Mayaguez, town I was born in, to see a place they once lived. It was weird cause only the cement floor was there. Anyway, fans, this is to be continued.

Winter Wonderland

Wow, fans, as I woke this morning I was surprised of the lovely scene before my eyes. I knew it would come sooner or later. We should be happy it came, on a Sunday, when we can enjoy it for a day. Because, dear fans, you and I know we'll need to go dig out our car, as soon as it stops snowing! Also, like many of you lucky souls who have jobs, tomorrow you'll need to get to your work place. Either by train, bus, car or on foot you will be off. So, enjoy the day, curl up with your favorite book, your loved one or your favorite movie. Tomorrow, bundle up and my the Force be with you!

Careful

Hey Fans, had a scary moment this past week. My neighbor knocked on my door, around 3:30 p.m. and asked if I smelled smoke. Well, yes, since the hall was smokey! Went down to see that it was coming from our other neighbor's apartment. Seems he left something on the stove and went off. Our landlord had been called ,so he opened up the place and aired out the smoke. Fans, go check out your smoke alarm's battery ( I had forgotten to change mine) and be careful what you leave on the stove. Remember there are other people living around you, with little ones and sometimes, even pets. Let's be more aware. I can't help noticing that we all, at one time or another, live with our heads "in the clouds". Or as though we're the "only" people in our planet. Let's promise ourselves to be more alert, if not for our sake, then for others.