SHELTERING THOMAS

As a parent we try and protect our children right? We learn it from our parents.our friends parents, or maybe we just see it on television?? When my son was first born i surrounded my house with childproof everything!!! I installed a car seat i did it all!!But that's not what this is about...My son is 16 now and next year hes a senior..That's when it hit me...My wife and i were talking the other night about my son graduating high school and i went back in my head across the years of his life...I was considering sending my son to a regular high school for his senior year!!My teen years and young adult hood were scattered with violence gang-banging and prison...One day when i had been in prison about 5 years already some guy i was talking to on the yard saw a picture on my wall and said he knew that kid...That kid i said is my son Tommy Jr!! The guy who said he knew my son from the street said he was Pauls brother..a fellow gang member and soldier in the same prison click as myself! Over the next hour or so the guy told me street stories and said how at many of these events my son was in the vicinity..more of an observer my son was as he at the time was around 11 yrs old!!The guy said my son was a good kid and looked forward to having my son be part of the hood..The team..The click!! I felt sick!!Over the next few hours i shot out letters to everyone in my gang n made threats along with promises all in hopes of deterring anyone from putting my lil Tommy on the hood..aka jumping him into the same bullshit that was killing my life as well as 100's of lives inside the very walls that contained my violence!!I had horrible visions of my son sitting where i was at that time in life...sitting there in silence...waiting for a war to spark...for a visit...for a letter....for some drugs to flood the cell blocks...Over the next few weeks i received letters saying a blanket was placed on my sons well being and he wouldn't be jumped in unless i either gave permission or died!! at that point the buzzards would circle!! I used to get visits regularly from my son while i journeyed down my plight!! I would tell my son one thing and he would watch me do another... I remember when the judge handed down 12 yrs and 6 years consecutive the first face i turned to was my sons..he was all of 5 or 6 at the time and i remember smiling when he threw up the neighborhood with his fingers as they drug me back to my cell!!So here we are..My son like i said before is 16..i have since given up the gang life and all that it entails..My son will graduate next year with a class of 2010 students hes never seen..never been in a classroom with...never met before..My son has many friends..One is actually real...I don;t approve of his one friend but what am i to do??protect him from his one real friend too?? ya see my son goes to school online ..his social network is all online..he is shy and has almost no sun on his face unless i can drag him out fishing or some family event!! he grew up on x-box live and virtual networks on the web!!At times i am so fucking glad hes not a gang member or a drug addict...I look at his gentle demeanor and it settles my heart that he's a good boy..He has almost no life and no girlfriends and no vitamin d in his life!!I have done everything in my life to protect him from the Ugly things Ive witnessed in the lifestyle i lived for way too long!!My family members have many opinions on my sons well being and the consensus is the concern for his social behavior or lack there of may be detrimental...I thought i was protecting him from becoming me..I don't know how his life will go? I always thought i was being a father..a protective father.....When i stare into my sons eyes i feel guilt.. i see stress and i feel awful...other times i see his good heart and i feel really good!!Well his life is almost his own now..I mean he's a year away from adulthood!!! I hope one day he knows i tried to save him!!!!

TAPAS

Yes sir!! this here is an appetizer.Its like a preview..I've thought about the whole wedding thing and i am going to go through the events one by one..Trust me it will not bore you..Ill run you through the beers that were passed around in my hotel room across the street of where me n my bride met 17 yrs prior..Ill tell you about when i pulled up for 3 days at the beach wedding of ours i hit the parking lot and my dads Mercedes was parked in the lot and when i looked inside to see if this was his car i gazed at cases upon cases of foreign beers..All for the big day!!I had no idea my dad would be there at the hotel all weekend and our wedding would be above the hotel in a beautiful garden overlooking the ocean!! Ill tell of the adjoining shanty below however still connected to the hotel that i sat in with my dad all day into the night before...Tequila shots n Guinness on tap..Yes the day before i got married me n my dad drank n talked n praised each others journeys...Ill never forget it and the next day i married the best girl God created so you know the stories gonna be good!!! Ill be back!!!I shall finish the game!!That was a reference to one of my favorite recitals by Emilios rendition of Billie the kid telling a hypothetical story....# Guys are sitting aroun playing poker and a man runs into the room and says the worlds on fire its all going to burn and explode in just a few short hours...The first cowboy stand and says"I gotta get home n say by to my children!! The next cowboys stands and says "I gotta get to the saloon n get stinky liquored up buy 3 whores and have a hella of a time..They both look at the third cowboy still sitting and ask"what are you gonna do Billie???Well sir billy states.I shall finish the GAME!!!.....I SHALL FINISH THE GAME!!!

