Story Archives 2011

p Itrsquo;s funny the steps one takes to avoid or dodge people at any given moment. In my case, the ducking or dodgingmdash;stealth as I may bemdash;is often accompanied by guilt after the factmdash;along with the requisite post duck and dodge analysis. The duck and dodge is something I inherited from a family of duck and dodgers, namely my father and uncles. This is not to imply that the various members making up by beloved bloodline do not confront things head-onmdash;to the contrarymdash;for in their heydays my uncles amassed a string of knockouts on the street (before the days of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="youtube" data-scaytid="1"youtube/span cell phones) that, if you lined the victims up lengthwise, would stretch from Fillmore Street to the Philippines. While I never witnessed any of these knockouts firsthand, I give them the proper reverence during their recounting by keeping my ears open and my mouth shut. /p pThe subtext or premise of the duck and dodge is avoiding a person (or persons) that one does not want to talk to at a given moment. My father termed this phenomenon: I donrsquo;t want to get into his shit. I remember his way with peoplemdash;polite and humblemdash;and he knew a lot of people. It seemed every time we went out he was running into someone he knew. Hersquo;d stop and engage in conversation that ranged from brief to long-winded. Most of the guysmdash;no, all the guys he knew were black; and my father, being Filipino, was black toomdash;black laughter, black talk, black walk, black style. There were times when dad didnrsquo;t want, for one reason or other, to engage in chit chat. I remember sitting in the car with him when he suddenly said, ldquo;Ah shithellip;I know this brother walking towards ushellip;emI donrsquo;t want to get into his shit right now/em. He then, in a beautifully choreographed move, covered his face with both hands as if in agony, contemplation or in the process of blowing his nose. He then parted his fingers slightly, peeking as if through a venetian blind. He kept looking until the brother passed bymdash;the coast being clear. It turned out that the brother owed my dad money. It was, I reasoned, a reverse duck and dodge, with the brother being able to save face while my father hid his. As dad explained, ldquo;Itrsquo;s not that Irsquo;m anti-social, I just didnrsquo;t want to get into the brotherrsquo;s shitrdquo;. /p pAnother master of the duck and dodge is my uncle Anthony. Uncle ldquo;Antrdquo; is a street minister whose ministry is the Tenderloin and downtown. He passes out tracts with the lordrsquo;s message, but there are times when he too, ducks and dodges the children of God to maintain his sanity. My uncle employs high tech means in his strategy: The cell phone. When he finds himself wanting to get out of a chit chat resulting from a chance meeting on the street, hersquo;ll pretend to receive a phone call. It goes like this: Uncle Ant: Hold on blood I got a phone callhellip;.hello? What! You span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="lyin’" data-scaytid="3"lyinrsquo;/span! What hospital you in? When that happen? Oh man! Look, Irsquo;m in the area. Irsquo;ll shoot on over there. Uncle Ant then apologizes for not being able to stay and partake in the chit chat. He walks two blocks to his imaginary friendmdash;passing out more tracts in the processmdash;before ending up at McDonalds or the Louisiana Fried Chicken/donut shop with the pretty Thai girl working the counter. /p pI found myself confronted with a duck and dodge situation recently. I was on Facebook, pretending to be a genius, posting quotes by famous men (and women) Irsquo;d never heard of. As I typed I heard the distinct blip sounds of Facebookrsquo;s instant message systemmdash;a system that allows people to know if yoursquo;re online and to send you instantaneous messages--basically Facebook#39;s version of a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="chatline" data-scaytid="5"chatline/span. I recognized the person sending the message but I wasnrsquo;t in the mood to ldquo;get into his shit...onlinerdquo;. I was in a quandarymdash;what was I to do, ignore his message or respond, although I didnrsquo;t want to? I came up with a schememdash;I didnrsquo;t respond. I walked to the bathroom and took a seatmdash;not out of any bodily need but from a need to bide time and quell my guilt hoping that the wait would prompt my Facebook friend to throw in the towel on me. I sat for quite some time on that seat thinking that sometimes you just donrsquo;t want to get into anybodyrsquo;s shit but your own./p

p When God made you...henbsp;had a lot to do/p p --Sparkling in the Sand/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p God is good,nbsp;my auntie saysnbsp;when I see her.nbsp; It seems the older she gets, the younger and more alive she becomes.nbsp; She always said ldquo;God is goodrdquo; but when she says it now itrsquo;s different, as if the words have turned over in her mind and before her eyes.nbsp; God is good she says while she offers you a seat at her table filled with the spices, the dishesmdash;thenbsp;span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="adobo" data-scaytid="1"adobo/span, gumbo, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="pancit" data-scaytid="3"pancit/span, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="lumpia" data-scaytid="5"lumpia/span, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="bittermelon" data-scaytid="7"bittermelon/spanmdash;the hot, sweet, bitter flavors that make up her experience, her life./p p nbsp;/p p My soulful auntie who always asks if yoursquo;re hungry and always packs something for you to take home. God is good, she says, and when she says it, it isnrsquo;t intended as a commandment but rather a declaration of what is, of the sensations and emotions that pass before her eyes as life happens, as unexpected and out of sequence and as ridiculous and senseless and tragicnbsp;and beautifulnbsp;as it sometimes can be.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p A preacher once said, ldquo;God is in the healing businesshellip;can I get an amen somebody?rdquo;nbsp; And an elder responded: emAmen and Amen/em.nbsp; nbsp;Such is the case with my auntie.nbsp; When God made her, he must have thought of healing.nbsp; God is good.nbsp; My auntie, who phones just to ldquo;Check up on yourdquo;, to see whatrsquo;s going on, going down, and whatrsquo;s happening in your love life.nbsp; My Fillmore span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Pinay" data-scaytid="9"Pinay/span black brown flashy auntie who can dance and shoot hoops and talk circles around you while reading the writing on your face before you say a word./p p nbsp;/p p God is good she says because shersquo;s walked on this earth that sometimes ainrsquo;t so good, so nice, but always making sure shersquo;s giving something goodmdash;a word, a touch, a laugh, a song, a poemmdash;in a humble way, not expecting but giving./p p nbsp;/p p God is good.nbsp; These words are sweeter now, more meaningful now when I see my auntiemdash;thankful for the things she has at her table, thankful for being able to share those things--knowing shersquo;d share even more if she had it--but it#39;snbsp;always enough./p p nbsp;/p p My auntie is occupied by these words, this phrase that goes beyond mere utterance. It is her living breathing revolution that is filled with spirit, fire, love and poetry.nbsp; The world is occupied with Occupy movements--whichnbsp;is important--but my auntiersquo;s words, her life, her spirit--is what itrsquo;s about for me.nbsp; God is good...emamen and amen./em/p

