Marshall Law, The McHale Report's expert on all matters police, had no problem finding an empty booth after the lunch rush at The Vermillion. The Vermillion, Brownsville's most popular watering hole for almost a century, has been taking a beating like all restaurant/bars during the pandemic. Justo Leyes, the blog's legal expert, joined him. They ordered nachos with the works and a bucket of beers.
Law: I'm going to give Sheriff Lucio a mulligan on this one because he has always been a straight shooter in the past.
Leyes: What are you talking about, partner?"
Law: Lucio lost fair and square to Eric Garza in the Democratic Primary. Democrats spoke loudly and clearly that they wanted a change even though I endorsed the sheriff because I felt he had done a solid job for more than two decades. Regardless, he got his ass kicked, but rather than accept his defeat with class, he is endorsing the Republican John Chambers. This is unacceptable to all Democrats in these times of Trump. Garza may be a rookie, but he's clean. If you search Chambers' name on Google, it isn't a pretty picture. The man has been charged with more felonies than Carlos Elizondo and he couldn't run his little hole-in-wall town, Indian Lake, without a spate of personnel problems. And a vote for a Republican is an abject display of homage for Trump. I don't think Lucio realizes that we are in the middle of a Democratic/Republican Civil War and we Democrats are not tolerating any defections.
Leyes: Everybody says the reason Lucio lost was because his two chief deputies--Gus and Javier Reyna--had turned the public against their boss with their attitudes. The brothers won't have jobs under a Garza administration. As a result, according to the talk on the streets, is that Lucio is giving Chambers his support in exchange for employing Gus and Javier.
Law: I've heard the same story from The Toddle Inn to Ricardo's when I've gone for my huevos rancheros. I'm a Democrat. From Joe Biden to Laura Perez-Reyes, I'm voting the palanca because Republicans have fallen into the abyss and there is no rescuing them. They have sold their souls to Trump and they are more committed to a cult than they are to our country. I am so disappointed that Lucio has chosen to betray his fellow Democrats.
Leyes: You vociferously argued for months that Garza didn't have the experience and there are many who agree because he has never worked in law enforcement. Why aren't you giving Lucio the benefit of the doubt and accepting that Lucio has reached the same conclusion in the general election that you were promoting in the runoff?
Law: It's a fair question. Garza is a successful bureaucrat as his many years as the Cameron County District Clerk proved. He managed a competent office with little controversy. The sheriff's department is a huge administrative challenge. He will streamline the operations while he turns the cop side over to Robert Gracia, well-respected by his peers based on his vast experience. I'm confident they can do the job. Garza handles the money and Gracia handles the men. Democrats in overwhelming numbers decided they wanted change and they have entrusted this change to Garza. While I might have differed in the runoff, I know that we need change from Washington D.C. to Brownsville. I'm confident that Garza and Gracia will be a competent one-two punch. Chambers is a good ol' boy at best who is mired in the status quo. He is a hick-town police chief right out of Mayberry's Barney Fife's tradition.
Leyes: I don't like Lucio's traitorous act because it's just plain sour grapes in my estimation. We need Democrats in office more than at any time in our nation's history. I agree that Garza and Gracia make a good team and I can tell you this: Andy Griffith was a good friend of mine and John Chambers is no Andy Griffith.
Monday, August 31, 2020
DANIELLA RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT
BOOBY WITLESS-CERVEZAS: "Daniella Lopez-Valdez places on-line Herald ad. I just noticed she uses the English spelling on her first name. No big deal. Concerning Erasmo Castro's podcast--no one is listening. On the major networks they strive to keep listeners for 10 minutes to listen to their talking heads. People get bored and move on real fast. Also, not everyone listening is listening for information; it is just for entertainment value. Lopez-Valdez has the money and supporters. She and her supporters will destroy Castro and his cabal of criminals."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Brownsville Void Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas is predicting that newcomer Daniella Lopez-Valdez will crush Erasmo Castro for Position 5 on the BISD Board of Trustees. In a November showdown that is being billed as The Beauty vs. The Beast, it is a clash between a newcomer and an oldtimer to Brownsville politics. Witless-Cervezas, who has never been a fan of Castro and likes to dismiss anyone from the alternative news world as irrelevant except himself, isn't alone in his prediction. The last South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) has Lopez-Valdez with a significant 56% to 44% advantage. The voters look at her as a fresh product while Castro must battle with a damaged-goods image. There is no doubt that the establishment is coalescing behind the articulate and attractive Brownsville native. She may be a rookie, but her father, Cameron County Commissioner Joey Lopez, is a veteran campaigner. Between his knowledge and her charisma, Lopez-Valdez has immediately become a formidable candidate. But with an estimated 35,000 expected to come to the polls, nobody should underestimate Castro's popularity. There will be 20,000 to 25,000 voting who don't even know that the BISD is a political entity and this may benefit Castro among the silent majority who do recognize his name. Nevertheless, Lopez-Valdez and her team are categorically committed to winning and they are going to spend the money and hit the households. With her positives and Castro's negatives, it is easy to understand the reason that Witless-Cervezas has concluded that Lopez-Valdez is a prohibitive favorite.)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Brownsville Void Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas is predicting that newcomer Daniella Lopez-Valdez will crush Erasmo Castro for Position 5 on the BISD Board of Trustees. In a November showdown that is being billed as The Beauty vs. The Beast, it is a clash between a newcomer and an oldtimer to Brownsville politics. Witless-Cervezas, who has never been a fan of Castro and likes to dismiss anyone from the alternative news world as irrelevant except himself, isn't alone in his prediction. The last South Texas Independent Journalists Association (STIJA) has Lopez-Valdez with a significant 56% to 44% advantage. The voters look at her as a fresh product while Castro must battle with a damaged-goods image. There is no doubt that the establishment is coalescing behind the articulate and attractive Brownsville native. She may be a rookie, but her father, Cameron County Commissioner Joey Lopez, is a veteran campaigner. Between his knowledge and her charisma, Lopez-Valdez has immediately become a formidable candidate. But with an estimated 35,000 expected to come to the polls, nobody should underestimate Castro's popularity. There will be 20,000 to 25,000 voting who don't even know that the BISD is a political entity and this may benefit Castro among the silent majority who do recognize his name. Nevertheless, Lopez-Valdez and her team are categorically committed to winning and they are going to spend the money and hit the households. With her positives and Castro's negatives, it is easy to understand the reason that Witless-Cervezas has concluded that Lopez-Valdez is a prohibitive favorite.)
Sunday, August 30, 2020
THE SNAKES ARE IN THE STREETS
Why are people protesting? Because the snakes are in the streets. Trump's blatant racism and his dog-whistles fuel hate in this country. His attacks on African-Americans have been his calling card for decades.
"You loot and we shoot," says Trump as another white cop pumps seven bullets into yet another black man. And all seven in the back!
The Republicans want to make the Democrats the scapegoat for this unrest. Their law-and-order ruse is the last desperate trick to fool the electorate into voting for the King of Chaos. But doesn't the buck stop at the top? Not with Trump. His history is nothing but pointing his finger at others.
He says the America that exists under his administration will be Joe Biden's America. Hardly. Biden will find common ground. We didn't have this widespread turmoil during the eights years of Obama/Biden.
We didn't have 185,000 dead Americans with thousands more condemned to die as a result of Trump's incompetence. It is only a matter of time before Trump starts blaming Biden for Coronavirus except when he is praising himself for all the American lives he has allegedly saved.
These are sick times. And much sicker than we can possibly imagine.
"You loot and we shoot," says Trump as another white cop pumps seven bullets into yet another black man. And all seven in the back!
The Republicans want to make the Democrats the scapegoat for this unrest. Their law-and-order ruse is the last desperate trick to fool the electorate into voting for the King of Chaos. But doesn't the buck stop at the top? Not with Trump. His history is nothing but pointing his finger at others.
He says the America that exists under his administration will be Joe Biden's America. Hardly. Biden will find common ground. We didn't have this widespread turmoil during the eights years of Obama/Biden.
We didn't have 185,000 dead Americans with thousands more condemned to die as a result of Trump's incompetence. It is only a matter of time before Trump starts blaming Biden for Coronavirus except when he is praising himself for all the American lives he has allegedly saved.
These are sick times. And much sicker than we can possibly imagine.
LEPRE ENDORSES BIG JOE
"He is a legend," asserted Rick Lepre, a legend in his own right. "I'm in the process of putting together a movement call 'Coaches for Coach.' I am also including the more than 1,000 athletes who have received scholarships as a result of 'Big' Joe's help.
The resilient Joe Rodriguez is running for the BISD Board of Trustees against Board President Minerva Peña and newcomer Marisa Leal. Peña, whom Brownsville Talk host and BISD board candidate himself Erasmo Castro describes as 'stupid' among many other choice adjectives, has served for 12 consecutive years and in the opinion of her many detractors has simply worn out her welcome.
"She will never be compared to Alberti Einstein," said Lepre. "And the more she talks, the more one thinks that the only way she received a high school diploma was via the GED program. From calling COVID-19 a hoax to imposing her hypocritical religious beliefs, she is little more than a Trump zombie who has to go before she drives all of us crazy with her nonsense."
Leal, whose husband is an outspoken AOBE member who depicts the school district as nothing short of a disaster wrapped in a catastrophe, is embarking on her first foray into politics. She was considered a fresh breeze, but the air has suddenly turned stale around her.
"Castro, on his show, was promoting Leal as his candidate against Peña, but she has paid a costly price for this endorsement," offered Lepre. "The public is questioning her independence. Her detractors are denouncing her as a puppet of 'Los Tres Buitres' who if elected will do the bidding of Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro Cardenas. She has taken a credibility hit in light of this perception."
Lepre depicts Rodriguez as a "giant" who has been there and done that and who will be there and do that again. He describes Rodriguez's accomplishments as both a professional and a politician as "off the charts."
Asked about his mentor's platform, Lepre responded, "It's short and sweet. Besides presenting himself as independent and experienced, he insists in his own grumpy way that no governor or president is going to jeopardize BISD employees and students' health for political purposes, he promises to set in place a salary scale that will guarantee raises for five consecutive years, he avers that he will lower taxes with a majority vote and he will fight for a Performance Arts Center.
"We all know that this is Joe's last hurrah and I will be in a front-row seat, like Spike Lee at New York Knicks' games, cheering him on to victory," declared Lepre in his peculiar Bronx accent.
The resilient Joe Rodriguez is running for the BISD Board of Trustees against Board President Minerva Peña and newcomer Marisa Leal. Peña, whom Brownsville Talk host and BISD board candidate himself Erasmo Castro describes as 'stupid' among many other choice adjectives, has served for 12 consecutive years and in the opinion of her many detractors has simply worn out her welcome.
"She will never be compared to Alberti Einstein," said Lepre. "And the more she talks, the more one thinks that the only way she received a high school diploma was via the GED program. From calling COVID-19 a hoax to imposing her hypocritical religious beliefs, she is little more than a Trump zombie who has to go before she drives all of us crazy with her nonsense."
Leal, whose husband is an outspoken AOBE member who depicts the school district as nothing short of a disaster wrapped in a catastrophe, is embarking on her first foray into politics. She was considered a fresh breeze, but the air has suddenly turned stale around her.
"Castro, on his show, was promoting Leal as his candidate against Peña, but she has paid a costly price for this endorsement," offered Lepre. "The public is questioning her independence. Her detractors are denouncing her as a puppet of 'Los Tres Buitres' who if elected will do the bidding of Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro Cardenas. She has taken a credibility hit in light of this perception."
Lepre depicts Rodriguez as a "giant" who has been there and done that and who will be there and do that again. He describes Rodriguez's accomplishments as both a professional and a politician as "off the charts."
Asked about his mentor's platform, Lepre responded, "It's short and sweet. Besides presenting himself as independent and experienced, he insists in his own grumpy way that no governor or president is going to jeopardize BISD employees and students' health for political purposes, he promises to set in place a salary scale that will guarantee raises for five consecutive years, he avers that he will lower taxes with a majority vote and he will fight for a Performance Arts Center.
"We all know that this is Joe's last hurrah and I will be in a front-row seat, like Spike Lee at New York Knicks' games, cheering him on to victory," declared Lepre in his peculiar Bronx accent.
EL VIRUS
We don't know if Pink Ape is coordinating Viro "El Virus" Cardenas' campaign for a seat on the BISD Board of Trustees, but if Rodrigo Moreno is trying to make lemonade out of a lemon, he is facing two important decisions this week as he designs his client's campaign posters.
His client, a wayward "buey"--who is always in trouble for his ceaseless shenanigans learned in the Whoring Hernandez School of Political Machinations (Please don't ask Ernie or Norma Hernandez the meaning of machinations)--previously ran for mayor and finished sixth in a five-person race.
He is in a four-person race this November against incumbent Phil Cowen, social activist "Auntie" Argelia Miller and the barely educated Jessica Rodriguez. The pundits are predicting a fifth or sixth place finish for "El Virus" although The Brownsville Void Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas gives the underdog--who lives a dog's life--an outside chance at nabbing a fourth-place finish. Most experts agree that would be an extraordinary accomplishment for the man who thought he would be a somebody but was condemned by destiny to being a nobody.