AMERICAN ME!!!!

When i was little i used to stand behind my big brother and hide myself from the bad guys!!!I'm not sure where or what part of the city of angels we lived in at the time..You really cant call it where we lived because mostly what i remember is different motels around the downtown area..Ive heard stories of living in Baldwin park echo park or wherever..I don't remember!!I mostly remember hiding behind mj so my moms boyfriends couldn't hurt me...I remember being scared when they my mom and her boyfriend left to go find heroin id be worried she wouldn't come back but her boyfriends would!!MJ was older then me and therefore he already had friends around the hoods of east los.. Or wherever..I would mostly watch his little friends and him playing around..trying to act tough...following the Chicano patterns set forth by our surroundings...This was our path...Mj hopped off the path early in life..I however kept it close.I remember our mom dressing us like cholos and when we would visit my uncle they'd shake their heads at our attire...One day some years later after a lengthy prison term my mom walked out of prison released on parole and i looked at her attire..khakis pendelton even a bandanna..I remember MJ being embarrassed for her but i thought she looked cool..I wanted to be like her...I wanted to be like her loser boyfriends with their two buttons buttoned and their bandanna pulled low to hide their bloodshot eyes!!I even wanted to go to prison and see what it was all about.. so anyway here i am 20 yrs later ..Moms been deceased form a overdose, ive spent chunks of my life in prisons ..my body is a canvas of prison tattoos...Mj is good he's a manager for a company somewhere in the city of angels..As for how my life turned out..Its really good..Ive been out of prison 3 yrs now.. i live in a quiet neighborhood with my beautiful new bride...I have a son who's a gentle soul..im a shipping manager at a small company...I finally hopped of the path MJ hopped off way earlier then me..I guess i had to know...to see it and live it for myself...It was part of my family part of who i am...I'M here today and I'M happy..Im not a bad guy or a tuff guy or a Chicano..I'm an American!!!

I LIVE NOWHERE EVEN CLOSE TO SNOOPDOGG!!