p strongOccupied By span data-scayt_word="BankofAmerikkka" data-scaytid="81"BankofAmerikkka/span- Why thousands of poor peoples/migrant workers were left out of Bank Transfer Day/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" ldquo;Irsquo;m sorry there is nothing we can do,rdquo; the words sailed through the Bank of America lobby as though part of a stop motion scene in a horror movie. I stood there, mouth agape. My shaking hands clutching my 5 month old sonrsquo;s stroller. Could it be? Could the oh so kind woman of color bank manager who had always said hi to me and my disabled mama, have just refused my desperate plea to reverse a $35.00 over-drawn charge after I explained to her that it would result in my baby not eating span data-scayt_word="tonite" data-scaytid="1"tonite/span?/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" This was less than six years ago when I was span data-scayt_word="houseless" data-scaytid="2"houseless/span with my mama and my son. I had explained to the bank manager that there was no way I could pay that overdrawn fee and that in fact if it was charged to my account it would drain the last few dollars in my meager account that I was going to use for food and result in entering my name in the span data-scayt_word="“cheksystems”" data-scaytid="3"ldquo;cheksystemsrdquo;/span data base, which meant I could never open a checking account anywhere else. From that day on I became sickly dependent on Bank of America, as one becomes reliant on a drug dealer or a partner that abuses you, puts you down and steals your money and yet you come back for more, only to enmesh yourself further in the process of loss, abuse and dependency./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" My sick relationship with span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="4"BofA/span began when I was on welfare a few years prior, because span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="5"BofA/span held the City contract with welfare so they ldquo;allowedrdquo; me to open a ldquo;savings onlyrdquo; account. I reflected on this whole sad part of my span data-scayt_word="herstory" data-scaytid="6"herstory/span when I heard about the Peoplersquo;s Reserve Credit Union being launched at span data-scayt_word="OccupySF" data-scaytid="7"OccupySF/span last week./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" I finally got a job and was able to get my mama and my son out of my deep poverty and span data-scayt_word="houselessness" data-scaytid="8"houselessness/span. The first pay-check I received I attempted to open a new account in a smaller ldquo;community bankrdquo; assuming my new employed status would be my access pass out of the chains of my criminalized past, ldquo;Irsquo;m sorry Ms. Garcia, we cant open an account for you, your name comes up on span data-scayt_word="Chek-systems”" data-scaytid="9"Chek-systemsrdquo;/span . It was the same thing at three more banks I tried./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Fast span data-scayt_word="foreward" data-scaytid="12"foreward/span to last year when I tried again. This time I marched into three credit unions with my unemployment check, determined, albeit quixotically, to ldquo;take my money and POOR Magazinersquo;s meager money out of the blood-stained walls of span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="10"BofA/span. ldquo;Sorry, Ms Garcia, but we cant open an account for you, your name comes up in span data-scayt_word="chek-systems”" data-scaytid="15"chek-systemsrdquo;/span This time I was even more devastated by the impossibility of the situation. I was an advocate, an organizer and most of all a revolutionary who wanted nothing to do with the killing systems of corporate money-handlers, and as the co-editor of a poor peoples-led organization (POOR Magazine) who worked everyday to fight poverty and racism and displacement, in many times perpetrated by corporations like span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="11"BofA/span and Wells Fargo, why were we eternally shackled by the corporate bank-pimp?/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Sadly, what I came to realize is that what I and most of my fellow poverty, disability, migrant and indigenous scholars at POOR are before we are revolutionaries are span data-scayt_word="po’" data-scaytid="16"porsquo;/span. Shackled, stuck and supporting multiple racist and span data-scayt_word="classist" data-scaytid="17"classist/span systems that end up being the very ones that kill us./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" In fact in the scarcity model reality in which we fight to stay alive in, having a span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="18"BofA/span or Wells Fargo account is preferable to the other huge majority of us poverty and span data-scayt_word="im" data-scaytid="22"im/spanspan data-scayt_word="/migrante" data-scaytid="62"/span data-scayt_word="migrante" data-scaytid="23"migrante/span/span scholars who are forced to use corner liquor stores and check-cashing places that take huge fees out of our meager salaries and paychecks. Check-cashing places. I might add that are backed or owned by span data-scayt_word="Citi-bank" data-scaytid="24"Citi-bank/span, span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="19"BofA/span and/or Wells Fargo./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" The enormity of this issue was brought up again when Occupy Oakland, Occupy SF and Occupy the Hood protested the predatory lending of all the banks in the foreclosure scandal as well as the support by several banks of the detention centers of span data-scayt_word="migrante" data-scaytid="25"migrante/span peoples specifically Wells Fargo.span style=""nbsp; /spanThe massive actions by ldquo;Occupy span data-scayt_word="Folx" data-scaytid="27"Folx/span, in tandem with the infamous ldquo;Bank Transfer Day, were proceeded by a hearing held by John span data-scayt_word="Avalos" data-scaytid="28"Avalos/span and other conscious SF board supervisors in the board of supervisors about San Francisco launching a community bank./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Fueled with all of the energy of bank-transfer day one of our family members, Toby, and I launched into yet another attempt to break the chains of span data-scayt_word="BofA" data-scaytid="29"BofA/span on POOR Magazinersquo;s neck by contacting Phil Tings office who supposedly had launched span data-scayt_word="BankonSF" data-scaytid="31"BankonSF/span to address these very inequities./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Several phone trees and Phil Ting office personnel later, Toby looked at me and said, ldquo;no luck.rdquo; The only banks that are being referred also use span data-scayt_word="chek-systems" data-scaytid="32"chek-systems/span and/or donrsquo;t have the capability to run commercial accounts which we need for POOR Magazine. Upon hearing yet another reminder that we are owned by this brutal pimp I felt truly defeated./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Ultimately, these kinds of shackles can only be broken by moving entirely off the blood-stained span data-scayt_word="amerikkkan" data-scaytid="33"amerikkkan/span dollars, reclaiming long ago indigenous stolen land and resources so we can grow our own food, build our own homes, teach our children and make and share resources in a really real community model like POOR Magazine is attempting to accomplish with a href="http://www.poormagazine.org/homefulness"span data-scayt_word="HOMEFULNESS" data-scaytid="34"HOMEFULNESS/span/a/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" In the meantime I am nervously excited about the possibility of the kind of truly community based peoples bank that span data-scayt_word="OccupySF" data-scaytid="35"OccupySF/span proposed last week. But, I wonder, will it really be accessible to poor peoples and span data-scayt_word="im" data-scaytid="36"im/span/migrant peoples who are excluded from most banks and credit unions that already exist. And do organizers understand that a really real ldquo;Peoples Credit Unionrdquo; would not only think through who was supporting it but think through the ldquo;qualificationsrdquo; required for being apart of it, such as notspan style=""nbsp; /spanrequiring a drivers license or California ID as one of their forms ofspan style=""nbsp; /spanrequired IDrsquo;s , not contracting with databases that ldquo;screenrdquo; out poor people, and that they wouldnrsquo;tspan style=""nbsp; /spanrequire a ridiculously high ldquo;minimumrdquo; deposit to open an account. And that the Credit Unionrsquo;s ldquo;insurancerdquo; wouldnrsquo;t be held by yet another shadow bank span data-scayt_word="affilitate" data-scaytid="39"affilitate/span of span data-scayt_word="Bof" data-scaytid="40"Bof/span A or Wells Fargo, Chase or IMF like the poor Bank of span data-scayt_word="Grameen" data-scaytid="41"Grameen/span in Bangladesh, a poor peoples collective banking circle, which eventually ended up getting pimped by the International Monetary Fund(IMF).. Maybe if a really real peoples bank was launched, we span data-scayt_word="po" data-scaytid="42"po/span folk could finally de-occupy ourselves with these killing bank-pimps forever.. maybe./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" span style=""nbsp;/span/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" span style=""nbsp;/span/p p class="MsoNormal" span style=""nbsp;nbsp; /span/p