If Moreno is making the final decision on Cardenas' slogan, he must recognize that his client can't hide from a contemptible reality. He knows from his vast experience that he must take a negative and turn it into a positive. Cardenas was recently arrested for a $53,000 child support debt, his daughters suffering while he was partying.
And the initial slogan: "I may not give a damn about my kids, but I'll treat your children as if they were my own."
When Cardenas' bosom body Eddie Hernandez informed his buddy that he wasn't treating his own very well, Pink Ape or whoever is in charge, edited the slogan: "Maybe I haven't been there for my girls, but I will be there for yours."
The second dilemma is the proper art for the poster. Cardenas and his collaborators are debating on which of the two photos above this article best promotes the candidate. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, notes there isn't much to choose between the two since both were taken in orange jumpsuits after separate arrests, but he does concede there are subtle differences in the two mug shots.
"It's all about image," says O'Malley who is working the Southmost and Las Prietas barrios of behalf of BISD candidates Cowen, Joe Rodriguez, Daniella Lopez-Valdez, Eddie Garcia and Frankie Olivo. "In the first he smiles bravely, which the electorate might interpret that he is confident that the war against COVID-19 will be won.
"In the second he presents himself as being more thoughtful. He obviously hopes that the public will perceive him as a cool head in these volatile times. It would be nice to have a third picture. Is there any possibility that he will be arrested again in the next few days before the Cardenas' team has to reach a final decision?"
Regardless of the poster, Cardenas remains a longshot, but he hopes that as a member of the "Los Tres Buitres" slate he can ride the coattails of Erasmo "El Queso" Castro and Carlos "El Cobarde" Elizondo to victory.
"I hope Castro and Elizondo weren't including Cardenas in their trio with the hopes they could ride El Virus' coattails because the fool who has no business overseeing any school is down to his briefs that barely cover his miniscule tool," sniggered O'Malley.
His client, a wayward "buey"--who is always in trouble for his ceaseless shenanigans learned in the Whoring Hernandez School of Political Machinations (Please don't ask Ernie or Norma Hernandez the meaning of machinations)--previously ran for mayor and finished sixth in a five-person race.
He is in a four-person race this November against incumbent Phil Cowen, social activist "Auntie" Argelia Miller and the barely educated Jessica Rodriguez. The pundits are predicting a fifth or sixth place finish for "El Virus" although The Brownsville Void Publisher Booby Witless-Cervezas gives the underdog--who lives a dog's life--an outside chance at nabbing a fourth-place finish. Most experts agree that would be an extraordinary accomplishment for the man who thought he would be a somebody but was condemned by destiny to being a nobody.
If Moreno is making the final decision on Cardenas' slogan, he must recognize that his client can't hide from a contemptible reality. He knows from his vast experience that he must take a negative and turn it into a positive. Cardenas was recently arrested for a $53,000 child support debt, his daughters suffering while he was partying.
And the initial slogan: "I may not give a damn about my kids, but I'll treat your children as if they were my own."
When Cardenas' bosom body Eddie Hernandez informed his buddy that he wasn't treating his own very well, Pink Ape or whoever is in charge, edited the slogan: "Maybe I haven't been there for my girls, but I will be there for yours."
The second dilemma is the proper art for the poster. Cardenas and his collaborators are debating on which of the two photos above this article best promotes the candidate. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, notes there isn't much to choose between the two since both were taken in orange jumpsuits after separate arrests, but he does concede there are subtle differences in the two mug shots.
"It's all about image," says O'Malley who is working the Southmost and Las Prietas barrios of behalf of BISD candidates Cowen, Joe Rodriguez, Daniella Lopez-Valdez, Eddie Garcia and Frankie Olivo. "In the first he smiles bravely, which the electorate might interpret that he is confident that the war against COVID-19 will be won.
"In the second he presents himself as being more thoughtful. He obviously hopes that the public will perceive him as a cool head in these volatile times. It would be nice to have a third picture. Is there any possibility that he will be arrested again in the next few days before the Cardenas' team has to reach a final decision?"
Regardless of the poster, Cardenas remains a longshot, but he hopes that as a member of the "Los Tres Buitres" slate he can ride the coattails of Erasmo "El Queso" Castro and Carlos "El Cobarde" Elizondo to victory.
"I hope Castro and Elizondo weren't including Cardenas in their trio with the hopes they could ride El Virus' coattails because the fool who has no business overseeing any school is down to his briefs that barely cover his miniscule tool," sniggered O'Malley.
Saturday, August 29, 2020
PUTA!!!
What is the truth? He said he would get you a house, you wouldn't have to work and he was going to buy you a ring. He introduced you to his son and his sister who later told you after you had unceremoniously dumped him from one day to the next for me that they had opened their family to you.
You explained to me that you and he had had a "romance" for a year, but you had never had sex together. Who in his right mind would present you with all these offerings, take you out to dinner, fill you with wine on tropical nights and not have sex with you?
The whole time you were visiting me at the hotel. You would tell me he was nothing more than a friend, a friend on whose shoulder you would cry as you related in detail my mistreatment of you. And the entire period you're satisfying me, even charging me $100 various times because you were short and our daughter needed something. Would his sympathies suddenly change if he knew the real you?
And what about the town clown with whom you appeared on the blogs embracing shortly after our divorce? Were you pleasing him? As usual you say no, but he told one of my acquaintances that he would sit you on a ladder and lick you silly. He and his best friend were telling everyone that he was in a sexual relationship with you, but the both of you were keeping a low profile because your children weren't ready for new faces in their lives.
And what about the five years between those two fools? How many lovers have there been? As usual, you have denied having any lovers, but I know you. When I stretched you out on a bed for the first time, I was the third guy who had nailed you in the last three weeks. And I had only known you for two days!
When you were in high school, you would spend your vacations in Mexico City. You bragged that you had a boyfriend here and a lover there. This continued for two years until a third guy--or was it a fourth or a fifth or a sixth--got you pregnant when you were 18 and you married him. You always said that having sex with two guys at once was your fantasy. Was juggling two lovers from the age of 16 a prelude to the real thing?
Between your divorce and our marriage--a period of five years--you went on a sexual rampage that compensated for the wantonness you had missed in your late teenage and early twenty years raising two children as your marriage deteriorated and your loser husband abandoned you for another woman.
How many lovers were there? Fifteen? Twenty? Thirty? You told me at the beginning of our courtship that you were out of control, if one lover wasn't unavailable--out of town, family compromises, work responsibilities--you would call someone else to service you. I can only imagine the number of names you had scribbled in your little black book within easy reaching distance for emergency calls.
For almost two decades, I have been unable to escape the mental anguish of you gratifying all these anonymous players. As much as I have tried to dismiss these affairs, I have been unsuccessful. Your lifestyle prior to our first meeting culminated in destroying our marriage. Seven years later we reconciled, but the two entanglements and the suspicions of other rendezvous during the interim are destroying us again.
I keep repeating the same line: You spent more than one year in a "romance" and never had sex! I shake my head trying to comprehend that you--a sex pot who has a long history of opening her legs at the drop of a hat--could possibly resist his advances on drunken outings, particularly after you had described him as handsome.
Who is the stupid one? I ask myself. He, for staying with a woman who wouldn't have sex with him or me, for believing a woman who in my opinion could be described as a nymphomaniac relishing, as she told me on many occasions, getting it "harder, harder, harder!"
As I have in the past, I'm one angry outburst short of screaming at you the sole word you despise most as I prepare to leave your place and return to my solitary life: "Puta!"
You explained to me that you and he had had a "romance" for a year, but you had never had sex together. Who in his right mind would present you with all these offerings, take you out to dinner, fill you with wine on tropical nights and not have sex with you?
The whole time you were visiting me at the hotel. You would tell me he was nothing more than a friend, a friend on whose shoulder you would cry as you related in detail my mistreatment of you. And the entire period you're satisfying me, even charging me $100 various times because you were short and our daughter needed something. Would his sympathies suddenly change if he knew the real you?
And what about the town clown with whom you appeared on the blogs embracing shortly after our divorce? Were you pleasing him? As usual you say no, but he told one of my acquaintances that he would sit you on a ladder and lick you silly. He and his best friend were telling everyone that he was in a sexual relationship with you, but the both of you were keeping a low profile because your children weren't ready for new faces in their lives.
And what about the five years between those two fools? How many lovers have there been? As usual, you have denied having any lovers, but I know you. When I stretched you out on a bed for the first time, I was the third guy who had nailed you in the last three weeks. And I had only known you for two days!
When you were in high school, you would spend your vacations in Mexico City. You bragged that you had a boyfriend here and a lover there. This continued for two years until a third guy--or was it a fourth or a fifth or a sixth--got you pregnant when you were 18 and you married him. You always said that having sex with two guys at once was your fantasy. Was juggling two lovers from the age of 16 a prelude to the real thing?
Between your divorce and our marriage--a period of five years--you went on a sexual rampage that compensated for the wantonness you had missed in your late teenage and early twenty years raising two children as your marriage deteriorated and your loser husband abandoned you for another woman.
How many lovers were there? Fifteen? Twenty? Thirty? You told me at the beginning of our courtship that you were out of control, if one lover wasn't unavailable--out of town, family compromises, work responsibilities--you would call someone else to service you. I can only imagine the number of names you had scribbled in your little black book within easy reaching distance for emergency calls.
For almost two decades, I have been unable to escape the mental anguish of you gratifying all these anonymous players. As much as I have tried to dismiss these affairs, I have been unsuccessful. Your lifestyle prior to our first meeting culminated in destroying our marriage. Seven years later we reconciled, but the two entanglements and the suspicions of other rendezvous during the interim are destroying us again.
I keep repeating the same line: You spent more than one year in a "romance" and never had sex! I shake my head trying to comprehend that you--a sex pot who has a long history of opening her legs at the drop of a hat--could possibly resist his advances on drunken outings, particularly after you had described him as handsome.
Who is the stupid one? I ask myself. He, for staying with a woman who wouldn't have sex with him or me, for believing a woman who in my opinion could be described as a nymphomaniac relishing, as she told me on many occasions, getting it "harder, harder, harder!"
As I have in the past, I'm one angry outburst short of screaming at you the sole word you despise most as I prepare to leave your place and return to my solitary life: "Puta!"
TRUMP & HIS RODENTS
My senses have not abandoned me although I don't know if Coronavirus will suddenly ambush me and I will lose my sense of taste and smell. But I haven't been struck although more than 180,000 dead Americans and more than six million diagnosed Americans haven't been so lucky.
If I hear someone farting over a toilet, I assume he's enjoying a shit. If I see a dog taking a dump, I assume it's shit. If someone serves me a brown mound and it smells like crap, I assume it's shit. If a person shoves a spoonful of a thick brown substance into his mouth and starts vomiting, I assume it's shit. If I observe a baby extracting a dark glob from his diaper, I assume it's shit.
But where I see shit, Trump's followers see chocolate. They only have one reality and it's Trump's reality.
By far the United States has the largest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, but the Pied Piper Trump tells his rodents that no leader is handling the pandemic better than he and they believe him.
By far the United States has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, but Trump tells his rats the figure is a result of his excellent testing and they believe him.
Millions have lost their jobs, but Trump tells the men he has turned into mice that he is building the greatest economy in the history of the world and they believe him.
The streets are roiling with social and racial unrest with death and destruction, but Trump tells his hordes that the present is really the future and that a President Biden is responsible for the discord and not him and they believe him.
Trump lures these poisoned masses into his trap by telling them that both institutions and individuals are their enemies, but he is their only friend and they believe him.
It is a phenomenon that baffles the majority of American since Trump did lose the popular vote in 2016, 66 million to 63 million.
If Trump marched through the streets of Washington D.C. nude, his vermin would compliment him on his beautiful blue suit.
I shake my head in amazement. How is it possible that human beings cannot distinguish between shit and chocolate!?!?
If I hear someone farting over a toilet, I assume he's enjoying a shit. If I see a dog taking a dump, I assume it's shit. If someone serves me a brown mound and it smells like crap, I assume it's shit. If a person shoves a spoonful of a thick brown substance into his mouth and starts vomiting, I assume it's shit. If I observe a baby extracting a dark glob from his diaper, I assume it's shit.
But where I see shit, Trump's followers see chocolate. They only have one reality and it's Trump's reality.
By far the United States has the largest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, but the Pied Piper Trump tells his rodents that no leader is handling the pandemic better than he and they believe him.
By far the United States has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, but Trump tells his rats the figure is a result of his excellent testing and they believe him.
Millions have lost their jobs, but Trump tells the men he has turned into mice that he is building the greatest economy in the history of the world and they believe him.
The streets are roiling with social and racial unrest with death and destruction, but Trump tells his hordes that the present is really the future and that a President Biden is responsible for the discord and not him and they believe him.
Trump lures these poisoned masses into his trap by telling them that both institutions and individuals are their enemies, but he is their only friend and they believe him.
