Labor Day: a reflection of an American worker

My father is the hardest working man I know.

Since a young child I have memories of my dad always working and doing what he can to provide for his family.

My dad immigrated to the United States in the sixties and graduated Garfield High School in 1968. My family were tradesmen who were small business owners. My grandfather Alfonso Reyes owned a small wood mill in South Los Angeles manufacturing wood picture frames and molding. My great grandfather worked with wrought iron and had a small business too.

When my dad entered the workforce, he was able to become an electrician apprentice with my grandfather Raul Bautista and soon got hired with Santa Fe Railroad in commerce as an IBEW electrician.

My dad has always been a hard worker and my memories of him always working swing shift or overtime, not being able to spend time with the family because he had odd hours.

When I became a teenager, my dad started to take up upholstery and did little jobs on the weekend in order to bring extra income into the home when he wasn’t working at Santa Fe. He learned the trade from his uncle, “Tio Pepe” as a child growing up in Chihuahua.

He first started with auto upholstery, and I sometimes I helped him in our garage taking apart the seats and removing the old covers to earn some extra money. At the time, I did not really like helping him and was more focused on spending time with my friends playing.

He slowly grew the upholstery  business and somehow juggled working full time while managing a small business. So most of my time with my dad during my adolescent years was spent either at the business or when he was at home resting since he worked so much.

At one point, he was injured at Santa Fe while I was in H.S. His knee was busted and he had to have surgery so he was out of commission for a while. It is a strong memory since it was one of the few times in my life when I saw my dad actually not working while he healed. By then, my dad had employees at his business who did much of the upholstery work, and he would do mainly estimates for clients and order supplies for jobs.

After his knee healed, he went back to work for a while and I believe he was re-injured and was not able to perform his job duties. I just remember that he couldn’t go back to work at Santa Fe and it was tough for the family.

He finally was able to get a settlement thanks to the help from the Union and no longer worked for Santa Fe Railroad.

That is when he opened his mattress manufacturing business and started to work for himself as he as done for over 20 years. It’s been a struggle, since manufacturing of just about anything in the United States as been decimated by foreign trade. For those family and friends who know my dad; you know he’s still a hard worker and struggles to survive in this economy as most small business do.

This year he is able to finally draw on his Railroad retirement pension. I am glad to see that even after all of these years, his work as an IBEW electrician is still helping my father and our family.

I know that my dad is far from officially retiring and will work until that last day he is able too. It’s just in his nature.

Today, Labor Day was we reflect on working men and women; I think of my dad. The hardest working man I know.

-Louis R. Reyes

My Dad

17 Killer Mashups for Taking Control of Your Government

This is an excellent way that government can create an incentive for private social entrepreneurs to create technology to serve the public. Check out some of these applications, maybe you would like this technology for your community? Great article.

I personally like the carpool matchmaker service given all of this hectic L.A. traffic. Fortunately, I enjoy working out of my home office most of the time or go to the SFS office via street 10 minutes away.

PEACE.

Louis.

Government is increasingly putting much of its public records online, creating opportunities for developers to build useful applications for citizens. From being alerted to neighborhood crime to finding the best mass transit routes, these mashups are helping solve everyday problems.

Recently, the Washington DC government launched the Apps for Democracy contest to encourage developers to build applications using its data. Today, the winners were announced, and below, we take a closer look at 17 of them.

Let us know which are your favorites and which you’d like to see in your city.

17 Killer Mashups for Taking Control of Your Government

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As Election Day Approaches, Obama Dominates Social Media Content Sharing

As Election Day Approaches, Obama Dominates Social Media Content Sharing

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Twitter Updates Now Connected to Facebook Status

This a great tool for Micro-bloggers or “status updates” users who wish to keep their business or social network warm.

Twitter Updates Now Connected to Facebook Status

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LinkedIn Means Business With New Application Platform

LinkedIn Means Business With New Application Platform

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Hiking, how life changes as we get older

Most of my friends know that I have been hiking every so often the last year down the street from my home at Hellman Park in Whittier.

Hiking is all right, kind of slow and you get to enjoy the environment more closely. It is a great low impact workout.

But I do miss mountain biking. Growing up in the desert during my adolescent years, I have been bicycling since I was a young child. First, BMX, as most of my friends since living in the desert you can do some crazy challenges like making 20 foot jumps, table-tops, burns and such. A few of my friends were pretty good at BMX, but they were some crazy white boys. A couple of them built their own personal racing tracks on their property. lol. It must be in their blood to do the extreme.

