A funny thing happened to me and my son the other day and I wanted to write it down now, so I wouldn’t ever forget it, not that I probably ever would,  (anyhow) here’s my story:

It was very hot that day. I spent most of my morning, searching for jobs in the wanted ads, and came up with nothing.  It was very depressing and I decided to take a break.  I  thought I'd drive to the beach with my son, so I threw his bike in the back of my car, along with my blades, grabbed my camcorder and off we went! 

We ended up at La Jolla, one of the most beautiful beaches in San Diego.  I drove around and around looking for some where to park.  It was pack- full of people, and we began to give up hope.  We were drenched with sweat, and dying to get out of the car.

I decided to drive down the coast some more.  Maybe I'd find parking some where else or a less crowded beach. The road curved around and we began to climb a hill.  Higher and higher we drove.  I kept thinking we'd HAVE to find something soon!!

 When we finally reached the top, I spotted an unfamiliar beach area with an awesome view!!  It had surprised me that I had never seen this beautiful beach before.  We both got out of the car and began walking toward the cliff ahead of us.  I turned on my cam and began taping.  Just then Ricky yells …”Mom…come here quick!!”  I turn to him and watched as he jumped off a cliff!!  I ran as fast as I could to him… There he was, running down a very steep dusty trail.   I took off after him, yelling… ”Ricky, wait up!!”  He was so excited and didn’t seem to hear me.  From where I was I could see him traveling down the path so I wasn’t that worried. I followed right behind him.

 It was a very long way down and wearing my flip-flops carrying my cam over my shoulder didn’t make it any easier.  I kept on thinking about how hard it was going to be on the way back UP…  I noticed on the way down that there were men standing around, watching the beach (or so it seemed).  

The trail wasn’t made too well.  Most of it the time I was climbing down rocks or boulders, hoping that I wouldn’t slip from my flip-flops.  As soon as I got down to the beach area I looked up and noticed that some people there weren’t wearing any clothes!!  Then it just hit me. Where Was I??  Oh My God…. I thought, “Shit…this is BLACKS BEACH!!”  I called Ricky and told him that I think we should start heading back up.  He asked me why.  I laughed and told him, ”see that man over there? he’s not wearing any pants, this is a NUDE BEACH”.  He looked up at me, confused and said nothing.  Then we both headed back up the trail. 

Going down was A LOT easier then going back UP!!  I was huffing and puffing trying not to have a heart attack.  A lot of people passed us.  Then I thought, Oh Shit, I’ve got my camcorder strapped across my chest…. I probably look like a Perv!!  I couldn’t believe the day I was having…so comical!  This could only happen to me, I thought. 

It took Ricky and me about a good hour getting back up the cliff.  I was so sore.  When we reached our car in the parking lot we both grabbed our drinks and just sat there trying to catch our breath.  I told him I didn’t think we were going to bike ride after this.  I just wanted to drive us back home.  And he agreed, thank god!!  He was as tired as I was.  This was an adventure for us to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was born and raised in East San Diego. It stood pretty rowdy, a ghetto-like community back then and twice as bad now.  We lived a block away from  El Cajon Blvd.  That boulevard is famous for it's abundant amount of hookers, drug dealers, crazy vato locos, etc...

When I was so young and couldn't remember, I was told that they had an underground passway leading from one end to the other.  Probably made for the amount of traffic I guess.  Anyways, they got rid of it, too many people were getting mugged or drug users used it for a hide-a-way, at any rate it was not a good idea to keep it so they got rid of it.  I guess they just filled that hole up in the ground ... and that took care of that!!

 There was this one time when I was about 8 or so. I had just taken a shower, and was leaving the bathroom.  I wrapped a towel like a turban on top of my head and covered my body with another.  I remember trying to get to my bedroom quickly before anyone would see me.  I lifted my head up and confronted face-to-face with a tall black guy.  I was so embarrassed, being seen this way.  But even though, I turned away from him and giggled.  I thought he was one of my brother's friends. I didn't want to be rude so I quickly said hello and scurried away to the living room. My sister was there watching TV.  I sat down besides her and asked her who was Richard's friend over there. She looked worried by my question and asked me, "who, WHAT guy???"  I replied anxiously, "That GUY, Richard's friend!!!!! The one in our HOUSE!"   She told me that Richard hadn't any friends over tonight.  I gasped!! Then I quickly told her about the guy I seen in the hallway and how I even said "hello" to him!  We both hid under the dinner table, giggling.  My sister told me she couldn't believe I actually said "hello" to the prowler!!  We both thought it was pretty funny.

Later on I started to think what the burglar must of been thinking when I greeted him so friendly into our home, Doh!!

Roast Baby Ducks

Every year my mother would buy all-year round passes to Sea World for the entire family. So taking a trip to Sea World was not a big deal for us. It had become just as exciting as a trip to the dentist. We were there quite often.

Anyways, on one weekend at Sea World, my sister, mother and I were walking down this grassy path. My sister and I noticed a small nest beyond the trees. We ran over to it and found tiny little eggs nestled inside. We got so excited by this and wanted to take them home. We ran to mother and told her. We said that we thought the mother duck had abandoned the eggs and it was up to us to save them! We begged and pleaded with mother to let us take them. I would of never really thought that mother would fall for it, but she DID!!

Mother stashed the tiny lil' eggs into her purse. Gently placing them so that they wouldn’t break.

I was so excited by this. On the way home in the car I imagined when the ducks were hatched, and how the little baby ducks would grow up thinking that I was their mother. A childhood fantasy!!

When we got home, mother said they needed to be kept very warm. She put the eggs into the oven and we all went into the living room to watch television.

After about an hour or so, we were all startled by a loud, "BANG!". We rushed into the kitchen and found the oven door wide open, and smoke was filled in the air. Slimy yolk from the eggs covered the walls of the oven. It was a nightmare!

Mother cleaned up the mess, and all the while I kept on thinking about the mother duck back at Sea World. And how she is probably very sad looking for her eggs. Sadness and grief overwhelmed me. I never got over the guilt, I still feel so bad to this very day.