The other day i read an article titled DO YOU LIVE CLOSE TO SNOOP DOGG?? In fact it was more like a month ago. Anyway i read this article that was published in the SAN DIEGO READER.... After i read this article i was mad!! i paced my balcony and said to myself who the fuck does this guy think he is??? IL give a brief rundown of this guys article ... He told stories of being a now 30 something security guard in downtown San Diego and he'd recently escaped to Florida for a week or two of vacation..he stated that on the plane as soon as someone found out he was from California they asked questions like..Do you live near the beach?? do you have palm trees in your yard?? Do you live near snoop dogg?? He then proceeded to tell tales of his former affiliation with the piru bloods ..a street gang in east San Diego.. he ranted and at times glorified the old ways..the gang banging that i sensed hed watched a lot more then he'd participated in himself..these guys always talk more then they actually get involved hands on...i know the type..you usually have to take the gun from these guys hand and do the dirt yourself..then later at the roundup you here their voice the loudest telling tales of grandeur..Anyway this guy was saying that he was upset that tourists only saw the palm trees and the beaches and they never smelled the piss or liquor he smells being a downtown security officer everyday!! He continued his stories of how he was present during a murder shooting incident on which he later took the stand and held his mudd..aka he didn't snitch anyone out...he then traveled through adventures of the hoods of the big bad east side!!At one point he stated a few weeks prior to writing this article his old friend still affiliated with the bloods picked him up at his parents house one Saturday afternoon and as they left the drive way the charger they were in did two donuts and the threw up bloods and say whats up blood???hmmmmmm if id of done this while my parents are in their 50's im not sure id ever be welcome back to visit?? but lets give him the benefit of not calling him a straight up liar...or a enhancement writer...Do i believe him?? well it dosen't matter what i believe..This article was published in a popular magazine slash paper and hundreds of people read this and digested it and its over..its out there..Okay so whats my point? is there a point?? if you have read my blog you know there's a point..so here i am..hahah just kidding..but here's my point...This guy went on to say how disgusted people only saw the good parts of San Diego and were indifferent to its ghettos and unaware of the crime rate and the gang presence and the struggles of the poverty stricken badlands....and the east side he's so proud of that he never moved away from..In truth this mediocre writing if you can even call it that is really in truth a poison..yes a virus...it infects people it breeds more ignorance.. I have been all up in the mix of all that bullshit he was quick to glorify...the difference is when i tell tales of this past i once too glorified and gave so much praise to..well i try to motivate the reader to see past this bullshit and evolve!!! your city smells like piss???bring some Lysol..you see gangs everywhere ??MOVE!! you tired of poverty homeless people and unawareness??? get a new job,life,patterns...I for myself moved from the area that i gave so much to it took 10 yrs of my life and did even more damage to my son!! I don't associate with my former friends and homeboys and you'll never hear me say whats up cuzz to anyone!!! no donuts in front of my parents house and no trials of which i will be a ghetto superstar for not snitching!!! I've moved on not only from the area i supported but also in my self evolving..I've let myself go down a new path!!! And just in case your wondering...I LIVE NOWHERE EVEN CLOSE TO SNOOPDOGG!!!

UNDERSTANDING TERRA!!!