When you become a teenager, BMXing is not cool unless you compete. As much as I enjoyed it, I gave it up since I was getting too big for a small bike. At that time, there were no bikes such as a BMX for bigger kids unless you rode a motorcycle. I never liked motocross dirt bikes since they scared the crap out of me. The motorcycle didn’t scare me, I scared myself. Many of my friends were into motocross and they did some insane stuff on them. My friend, David loved riding dirt bikes. I wonder if he still does with his family in South Dakota.

Fortunately for me, mountain bikes were starting to come on to the scene. I bought one around 1988, a white Univega. Although it did not have any suspension what so ever, it was awesome. I would go into the mountains or desert trek through with friends, making a day out of it. I loved speeding down a mountain, the thrill of it. I was such an adrenaline junkie back then.

My favorite ride, with my friends, was going up State Route 173 which is the back way into Arrowhead Lake. We then rode back down the mountain. 173 is the only state highway in California that has a dirt road on it. The dirt portion went for more than 10 miles along the mountain. The ride down the mountain was awesome and we had no suspension.

One time, we went up this mountain trail on the northern backside of Silverwood Lake right off 173, it was steep trail. We were going fast down it and then I hit this huge rock that donuted my rim. I flipped over my bike and rolled down the mountain for a bit. It was thrilling, but I was bit wild and somewhat foolish in my youth. I was alright more or less no major injuries, just some road rash. I now had a problem; I didn’t want to trek down the mountain trail lugging my bike as my friends rode down. I ended up tweaking my rim as straight as I could, removed the front brakes and rode down the mountain. It was pretty funny and I had to buy new rims which gave me a reason to upgrade.

One of the coolest and longest rides I did, I was by myself. At the time, I was upset and confused for whatever reason (adolescent angst), so I decided to go into the desert as far as I could by myself on my bike. If you ever drove on the Interstate 15 on your way to Las Vegas, you pass Victorville. In between Victorville & Barstow on the 15 freeway is 30 miles of desert. I rode on Interstate 15 for a while and got off at bell mountain road exit and then rode west into the desert. I rode about 3 or more hours into the desert to the top of this large hill (mountain?) in the middle of nowhere. It was serene and it was hot!

All I had was shorts, t-shirt, helmet, some power bars and two water bottles. It was so hot, and I was pretty far in the desert. Back then I used to tan a lot so I rode without a shirt for a while. A few times as I was coasting down a slope quietly on the sand; I would sneak up on some wildlife such as rabbits on the trail. I remember it was so quiet that I could hear my heart beating at times.

After many hours of riding in the middle of the desert, I finally reached an old highway on the other side on old highway 66, now called National Trails Highway. I then headed south towards home. It took me all day.

I got home at dusk, burnt out and tired. I wasn’t upset anymore as a matter of fact, I do not even remember why I was so mad I decided to go on such a ride into the desert.

I have many other memories of my mountain biking adventures throughout the years. Unfortunately, when I crushed my wrist when the car fell on me several years ago my riding has never been the same. If you haven’t heard about my Acura falling on me while I was changing the oil underneath; that’s another story. Although I don’t ride hardcore as I used to do in my youth; my wrist was still weak and it was painful when I rode on simple dirt trails even on full suspension.

I gave up my mountain bike about two years ago. I do I miss it though. As I am getting older, I miss not being able to ride as I used to do by creating that adrenaline rush of freedom by pushing myself to the edge of my abilities. I must have mountain biked for at least 15 years, that’s a long time.

Hiking is okay. I remember when I used to bike on a trail and pass a hiker, I would think to myself, “why would anyone want to hike?” Now I am hiking, the irony of it.

I might invest in another mountain bike just to do some light trail riding since it has been a while since my accident and my wrist does not hurt as much anymore. I do not believe that I can truly bike on a mountain trail as I have done in the past. I will miss it and cherish my memories of my rides with my friends. It was a great life experience for me that lasted many years.

That is my random thought for the day. I haven’t thought about riding in a long time and it was brought up in conversation. For some reason, I was thinking about it as I was hiking by my home this weekend.

Life changes, we adapt and keep moving forward, enjoying the memories.

PEACE.

The lost art of cooking?

The lost art of cooking?

I have been contemplating writing about this subject of cooking and how a lot of women do not know how to cook or see it as a chore.

My thoughts were prompted one day when I perused through a friend of mine’s book titled, “Why Men Love Bitches”.