p My thoughts: I thought that the general strike was impressive because there was thousands and thousands of people out there saying ldquo;We are the 99 percentrdquo;.nbsp; What the 99 percent is are all the workers in the world who get paid low-wage on jobs.nbsp; The 1 percent is all the bank corruption and the bankers from Wall Street./p p nbsp;/p p In the general strike, we marched all the way to the bridge then we stopped.nbsp; We stopped because there were a lot of youth scholars and mamas and we did not want to get lost on that bridge.nbsp;nbsp;We stayed there a little bit then we danced with Loco span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Bloco" data-scaytid="1"Bloco/span but the kids thought it was funny how the adults danced.nbsp; Speaking of dancing, on the way back, the kids were dancing!nbsp; The adults wersquo;re really laughing./p p nbsp;/p p When we were in the middle of the trip we ran into span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Mcdee’s" data-scaytid="3"Mcdeersquo;s/span and we ate.nbsp; We saw the bridge and it was crowded with protestors like a herd of rhinos whilenbsp;wenbsp;were driving out of Oakland, CA.nbsp;We went to the place many times, mostly for the organization ldquo;Occupy Oaklandrdquo;.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p strongThe first Time I went to Occupy Oakland/strong/p p nbsp;/p p It was a really hot day so we decided to go to a food place to get a cold drink.nbsp; Then we went to the big round meeting place near the end of the park.nbsp; They were plotting a next march that I did not hear because I got really hungry and ate some more food.nbsp; When I came back, my mom said we were leaving and I said ldquo;Finallyrdquo;, but did not know that we were going on a march with them.nbsp; So I just went.nbsp; So we walked all the say to city hall, stopped there, then they talked a little bit then the march was on.nbsp; We mad a right at city hall then we went to this coffee shop (I donrsquo;t know why).nbsp; We crossed the street and went down a block or two, then we went back.nbsp; It was pretty fun because my Uncle span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="7"Muteado/span played sword fight and I won.nbsp; strongTo be continuedhellip;/strong/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p strongspan class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Decolonize" data-scaytid="11"Decolonize/span Oakland ishellip;/strong/p p nbsp;/p p Continued:nbsp; span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="9"Muteado/span congratulated me that I won.nbsp; After a few hours of planning on who knows what, we left for real.nbsp; While we were in the car there was someone talking. Then span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="13"Muteado/span played ldquo;Passrdquo;: and I saw him do a span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Chilena" data-scaytid="15"Chilena/span.nbsp; Then we went back and I saw the audience voting for POOR Magazine.nbsp; We went to the car to go to Whole Foods to buy some mac and cheese for everyone.nbsp; The span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="mach" data-scaytid="17"mach/span was about how they were going to span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="decolonize" data-scaytid="19"decolonize/span Oakland.nbsp; They went to the coffee shop because they wanted support.nbsp; We went up two blocks to just find a place to rest but we didnrsquo;t, and then we also got free stickers of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="decolonize" data-scaytid="21"decolonize/span Oakland.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p We call it span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Decolonize" data-scaytid="23"Decolonize/span Oakland because the Bay Area is occupied span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ohlone" data-scaytid="25"Ohlone/span land.nbsp; As you may or may not know, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ohlones" data-scaytid="27"Ohlones/span occupied these lands thousands of years ago.nbsp; Then the pioneers came and took it over.nbsp; I think you all know that but what I think you all donrsquo;t know is it was the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ohlone" data-scaytid="29"Ohlone/span lands first then the pioneers came and took it over.nbsp; Because the Indians didnrsquo;t have much of a fight because they only had spears and stuff and the colonizers had guns and stuff they used the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Ohlone" data-scaytid="31"Ohlone/span as slaves and did not let them hunt or do their traditional dances./p p nbsp;/p p Now revolutionaries are standing up and we are fighting back for the land that is rightfully ours and all the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="decolonizers" data-scaytid="33"decolonizers/span, all the general strikers and what were fighting for and what we still are after all the years of slavery and jobs that you have to risk your lives on just to get blood stained span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Amerikkkan" data-scaytid="35"Amerikkkan/span dollars to buy food that is not even good for you./p

p ema text sound collage/em/p p emSan Francisco, 19 Nov 2011/em/p p everybody organize : without, it#39;s suicidebr / everybody resist : this we must insist!br / united we stand : JUSTICE for all on the land!/p p This is span data-scayt_word="Noh" data-scaytid="1"Noh/span Identity, your fledgling correspondent/blogger and alternative sight span data-scayt_word="skolar" data-scaytid="2"skolar/span for POOR News Network, reporting on the sounds span data-scayt_word="eminating" data-scaytid="3"eminating/span from one small section of Occupy San Francisco (span data-scayt_word="OSF" data-scaytid="4"OSF/span) during the recent span data-scayt_word="DPW" data-scaytid="5"DPW/span (Department of Public Works) ldquo;sweep uprdquo; a little after 12:30 PST today. A text-sound collage of what I heard.../p p [Note: ALL CAPS connotes chant; all lower case connotes conversation.]/p p okay, we need to push everything back... clear this area...br / whorsquo;s backpack is this?br / span data-scayt_word="mic" data-scaytid="6"mic/span check!br / for how much longer [echo] are we going to [echo] bend over backwards [echo] meeting their [expletive deletes] demands [echo] before standing upmdash;br / ...so stand up and hurry up cleaning...br / SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!...br / DO THE RIGHT THING, NOT YOUR JOB!br / theyrsquo;re all minorities...br / scabs...br / no, union...br / YOU ARE THE 99%!br / WE ARE THE 99%!br / we need to surround this ... all the way around... protect [info span data-scayt_word="kitchent" data-scaytid="7"kitchent/span tents]... we need more people...br / GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!br / we need people on the street-side... better protection.../p p And as I was walking away... one span data-scayt_word="OSF-ster" data-scaytid="8"OSF-ster/span yelled to another: ldquo;There are 6 squad cars a paddy wagon around the corner!rdquo;/p p Unfortunately, I didnrsquo;t stay to see the outcome because I wanted to hook up with the rest of the POOR span data-scayt_word="folx" data-scaytid="10"folx/span at Occupy Oakland but I wish I had. I later learned that the resisters linking arms surrounding the info kitchen tents successfully held their ground. I like to think that it was because the ldquo;minority workersrdquo; refused to step across the human barricade in solidarity. Because the ldquo;minority workersrdquo; knew they were human and acted accordingly, despite their job. I donrsquo;t know... but maybe.../p p With respect and dignity for all, this is your wishful correspondent/blogger for span data-scayt_word="PNN" data-scaytid="11"PNN/span, span data-scayt_word="Noh" data-scaytid="9"Noh/span Identity, just sharing with you the sounds I hear from a no/low viz perspective./p p [update: undercover of darkness, in the wee hours of the next morn, SF span data-scayt_word="PoLICE" data-scaytid="13"PoLICE/span ldquo;sweptrdquo; clear the remainder of what was left on Market Street in front of the Federal Reserve Bank. Illegally clearing the Public off of public sidewalks, the last remaining Commons. But remember this is not about an encampment. It is about justice for all.]/p