It is a phenomenon that baffles the majority of American since Trump did lose the popular vote in 2016, 66 million to 63 million.
If Trump marched through the streets of Washington D.C. nude, his vermin would compliment him on his beautiful blue suit.
I shake my head in amazement. How is it possible that human beings cannot distinguish between shit and chocolate!?!?
Friday, August 28, 2020
TRUMP
Nobody would have been surprised if on Thursday night, August 28, 2020, on the south lawn of the White House had President Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party with this opening: "I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the Almighty." Of course, the fact checkers at The New York Times and at The Washington Post would have immediately nailed him for plagiarizing Adolf Hitler.
And nobody would have been astonished if he had been nabbed on a live mike whispering to Vice President Mike Pence, "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed." But then he would have been nabbed repeating another Hitler line.
Instead, this most ignorant of American presidents--the one who holds the Bible in the air but has never read a verse--opened with a history lesson and closed with a geography lesson in a script that might have been informative to fourth graders who didn't know anything about the good ol' USA. As he listed the various presidents who occupied the magnificent house behind him, he couldn't refrain from comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, but in spite of his arrogance, there can be little doubt that few African-Americans will be voting for this racist.
More than 2,000 of the nation's whitest and finest gathered for the celebration that coincided with Coronavirus deaths passing the 180,000 mark. Thankfully, droned Trump, the country wasn't under Joe Biden or the toll or the six million COVID-19 cases would have been dramatically higher. Though he mentioned Biden's name 41 times and warned that he would be the destruction of the United States if he were elected, Trump didn't have the gall to blame the 180,000 deaths, the six million cases or even Hurricane Laura devastating Louisiana and claiming lives as he harangued on the ex-Vice President.
But if you were observing the elegant crowd, you wouldn't have thought that a pandemic was ravaging America. Even though the scientists with both Republican and Democratic sympathies have advised their fellow citizens that the three most important precautions they can take to defeat COVID-19 are wearing masks, maintaining a social distance and avoiding large crowds, Trump's lemmings were rejecting all these measures and following Trump's lead that at worse this "hoax" is a bad bout of the flu.
Trump's major theme was law-and-order. He said the social unrest in the cities transpiring under his watch would become the norm under Biden where nobody's person or property would be safe. He didn't make this statement because he would have been echoing Hitler again, but he supports the chaos as a steppingstone to a second term. As Hilter wrote: "The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence."
Employing another Hitler technique--"I use emotion for the many and reason for the few"--Trump launched into a shopping list of monotonous accomplishments. He would merely mention Islamic terrorists or abortion or Iran or China or Jerusalem and the hypocritical and bigoted Christian congregation would leap to their feet applauding wildly and shouting, "Alleluia!"
For 70 minutes, punctuated every two minutes by evoking "Biden!" as if he were the devil, it was Trump preaching that the end of the world was just around the corner if he wasn't reelected. If you think the story told in Revelations was terrifying he thundered, then lightning bolts would rain down on every denizen if they dared sided with Biden, Satan's seed.
"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell and also the other way around," wrote Hitler. "To consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise." .
With death and disease rampant, with unemployment in double digits, with peaceful protesters shot and tear-gassed for implementing their Constitutional rights, with African-Americans murdered by police, with God unleashing his disgust for the nation with hurricanes and other natural disasters, with nearly everyone associated with Trump in jail or awaiting appearances in court, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and the middle class struggling from week to week, Trump hails himself as if he were the reincarnation of George Washington on the cusp of creating a newer and greater America.
Since the Great Depression and WWII, we have never suffered as we are presently suffering. Trump has not made our nation great. Our country is worse as a result of his incompetence. We are a country in the middle of a bloodless war. A democratically elected dictator must be toppled in the same manner he snared power. We must vote as we have never voted in the past.
Trump will do anything to win. In the words of Hitler: "Obstacles do not exist to be surrendered to but only to be broken." And he added for good measure: "Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice."
We are two Americas. Four more years of Trump and the dire picture he paints under a Biden presidency will be the America that we know under a Trump tyranny.
Nobody has to be told where Hitler led Germany. And nobody should have any doubts where Trump will lead us if we don't heed former First Lady Michelle Obama's words: "If you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this. If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can. And they will if we don't make a change in this election."
And nobody would have been astonished if he had been nabbed on a live mike whispering to Vice President Mike Pence, "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed." But then he would have been nabbed repeating another Hitler line.
Instead, this most ignorant of American presidents--the one who holds the Bible in the air but has never read a verse--opened with a history lesson and closed with a geography lesson in a script that might have been informative to fourth graders who didn't know anything about the good ol' USA. As he listed the various presidents who occupied the magnificent house behind him, he couldn't refrain from comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, but in spite of his arrogance, there can be little doubt that few African-Americans will be voting for this racist.
More than 2,000 of the nation's whitest and finest gathered for the celebration that coincided with Coronavirus deaths passing the 180,000 mark. Thankfully, droned Trump, the country wasn't under Joe Biden or the toll or the six million COVID-19 cases would have been dramatically higher. Though he mentioned Biden's name 41 times and warned that he would be the destruction of the United States if he were elected, Trump didn't have the gall to blame the 180,000 deaths, the six million cases or even Hurricane Laura devastating Louisiana and claiming lives as he harangued on the ex-Vice President.
But if you were observing the elegant crowd, you wouldn't have thought that a pandemic was ravaging America. Even though the scientists with both Republican and Democratic sympathies have advised their fellow citizens that the three most important precautions they can take to defeat COVID-19 are wearing masks, maintaining a social distance and avoiding large crowds, Trump's lemmings were rejecting all these measures and following Trump's lead that at worse this "hoax" is a bad bout of the flu.
Trump's major theme was law-and-order. He said the social unrest in the cities transpiring under his watch would become the norm under Biden where nobody's person or property would be safe. He didn't make this statement because he would have been echoing Hitler again, but he supports the chaos as a steppingstone to a second term. As Hilter wrote: "The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence."
Employing another Hitler technique--"I use emotion for the many and reason for the few"--Trump launched into a shopping list of monotonous accomplishments. He would merely mention Islamic terrorists or abortion or Iran or China or Jerusalem and the hypocritical and bigoted Christian congregation would leap to their feet applauding wildly and shouting, "Alleluia!"
For 70 minutes, punctuated every two minutes by evoking "Biden!" as if he were the devil, it was Trump preaching that the end of the world was just around the corner if he wasn't reelected. If you think the story told in Revelations was terrifying he thundered, then lightning bolts would rain down on every denizen if they dared sided with Biden, Satan's seed.
"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell and also the other way around," wrote Hitler. "To consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise." .
With death and disease rampant, with unemployment in double digits, with peaceful protesters shot and tear-gassed for implementing their Constitutional rights, with African-Americans murdered by police, with God unleashing his disgust for the nation with hurricanes and other natural disasters, with nearly everyone associated with Trump in jail or awaiting appearances in court, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and the middle class struggling from week to week, Trump hails himself as if he were the reincarnation of George Washington on the cusp of creating a newer and greater America.
Since the Great Depression and WWII, we have never suffered as we are presently suffering. Trump has not made our nation great. Our country is worse as a result of his incompetence. We are a country in the middle of a bloodless war. A democratically elected dictator must be toppled in the same manner he snared power. We must vote as we have never voted in the past.
Trump will do anything to win. In the words of Hitler: "Obstacles do not exist to be surrendered to but only to be broken." And he added for good measure: "Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice."
We are two Americas. Four more years of Trump and the dire picture he paints under a Biden presidency will be the America that we know under a Trump tyranny.
Nobody has to be told where Hitler led Germany. And nobody should have any doubts where Trump will lead us if we don't heed former First Lady Michelle Obama's words: "If you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this. If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can. And they will if we don't make a change in this election."
Thursday, August 27, 2020
BOOBY BLASTS BUITRES
BOOBY WITLESS-CERVANTES: "Let's begin with Viro Cardenas. El Rrun Rrun Publisher Juan Montoya broke the story. Viro is facing a child support enforcement action. The BV, as it does, verified that Viro's divorce case from 2007 has been reopened and that the address listed in the enforcement action is in fact the same he uses in his BISD filings. So based on this match, I can confirm Viro is facing a child support enforcement hearing in October. Carlos Elizondo pled guilty to stealing wheelchairs. Need I say more? Erasmo Castro was forced to resign from the BISD Board and was banned from going to campus events and taking pictures with minor boys and posting them on line."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Booby Witless-Cervezas, the publisher of The Brownsville Void, is confirming to the blogsphere followers that "Los Tres Buitres" are Viro "El Virus" Cardenas, Erasmo "El Queso" Castro and Carlos "El Cobarde" Elizondo. Are they fit for office? According to the bloviating and bullying blogger, they are hardly the role models Brownsville parents would desire for their children. They all have arrest records and they have lost several elections between the three of them. Not only are they running as a slate, but they want to control the board. According to a source close to BISD Trustees Drue Brown and Prisci Roca-Tipton, their first order of business is to fire Superintendent Rene Gutierrez, who despite all the naysayers' criticisms, has successfully inaugurated the school year even though both the board and administration know that with the volatile nature of COVID-19, the roof could save in tomorrow. "Los Buitres" offer nothing but chaos and confusion precipitated by their confrontational tactics. Wightman-Cervantes, who often says that Dr. G.F. McHale-Scully, the founder of The McHale Report, is the inspiration behind his blogging career, hasn't posed the question that stares him straight in the face. Is Marisa "La Paloma" Leal part of this troika? Her ad appears in a composite presentation with theirs or is Wightman-Cervezas once again only revealing one side of the story because he has his own agenda? In the past he has been known to manipulate BISD officials to accede to his demands. When it comes to blowing hot air, Booby Witless-Cervezas is the closest individual who resembles Donald Trump on the border. As a Brownsville blogger puts it: "Yes, Booby will respond with his Trump like twitter meltdowns. There is no substantive difference between Booby and Trump when it comes to their insecurities. As Mary Trump so accurately stated, Trump cannot handle not being loved and praised by everyone so he lashes out like a child. McHale cannot comprehend he is not the great miserable hope for Brownsville so he lashes out. Trump and Booby are one and the same person."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Booby Witless-Cervezas, the publisher of The Brownsville Void, is confirming to the blogsphere followers that "Los Tres Buitres" are Viro "El Virus" Cardenas, Erasmo "El Queso" Castro and Carlos "El Cobarde" Elizondo. Are they fit for office? According to the bloviating and bullying blogger, they are hardly the role models Brownsville parents would desire for their children. They all have arrest records and they have lost several elections between the three of them. Not only are they running as a slate, but they want to control the board. According to a source close to BISD Trustees Drue Brown and Prisci Roca-Tipton, their first order of business is to fire Superintendent Rene Gutierrez, who despite all the naysayers' criticisms, has successfully inaugurated the school year even though both the board and administration know that with the volatile nature of COVID-19, the roof could save in tomorrow. "Los Buitres" offer nothing but chaos and confusion precipitated by their confrontational tactics. Wightman-Cervantes, who often says that Dr. G.F. McHale-Scully, the founder of The McHale Report, is the inspiration behind his blogging career, hasn't posed the question that stares him straight in the face. Is Marisa "La Paloma" Leal part of this troika? Her ad appears in a composite presentation with theirs or is Wightman-Cervezas once again only revealing one side of the story because he has his own agenda? In the past he has been known to manipulate BISD officials to accede to his demands. When it comes to blowing hot air, Booby Witless-Cervezas is the closest individual who resembles Donald Trump on the border. As a Brownsville blogger puts it: "Yes, Booby will respond with his Trump like twitter meltdowns. There is no substantive difference between Booby and Trump when it comes to their insecurities. As Mary Trump so accurately stated, Trump cannot handle not being loved and praised by everyone so he lashes out like a child. McHale cannot comprehend he is not the great miserable hope for Brownsville so he lashes out. Trump and Booby are one and the same person."