In the first chapter it states that you shouldn’t impress anyone by cooking him a four-course meal. The book’s advice: start by cooking him popcorn served in Tupperware.

WTF? I am thinking.

But the book goes on to state that women overcompensate when it comes to cooking and that cooking should only be done in “special occasions”, like birthdays, anniversary or when he has earned it.

It even gives a recipe: Popcorn for appetizer, Hot Dog for the main course, Kool-Aid as a beverage and a Hostess jelly roll as dessert.

Now let me tell you from a man, who keeps his own home tastefully furnished and knows how to cook; this is the worst advice I have ever heard in my life!

If a woman I am dating invites me over to her home for a meal and serves me hot dogs, Kool-Aid and a jelly roll, I would think; what am I, in the third grade?

Or what kind of lifestyle does this woman lead?

Of course, I would smile and accept the meal as it would be the polite thing to do, but I would NEVER call or see that woman again.

My reasoning would be as follows:

First, there is an occasion for everything, even Kool-Aid–I personally like Crystal Lite lemonade. But a first date is not one of them.

Second, if I were to be invited into a woman’s home for a meal it would probably be after we dated a while. I would figure that she is allowing me into her private life and really likes me. Serving me a meal like this tells me she doesn’t value me very much.

Third, when I invite a woman over my home for dinner, I do my best to cook a delicious meal so that she enjoys it and is impressed with my skills in a kitchen. I am showing that I care about her.

Popcorn, hot dogs, Kool-Aid and a jelly roll? If this is what the dating world is coming to and advice women are seeking, I want no part of it.

I never been married nor have any children of my own; I’ve learned how to cook since I was young out of necessity eating well and my enjoyment of good food. I mean, who can really live on fast food all of their life, much less live?

Not me.

Yet, a majority of the women that I have meant do not know how to cook or see it as a chore and rarely cook. I am always amazed by this fact.

Maybe it’s from a woman’s perspective, growing up seeing their mom always cooking in the kitchen serving the family meals. From a traditional point of view, maybe they see it as being a servant? I don’t know, but I do have a different perspective on cooking.

I grew up in a divorced home, living with my dad as an adolescent, coming home from school as a latch key kid since I was 9 years old. My afterschool meals meant cold cereal, PB&J, fruit or anything else a little boy could satisfy his hunger until my stepmom came home from work hours later at around 6:30pm. She was young and didn’t have much cooking skills herself at the time. She was tired from work all day so many times meals generally consisted of a cold sandwich or fast food. Rare was the hot home-cooked meal.

My father and grandmother (as well as my aunts) are excellent cooks. My father had a different view from my stepmother about cooking. Like many women today, my stepmom saw it as a chore whereas my father seen it as a way to show his love to his family and provide us with good nourishment. To this day, I think my dad make the best Chile Verde. Mom’s cooking was not as good as my Dad’s but she also did her best for us when I visited her.

Many of my best childhood memories are of eating some type of meal with my family; whether it was my Dad, Mom, Grandmother–whoever.

To this day, when I visit my grandmother who is in her later seventies, she always tries to feed me. She doesn’t do this because she has to do it; she does it because she loves me. This is her way to show her love. Of course, I’ll let her cook me a meal since she enjoys it so much, but I don’t allow her to cook as often anymore when I visit because she is getting older. She can be stubborn about it though—like me.

As you might have guessed, I really enjoy cooking. Since I live alone, cooking is not the same as if you cook for friends or family. To me, when I cook a great meal and eat it alone, I feel that something is missing. It is not the same as it is when you cook for somebody else. Food, cooking great meals should be shared with others, especially the ones you love.

One of my favorite things I like to do is invite my friends over, cook and share a meal with them. I’ve personally started some traditions of my own for certain special occasions so that I may be able to cook for my friends and loved ones.

Given my views on this subject, you can only imagine what I think of a person especially a woman that I am dating, when they say they don’t know how to cook and see it as a chore.

I remember a time when one of my girlfriends tried to cook me breakfast one day. She could barely make toast but she tried because after years of being with each other, she finally got it. She attempted making scrambled eggs with lox mixed in. For those of you that is not familiar with lox, its smoked salmon. It was awful! Yet, I appreciated the fact that she wanted to show that she loved me by doing this.

What is funny is that although I cooked for her many, many times during our relationship; this one time she tried her best to cook for me, will be a memory I will always cherish.