I was three months from the house!!!Thats what you say when your that close to the street!!!I was already technically paroled just waiting for paperwork and transport!!My intentions were to keep my nose clean for those three weeks and get my mind right and slide out of that place with as lil drama as i could keep at bay!! So they took me to a kind of pre-release prison to help you get ready to leave....Bad start!!! This place had just been built hence the heavy drug gang and multiple other crimes that flooded these new facilities!!!The transport delivered me to the facility with about three months til my release...I hit the tank and waited for my property...As i sat the elevator opened..i looked in and swallowed then smiled and got up.....My longtime prison crime partner who was like my brother was standing there smiling...Jose..aka snoopy aka Jason aka Joe stood there smiling...I shook my head and hugged my homeboy...He laughed and said ..We own the place...The guards the help the kitchen the laundry facility it was all ours!!!He said lets roll...I told the guard to have a guard find me when my property was ready!!Snoopy stepped in and told him send everything to TJ and nodded and the guard nodded back n looked me over then nodded..i nodded back and left!!!Snoopy said he knew i was on transport and i he arranged a bunk in his dorm...You have to remember i came directly from a very high level security to a place like this...fucking Disneyland!!!I met the fellas and said hi to a lot of guys a knew already!!!So anyhow over the next few months i basically forgot about the straight and narrow and told myself this is who you are..dont act like you dont know..dont try and be somebody you aint...you built this rep ..use it!!!So three months of dirt...we ran everything we could get away with and its just funny how soon you forget whats important to you!!!Tattooing in prison will get you three things....number 1 a trip to the hole for 30..number two your parole will be revoked...number three you get higher points and sent to higher security prisons for high points!!!So heres my situation...Snoopy was known to be one of the best freehand tattooist in the prison system..To go along with that he hadn't done a tatoo in more then six years because he too was almost done there and avoiding trying to make it to his final destination and cross the finish line..You see prison ink is earned...even the non gang related tatts..No ones gonna give you there time in any form unless you are somebody to them...somebody important to them...With me and snoopy well im the one that put him in touch with his 7 year old son he had never met...Yep i had my son call his son on three way while snoopy listened to the answers to the questions he mailed to my son to ask his osn...are you mad a t your daddy??do you know Jason??ect ect...So ya he owed me...And this was time to make it right...when i asked he put his head down on the table and didn't say anything....about an hour later he spoke...Im gonna do it for you homie...lets get everything in order and get it done!!!Im sure he put his head down and went over the consequences in his mind...Heres a guy who was 36 years old and been in adult prison since he was 13..Yes tried as an adult and been there for it all..His son was conceived way back when there were conjugal visits...Anyway we had a guard bring ink..an electric toothbrush and some sterilizing equipment needles ect...Next i rounded up my lookouts for the one or two guards who walked the straight and narrow..not all guards are for sale...some have no price...So with all the precautions taken we got down to bizz!!! snoopy rolled deodorant across my neck and placed a pattern of the fancy letters inked up and pressed the pattern on my neck..he held it there and pulled the paper away...the ink left a pattern of letters across my neck and i looked at it with a hand mirror from all angles..he nodded i nodded and i sat down in a chair..i leaned over and tilted my head..Snoopy is a hand pick tatt artist so this adds to the whole event...some guys use machines but i dealt with ogs mostly...snoopy asked if i was ready and i nodded..i clenched my teeth and his hand moved fast...i remember thinking i hope i aint being hit right now...snoopy was a close friend but thats usually who they send!! i closed my eyes and felt the needle tap my skin..tap! tap! tap!! just like Deangelo tap tap...i bled alot and it went on for 3 hours...when i opened my eyes there she was!!! TERRA!!! My niece who id yet to meet!! I carried her ever year since she was waiting to breathe..after i got her name tatted on my neck i looked at it in the mirror and smiled...i was proud!! I will always be proud!!! the beautiful life i live now...well i do it for her too!!! One day i walked over to a prison phone and called MJ collect..before we started talking he interrupted me and told me his lady was pregnant....i looked at the ground and cried...i told him im sorry i wont be home when your firstborn arrives!!!The thing is i am here now!!! i do it for her too!!!

OUR FOUNDATION IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!

I look across at just how Irish you look!!! I am forever intoxicated by how earthly your appearance is right now!!!Its like the lines in your face are maps of authenticity!! You wear the appearance of your country and heritage in breathtaking reality!!I see hope and belief in your eyes...someone who wants to believe and hang onto the good things!!!Its quite a observance to watch you live...I see who you are and you see me too!!! I see your eyes turn earthly colors with the days and seasons...i may be the only one who knows just how lovely these things are..there is nothing this world can offer that can make someone like you more beautiful..you make this whole thing more beautiful to witness...to feel...to see...to breathe and take in!!!to believe in!!Ive always felt this way ..wifey to be!!!I couldn't really ever see me without you!!!Its just one of those stories that can't change...it was from the first day!!!You meet that person and your life changes...you somehow change...both of you change...there's no judgment..no guilty pleas...there's no replicas...there's no regular standards either..there's chances..there's understanding and conversations from caring alone...caring alone is the thing...what i mean is there is talks and conversations that aren't rehearsed or practiced or unnerving..You have always been here..I will always feel you!!!Our friendship is timeless!!! I tell myself you'll live forever!!! You'll always be here...In some way!!This is what makes me want to live a good life!!!To care!! To give!!!You motivate me to live!!! MISS~SARITA~MI VIDA~

THE FELLAS

i WANTED TO SHARE A VERY NICE PICTURE OF THE OLD CREW AT A PARTY RECENTLY IN THE LBC!!!MY PROFILE PICTURE IS ALOT OF OLD MEMORIES!!!