It Makes No Difference to Whine

 

The first baptism of fire for the new TBA came as the papers of the corporation were still fresh. Jerry’s mother Carmen Valenzuela, at the request of her son, was desperately looking for me one day.

In tears, she said, “Chuck, my landlord said I have one week to move out of my rental house. I have to do something.” Carmen, a single mother of two, walked to work as a janitor in a hospital every day. The years she had behind her were evidenced in the greys in her dark brown hair. Her simple, clean, and colorful attire revealed her socioeconomic status and her Hispanic heritage. Maybe Carmen could not read, but she was not ignorant. Her life revolved around her work and children. In fact, the word ‘tenacious’ most accurately describes her. As simple as all that sounds, Carmen played a pivotal role in the transformation of the TBA and the battles of the Barrio as a silent history maker. Her existence made a difference.

Her sons were Alfred, who was sixteen at the time, and Jerry, about to turn fourteen. 

A few of us united and wrote a letter to Carmen’s landlord. We stated that he was breaking the law, as he was supposed to give at least a thirty-day notice of eviction before enforcing it and preferably give his tenant at least two months to find another rental. We sent a copy to the newspaper and the paper printed an article about it. We also sent a copy of the article to the city attorney.

Three things came out of the letter and the article. The first was an apologetic landlord who stated that he didn’t realize that he was doing this to her. “I was just in a hurry to fix the house and move in,” he said. “Carmen can take some more time to look around for another place to rent.” She did, she found one and was happy when she moved in. Some people felt sympathy for the owner, while others wrote off his apology saying he would have kicked her out in a week if it had not been for the embarrassment of the article and for the legal threat, as if Carmen could afford an attorney.

Secondly, the word got around that the TBA had clout which stood for justice. Was that to remain true in the future? What is justice? Justice for whom? What about those who prefer justice for the landlord? Power for everyone should not mean power only for those you like. Of course, the landlord should have at least followed the rules, the law, Carmen did and he didn’t.

The third thing that came out of this was that Judge Collins and Dave Parslow were about to intrude on my life, as I was beginning to intrude on the lives of others. The mixture of time and events combining two non-related individuals, Carmen and Dave, into a speech by a judge to a group of Democrats, fueled the boomeranging direction to be trailed back through this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sentinel Peak, ‘A’ Mountain