p nbsp;/p p I grew up seeing them, workers.nbsp; They were uncles and friends of Unclesmdash;guys whose names were ldquo;Antrdquo;, ldquo;Boozerdquo;, ldquo;Hermanrdquo; ldquo;So-Deeprdquo;, Davemdash;and so many others.nbsp; They were janitors or hospital portersmdash;mostly janitors.nbsp; They worked and told me to stay in school, to study hard, to hit the books and never mind the ladiesmdash;the ladies will come, theyrsquo;d saymdash;they told me that they didnrsquo;t want to see me grow up to be like them.nbsp; I was going to be differenthellip;I emwas/em different.nbsp; I looked at my uncles, checked out the way they walked, talkedmdash;they exuded confidence and spiritmdash;not in the university or academic sensemdash;but it the true sense.nbsp; They had a sense of who they were as men of colormdash;young men who had seen men like themselves excluded from academia, had seen good young men and women with potential relegated to their ldquo;place in societyrdquo;.nbsp; They had fire in their bones, they didnrsquo;t forget who they were as Filipino and black people./p p nbsp;/p p They spoke with tongues stained with soy sauce, hot chili, fish sauce and roast pig, which was our ancestral struggle that accented the words they spokemdash;gave true meaning to their soundsmdash;theirnbsp; marginalized and excluded syllables formed from church claps, the thundering drum, the boiling rice pot and broken English their parents spoke around the kitchen table./p p nbsp;/p p They would tell me that there was nothing free in this life, that if you wanted anything you had to get off your ass and get it.nbsp; ldquo;You donrsquo;t want to swing a mop like merdquo; theyrsquo;d say, ldquo;You donrsquo;t want to clean toilets do you?rdquo;nbsp; And so I went to school, was a fairly decent studentmdash;I was, as my uncles would say, ldquo;An educated brown boyrdquo;.nbsp; I ended up with an educated brown boy jobmdash;an office jobmdash;and my uncle would visit me and behold my desk with the collection of paper clips that fitted into a nice chain that kept me tethered tonbsp;the chair.nbsp; ldquo;Yoursquo;re an executive! Hersquo;d exclaim.nbsp; I would get a little embarrassed and reply, ldquo;Irsquo;m a customer service rephellip;emany fool can do this job/emrdquo;--which was true.nbsp; Allnbsp;I didnbsp;wasnbsp;answer the phone or make calls--asking very probingnbsp;questions such as thenbsp;whereabouts ofnbsp;one#39;s colonoscopy report.nbsp;nbsp;And the guy on the other endnbsp;would try to remember that colonoscopy, the where and when and why--who wasnbsp;that Doctor, hold on, i wrote his name on a napkin, etc. etc.--oh, whatnbsp;memories.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;My uncle would look at me like a gem in a pawn shop.nbsp; ldquo;Yoursquo;re an executive!rdquo; he would exclaim again.nbsp; I threw up my handshellip;emok, ok Irsquo;m an executive!nbsp; /emThen wersquo;d take the elevator and go the hamburger place across the street.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p Hersquo;d treat me to a burger.nbsp; ldquo;Let me payrdquo;, Irsquo;d protest but hersquo;d pay, pushing the bills I pulled out back into my pocket.nbsp; ldquo;Yoursquo;ll pay it off eventuallyrdquo;.nbsp; Wersquo;d sit and talk about the faces of our people, our elders, their voices.nbsp; My uncle is a born storyteller.nbsp; And as he speaks I see the workers, the migrants picking up trays, sweeping floors, wiping tables.nbsp; What stories do they hold in their hands?nbsp; I listen to my uncle and hear his voice and the voice of all workers who want to free their stories but never get the chance.nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p I look at his face and taste his wordsmdash;his laughter is still there, it rises like fire.nbsp; The workers hear it.nbsp; It takes them to another place for a momentmdash;an area of pause, where we can be ourselves, can take back our lives.nbsp; Wersquo;re all laughing together.nbsp; Then, itrsquo;s time to get back to work.nbsp;/p

p emDecember 1, 2011/em/p p img alt="" src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/293623_10150342303340616_583145615_9937082_5389672_n.jpg" style="width: 431px; height: 720px;" //p p We seen it coming, and still he diedbr / it took span data-scayt_word="hella" data-scaytid="29"hella/span long, until I cried.br / he did not change his way, he hadnrsquo;t tried;br / he sped the process up, until he lied.br / he didn#39;t slow it down, didn#39;t stop being southern raisedbr / he still cooked cropsbr / he kept a bottle home, and a lighter.br / he used to get some fronts, and cigarettes.br / I know he loved us though, we made him proud.br / he only hit me twice, never screamed out loud.br / we always had some food, he paid the billsbr / until I had to loan, how proud I span data-scayt_word="feeled" data-scaytid="30"feeled/span.br / wonder how sister feels watching him die.br / he kept the dope smoke up;br / he didn#39;t even try.br / I know she felt the pain, I felt it too.br / she was in the third grade, me in high school.br / he rested down the hill, in anti#39;s bedbr / just right at Christmas, on the twenty tread./p p nbsp;/p p emThis is an Empathy span data-scayt_word="Exercize" data-scaytid="31"Exercize/span for span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkool's" data-scaytid="32"PeopleSkool#39;s/span class, Poverty Journalism 101/em/p

p em1 span data-scayt_word="Deciembre" data-scaytid="1"Deciembre/span, 2011/ December 1, 2011/em/p p emimg alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/9/69435026_4ab3cd9b90.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" //em/p p emScroll down for English/em/p p nbsp;/p p span data-scayt_word="Empesaba" data-scaytid="8"Empesaba/span el span data-scayt_word="mes" data-scaytid="9"mes/span de span data-scayt_word="Noviembre" data-scaytid="11"Noviembre/span del span data-scayt_word="año" data-scaytid="12"antilde;o/span 1986./p p Mi padre span data-scayt_word="llevaba" data-scaytid="13"llevaba/span un span data-scayt_word="mes" data-scaytid="10"mes/span de no comer, span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="14"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="enfermo" data-scaytid="16"enfermo/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Una" data-scaytid="17"Una/span span data-scayt_word="mañana" data-scaytid="18"mantilde;ana/span normal span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="19"como/span span data-scayt_word="todas" data-scaytid="20"todas/span, mi padre span data-scayt_word="resivio" data-scaytid="21"resivio/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="22"una/span span data-scayt_word="carta" data-scaytid="24"carta/span de mi span data-scayt_word="hermano" data-scaytid="25"hermano/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="26"que/span span data-scayt_word="ya" data-scaytid="28"ya/span