COWENS ALWAYS SHOWS GOOD SENSE
PHIL COWEN: "During this election cycle, I won’t be able to shake your hand nor will I hold any campaign events. I won’t be able to give you the customary abrazo and hug because I can’t go house to house as I did in past elections. There is a lot I can’t do because doing so will put others at risk. So, our campaign relies on you to make sure you spread the word around. I encourage you to wear a mask every day to protect yourself and your friends. Don’t go out unless you need to and please follow our local and state leaders’ guidance. By shielding ourselves, we guard each other against this virus. I am working tirelessly to keep our children and our staff safe. Continuing to do so requires me to humbly ask you for your vote for BISD Place 3."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Why have the Cowen's always been respected in Brownsville politics? Besides a deep and abiding love for their fellow Mexican-Americans because as youngsters they were brought up with the brown brothers in the projects, they have always shown good sense. As politicians they have sought the middle way, compromise the path to success. At The McHale Report we endorsed Ralph Cowen for mayor when he ran against Pat Ahumada and Dr. Tony Zavaleta. More recently we endorsed John Cowen for city commissioner. This November 3 we are endorsing Phil Cowen for reelection to the BISD school board. Both a lawyer and a scholar, he is the type of role model we need representing our teachers and protecting our students. His mother was a respected educator and his wife teaches at Hudson Elementary School. With COVID-19 having claimed more than 500 lives in Cameron County, 1000 lives in Hidalgo County and 180,000 in the country, Cowen is going to conduct a word-of-mouth campaign. He is by far the most competent choice. His three opponents simply don't have his experience and gravitas. Jessica Gonzalez, who isn't promoting her education credentials because apparently she doesn't have any, borders on hysteria. If you thought BISD Board President Minerva Peña was bad, Gonzalez is a loose cannon whose heavy artillery only amounts to blanks. Argelia Miller, a veteran and a lady, is perceived as more of a gadfly than a serious candidate. And Viro "El Virus" Cardenas!!! The community is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this political failure. When he ran for mayor several years ago, he finished sixth in a five-person race. The pundits are predicting that he will finish fifth in a four-person race this November 3. Never has our option been more obvious. And to our relief, Cowen is an excellent option. Cowens never fail their community.)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Why have the Cowen's always been respected in Brownsville politics? Besides a deep and abiding love for their fellow Mexican-Americans because as youngsters they were brought up with the brown brothers in the projects, they have always shown good sense. As politicians they have sought the middle way, compromise the path to success. At The McHale Report we endorsed Ralph Cowen for mayor when he ran against Pat Ahumada and Dr. Tony Zavaleta. More recently we endorsed John Cowen for city commissioner. This November 3 we are endorsing Phil Cowen for reelection to the BISD school board. Both a lawyer and a scholar, he is the type of role model we need representing our teachers and protecting our students. His mother was a respected educator and his wife teaches at Hudson Elementary School. With COVID-19 having claimed more than 500 lives in Cameron County, 1000 lives in Hidalgo County and 180,000 in the country, Cowen is going to conduct a word-of-mouth campaign. He is by far the most competent choice. His three opponents simply don't have his experience and gravitas. Jessica Gonzalez, who isn't promoting her education credentials because apparently she doesn't have any, borders on hysteria. If you thought BISD Board President Minerva Peña was bad, Gonzalez is a loose cannon whose heavy artillery only amounts to blanks. Argelia Miller, a veteran and a lady, is perceived as more of a gadfly than a serious candidate. And Viro "El Virus" Cardenas!!! The community is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this political failure. When he ran for mayor several years ago, he finished sixth in a five-person race. The pundits are predicting that he will finish fifth in a four-person race this November 3. Never has our option been more obvious. And to our relief, Cowen is an excellent option. Cowens never fail their community.)
LOS BUITRES
"Los Tres Buitres" want to control the BISD Board of Trustees. They are trying to convince Marisa Leal, "La Paloma," to join their treacherous trio to form a majority in order to wreck havoc on the district as vengeance for their own personal failures.
And what is The McHale Report's evidence that this terrible trio have fallen short of their parents' expectations? These three mugs shots after their arrests should be enough to convince the jury of public opinion that they are in no position to issue mandates to BISD administrators and educators nor be entrusted with our children's fortunes.
"These photos are more appropriate for a post office foyer than lining the entrance to the main BISD administrative office," said Marshall Law, The McHale Report's law enforcement expert. "While their crimes don't make them legally ineligible to run for office, you would think that they would have the common sense to slither into the high grass and stay as far as possible from the spotlight.
"But ambition blinds them to the obvious. Or maybe their vindictive natures blind them to the obvious. They don't have the moral authority to sit on the board. They have to face reality and recognize that their past errors that have led to their arrests preclude them from service to the school district. It is mind-boggling that they don't recognize this obvious fact."
All three find themselves in uphill struggles. Castro, the threesome's ringleader, faces Daniella Lopez-Valdez, a well-educated entrepreneur who has a spotless record and epitomizes the young Democratic woman in the tradition of Sara Stapleton but with the maturity of TSC Board President Adela Garza.
Elizondo, who attracts felonies like excrement attracts flies, was fired as Brownsville's fire chief, finished third in a three-person race when he sought reelection to the BISD Board two years ago and spends most his free time in and out of court, is a disgrace. Eddie Garcia, a retired veteran of Brownsville's finest, was appointed to the board in Castro's seat when the latter was escorted to jail after a drinking incident; Garcia has distinguished himself. Unlike Castro who wants to be the center of attention, Garcia operates quietly and with the cooperation of his colleagues in the background.
And Cardenas!?!? His sorry record has been well-documented by the bloggers. Why he even steps into the arena defies logic because he is inexorably carried out on a stretcher after a first-round knockout. He has absolutely no chance against Phil Cowen, particularly in the wake of the breaking news that the authorities are searching for him because he hasn't been paying his child support.
"Los Tres Buitres" want to soar high in the sky, but in their flights of fancy they are flying to close to the sun. The wax that is holding their wings to their shoulders is fast melting and they will inevitably come crashing back to earth again.
And what is The McHale Report's evidence that this terrible trio have fallen short of their parents' expectations? These three mugs shots after their arrests should be enough to convince the jury of public opinion that they are in no position to issue mandates to BISD administrators and educators nor be entrusted with our children's fortunes.
"These photos are more appropriate for a post office foyer than lining the entrance to the main BISD administrative office," said Marshall Law, The McHale Report's law enforcement expert. "While their crimes don't make them legally ineligible to run for office, you would think that they would have the common sense to slither into the high grass and stay as far as possible from the spotlight.
"But ambition blinds them to the obvious. Or maybe their vindictive natures blind them to the obvious. They don't have the moral authority to sit on the board. They have to face reality and recognize that their past errors that have led to their arrests preclude them from service to the school district. It is mind-boggling that they don't recognize this obvious fact."
All three find themselves in uphill struggles. Castro, the threesome's ringleader, faces Daniella Lopez-Valdez, a well-educated entrepreneur who has a spotless record and epitomizes the young Democratic woman in the tradition of Sara Stapleton but with the maturity of TSC Board President Adela Garza.
Elizondo, who attracts felonies like excrement attracts flies, was fired as Brownsville's fire chief, finished third in a three-person race when he sought reelection to the BISD Board two years ago and spends most his free time in and out of court, is a disgrace. Eddie Garcia, a retired veteran of Brownsville's finest, was appointed to the board in Castro's seat when the latter was escorted to jail after a drinking incident; Garcia has distinguished himself. Unlike Castro who wants to be the center of attention, Garcia operates quietly and with the cooperation of his colleagues in the background.
And Cardenas!?!? His sorry record has been well-documented by the bloggers. Why he even steps into the arena defies logic because he is inexorably carried out on a stretcher after a first-round knockout. He has absolutely no chance against Phil Cowen, particularly in the wake of the breaking news that the authorities are searching for him because he hasn't been paying his child support.
"Los Tres Buitres" want to soar high in the sky, but in their flights of fancy they are flying to close to the sun. The wax that is holding their wings to their shoulders is fast melting and they will inevitably come crashing back to earth again.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
BIG JOE
Jack O'Connell, the great unpublished novelist, took a bottle of wine to "Big" Joe Rodgriguez's house in Rio Viejo. They maintained their social distancing as they relaxed on the patio in spite of the humidity and no gulf breezes. Rodriguez has a small refrigerator full of Coors and they were cold. For almost two decades he managed a Coors distributorship and has remained faithful to his favorite brew.
"Big" Joe is an icon. An standout athlete in his hometown of Edinburg, he entered Pam American University where he starred as a play-making guard and a first-baseman. He led the Broncs three consecutive seasons in hitting.
In 1957 he came to Brownsville and coached at Cummings before moving to Stell for two years. During this time he married and had four children. His wife Emma, who has passed, was a beautiful woman and taught chemistry for many years at Brownsville High. His sons and daughters, a physician and a lawyer among other professional careers, have brought him great satisfaction.
Rodriguez has established his reputation as both a coach and a politician. In the mid-1960s he managed the Brownsville Eagles to the baseball state finals and in 1969 he led the football team to the district title and into the playoffs before they met Cleveland Vann, the black locomotive, who spearheaded the Seguin Matadors to a triumph. At The Toddle Inn over breakfast you can still hear customers reminiscing about those glory days.
Rodriguez's accomplishments are many. He served as the school district's athletic director for 20 years and his feats were notable. Sports in all fields prospered under him and nobody loves a winner more than "Big" Joe. Before and after his time as A.D., he sat on the BISD Board of Trustees for 19 years as well as the South Texas Independent School District Board for 15 years.
"To the best of my knowledge I never missed a meeting nor did I leave early," he said. "The voters elected me to do a job and time was never a factor for me. If you are going to ask the public to put their faith in you, you have a responsibility to meet that bar. Politics is tough, but I have no second thoughts about the decisions I have made. Sometimes you tell yourself you could have been more conciliatory in your approach, but no different than a game, you have to make snap judgments in emotional and pressure situations and none of us are perfect."
Two years ago Rodriguez lost his reelection bid. One of the controversies was the scoreboard at Sams Stadium. Less than $2 million for a first-rate product, Rodriguez still shakes his head when he considers the purchase against PUB's $100 million Tenaska scandal, the $20 million Port's Bridge to Nowhere, the money disappearing into the pockets of Mexicans on the other side of the river, the Titan Tire fiasco that cost Brownsville taxpayers $15 million and the six-million-dollar renovation of the Brownsville Country Club that could have been accomplished for one million.
"When I became AD, Sams was in a dilapidated state," began Rodriguez. "This is the Coliseum of South Texas. It is a jewel, but much like downtown, it had been abandoned. Over the years we invested a good deal of money, but I would argue with our turf field, our track, our dressing rooms and numerous other improvements, the taxpayers have restored Sams' beauty. Our kids deserve the best and it is used for everything, particularly graduations. You don't think parents are proud when in their caps and gowns their children are featured on the scoreboard. Unlike those other ripoffs, we have a facility that is the pride of the community."
"Big" Joe ain't young anymore, but they say he can still outrun Sheriff Omar Lucio in a 100-yard dash. He is inspirational because that competitive fire burns. In the rowdy BISD board elections in which five of the seven seats will be contested, Rodriguez is challenging BISD Board President Minerva Peña as well as neophyte Marisa Leal for the Position 2 seat.
"It will be a barnburner," said former Brownsville Herald columnist Tony Gray. "Since a plurality wins, anything can happen. Just like Trump, educators are sick and tired of Peña's idiocy that she does her best to hide behind a religious facade. Her critics have been roundly denouncing her for insisting that COVID-19 is a hoax. There isn't a meeting in which she doesn't embarrass herself.
"Marisa Leal is a newcomer," continued Gray. "She was once a school librarian, but she left for the private sector and has done well. Her husband, a union activist, is respected in educational circles and has appeared on Erasmo Castro's Brownsville Talk to fulminate against the school district's failure to meet the current daunting challenges.
"Leal, in my opinion, has committed a tactical error. Erasmo, who is also running after having to resign for irregular behavior, insists on his show that he wants to win all five seats. He has formed a slate, along with disgraced fireman Carlos Elizondo and nere-do-well Viro 'El Virus' Cardenas, to monopolize the board. They have been baptized as 'Los Buitres' and they insinuate that Leal is joining them as 'La Paloma.' Castro, Elizondo and Cardenas have an ignominious record of losing elections and Leal wants to ally herself with them. Doesn't make sense, but then she is a rookie.
"Rodriguez's platform is simple. No matter the commands of the governor or the president, Rodriguez is not going to allow employees and students to return to classes if their health isn't assured. Besides establishing an incremental pay scale over the next five years for employees, he argues that the school district needs to lower taxes. And like his commitment to a scoreboard, Rodriguez remains adamant in the construction of a performance arts center."
There are those pundits who consider Rodriguez a longshot because he is both old and battle-scarred. The former boxer counters that the BISD needs his experience. He considers the IDEA and charter schools a valid comparison to highlight the district's strengths and confront its weaknesses. He affirms categorically that he is independent and he has no problems of being a minority of one. He says the trustees should be asking "Why?" and getting more answers.
"You can't put a price on competition," said "Big" Joe. "I am not looking back. I want our administration and board working hand in glove in a forward-looking manner because we live in a volatile world and the only way we are going to survive this pandemic is as one. I'm not 6'1" and 190 pounds as I was during the peak of my athletic career, but my lack of speed will not undermine me in meeting our employees and students' needs."
"Big" Joe is an icon. An standout athlete in his hometown of Edinburg, he entered Pam American University where he starred as a play-making guard and a first-baseman. He led the Broncs three consecutive seasons in hitting.
In 1957 he came to Brownsville and coached at Cummings before moving to Stell for two years. During this time he married and had four children. His wife Emma, who has passed, was a beautiful woman and taught chemistry for many years at Brownsville High. His sons and daughters, a physician and a lawyer among other professional careers, have brought him great satisfaction.