In closing, I must share that cooking food is not only a way to give your body nourishment, pleasing the senses, but is also a way to show your love.

Cooking might be a chore and it might seem difficult at times, but by not knowing how to cook, you are missing a way of showing your love to others.

Hopefully one day, I will have the privilege of cooking for my own family or better yet, cooking together with my significant other to feed our family. Until then, my home will always be open for family and friends to share a meal.

Peace.

Barack Obama, a leader for a changing world.

This is for an old friend who is a McCain supporter:

McCain lived past his time and quite frankly his time on this earth (or mental comprehension of it) is coming to an end given his age and his health history.  This might be cold to say but it is a stark reality for anyone living in their seventies with such a traumatic past.

This election is about the future and how we deal with an international economy with technology changing our society exponentially.

No one can know what the future brings, but a leader who looks to the future and understands the youth will do much better than a person who lives in the past.

McCain does not even know how to use a computer. How can he comprehend how our society is changing which really just begun a little over ten years ago when the Internet went mainstream along with global interaction that has ensued?

Obama might not have DC experience, but he understands, has the vision and will to meet the unknown challenges we are going to face. He has an international understanding through his family and the experience he faced as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural individual.

I always hear that this election is historic since Obama will be the first Black President when he wins.

Now sub-consciously, many of us may think of the typical African-American experience especially in combination with him being from Chicago during his adult life, which is not the case.

In fact, he is more multi-faceted than just being black. His heritage is African and Midwest White being raised in the Pacific Islander environment of Hawaii with his Midwest grandparents along with a Step-father and his sister with Indonesian heritage and culture.

He is the Democratic nominee because he used technology as we should be using it. He brought his campaign to everyone he could from the ground  up, not just targeting perennial voters in traditional one way communication methods of the past.

His campaign in itself shows that he can lead and overcome tremendous odds to be successful from a new way thinking and understanding.

Leaders don’t need experience, they need the will, the passion and understanding to envision a better world and move towards that vision. They can surround themselves with the brightest and best thinking individuals with experience, in the end they must make a decision to lead our country into the future.

Barack Obama is that leader.

Obama 183 to go…Clinton should do what is right!

My fellow Democrats.

It’s time to bring Unity to our Party.

Last night, Obama proved that he is going to be our candidate.

Here’s the math of where we stand …

There are only six contests remaining on the Democratic primary calendar and only 217 pledged delegates left to be awarded. Only 7% of the pledged delegates remain on the table.

There are 253 remaining undeclared superdelegates, for a total of 470 delegates left to be awarded.

With North Carolina and Indiana complete, Barack Obama has 1842 delegates and only needs 183 total delegates to capture the Democratic nomination at 2025.

Conversely, Senator Clinton has 1686 delegates and needs 339 delegates to reach the Democratic nomination at 2025.

Mathematically speaking there is no way that Clinton can win based on the numbers and compared to the history of recent outcomes.

Yet, Obama can win if the remaining primary contests remain as they are and the Superdelegates go with the nominee with the most numbers.

This contest is over, Senator Clinton needs to do what’s best and withdraw since there is NO possible way she can win the Democratic nomination.

It also doesn’t help her cause that she has lent herself 6.4 million dollars in the past month to keep on campaigning

She can be a leader and begin to bring our Party together so that we can win in November!

Louis R Reyes

 

Why I support Sen. Barack Obama for President

As a Democratic activist, I have served the past six years as Executive Officer for the California Democratic Party representing the highest concentration of Latino voters in the state. Currently, I still serve as an Executive Board member for the Party.

I was able witness firsthand an intimate view of elected officials and candidates, seeing the reasons why they run for office. I have always supported candidates who truly believe in making a difference in our country—our community. Individuals who inspire hope and fight for equality of all members of our society.

This past week, I attended the debate between the final two Democratic Presidential candidates. I was amazed at the activism of so many people on the streets before the debate. It was a sense of renewed hope for this country that I have not seen. Some senior activist say this is a similar feeling John F. Kennedy inspired to the American people forty-five years ago.

During the debate, I watched both candidates and knew why there was so much excitement in the air. Senator Barack Obama has inspired a hope for many Americans that we can do better. It is time for a change; it is time to make history. He is a strong leader much needed in this time of fear, partisan decisiveness and uncertainty.

That is why I am supporting Senator Barack Obama for President and I urge Democrats to vote for him. He is the candidate that will inspire hope and bring about much needed change in this great country of ours.