span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="15"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="aqui" data-scaytid="29"aqui/span los span data-scayt_word="Estados" data-scaytid="30"Estados/span span data-scayt_word="Unidos" data-scaytid="31"Unidos/span span data-scayt_word="donde" data-scaytid="32"donde/span span data-scayt_word="decia" data-scaytid="33"decia/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="27"que/span span data-scayt_word="compraria" data-scaytid="34"compraria/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="23"una/span casa en la capital a span data-scayt_word="nombre" data-scaytid="35"nombre/span de mi padre./p p El span data-scayt_word="dia" data-scaytid="95"dia/span span data-scayt_word="siguiente" data-scaytid="96"siguiente/span span data-scayt_word="mis" data-scaytid="97"mis/span span data-scayt_word="hermanas" data-scaytid="98"hermanas/span y un amigo de mi de mi papa span data-scayt_word="llegaron" data-scaytid="99"llegaron/span de la capital span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="100"porque/span se span data-scayt_word="enteraron" data-scaytid="103"enteraron/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="64"que/span el span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="65"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="enfermo" data-scaytid="66"enfermo/span. No span data-scayt_word="sabia" data-scaytid="107"sabia/span span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="101"porque/span span data-scayt_word="habia" data-scaytid="108"habia/span span data-scayt_word="muhca" data-scaytid="109"muhca/span span data-scayt_word="gente" data-scaytid="110"gente/span span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="102"porque/span solo span data-scayt_word="tenia" data-scaytid="111"tenia/span 10 span data-scayt_word="años" data-scaytid="112"antilde;os/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Ese" data-scaytid="122"Ese/span span data-scayt_word="dia" data-scaytid="114"dia/span, span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="115"como/span span data-scayt_word="si" data-scaytid="127"si/span span data-scayt_word="supieran" data-scaytid="129"supieran/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="118"que/span mi padre se span data-scayt_word="iria" data-scaytid="133"iria/span de la casa./p p Lo span data-scayt_word="recuerdo" data-scaytid="134"recuerdo/span span data-scayt_word="bien" data-scaytid="135"bien/span el span data-scayt_word="sol" data-scaytid="136"sol/span span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="121"estaba/span tan span data-scayt_word="caliente" data-scaytid="138"caliente/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="119"que/span span data-scayt_word="temblaba" data-scaytid="139"temblaba/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="116"como/span mariposa a lo span data-scayt_word="lejos" data-scaytid="140"lejos/span. Mi padre se span data-scayt_word="baño" data-scaytid="141"bantilde;o/span y span data-scayt_word="sonria" data-scaytid="142"sonria/span span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="143"todo/span el span data-scayt_word="tiempo" data-scaytid="144"tiempo/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="117"como/span span data-scayt_word="si" data-scaytid="128"si/span no le span data-scayt_word="dolia" data-scaytid="145"dolia/span nada. span data-scayt_word="Dijo" data-scaytid="146"Dijo/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="120"que/span se span data-scayt_word="iba" data-scaytid="147"iba/span span data-scayt_word="esa" data-scaytid="148"esa/span span data-scayt_word="tarde" data-scaytid="149"tarde/span con un Doctor./p p Le span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="172"dijo/span a la span data-scayt_word="gente" data-scaytid="150"gente/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="151"que/span le span data-scayt_word="arreglaran" data-scaytid="177"arreglaran/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="154"una/span span data-scayt_word="silla" data-scaytid="180"silla/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="156"para/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="152"que/span lo span data-scayt_word="cargaran" data-scaytid="182"cargaran/span, span data-scayt_word="pues" data-scaytid="183"pues/span span data-scayt_word="su" data-scaytid="184"su/span span data-scayt_word="cuerpo" data-scaytid="186"cuerpo/span no span data-scayt_word="aguantaria" data-scaytid="187"aguantaria/span span data-scayt_word="caminar" data-scaytid="188"caminar/span. span data-scayt_word="Mientras" data-scaytid="189"Mientras/span mi padre span data-scayt_word="esperava" data-scaytid="190"esperava/span a span data-scayt_word="su" data-scaytid="185"su/span amigo don span data-scayt_word="lito" data-scaytid="191"lito/span, span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="157"como/span le span data-scayt_word="decia" data-scaytid="158"decia/span mi papa, el le span data-scayt_word="trajo" data-scaytid="194"trajo/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="155"una/span soda de span data-scayt_word="piña" data-scaytid="195"pintilde;a/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="153"que/span se llama span data-scayt_word="Tyky" data-scaytid="196"Tyky/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Eran" data-scaytid="309"Eran/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="168"como/span span data-scayt_word="las" data-scaytid="311"las/span dos de la span data-scayt_word="tarde" data-scaytid="169"tarde/span mi padre se span data-scayt_word="sento" data-scaytid="313"sento/span en span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="170"una/span span data-scayt_word="silla" data-scaytid="200"silla/span en el patio de la casa span data-scayt_word="sonriendo" data-scaytid="321"sonriendo/span nos span data-scayt_word="abrazo" data-scaytid="322"abrazo/span span data-scayt_word="diciendo" data-scaytid="323"diciendo/span span data-scayt_word="“Dios" data-scaytid="324"ldquo;Dios/span los span data-scayt_word="vendiga" data-scaytid="325"vendiga/span span data-scayt_word="hijitos" data-scaytid="326"hijitos/span span data-scayt_word="hoy" data-scaytid="327"hoy/span me span data-scayt_word="voy" data-scaytid="328"voy/span span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="329"pero/span span data-scayt_word="regresare" data-scaytid="330"regresare/span pronto span data-scayt_word="si" data-scaytid="171"si/span span data-scayt_word="Dios" data-scaytid="332"Dios/span span data-scayt_word="haci" data-scaytid="333"haci/span lo permite.rdquo;/p p span data-scayt_word="Dijo" data-scaytid="334"Dijo/span span data-scayt_word="mientras" data-scaytid="349"mientras/span span data-scayt_word="esperaba" data-scaytid="350"esperaba/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="335"que/span le span data-scayt_word="arreglaran" data-scaytid="337"arreglaran/span span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="338"una/span span data-scayt_word="silla" data-scaytid="339"silla/span, span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="340"para/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="336"que/span lo span data-scayt_word="cargaran" data-scaytid="341"cargaran/span span data-scayt_word="pues" data-scaytid="342"pues/span span data-scayt_word="ya" data-scaytid="343"ya/span span data-scayt_word="tenia" data-scaytid="344"tenia/span un span data-scayt_word="mes" data-scaytid="345"mes/span de no comer./p p span data-scayt_word="Pero" data-scaytid="371"Pero/span no le gusto y span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="362"dijo/span span data-scayt_word="“traigan" data-scaytid="374"ldquo;traigan/span la span data-scayt_word="llegua" data-scaytid="375"llegua/span y span data-scayt_word="ponganle" data-scaytid="376"ponganle/span la span data-scayt_word="montura" data-scaytid="377"montura/span span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="378"yo/span span data-scayt_word="quiero" data-scaytid="379"quiero/span span data-scayt_word="irme" data-scaytid="380"irme/span pronto.rdquo; El span data-scayt_word="queria" data-scaytid="381"queria/span