Rodriguez has established his reputation as both a coach and a politician. In the mid-1960s he managed the Brownsville Eagles to the baseball state finals and in 1969 he led the football team to the district title and into the playoffs before they met Cleveland Vann, the black locomotive, who spearheaded the Seguin Matadors to a triumph. At The Toddle Inn over breakfast you can still hear customers reminiscing about those glory days.
Rodriguez's accomplishments are many. He served as the school district's athletic director for 20 years and his feats were notable. Sports in all fields prospered under him and nobody loves a winner more than "Big" Joe. Before and after his time as A.D., he sat on the BISD Board of Trustees for 19 years as well as the South Texas Independent School District Board for 15 years.
"To the best of my knowledge I never missed a meeting nor did I leave early," he said. "The voters elected me to do a job and time was never a factor for me. If you are going to ask the public to put their faith in you, you have a responsibility to meet that bar. Politics is tough, but I have no second thoughts about the decisions I have made. Sometimes you tell yourself you could have been more conciliatory in your approach, but no different than a game, you have to make snap judgments in emotional and pressure situations and none of us are perfect."
Two years ago Rodriguez lost his reelection bid. One of the controversies was the scoreboard at Sams Stadium. Less than $2 million for a first-rate product, Rodriguez still shakes his head when he considers the purchase against PUB's $100 million Tenaska scandal, the $20 million Port's Bridge to Nowhere, the money disappearing into the pockets of Mexicans on the other side of the river, the Titan Tire fiasco that cost Brownsville taxpayers $15 million and the six-million-dollar renovation of the Brownsville Country Club that could have been accomplished for one million.
"When I became AD, Sams was in a dilapidated state," began Rodriguez. "This is the Coliseum of South Texas. It is a jewel, but much like downtown, it had been abandoned. Over the years we invested a good deal of money, but I would argue with our turf field, our track, our dressing rooms and numerous other improvements, the taxpayers have restored Sams' beauty. Our kids deserve the best and it is used for everything, particularly graduations. You don't think parents are proud when in their caps and gowns their children are featured on the scoreboard. Unlike those other ripoffs, we have a facility that is the pride of the community."
"Big" Joe ain't young anymore, but they say he can still outrun Sheriff Omar Lucio in a 100-yard dash. He is inspirational because that competitive fire burns. In the rowdy BISD board elections in which five of the seven seats will be contested, Rodriguez is challenging BISD Board President Minerva Peña as well as neophyte Marisa Leal for the Position 2 seat.
"It will be a barnburner," said former Brownsville Herald columnist Tony Gray. "Since a plurality wins, anything can happen. Just like Trump, educators are sick and tired of Peña's idiocy that she does her best to hide behind a religious facade. Her critics have been roundly denouncing her for insisting that COVID-19 is a hoax. There isn't a meeting in which she doesn't embarrass herself.
"Marisa Leal is a newcomer," continued Gray. "She was once a school librarian, but she left for the private sector and has done well. Her husband, a union activist, is respected in educational circles and has appeared on Erasmo Castro's Brownsville Talk to fulminate against the school district's failure to meet the current daunting challenges.
"Leal, in my opinion, has committed a tactical error. Erasmo, who is also running after having to resign for irregular behavior, insists on his show that he wants to win all five seats. He has formed a slate, along with disgraced fireman Carlos Elizondo and nere-do-well Viro 'El Virus' Cardenas, to monopolize the board. They have been baptized as 'Los Buitres' and they insinuate that Leal is joining them as 'La Paloma.' Castro, Elizondo and Cardenas have an ignominious record of losing elections and Leal wants to ally herself with them. Doesn't make sense, but then she is a rookie.
"Rodriguez's platform is simple. No matter the commands of the governor or the president, Rodriguez is not going to allow employees and students to return to classes if their health isn't assured. Besides establishing an incremental pay scale over the next five years for employees, he argues that the school district needs to lower taxes. And like his commitment to a scoreboard, Rodriguez remains adamant in the construction of a performance arts center."
There are those pundits who consider Rodriguez a longshot because he is both old and battle-scarred. The former boxer counters that the BISD needs his experience. He considers the IDEA and charter schools a valid comparison to highlight the district's strengths and confront its weaknesses. He affirms categorically that he is independent and he has no problems of being a minority of one. He says the trustees should be asking "Why?" and getting more answers.
"You can't put a price on competition," said "Big" Joe. "I am not looking back. I want our administration and board working hand in glove in a forward-looking manner because we live in a volatile world and the only way we are going to survive this pandemic is as one. I'm not 6'1" and 190 pounds as I was during the peak of my athletic career, but my lack of speed will not undermine me in meeting our employees and students' needs."
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
SPORTS TALK
Max Maxwell, the dean of the RGV sportswriters, sat down with Frankie Olivo at The McHale Report in the blog's historic office in downtown Brownsville.
Max: Before we discuss your new undertaking, where are you finding the time for this project. You're working fulltime as a clerk for State District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez, you're studying for your Master's, you're co-hosting Brownsville Talk and you're in a tough political race for the BISD Board of Trustees."
Frankie: "It's called being young. I have found that the busier I am, the more productive I am. I've always loved sports. I call it our secular religion. How often do we miss mass in order to watch a football game? I played football and baseball at Hanna High School. With the Herald no longer the paper it once was with its early deadlines and its press in McAllen, I feel that there is a void in local coverage. As a result, many of our local athletes aren't receiving the recognition they deserve.
Max: What is your opinion of RGV Sports on the internet?"
Frankie: It's the best source of local sports that we have. It has its strengths, particularly when it's the only source for results from Roma to Port Isabel. I enjoy the features on individuals as well as teams, but from a Brownsville point of view, I don't think we receive our due coverage.
Max: How has the Herald failed us?
Frankie: It is no secret that the newspaper is fighting for survival. I don't know if the public knows this fact, but there is no Brownsville sportswriter. Harlingen supplies our coverage. The days of "Delta" Dave Handelman writing his insightful columns are a phenomenon of the distant past and the sight of photographers Brad Doherty and Yvette Vela walking the sidelines at Sams Stadium are over. With the mainstream press, Brownsville sports have been relegated to an after-thought.
Max: What can we expect from your new show?
Frankie: Local! Local! Local! That doesn't mean I won't be opining on the Dallas Cowboys or the San Antonio Spurs or the Houston Astros or our other professional and university teams, but I want to focus on Hanna, Porter, Pace, Rivera, Lopez, Veterans Memorial, St. Joe and even the IDEA teams. Our kids deserve credit for their successes and sacrifices.
Max: What are some of the other features we can expect?
Frankie: I definitely don't want to forget the past. I've been a big fan of Rene Torres' historical pieces and I would like to do his material justice. Names like Joe Rodriguez, Tom Chavez, Tony Barbosa, Desi Najera, Rene Medrano, Rick Lepre and the many female coaches who have put our teams on the Texas map I want to interview.
Max: Do you think we'll see a volleyball and football season with the Coronavirus threat?
Frankie: That's the million-dollar question. Both seasons have been shortened and postponed to later starting dates, but we're fortunate that we only have 5A and 6A teams. In most the state 1A through 4A teams are scrimmaging in both sports and will begin their competitive schedules shortly. We'll base our prospects on their challenges. If COVID proves a minimal threat, then we can optimistically entertain competition here. If I were going to wage on our possibilities, I would say 50-50, but that number can go south from one day to the next if there is a spike. Safety is and will always be the bottom line. Until we have vaccines and tests that render us immediate results, it's a risky endeavor. It's a crap shoot on thin ice.
Max: You co-host with Erasmo Castro on Brownsville Talk. Are you considering a sidekick on your show?
Frankie: Are you interested, Max? There's always room for an old man.
Max: Old man, tu madre, cabrón!!!
Frankie: That's exactly the enthusiasm I am seeking. Sports is all about controversy and I need someone who will tell it like it is in the tradition of Howard Cosell.
Max: I'll give it a thought. In the meantime, good luck. There is a slot for local sports.
Frankie: Thanks, Max. By the way, would you mind putting my bumper sticker on your car? I need all the advertising I can muster.
Max: No problem, vato. I've already put 'Big' Joe, Phil Cowen, Danielle Lopez-Valdez and Eddie Garcia's names on my bumper and there's room for one more. Go for it! I'm supporting you because you are easily the best candidate in your group.
Frankie: Thanks. Can I get you a beer.
Max: That's cool. I'm going to smoke a joint in the backyard and sip on wine for the rest of the day. Mucha suerte in all your endeavors.
Frankie: Muchas gracias, sir.
Max: Before we discuss your new undertaking, where are you finding the time for this project. You're working fulltime as a clerk for State District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez, you're studying for your Master's, you're co-hosting Brownsville Talk and you're in a tough political race for the BISD Board of Trustees."
Frankie: "It's called being young. I have found that the busier I am, the more productive I am. I've always loved sports. I call it our secular religion. How often do we miss mass in order to watch a football game? I played football and baseball at Hanna High School. With the Herald no longer the paper it once was with its early deadlines and its press in McAllen, I feel that there is a void in local coverage. As a result, many of our local athletes aren't receiving the recognition they deserve.
Max: What is your opinion of RGV Sports on the internet?"
Frankie: It's the best source of local sports that we have. It has its strengths, particularly when it's the only source for results from Roma to Port Isabel. I enjoy the features on individuals as well as teams, but from a Brownsville point of view, I don't think we receive our due coverage.
Max: How has the Herald failed us?
Frankie: It is no secret that the newspaper is fighting for survival. I don't know if the public knows this fact, but there is no Brownsville sportswriter. Harlingen supplies our coverage. The days of "Delta" Dave Handelman writing his insightful columns are a phenomenon of the distant past and the sight of photographers Brad Doherty and Yvette Vela walking the sidelines at Sams Stadium are over. With the mainstream press, Brownsville sports have been relegated to an after-thought.
Max: What can we expect from your new show?
Frankie: Local! Local! Local! That doesn't mean I won't be opining on the Dallas Cowboys or the San Antonio Spurs or the Houston Astros or our other professional and university teams, but I want to focus on Hanna, Porter, Pace, Rivera, Lopez, Veterans Memorial, St. Joe and even the IDEA teams. Our kids deserve credit for their successes and sacrifices.
Max: What are some of the other features we can expect?
Frankie: I definitely don't want to forget the past. I've been a big fan of Rene Torres' historical pieces and I would like to do his material justice. Names like Joe Rodriguez, Tom Chavez, Tony Barbosa, Desi Najera, Rene Medrano, Rick Lepre and the many female coaches who have put our teams on the Texas map I want to interview.
Max: Do you think we'll see a volleyball and football season with the Coronavirus threat?
Frankie: That's the million-dollar question. Both seasons have been shortened and postponed to later starting dates, but we're fortunate that we only have 5A and 6A teams. In most the state 1A through 4A teams are scrimmaging in both sports and will begin their competitive schedules shortly. We'll base our prospects on their challenges. If COVID proves a minimal threat, then we can optimistically entertain competition here. If I were going to wage on our possibilities, I would say 50-50, but that number can go south from one day to the next if there is a spike. Safety is and will always be the bottom line. Until we have vaccines and tests that render us immediate results, it's a risky endeavor. It's a crap shoot on thin ice.
Max: You co-host with Erasmo Castro on Brownsville Talk. Are you considering a sidekick on your show?
Frankie: Are you interested, Max? There's always room for an old man.
Max: Old man, tu madre, cabrón!!!
Frankie: That's exactly the enthusiasm I am seeking. Sports is all about controversy and I need someone who will tell it like it is in the tradition of Howard Cosell.
Max: I'll give it a thought. In the meantime, good luck. There is a slot for local sports.
Frankie: Thanks, Max. By the way, would you mind putting my bumper sticker on your car? I need all the advertising I can muster.
Max: No problem, vato. I've already put 'Big' Joe, Phil Cowen, Danielle Lopez-Valdez and Eddie Garcia's names on my bumper and there's room for one more. Go for it! I'm supporting you because you are easily the best candidate in your group.
Frankie: Thanks. Can I get you a beer.
Max: That's cool. I'm going to smoke a joint in the backyard and sip on wine for the rest of the day. Mucha suerte in all your endeavors.
Frankie: Muchas gracias, sir.
CHANGE CAN BE GOOD
RUDY RODRIGUEZ: "The BISD needs board trustees who care about employees and children."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: "I worked 39 years as a teacher, coach and TV personality for the BISD and I believed we were treated justly by the different boards and supers. I had my mano-a-manos with superiors, but I wasn't ever displeased with my salary, my benefits and my working conditions.
I might still be working if Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas hadn't threaten to fire me because of my writings. I wisely chose the pen against her sword and she paid for her bad karma by being terminated.
I believe that Superintendent Rene Gutierrez and the board are doing their best in these volatile and uncertain times. A $2000 raise reflects that effort to their employees with a commitment to future increases.
I believe we do need changes on our board beginning with Minerva Peña. She is a disgrace. But not all change is good.
The slate of Erasmo Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro "El Virus" Cardenas is based on vindictiveness. According to their supporters, they want to fire the super by handing him a $700,000 check to depart quietly.