span data-scayt_word="llegar" data-scaytid="382"llegar/span con el doctor lo span data-scayt_word="mas" data-scaytid="383"mas/span pronto possible, span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="364"estaba/span tan span data-scayt_word="emocionado" data-scaytid="385"emocionado/span span data-scayt_word="por" data-scaytid="386"por/span lo span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="365"que/span mi span data-scayt_word="hermano" data-scaytid="366"hermano/span le span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="363"dijo/span. El me span data-scayt_word="abrazo" data-scaytid="367"abrazo/span lo span data-scayt_word="recuerdo" data-scaytid="368"recuerdo/span span data-scayt_word="vien" data-scaytid="391"vien/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="369"como/span span data-scayt_word="si" data-scaytid="370"si/span span data-scayt_word="fuera" data-scaytid="394"fuera/span span data-scayt_word="ahorita" data-scaytid="395"ahorita/span ./p p span data-scayt_word="Dijo" data-scaytid="396"Dijo/span, ldquo;adios mi span data-scayt_word="sequedad" data-scaytid="404"sequedad/span,rdquo; me span data-scayt_word="dio" data-scaytid="405"dio/span dos span data-scayt_word="vesos" data-scaytid="406"vesos/span span data-scayt_word="diciendo" data-scaytid="397"diciendo/span, span data-scayt_word="“hoy" data-scaytid="408"ldquo;hoy/span me span data-scayt_word="voy" data-scaytid="398"voy/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="399"para/span span data-scayt_word="curarme" data-scaytid="411"curarme/span y span data-scayt_word="regresar" data-scaytid="412"regresar/span span data-scayt_word="sano" data-scaytid="413"sano/span y span data-scayt_word="berlos" data-scaytid="414"berlos/span span data-scayt_word="crecer" data-scaytid="415"crecer/span, y span data-scayt_word="algun" data-scaytid="416"algun/span span data-scayt_word="dia" data-scaytid="400"dia/span span data-scayt_word="irnos" data-scaytid="418"irnos/span de span data-scayt_word="aqui" data-scaytid="401"aqui/span en span data-scayt_word="donde" data-scaytid="402"donde/span span data-scayt_word="nadie" data-scaytid="421"nadie/span nos span data-scayt_word="quiere" data-scaytid="422"quiere/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Yo" data-scaytid="472"Yo/span span data-scayt_word="llore" data-scaytid="473"llore/span y le span data-scayt_word="sobe" data-scaytid="474"sobe/span span data-scayt_word="su" data-scaytid="423"su/span span data-scayt_word="cara" data-scaytid="477"cara/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="425"como/span span data-scayt_word="siempre" data-scaytid="483"siempre/span lo span data-scayt_word="asia" data-scaytid="485"asia/span y le span data-scayt_word="dije" data-scaytid="486"dije/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="430"que/span lo span data-scayt_word="amaba" data-scaytid="494"amaba/span./p p El se span data-scayt_word="subio" data-scaytid="495"subio/span a la span data-scayt_word="llegua" data-scaytid="437"llegua/span con span data-scayt_word="su" data-scaytid="424"su/span jacket span data-scayt_word="azul" data-scaytid="497"azul/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="426"como/span el span data-scayt_word="sielo" data-scaytid="498"sielo/span span data-scayt_word="claro" data-scaytid="499"claro/span en span data-scayt_word="las" data-scaytid="438"las/span span data-scayt_word="tardes" data-scaytid="501"tardes/span de span data-scayt_word="berano" data-scaytid="502"berano/span y span data-scayt_word="sus" data-scaytid="503"sus/span span data-scayt_word="sapatos" data-scaytid="505"sapatos/span span data-scayt_word="brillavan" data-scaytid="506"brillavan/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="427"como/span span data-scayt_word="espejos" data-scaytid="507"espejos/span. span data-scayt_word="Empezo" data-scaytid="508"Empezo/span a span data-scayt_word="alejarse" data-scaytid="509"alejarse/span span data-scayt_word="cuando" data-scaytid="510"cuando/span span data-scayt_word="habia" data-scaytid="439"habia/span span data-scayt_word="caminado" data-scaytid="512"caminado/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="428"como/span 20 span data-scayt_word="pasos" data-scaytid="513"pasos/span span data-scayt_word="voltio" data-scaytid="514"voltio/span a span data-scayt_word="vernos" data-scaytid="515"vernos/span y se span data-scayt_word="sonrio" data-scaytid="516"sonrio/span se span data-scayt_word="veia" data-scaytid="517"veia/span span data-scayt_word="hermoso" data-scaytid="519"hermoso/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="429"como/span span data-scayt_word="siempre" data-scaytid="484"siempre/span span data-scayt_word="fue" data-scaytid="520"fue/span mi padre span data-scayt_word="apesar" data-scaytid="523"apesar/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="431"que/span span data-scayt_word="uno" data-scaytid="524"uno/span de span data-scayt_word="sus" data-scaytid="504"sus/span span data-scayt_word="hojos" data-scaytid="525"hojos/span span data-scayt_word="estaba" data-scaytid="440"estaba/span span data-scayt_word="serrandose" data-scaytid="527"serrandose/span y se span data-scayt_word="fue" data-scaytid="521"fue/span span data-scayt_word="coriendo" data-scaytid="528"coriendo/span span data-scayt_word="asta" data-scaytid="529"asta/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="432"que/span span data-scayt_word="ya" data-scaytid="441"ya/span no span data-scayt_word="alcansamos" data-scaytid="531"alcansamos/span a span data-scayt_word="ver" data-scaytid="532"ver/span lo, span data-scayt_word="nunca" data-scaytid="533"nunca/span me imagine span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="433"que/span era la span data-scayt_word="ultima" data-scaytid="534"ultima/span span data-scayt_word="vez" data-scaytid="535"vez/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="434"que/span lo span data-scayt_word="veia" data-scaytid="518"veia/span span data-scayt_word="sonreir" data-scaytid="536"sonreir/span. Como a la span data-scayt_word="semana" data-scaytid="537"semana/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="435"que/span se span data-scayt_word="fue" data-scaytid="522"fue/span, mi span data-scayt_word="hermana" data-scaytid="538"hermana/span y span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="442"yo/span nos span data-scayt_word="fuimos" data-scaytid="540"fuimos/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="443"para/span la capital, span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="444"porque/span el span data-scayt_word="necesitaba" data-scaytid="543"necesitaba/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="436"que/span span data-scayt_word="alguien" data-scaytid="544"alguien/span lo span data-scayt_word="cuidara" data-scaytid="545"cuidara/span/p p span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="467"yo/span me span data-scayt_word="fui" data-scaytid="621"fui/span span data-scayt_word="muy" data-scaytid="622"muy/span span data-scayt_word="contenta" data-scaytid="623"contenta/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="468"que/span span data-scayt_word="estaria" data-scaytid="626"estaria/span con el./p p span data-scayt_word="Pero" data-scaytid="470"Pero/span mi span data-scayt_word="sorpresa" data-scaytid="628"sorpresa/span span data-scayt_word="fue" data-scaytid="629"fue/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="469"que/span span data-scayt_word="ya" data-scaytid="471"ya/span lo span data-scayt_word="habian" data-scaytid="631"habian/span span data-scayt_word="internado" data-scaytid="632"internado/span en el hospital./p p span data-scayt_word="Mis" data-scaytid="814"Mis/span span data-scayt_word="hermanas" data-scaytid="633"hermanas/span lo span data-scayt_word="iban" data-scaytid="816"iban/span a span data-scayt_word="visitar" data-scaytid="817"visitar/span span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="634"pero/span span data-scayt_word="yo" data-scaytid="635"yo/span no span data-scayt_word="podia" data-scaytid="820"podia/span span data-scayt_word="entrar" data-scaytid="821"entrar/span span data-scayt_word="porque" data-scaytid="636"porque/span span data-scayt_word="tenia" data-scaytid="637"tenia/span 10 span data-scayt_word="años" data-scaytid="638"antilde;os/span de span data-scayt_word="edad" data-scaytid="827"edad/span y solo de 14 span data-scayt_word="años" data-scaytid="639"antilde;os/span span data-scayt_word="podian" data-scaytid="828"podian/span span data-scayt_word="entrar" data-scaytid="822"entrar/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Hasta" data-scaytid="947"Hasta/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="931"que/span un 26 de span data-scayt_word="Noviemre" data-scaytid="950"Noviemre/span nos span data-scayt_word="metimos" data-scaytid="951"metimos/span en un span data-scayt_word="carro" data-scaytid="952"carro/span y span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="933"una/span span data-scayt_word="señora" data-scaytid="955"sentilde;ora/span les span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="935"dijo/span a span data-scayt_word="mis" data-scaytid="937"mis/span span data-scayt_word="ermanas" data-scaytid="961"ermanas/span span data-scayt_word="“ya" data-scaytid="962"ldquo;ya/span le span data-scayt_word="dijeron" data-scaytid="963"dijeron/span?rdquo; span data-scayt_word="mis" data-scaytid="938"mis/span span data-scayt_word="hermanas" data-scaytid="940"hermanas/span me span data-scayt_word="vieron" data-scaytid="965"vieron/span y span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="934"una/span de span data-scayt_word="ellas" data-scaytid="966"ellas/span me span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="936"dijo/span, span data-scayt_word="“te" data-scaytid="967"ldquo;te/span span data-scayt_word="voy" data-scaytid="941"voy/span a span data-scayt_word="decir" data-scaytid="969"decir/span span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="942"pero/span span data-scayt_word="jurame" data-scaytid="971"jurame/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="932"que/span no bas a span data-scayt_word="llorar" data-scaytid="972"llorar/span span data-scayt_word="delante" data-scaytid="973"delante/span de span data-scayt_word="mis" data-scaytid="939"mis/span span data-scayt_word="patrones”" data-scaytid="974"patronesrdquo;/span en span data-scayt_word="ese" data-scaytid="975"ese/span span data-scayt_word="momento" data-scaytid="976"momento/span span data-scayt_word="senti" data-scaytid="977"senti/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="943"como/span span data-scayt_word="choques" data-scaytid="979"choques/span span data-scayt_word="electricos" data-scaytid="980"electricos/span en span data-scayt_word="todo" data-scaytid="944"todo/span mi span data-scayt_word="cuerpo" data-scaytid="945"cuerpo/span y le span data-scayt_word="dije" data-scaytid="946"dije/span span data-scayt_word="“que" data-scaytid="984"ldquo;que/span span data-scayt_word="pasa" data-scaytid="985"pasa/span?rdquo;/p p Me span data-scayt_word="dijo" data-scaytid="1025"dijo/span ldquo;no span data-scayt_word="llores" data-scaytid="1078"llores/span span data-scayt_word="pues" data-scaytid="1026"pues/span span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="1028"pero/span span data-scayt_word="papaito" data-scaytid="1082"papaito/span se span data-scayt_word="murio”" data-scaytid="1083"muriordquo;/span/p p span data-scayt_word="Yo" data-scaytid="1029"Yo/span span data-scayt_word="queria" data-scaytid="1030"queria/span span data-scayt_word="llorar" data-scaytid="1031"llorar/span, span data-scayt_word="gritar" data-scaytid="1088"gritar/span, span data-scayt_word="morder" data-scaytid="1089"morder/span, oh no span data-scayt_word="sabia" data-scaytid="1033"sabia/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="1034"que/span span data-scayt_word="hacer" data-scaytid="1093"hacer/span span data-scayt_word="pues" data-scaytid="1027"pues/span span data-scayt_word="abia" data-scaytid="1094"abia/span span data-scayt_word="jurado" data-scaytid="1095"jurado/span no span data-scayt_word="llorar" data-scaytid="1032"llorar/span y span data-scayt_word="desde" data-scaytid="1096"desde/span span data-scayt_word="ese" data-scaytid="1036"ese/span span data-scayt_word="dia" data-scaytid="1037"dia/span mi span data-scayt_word="mundo" data-scaytid="1099"mundo/span se span data-scayt_word="derrumbo" data-scaytid="1100"derrumbo/span mi span data-scayt_word="corazon" data-scaytid="1101"corazon/span lo span data-scayt_word="drestroso" data-scaytid="1102"drestroso/span el span data-scayt_word="canser" data-scaytid="1103"canser/span span data-scayt_word="que" data-scaytid="1035"que/span se span data-scayt_word="llebo" data-scaytid="1104"llebo/span a mi padre/p p Mi vida se fue con el y espero en Dios verlo en el cielo./p p Pero apesar que an pasado mas de 25 antilde;os de que mi padre se fue su recuedro y sus carisias permanesen vibas en mi mente y en mi Corazon lo amo papa./p p nbsp;/p p emIngles sigue/em/p p nbsp;/p p It was the beginning of the month of November in the year 1986./p p My father had not eaten for a whole month, he was sick./p p A morning like any other, my father received a letter from my brother who was already here in the USA, where he said he would buy a house under the name of my father./p p The following day my sisters and a friend of my father#39;s returned from the big city because they found out about his condition. I didnrsquo;t know why there were so many people there, I was only 10 years old./p p That day, as if I knew that that day my father was going to leave the house that day. I remember it very well, the sun was so hot that it made everything tremble like butterflies from the distance. My father showered and the whole time he smiled as if he wasnrsquo;t in pain. He said that he would go to a doctor that evening. He told everyone there to construct a chair to carry him cuz he had lost all his energy and could not walk. While my dad waited for his friend Don Lito, which was what he called him, he brought him a pineapple soda called Tyky./p p It was like 2 orsquo;clock in the afternoon, my father sat in his char in the front yard, smiling he said, ldquo;God bless you my children, today I leave but I will come back soon if God permits, as he waited for his chair to be built to carry him. He had not eaten a whole month. But he was not happy with what they brought him and said, ldquo;Bring the horse and put on her saddle, I want to leave soon.rdquo; He wanted to go to the doctor the soonest possible. He was so excited about what my brother had written to him. He held me tight, I remember it well as if it would happen now. He said, rdquo;good bye my dryness.rdquo; He gave me two kisses saying, ldquo;today I leave to heal myself and come back healthy and see you all grow, and one day leave this place. where nobody wants us./p p He mounted his horse with his blue jacket like the clear sky on the summer afternoons and his shoes shined like mirrors. He started to leave and after like 20 feet of walking he turned to look at us and he smiled. He looked beautiful as my father always was, even though one of his eyes was almost closed and he took off ridding until we could no longer see him, I never imagined that it would be the last time I would see him smile. Within a week that he left, my sister and me went to the capital, because he needed a caregiver. I went happily because I would be with him again. But to my surprise he was already registered at the hospital. My sisters would go and visit him but I couldnrsquo;t enter the room because I was only 10 years old and only 14 year old children could enter./p p Until one 26 of November I went inside a car and the driver asked my sister ldquo;Have you guys told her yet?rdquo; My sisters looked at me and one of them said, I#39;m going to tell you some thing but swear to me that you won#39;t cry in front of my boss.rdquo; At that moment I felt electric shocks all over my body and I asked, span data-scayt_word="“whats" data-scaytid="1172"ldquo;whats/span wrong?rdquo; She told me, ldquo;Well donrsquo;t cry, but daddy has died.rdquo; I wanted to cry , scream, bite or I didnrsquo;t know what to do since I had promised not to cry and from that day on my life was in ruins, my heart was broken by the cancer that took away my father. My life disappeared with him and I hope to God that I find him in the heavens. Even after 25 years of my father left his memory and his caresses remain alive in my mind and in my heart. I love you father./p p nbsp;/p p emExercisio de span data-scayt_word="Empathia" data-scaytid="3"Empathia/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="4"para/span la span data-scayt_word="clase" data-scaytid="5"clase/span de span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkool" data-scaytid="6"PeopleSkool/span/Empathy Exercise for span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkooL" data-scaytid="319"PeopleSkooL/span/em/p