They, like Trump, are negative forces who seek to divide and conquer. They will reduce the BISD to chaos in the same manner our perverted president has reduced our country to chaos.
Erasmo needs to remain a rabblerouser in the blogging tradition, Like the failed Pat Ahumada who was always a minority of one, Erasmo can't work with others in a compromising fashion. He had his chance and he blew it.
Carlos needs to stay out of jail.
And Viro needs to learn the difference between the truth and a lie.
Former President Barack Obama says that Trump isn't fit for office. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, says that Erasmo, Carlos and Viro aren't fit for office.
Viro, with the insulting hand gesture toward women in the above picture, is just one of the many tangible examples the bloggers will present in their argument that this trio should be exiled to the "frio."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: "I worked 39 years as a teacher, coach and TV personality for the BISD and I believed we were treated justly by the different boards and supers. I had my mano-a-manos with superiors, but I wasn't ever displeased with my salary, my benefits and my working conditions.
I might still be working if Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas hadn't threaten to fire me because of my writings. I wisely chose the pen against her sword and she paid for her bad karma by being terminated.
I believe that Superintendent Rene Gutierrez and the board are doing their best in these volatile and uncertain times. A $2000 raise reflects that effort to their employees with a commitment to future increases.
I believe we do need changes on our board beginning with Minerva Peña. She is a disgrace. But not all change is good.
The slate of Erasmo Castro, Carlos Elizondo and Viro "El Virus" Cardenas is based on vindictiveness. According to their supporters, they want to fire the super by handing him a $700,000 check to depart quietly.
They, like Trump, are negative forces who seek to divide and conquer. They will reduce the BISD to chaos in the same manner our perverted president has reduced our country to chaos.
Erasmo needs to remain a rabblerouser in the blogging tradition, Like the failed Pat Ahumada who was always a minority of one, Erasmo can't work with others in a compromising fashion. He had his chance and he blew it.
Carlos needs to stay out of jail.
And Viro needs to learn the difference between the truth and a lie.
Former President Barack Obama says that Trump isn't fit for office. Maclovio O'Malley, la Voz de los Vatos, says that Erasmo, Carlos and Viro aren't fit for office.
Viro, with the insulting hand gesture toward women in the above picture, is just one of the many tangible examples the bloggers will present in their argument that this trio should be exiled to the "frio."
Monday, August 24, 2020
JOB
Trump considers the Democrats Satan while he calls himself God.
"I can shoot anyone I want and grab any woman by her pussy and my followers will never lose their faith in me. I issue my commandments and they follow me like lemmings because they know that I am the way and the truth. False prophets appear promising them a land of milk and honey, but they don't stray because they know that only Trump World exists. As long as they pay homage to me, I am their salvation."
"How can you be so sure of your power?" asked Satan.
"In my latest test of their loyalty, I have killed 180,000 of them, infected another 5,500,000 with disease, stripped them of their jobs, taken their homes and visited my wrath upon their cities as if they were Sodom and Gomorrah. And their faith never wavers. They know that I am omniscient and omnipotent and I cannot be vanquished."
"I would like to wage a bet with you," said Satan.
"I have never lost a penny on the golf course. I'll be more than happy to take your money."
"I'm looking down on Brownsville and I'm observing Jesus Salvatierra barbecuing in his backyard surrounded by his family."
"Nobody prostrates himself before me like Jesus. His Democratic friends call him a Coconut, but he tells them that Donald Trump has made America great again and he calls me the greatest president in the history of the United States."
"Of course, he praises you. He's healthy. He's wealthy. He has a beautiful wife and handsome children, but if you took all those joys in his life from him, he would renounce you. You might call him one of your fine-weather disciples."
"So what is the bet?" harrumphed Trump.
"Give me the power to subject him to suffering beyond his wildest imagination and I guarantee that he will repudiate you."
"I give you the control to torture him as you please except you can't take his life."
And thus, the trials and tribulations of Jesus Salvatierra commenced. COVID-19 struck. For weeks he was racked with pain and he couldn't breathe. After a month he was released from the hospital. He was at home when a friend visited him to check on his health. The conversation turned to politics.
"Who are you voting for?" asked the friend.
"Donald Trump."
Then COVID-19 struck his family. In less than a month his wife and four children died. He was making small talk at the cemetery after he had buried his last child when a mourner broached the presidential election.
"Who are you voting for, mi amigo?"
"Donald Trump."
The economy worsened. At the end of a week his boss called him into the office and informed him that the firm couldn't make ends meet and he was giving him a two-week notice. Jesus stopped at a bar for a drink where he ran into acquaintances who offered him a chair at their table. They were having a heated discussion about the presidential race.
"Who are you voting for, Jesus?" inquired one of the crowd.
"Donald Trump."
Satan unleashed all his might and put Brownsville smack in the path of a category-five hurricane. When Hurricane Jezebel washed away the Third World Capital of the United States, there wasn't a building standing. The rescue workers were still clearing away rubble a week later. To their astonishment, they found Jesus, hands and feet pierced with nails and a rod buried in his side.
On November 3 he hobbled to a make-shift tent. Next to a circle with Donald Trump's name, he colored in the bubble.
Satan threw his hands into the air. He conceded. Trump had won. In the Old Testament God restores Job's former life. Job finds a new wife, has several children and acquires new lands and huge flocks of sheep and goats.
"Now that Jesus has proven his worthiness, will you help him recover his losses?"
"Why?" laughed Trump. "He voted, right? It is what it is."
"I can shoot anyone I want and grab any woman by her pussy and my followers will never lose their faith in me. I issue my commandments and they follow me like lemmings because they know that I am the way and the truth. False prophets appear promising them a land of milk and honey, but they don't stray because they know that only Trump World exists. As long as they pay homage to me, I am their salvation."
"How can you be so sure of your power?" asked Satan.
"In my latest test of their loyalty, I have killed 180,000 of them, infected another 5,500,000 with disease, stripped them of their jobs, taken their homes and visited my wrath upon their cities as if they were Sodom and Gomorrah. And their faith never wavers. They know that I am omniscient and omnipotent and I cannot be vanquished."
"I would like to wage a bet with you," said Satan.
"I have never lost a penny on the golf course. I'll be more than happy to take your money."
"I'm looking down on Brownsville and I'm observing Jesus Salvatierra barbecuing in his backyard surrounded by his family."
"Nobody prostrates himself before me like Jesus. His Democratic friends call him a Coconut, but he tells them that Donald Trump has made America great again and he calls me the greatest president in the history of the United States."
"Of course, he praises you. He's healthy. He's wealthy. He has a beautiful wife and handsome children, but if you took all those joys in his life from him, he would renounce you. You might call him one of your fine-weather disciples."
"So what is the bet?" harrumphed Trump.
"Give me the power to subject him to suffering beyond his wildest imagination and I guarantee that he will repudiate you."
"I give you the control to torture him as you please except you can't take his life."
And thus, the trials and tribulations of Jesus Salvatierra commenced. COVID-19 struck. For weeks he was racked with pain and he couldn't breathe. After a month he was released from the hospital. He was at home when a friend visited him to check on his health. The conversation turned to politics.
"Who are you voting for?" asked the friend.
"Donald Trump."
Then COVID-19 struck his family. In less than a month his wife and four children died. He was making small talk at the cemetery after he had buried his last child when a mourner broached the presidential election.
"Who are you voting for, mi amigo?"
"Donald Trump."
The economy worsened. At the end of a week his boss called him into the office and informed him that the firm couldn't make ends meet and he was giving him a two-week notice. Jesus stopped at a bar for a drink where he ran into acquaintances who offered him a chair at their table. They were having a heated discussion about the presidential race.
"Who are you voting for, Jesus?" inquired one of the crowd.
"Donald Trump."
Satan unleashed all his might and put Brownsville smack in the path of a category-five hurricane. When Hurricane Jezebel washed away the Third World Capital of the United States, there wasn't a building standing. The rescue workers were still clearing away rubble a week later. To their astonishment, they found Jesus, hands and feet pierced with nails and a rod buried in his side.
On November 3 he hobbled to a make-shift tent. Next to a circle with Donald Trump's name, he colored in the bubble.
Satan threw his hands into the air. He conceded. Trump had won. In the Old Testament God restores Job's former life. Job finds a new wife, has several children and acquires new lands and huge flocks of sheep and goats.
"Now that Jesus has proven his worthiness, will you help him recover his losses?"
"Why?" laughed Trump. "He voted, right? It is what it is."
EMPTY
Downtown is dotted with empty buildings.
Brownsville is filled with empty-headed leaders.
If Brownsville were a car, it would be running on empty.
The poor like to empty their dirty diapers in HEB parking lots.
Brownsville is an empty thought.
Most this Third World Capital of the United States' citizens are empty of ambition.
I'm stopping for a moment because I'm empty of an idea in which I can employ empty in another sentence.
I'm confronting empty space on the computer as best I can.
Is Melania empty tonight or is her much-occupied space at capacity?
A painter looks at an empty canvas and the creative process commences.
Should I park in this empty spot or can I find a place closer to the store?
The BISD condemns its students to empty lives.
I would be playing the piano instead of writing sentences using empty, but my room is empty of the instrument.
I can hear John Lee Hooker singing Empty Man Blues.
Humpty Dumpty felt empty after he fell from the wall.
The Buddha preached that we should empty ourselves of all desires.
The fat man could only think of a buffet his stomach was so empty.
The children have departed and the house is empty.
Love turns to hate and leaves one empty in the end.
I would read The Brownsville Herald, but it is empty of news.
I could keep penning sentences with empty, but I'm empty of inspiration.
Sunday, August 23, 2020
BIDEN
In 72 days it will be November 3, the Democrats last chance to topple Trump. The convention was a success. With a common enemy, the Democrats presented a united front. The Obamas, as expected, were tough as nails as they ripped Trump to shreds. There were a wide variety of participants from the average person to the politically powerful. And in the end Biden delivered a brilliant and moving speech, a combination of highlighting his character, accomplishments and aspirations contrasted to Trump's many failures, from the mortal pandemic to the crashing economy and the many consequences of both, from civil unrest to closed schools.
Biden has the smile. He has the down-to-earth charisma. He is Everyman. Nobody has more experience than Biden. Nobody is more of a classic Democrat than Biden. And few have suffered the tragedies that he has with the passing of a wife and daughter in a car accident and the demise of his eldest son victimized by brain cancer. You would think he was a member of the Kennedy family there have been so many untimely deaths. How did he surmount these personal sorrows? By having purpose he explained. That was a comment that transcended everything else he articulately and emotionally pronounced. To have purpose.
There is no doubt that Trump has given the Democrats purpose. The party will never be more unified and activated by a common enemy. Everyone who calls himself or herself a Democrat will go to his or her grave mortified if Trump triumphs again. Democrats from across the spectrum share a common belief: Trump is evil and we're living through this hell in which our lives and livelihood are at stake as result of his incompetence and indifference. We are paying the price for his vile karma. There is no dearth of motivation. In the minds of Democrats, there has never been a public official more dastardly than Trump. If there were a Benedict Arnold Award, Trump would be walking with his neck slumped over from the many medals he had received commemorating the country's most infamous traitor.
Biden holds a significant lead. The Republicans will hold their convention this week in which Trump and his hordes of haters will do their best to portray Biden and Kamala Harris as a pair of communists who want to unleash anarchy on their fellow Americans and bring about the end of the United States as we know it. It's an argument that Trump has been implementing in order to divide and conquer, so spewing this vitriolic will come easy to him and his rednecks, Uncle Toms and coconuts. When we level an accusation against someone, it is usually because we're the ones most culpable of the allegation. There is no charge that Trump can fire against the Democrats of which he isn't guilty in spades.
In 2018 the Democrats shocked the Republicans by flipping 41 seats and gaining absolute control of the House. As a result, Trump became only the third person in American history to suffer the humiliation of impeachment. His majority in the Senate saved him from a conviction and eviction from the White House. But this dramatic descent of Trump's fortunes transpired before COVID-19, the economic meltdown and violence in the streets. Each day he adds failure upon failure that culminate in a one huge fiasco. Are there really that many idiots who would reelect this idiot?
Trump campaigned four years ago on let's Make America Great Again. First and foremost, America has never been great. Portugal is better for starters. Propaganda has produced millions of pathetic puppets turned into zombies by the Big Lie. They call themselves Republicans. Was Trump saying that after eight years of the African-American Obama the nation needed a white president to Make American Great Again? Is there any reason not to believe his insinuation since he is an apologetic racist? With the exception of the Civil War, never has America been worse. Yes, worse than the two world wars, the Depression, Vietnam, segregation and scores of other crisis that hardly qualify the country as the greatest since Adam and Eve screwed things up and deprived us of Eden, heaven on earth if there is a sentence of truth to the Bible..
Trump prevailed four years ago because the megalomaniac Clintons had used the party for their own ambitions. Trump didn't win. Hillary, despite outpolling her foe by three million votes, lost. This time Trump has already lost. He is detested by every clear-thinking, good and honorable individual. His own sister and niece are telling us that he is "rotten" to the core. Moderate Republicans are echoing the same sentiment: Trump is a horrible human being who has no redeeming qualities and as a result the country finds itself in a deep, deep hole. Trump will be remembered as a LOSER. He is to politics what the rapist Jeffrey Epstein was to little girls.