p em1 span data-scayt_word="Deciembre" data-scaytid="1"Deciembre/span 2011, December 1 2011/em/p p emimg alt="" src="http://www.myartspace.com/blog/uploaded_images/Splan3-703567.jpg" style="width: 399px; height: 400px;" //em/p p emScroll down for English/em/p p br / span data-scayt_word="Practicaba" data-scaytid="8"Practicaba/span span data-scayt_word="ciclismo" data-scaytid="9"ciclismo/span de span data-scayt_word="montaña" data-scaytid="10"montantilde;a/span, con un amigo y el se span data-scayt_word="descolgo" data-scaytid="11"descolgo/span a span data-scayt_word="gran" data-scaytid="12"gran/span span data-scayt_word="velocidad" data-scaytid="13"velocidad/span, lo span data-scayt_word="seguí" data-scaytid="14"seguiacute;/span a span data-scayt_word="distancia" data-scaytid="15"distancia/span y de pronto span data-scayt_word="ví" data-scaytid="16"viacute;/span span data-scayt_word="su" data-scaytid="17"su/span span data-scayt_word="cara" data-scaytid="18"cara/span con span data-scayt_word="una" data-scaytid="19"una/span span data-scayt_word="mueca" data-scaytid="20"mueca/span de span data-scayt_word="sorpresa" data-scaytid="21"sorpresa/span , span data-scayt_word="miedo" data-scaytid="22"miedo/span y span data-scayt_word="asnsiedad" data-scaytid="23"asnsiedad/span ./p p span data-scayt_word="Decidí" data-scaytid="24"Decidiacute;/span span data-scayt_word="pasar" data-scaytid="25"pasar/span span data-scayt_word="rebasasrlo" data-scaytid="26"rebasasrlo/span span data-scayt_word="pero" data-scaytid="27"pero/span el span data-scayt_word="cayó" data-scaytid="28"cayoacute;/span span data-scayt_word="frene" data-scaytid="29"frene/span a mi span data-scayt_word="camino" data-scaytid="30"camino/span y span data-scayt_word="luego" data-scaytid="31"luego/span de un span data-scayt_word="sonido" data-scaytid="32"sonido/span span data-scayt_word="metalico" data-scaytid="33"metalico/span el span data-scayt_word="mundo" data-scaytid="34"mundo/span span data-scayt_word="dio" data-scaytid="35"dio/span span data-scayt_word="vueltas" data-scaytid="36"vueltas/span , span data-scayt_word="cuando" data-scaytid="37"cuando/span span data-scayt_word="finalmente" data-scaytid="38"finalmente/span span data-scayt_word="sentí" data-scaytid="39"sentiacute;/span el span data-scayt_word="sabor" data-scaytid="40"sabor/span de la span data-scayt_word="tierra" data-scaytid="41"tierra/span y de la span data-scayt_word="sangre" data-scaytid="42"sangre/span,br / Me span data-scayt_word="levante" data-scaytid="44"levante/span span data-scayt_word="rapido" data-scaytid="45"rapido/span y span data-scayt_word="cuando" data-scaytid="43"cuando/span span data-scayt_word="trate" data-scaytid="47"trate/span de span data-scayt_word="levantar" data-scaytid="48"levantar/span la span data-scayt_word="bicicleta" data-scaytid="49"bicicleta/span mi span data-scayt_word="brazo" data-scaytid="50"brazo/span span data-scayt_word="izquierdo" data-scaytid="51"izquierdo/span no span data-scayt_word="respondia" data-scaytid="52"respondia/span a mi span data-scayt_word="cerebeo" data-scaytid="53"cerebeo/span./p p El span data-scayt_word="braso" data-scaytid="54"braso/span se span data-scayt_word="movia" data-scaytid="55"movia/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="56"como/span un span data-scayt_word="trapo" data-scaytid="58"trapo/span y mil span data-scayt_word="preguntas" data-scaytid="59"preguntas/span span data-scayt_word="chocaron" data-scaytid="60"chocaron/span en mi span data-scayt_word="mente" data-scaytid="61"mente/span span data-scayt_word="como" data-scaytid="57"como/span span data-scayt_word="voy" data-scaytid="62"voy/span a span data-scayt_word="sobrevivir" data-scaytid="63"sobrevivir/span sin span data-scayt_word="trabajo" data-scaytid="64"trabajo/span./p p span data-scayt_word="Después" data-scaytid="67"Despueacute;s/span de 6 span data-scayt_word="meses" data-scaytid="68"meses/span mi span data-scayt_word="braso" data-scaytid="65"braso/span span data-scayt_word="funciona" data-scaytid="70"funciona/span y span data-scayt_word="ahora" data-scaytid="71"ahora/span span data-scayt_word="sigo" data-scaytid="72"sigo/span span data-scayt_word="corriendo" data-scaytid="73"corriendo/span en la span data-scayt_word="bicicleta" data-scaytid="66"bicicleta/span span data-scayt_word="atraves" data-scaytid="75"atraves/span de la span data-scayt_word="Montaña" data-scaytid="76"Montantilde;a/span./p p nbsp;/p p span style="font-style: italic;"Ingles span data-scayt_word="Sigue" data-scaytid="77"Sigue/span/span/p p I practiced mountain biking, with a friend and he took off with great span data-scayt_word="vilocity" data-scaytid="78"vilocity/span, I followed from the distance and suddenly I saw his face with a surprised look, fear and anxiety./p p I decided to go and pass him but he tumbled right span data-scayt_word="infront" data-scaytid="79"infront/span of me and with a metallic noise the world spun in circles, when finally I tasted earth and then blood, I got up quickly and when I tried to pick up my bike my left arm had stopped responding to my brain./p p The arm moved like rag and a thousand questions hit my mind how would I survive without a job?/p p After 6 months my arm works and I currently still ride my bike through the mountain./p p nbsp;/p p emspan data-scayt_word="Exercicio" data-scaytid="2"Exercicio/span de span data-scayt_word="Empathia" data-scaytid="3"Empathia/span span data-scayt_word="para" data-scaytid="4"para/span la span data-scayt_word="clase" data-scaytid="5"clase/span de span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkooL" data-scaytid="6"PeopleSkooL/span/ Empathy Exercise for Poverty Journalism 101 class at span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkooL" data-scaytid="250"PeopleSkooL/span/embr / nbsp;/p

p emDecember 1, 2011/em/p p emimg alt="" src="http://terryjoanbaum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DeserveTruthSmall.jpg" style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" //em/p p nbsp;/p p A sharp word: Divorcebr / Takes to my Worldbr / A colonial townbr / Games and peacebr / On colonial tiles/p p span data-scayt_word="“Mami”" data-scaytid="3"ldquo;Mamirdquo;/span and Ibr / My auntrsquo;s old penthouse roombr / An oasisbr / A high stone clock/p p Sorrows in tearsbr / Echo from the backbr / Rain on the phonebr / She does not see me listening/p p A slight splinterbr / Begins to crackbr / Down to my feetbr / From my very top/p p ldquo;Divorcerdquo; I hearbr / ldquo;Do not span data-scayt_word="beleive”" data-scaytid="4"beleiverdquo;/spanbr / I tell myselfbr / The word of kids who wouldnrsquo;t play/p p ldquo;Divorcerdquo; I hearbr / My motherrsquo;s voicebr / A rooting fracturebr / Now on the ice/p p Smiles all fallbr / All is darkbr / I sprint to my Motherrsquo;s cold wet lap/p p ldquo;Is it reallyhellip;rdquo;br / ldquo;Divorce Mom?rdquo;br / My voice is crackedbr / ldquo;No, of course not dearrdquo;br / ldquo;Divorce itrsquo;s notrdquo;/p p All a liebr / To protectbr / My motherrsquo;s fearbr / To break my heart/p p If you ask me whybr / I will saybr / We were not wantedbr / For our skinbr / Our color, a shade too dark/p p nbsp;/p p emThis is an Empathy span data-scayt_word="Exercize" data-scaytid="1"Exercize/span for Poverty Journalism 101 at span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkooL" data-scaytid="22"PeopleSkooL/span/em/p