History will treat him mercilessly. The only question is if the Democrats are going to drive a stake into this black soul's heart and win. If the party can't defeat this monster, then the arrogant Trump can forever call the religious right his flock by proclaiming that he is the reincarnation of David slaying Goliath. And who knows? In the end he may baptize himself as the Second Coming as these disgraced disciples of Jesus Christ have Our Lord regretting that he ever died on the cross for such ignorant ingrates.
Biden has the smile. He has the down-to-earth charisma. He is Everyman. Nobody has more experience than Biden. Nobody is more of a classic Democrat than Biden. And few have suffered the tragedies that he has with the passing of a wife and daughter in a car accident and the demise of his eldest son victimized by brain cancer. You would think he was a member of the Kennedy family there have been so many untimely deaths. How did he surmount these personal sorrows? By having purpose he explained. That was a comment that transcended everything else he articulately and emotionally pronounced. To have purpose.
There is no doubt that Trump has given the Democrats purpose. The party will never be more unified and activated by a common enemy. Everyone who calls himself or herself a Democrat will go to his or her grave mortified if Trump triumphs again. Democrats from across the spectrum share a common belief: Trump is evil and we're living through this hell in which our lives and livelihood are at stake as result of his incompetence and indifference. We are paying the price for his vile karma. There is no dearth of motivation. In the minds of Democrats, there has never been a public official more dastardly than Trump. If there were a Benedict Arnold Award, Trump would be walking with his neck slumped over from the many medals he had received commemorating the country's most infamous traitor.
Biden holds a significant lead. The Republicans will hold their convention this week in which Trump and his hordes of haters will do their best to portray Biden and Kamala Harris as a pair of communists who want to unleash anarchy on their fellow Americans and bring about the end of the United States as we know it. It's an argument that Trump has been implementing in order to divide and conquer, so spewing this vitriolic will come easy to him and his rednecks, Uncle Toms and coconuts. When we level an accusation against someone, it is usually because we're the ones most culpable of the allegation. There is no charge that Trump can fire against the Democrats of which he isn't guilty in spades.
In 2018 the Democrats shocked the Republicans by flipping 41 seats and gaining absolute control of the House. As a result, Trump became only the third person in American history to suffer the humiliation of impeachment. His majority in the Senate saved him from a conviction and eviction from the White House. But this dramatic descent of Trump's fortunes transpired before COVID-19, the economic meltdown and violence in the streets. Each day he adds failure upon failure that culminate in a one huge fiasco. Are there really that many idiots who would reelect this idiot?
Trump campaigned four years ago on let's Make America Great Again. First and foremost, America has never been great. Portugal is better for starters. Propaganda has produced millions of pathetic puppets turned into zombies by the Big Lie. They call themselves Republicans. Was Trump saying that after eight years of the African-American Obama the nation needed a white president to Make American Great Again? Is there any reason not to believe his insinuation since he is an apologetic racist? With the exception of the Civil War, never has America been worse. Yes, worse than the two world wars, the Depression, Vietnam, segregation and scores of other crisis that hardly qualify the country as the greatest since Adam and Eve screwed things up and deprived us of Eden, heaven on earth if there is a sentence of truth to the Bible..
Trump prevailed four years ago because the megalomaniac Clintons had used the party for their own ambitions. Trump didn't win. Hillary, despite outpolling her foe by three million votes, lost. This time Trump has already lost. He is detested by every clear-thinking, good and honorable individual. His own sister and niece are telling us that he is "rotten" to the core. Moderate Republicans are echoing the same sentiment: Trump is a horrible human being who has no redeeming qualities and as a result the country finds itself in a deep, deep hole. Trump will be remembered as a LOSER. He is to politics what the rapist Jeffrey Epstein was to little girls.
History will treat him mercilessly. The only question is if the Democrats are going to drive a stake into this black soul's heart and win. If the party can't defeat this monster, then the arrogant Trump can forever call the religious right his flock by proclaiming that he is the reincarnation of David slaying Goliath. And who knows? In the end he may baptize himself as the Second Coming as these disgraced disciples of Jesus Christ have Our Lord regretting that he ever died on the cross for such ignorant ingrates.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
NIGHT ON THE TOWN
Last night Claudia and I didn't go to bed until three in the morning. It was a spontaneous occasion. Since we're home all the time, our eating habits have changed. We keep different morning hours because she has to rise early for the distance learning via Zoom implemented by the BISD. I often lie in bed until nine or ten. I take two preventive pills for medical conditions that require postponing breakfast for an hour. Therefore, it can be as late as eleven before I prepare bacon and eggs, toast, coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice, one of a variety of plates I imagine I'm ordering at a Paris café.
"Bonjour, monsieur. Que voulez-vous?"
"Bonjour, mon ami. Je veux une…"
My youngest son Michael chats, watches movies and plays games all night long. Sometimes, he doesn't go to bed until five or six in the morning. Claudia and I wait for him to emerge from his bedroom around three before we eat lunch, which is usually a piece of meat, a vegetable and a salad. As a result of our delayed meals, there are many evenings that we don't have dinner. We'll snack on something with a glass of wine while watching television.
Last night, though, was different. I was hungry. I told Claudia to call for a pizza. Nobody was open. I decided to take the car and find something because I didn't want to cook. Luckily, Toscafino had opened its doors for the first time in weeks. Swank is back by local standards although in a T-shirt, shorts and sandals, I was hardly dressed for the occasion.
One of the beauties of Brownsville, which may account for my 45-year stay, is that nobody really gives a shit. There is an endless stream of gossip and relationships come to sudden ends in the wake of affairs or venereal diseases, but from my many experiences I will argue that nobody really gives a shit. I don't.
You treat people straight and they reciprocate in kind. Brownsville doesn't simmer with racism and most my acquaintances, and there are many, believe that when you are dead, you are dead. Therefore, Catholicism is a tradition and everyone tolerates the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons, particularly now that they have to keep their distance. They can continue to spread the word of God, but, goddammit, they better not be spreading COVID-19.
At Toscafino there was a couple at one table, four patrons at the bar and several people sitting outside. I took a seat at the end of the bar and ordered a pizza with everything. The waiter, wearing a mask like the rest of his fellow employees, said it would take approximately 20 minutes. I asked him to bring me a plate of cheese that I slowly ate as I consumed two glasses of a tasty Cab. While waiting, I called Claudia.
"I'm at Toscafino having a great time. All the 'fresas' are here in their low-cut blouses and short skirts."
"That's great," she replied as she flowed with the conversation.
"I've ordered a pizza and I'll be home shortly, but you need to do your part."
"My part?" she replied with a quizzical tone in her voice.
"Yes. Your part! You need to open one of the bottles of wine."
"Oh! Okay."
"See you in a bit."
Toscafino's pizzas cost more than the average pie, but they are large and delicious, eight significant slices, two sufficiently filling. I returned home. I put music on the laptop and we laughed and talked until the wee hours of the morning, another bottle fueling the fun. (For the record, we emptied a Bordeaux and a Malbec.)
In spite of the threat that Coronavirus represents, there has been a silver lining to that invisible cloud that hangs over us. We have learned to take life at a slower pace, relax and relish the down time. We waste so much energy chasing our tails that culminates in nothing. In the 18 years that Claudia and I have been together off-and-on, I don't remember a night like this. We have partied late on countless occasions, but this was different. We were like old friends.
I would have liked to have capped the night with a fuck, but while alcohol enlivens my imagination, it kills my ignition. Fortunately, there's the possibility of afternoon delight. If not, there is the night. And if not, I'm sure tomorrow will bring an end to my sorrow.
"Bonjour, monsieur. Que voulez-vous?"
"Bonjour, mon ami. Je veux une…"
My youngest son Michael chats, watches movies and plays games all night long. Sometimes, he doesn't go to bed until five or six in the morning. Claudia and I wait for him to emerge from his bedroom around three before we eat lunch, which is usually a piece of meat, a vegetable and a salad. As a result of our delayed meals, there are many evenings that we don't have dinner. We'll snack on something with a glass of wine while watching television.
Last night, though, was different. I was hungry. I told Claudia to call for a pizza. Nobody was open. I decided to take the car and find something because I didn't want to cook. Luckily, Toscafino had opened its doors for the first time in weeks. Swank is back by local standards although in a T-shirt, shorts and sandals, I was hardly dressed for the occasion.
One of the beauties of Brownsville, which may account for my 45-year stay, is that nobody really gives a shit. There is an endless stream of gossip and relationships come to sudden ends in the wake of affairs or venereal diseases, but from my many experiences I will argue that nobody really gives a shit. I don't.
You treat people straight and they reciprocate in kind. Brownsville doesn't simmer with racism and most my acquaintances, and there are many, believe that when you are dead, you are dead. Therefore, Catholicism is a tradition and everyone tolerates the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons, particularly now that they have to keep their distance. They can continue to spread the word of God, but, goddammit, they better not be spreading COVID-19.
At Toscafino there was a couple at one table, four patrons at the bar and several people sitting outside. I took a seat at the end of the bar and ordered a pizza with everything. The waiter, wearing a mask like the rest of his fellow employees, said it would take approximately 20 minutes. I asked him to bring me a plate of cheese that I slowly ate as I consumed two glasses of a tasty Cab. While waiting, I called Claudia.
"I'm at Toscafino having a great time. All the 'fresas' are here in their low-cut blouses and short skirts."
"That's great," she replied as she flowed with the conversation.
"I've ordered a pizza and I'll be home shortly, but you need to do your part."
"My part?" she replied with a quizzical tone in her voice.
"Yes. Your part! You need to open one of the bottles of wine."
"Oh! Okay."
"See you in a bit."
Toscafino's pizzas cost more than the average pie, but they are large and delicious, eight significant slices, two sufficiently filling. I returned home. I put music on the laptop and we laughed and talked until the wee hours of the morning, another bottle fueling the fun. (For the record, we emptied a Bordeaux and a Malbec.)
In spite of the threat that Coronavirus represents, there has been a silver lining to that invisible cloud that hangs over us. We have learned to take life at a slower pace, relax and relish the down time. We waste so much energy chasing our tails that culminates in nothing. In the 18 years that Claudia and I have been together off-and-on, I don't remember a night like this. We have partied late on countless occasions, but this was different. We were like old friends.
I would have liked to have capped the night with a fuck, but while alcohol enlivens my imagination, it kills my ignition. Fortunately, there's the possibility of afternoon delight. If not, there is the night. And if not, I'm sure tomorrow will bring an end to my sorrow.
DOC & BEN
Doc Scully, known journalistically and artistically as Dr. G.F. McHale-Scully, walked into The McHale Report's downtown office and had hardly settled at his desk when Commissioner "Judge" Ben Neece walked through the door. It's a short walk from Neece's The Spanish Moon to the blog where the politico lives and records music for his Facebook audience.
Doc: What's up, big guy? I saw your show the other night. Good shit.
Ben: Did you enjoy it? Great. I was a little nervous and I missed a few notes. Did you notice? Good. I see you're back on Facebook, but I feel like I'm drinking a vanilla shake compared to The McHale Report that goes down like a double-shot of tequila. What happened to those infamous cojones?
Doc: It's the difference between going to work on Monday morning and hitting the clubs on Friday night. I have to be on my best behavior if I hope to keep posting here. I must appeal to a Disney audience rather than the hard-core guys like you who prefer the pornographic approach where the naked truth provides the kinky thrills.
Ben: And what is this nothingness of nothing? Are you going to rewrite the Vedas? Are you the reincarnation of Krishna? Are you invoking Ganesha's spirit?
Doc: Facebook wants me to drink tea and contemplate. My anonymous censors don't want me to write about something. Every time I write about something, they immediately discipline me. They act as my Zen master who smack me across the back of head with a paddle if my mind wanders. By their actions, they have set me on a path in pursuit of the nothingness of nothing.
Ben: What about your staff? Are Scott Steinbeck, Estanislao Contreras, Jack O'Connell, Max Maxwell, Annie Gunn, Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss, Father Jesus P. Cadissimo, Mort Heinman and the rest of your crazy crew also condemned to this holy hajj?
Doc: They will only write for The McHale Report. They are unfettered fools whom I can't release here. They have all been bounced from the mainstream media because they felt caged by paranoid editors who didn't want to upset advertisers. Plus, they are all adherents to the Hemingway philosophy: Three years in the newspaper business and hit the road. You learn the ropes, but abiding by the dictates of a dispirited editor who doesn't want to fly the envelope can squeeze the creativity out of an individual.
Ben: You're no different from any of them. Booze! Drugs! Women. Like them, you're addicted to the cheap thrill. Why would you want to surrender your lusts that make you the guru of fictional realism? I can understand fasting for 40 days during Lent to temporarily escape our animalistic instincts and experience a transcendence, but I can't imagine you not eating like a pig for the rest of the year!
Doc: If I want to remain on Facebook, I have to use these obstacles as steppingstones. I'm intrigued about the nothingness of nothing. I believe that it is our true state with a brief interruption of consciousness. We emerge from the black hole and then return to the black hole. The challenge is to awaken one's consciousness to this ultimate reality and then move from moment to moment with an insight that allows you to breathe deeply and tranquilly.
Ben: I don't often have the opportunity to use this word, but it sounds like balderdash to me. The public wants blood and guts. They aren't interested in your metaphysical piffle. I can't believe you're such a coward. Go down fighting! You're like the outlaw who loses his reputation by skipping the high-noon showdown with the sheriff. You're worse than Castro, the revolutionary who became the reactionary in order to stay relevant.
Doc: I have The McHale Report for the right side of my brain. Facebook, however, is insisting that I can only utilize the left side of my brain if I want to keep this platform. This is nothing more than a higher form of walking and chewing gum at the same time. I'm taking Facebook's game and attempting to make it work for me. Restrictions can release your inner genius. There are times when the limitations of rhyme produce a more satisfying poem than the easier technique of free verse. Facebook is demanding a new look. That will be the hook.
Ben: Funny. I would make a suggestion, but it might upset your Facebook masters.
Doc: Then I would suggest that we maintain our attorney/client relationship.
With that said, the two exited the back door to the privacy of the alley.
Friday, August 21, 2020
DAD
Besides worrying about my health and fulminating against Trump, I have my three sons who occupy my mind. My two step-children, Karina, 26, and Darío, 21, come and go, but they are living together in San Antonio, she finishing her last year of dental school at UT and he working at the airport as an apprentice electrician. They are their mother's responsibilities. If I am in a position to help them with a particular challenge, I lend a hand, but they don't figure in my plans.
Carlos, Joaquin and Michael are my top priorities. They are in good places right now, but with the pandemic nothing is assured. After two years of teaching, Carlos, 32, resigned and became a Culligan Man. He installs water systems throughout the Rio Grande Valley. He has an new-found appreciation for air-conditioning. Much of the time he is alone as he works. He is comfortable by himself. Wildly infatuated, he has a girlfriend, the most serious relationship of his life, and they keep constant company. He is neither a financial nor an emotional strain on me.
Joaquin, 30, went to Austin when he was 18 and has never returned. He has played music non-stop. He was making a good living in the service industry until COVID hit and closed down the city. Adding insult to injury, he fell victim to the virus, but he quickly recovered. Since he has been on his own, he is a survivor. He is now delivering beer in a new and growing company. The CEO told him there are infinite possibilities. With bars and clubs closed, the firm is booming as it supplies supermarkets and convenience stores. Like funeral parlors, there is a never-ending demand for beer. He is also madly in love. He maintains a band, but there are no venues these days. He writes music. When one door closes, another opens and he is pursuing his solo side.
I tell them both the same thing: "You will never be happier than you are in this moment. You may be just as happy in other moments as there are many sources of happiness, but you have your health, money, love and inspiration in your lives without burdensome responsibilities. Savor this precious time because life is a riverboat gambler and you never know the hand he is going to deal you. You're sitting on a full houses, but never think that you are immune from folding at any second."
We had a difficult period. No different than poker, you never know where the river will lead, but time and their own experiences have deepened our relationship. It is a good feeling when a father knows that his sons love their old man.
Michael will be 16 in a month. He had an excellent football and track season as a freshman. As a sophomore, he had his sights set on starting as a receiver with the varsity, but COVID is wrecking havoc with both his academics and athletics. He starts classes online next week. There is hope for a football season with a reduced schedule and a later start, but I have no confidence in the near future. Most everyone, with the exception of Trump and his toadies, fear there will be a spike and we will find ourselves sentenced to the sidelines standing around and waiting for everyone to take personal precautions to protect themselves and others as well as the arrival of vaccines and tests with prompt results before there is any path to normalcy.
Michael was the cutest little boy. And very affectionate. There wasn't anything he couldn't do. He was one of the top golfers in the RGV in his age division. He played the guitar and starred on flag football teams. He could draw. He was my baby, but those days are over. He has a girlfriend. He has his friends. The pull of his peers is stronger than gravity. He's moody. His responses to my questions don't exceed much more than one-syllable puffs of air. When he wants something, his demeanor changes (no different than the sun peeking through the clouds), but when he realizes his goal, he retreats into that dark teenage state. I look at the old pictures of him with his big smile and nattily attired, and no differently than when I'm looking at pictures of my family and friends, the passage of time fills me with a profound sadness. I'm continually thinking about capturing time in words, but my efforts have proved futile thus far.
Claudia was talking about one of her student's parents. He is 74 and has a young son. He confessed to Claudia that he couldn't keep up with the child. He had neither the energy nor the patience. At 69, I feel the same way about Michael. Besides the talents I have listed regarding his development, I taught him to ride a bike, hit a pitch and shoot a basket. He is learning to drive under my tutelage and qualifies for his license in November. I'm sure he is going to be treating me with a kindness that I haven't known in the recent past. I hope he isn't over-confident. I don't own a car. I don't own anything, which keeps my billfold fat with bills and my credit card flushed with funds. When he wants anything at the spur of the moment, from cleats to shirts, from fast food to cash, I have it, but it will be a different story if I'm paying for a car, insurance, gas and maintenance. The idea of a seven-year loan isn't to my anti-materialistic liking. There will be no easy money then. For me extra money is synonymous with liberty and at my age I don't want to be caged even though I may never leave my present abode. Knowing you can is as important as actually doing it.
"You need to learn Spanish," I tell Michael. "You need to hit the weights and jog. You need to master the computer and all its functions. You need to play the guitar and write songs because music will take you much further than sports. And no quarterback gets more chicks than a singer. You're almost 16. It's on you now. I'm here, but I don't have the drive to push you. I've brought you to the threshold of your own potential, but you have to want it. I'm letting you go. You have to kick it up a notch because I know that you're ambitious, but if you're going to spend all your time on the phone and playing video games, you're not going to achieve your dreams. And for your mother's sake (my dad would invoke my mother, too), don't fuck up. But if you have a problem, you can come to me and trust that I will do my best to help you resolve it. You know from experience that you can count on your dad."
And so it goes. For those of us who don't choose suicide or are postponing it until life is no longer worth living, we trudge forward. It's the direction that the life pulse carries us. At my age I haven't surrendered to the darkness because there is still light ahead of me, but I'm not kidding myself either. There are too many signs of impending doom and suffering, but I'm mustn't lose my resolve because my sons need me and the light I cherish exists within the joy that they bring me. Whether it's talking about existence over a beer with Carlos or convincing Joaquin to learn one of my compositions or catching a glimpse of the child that is fast fading in Michael, they give me a special privilege of being a father. I have done my best to follow in my father's footsteps ( I could never fill his shoes!). Being called "Dad" never grows old unlike the physical shell that I inhabit, which grows more and more hollow by the minute.
Carlos, Joaquin and Michael are my top priorities. They are in good places right now, but with the pandemic nothing is assured. After two years of teaching, Carlos, 32, resigned and became a Culligan Man. He installs water systems throughout the Rio Grande Valley. He has an new-found appreciation for air-conditioning. Much of the time he is alone as he works. He is comfortable by himself. Wildly infatuated, he has a girlfriend, the most serious relationship of his life, and they keep constant company. He is neither a financial nor an emotional strain on me.
Joaquin, 30, went to Austin when he was 18 and has never returned. He has played music non-stop. He was making a good living in the service industry until COVID hit and closed down the city. Adding insult to injury, he fell victim to the virus, but he quickly recovered. Since he has been on his own, he is a survivor. He is now delivering beer in a new and growing company. The CEO told him there are infinite possibilities. With bars and clubs closed, the firm is booming as it supplies supermarkets and convenience stores. Like funeral parlors, there is a never-ending demand for beer. He is also madly in love. He maintains a band, but there are no venues these days. He writes music. When one door closes, another opens and he is pursuing his solo side.
I tell them both the same thing: "You will never be happier than you are in this moment. You may be just as happy in other moments as there are many sources of happiness, but you have your health, money, love and inspiration in your lives without burdensome responsibilities. Savor this precious time because life is a riverboat gambler and you never know the hand he is going to deal you. You're sitting on a full houses, but never think that you are immune from folding at any second."
We had a difficult period. No different than poker, you never know where the river will lead, but time and their own experiences have deepened our relationship. It is a good feeling when a father knows that his sons love their old man.
Michael will be 16 in a month. He had an excellent football and track season as a freshman. As a sophomore, he had his sights set on starting as a receiver with the varsity, but COVID is wrecking havoc with both his academics and athletics. He starts classes online next week. There is hope for a football season with a reduced schedule and a later start, but I have no confidence in the near future. Most everyone, with the exception of Trump and his toadies, fear there will be a spike and we will find ourselves sentenced to the sidelines standing around and waiting for everyone to take personal precautions to protect themselves and others as well as the arrival of vaccines and tests with prompt results before there is any path to normalcy.
Michael was the cutest little boy. And very affectionate. There wasn't anything he couldn't do. He was one of the top golfers in the RGV in his age division. He played the guitar and starred on flag football teams. He could draw. He was my baby, but those days are over. He has a girlfriend. He has his friends. The pull of his peers is stronger than gravity. He's moody. His responses to my questions don't exceed much more than one-syllable puffs of air. When he wants something, his demeanor changes (no different than the sun peeking through the clouds), but when he realizes his goal, he retreats into that dark teenage state. I look at the old pictures of him with his big smile and nattily attired, and no differently than when I'm looking at pictures of my family and friends, the passage of time fills me with a profound sadness. I'm continually thinking about capturing time in words, but my efforts have proved futile thus far.
Claudia was talking about one of her student's parents. He is 74 and has a young son. He confessed to Claudia that he couldn't keep up with the child. He had neither the energy nor the patience. At 69, I feel the same way about Michael. Besides the talents I have listed regarding his development, I taught him to ride a bike, hit a pitch and shoot a basket. He is learning to drive under my tutelage and qualifies for his license in November. I'm sure he is going to be treating me with a kindness that I haven't known in the recent past. I hope he isn't over-confident. I don't own a car. I don't own anything, which keeps my billfold fat with bills and my credit card flushed with funds. When he wants anything at the spur of the moment, from cleats to shirts, from fast food to cash, I have it, but it will be a different story if I'm paying for a car, insurance, gas and maintenance. The idea of a seven-year loan isn't to my anti-materialistic liking. There will be no easy money then. For me extra money is synonymous with liberty and at my age I don't want to be caged even though I may never leave my present abode. Knowing you can is as important as actually doing it.
"You need to learn Spanish," I tell Michael. "You need to hit the weights and jog. You need to master the computer and all its functions. You need to play the guitar and write songs because music will take you much further than sports. And no quarterback gets more chicks than a singer. You're almost 16. It's on you now. I'm here, but I don't have the drive to push you. I've brought you to the threshold of your own potential, but you have to want it. I'm letting you go. You have to kick it up a notch because I know that you're ambitious, but if you're going to spend all your time on the phone and playing video games, you're not going to achieve your dreams. And for your mother's sake (my dad would invoke my mother, too), don't fuck up. But if you have a problem, you can come to me and trust that I will do my best to help you resolve it. You know from experience that you can count on your dad."
And so it goes. For those of us who don't choose suicide or are postponing it until life is no longer worth living, we trudge forward. It's the direction that the life pulse carries us. At my age I haven't surrendered to the darkness because there is still light ahead of me, but I'm not kidding myself either. There are too many signs of impending doom and suffering, but I'm mustn't lose my resolve because my sons need me and the light I cherish exists within the joy that they bring me. Whether it's talking about existence over a beer with Carlos or convincing Joaquin to learn one of my compositions or catching a glimpse of the child that is fast fading in Michael, they give me a special privilege of being a father. I have done my best to follow in my father's footsteps ( I could never fill his shoes!). Being called "Dad" never grows old unlike the physical shell that I inhabit, which grows more and more hollow by the minute.
COVID CABIN FEVER
The words
"angst" and "ennui" come to mind.
You take care of yourself
and your own
and you move on down the line.
I don't waste my time
wondering if there is life after death.
Been there.
Forgot about that.
I'm 70 and I'm doing my best
at taking the familiar path
of one day at a time.
Acquaintances from my generation
are dropping like flies
You take care of yourself
and your own
and you move on down the line.
I don't waste my time
wondering if there is life after death.
Been there.
Forgot about that.
I'm 70 and I'm doing my best
at taking the familiar path
of one day at a time.
Acquaintances from my generation
are dropping like flies
and Coronavirus
hasn't struck close to home yet.
I'm also trying to find a peace,
which isn't an easy task,
particularly with sickness,
dying and death on the horizon.
I do my pushups and play my music.
What else can a person do
except to refrain from asking
too many questions?
which isn't an easy task,
particularly with sickness,
dying and death on the horizon.
I do my pushups and play my music.
What else can a person do
except to refrain from asking
too many questions?
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