It was 1985, the sun was down, other kids were playing around the apartments playground, some were playing basketball, a few were playing marbles off to the side, and me, well, I was breakdancing of course.  Everyday after school we would hang out in the playground with our huge piece of cardboard and we’d practice until we couldn’t dance anymore.  We moved to these apartments for a year for several reasons, just me, my mom, her new husband at that time and my little brother Rocky.  He was around 8 years old with the coolest bowl haircut ever seen.

As we were dancing and hanging out, I was interrupted by the sound of my little brother yelling at a bigger kid to leave him alone.  There was a chubby little kid in the complex who was known for being a bully and he was messing with my little brother on the other side of a 20 foot fence.  I shouted at that kid from the other side to leave Rocky alone but he wouldn’t give.  I don’t know what came over me at that point, but I started running towards the fence exit, ran full blast around to the other side, fixed my eyes on the chubby boy and as I got about 10 feet from him I jumped in the air, extended my leg and kicked him right in the chest!  This was all spontaneous and something I had never done before.  I had never taken karate or any type of martial arts.  This all just happened instinctively.  Could have been my natural born ninja skills coming out.  I don’t know.  Well, the kid went straight to the ground, trying to catch his breath.  Everyone who witnessed this were trippin of course.  I was trippin as well.  I just did a flying karate kick to a kid’s chest!  What the?  I think I played it off like I knew what I was doing and took my little brother back to the other side of the fence with me.

Later that night we get a knock on our door.  My mom is home by this time and she answers.  Standing outside was this kid, his dad, and older brother.  All i remember is the dad pulling the kid’s shirt up and seeing a bruise on his chest in the shape of my shoe, sole pattern and all!  My mom took care of me that night with the belt, but I’m sorry, as a kid my age, seeing my shoe imprint on a kid’s chest was something out of one of those old school karate movies and it seemed worth the belt woopin.

I would of course never recommend that any kid do this, unless you’re being bullied and need to protect yourself or your little brother.   I’m not the violent type either and this was probably the only physical encounter I ever had growing up.  But if there’s a moral to this story at all, maybe it’s this.  Life is going to bully you around as long as you’re alive.  There will always be something that tries to steal from you, push you around, break you and beat you up.  All you can do is stand firm and fight back.  Don’t let life win.  When you need to do a flying kick to the chest of something that’s bringing you down, kick it!  If you find yourself in a helpless situation, choke it or punch it in the face.  Don’t be afraid to do what instinctively feels right to protect yourself.  Be strong.  Allow others to be strong for you.  And to those that believe in something bigger than yourself, allow God to be your strength always.

From one ninja to another, keep kickin.

- Hector Garcia

One of the most popular phrases that we’ve all heard at least once and will continue to hear is that “life isn’t easy”.  It’s really not and for some it’s an every day balance between work, kids, school, activities, debt, relationships, friendships, play, and family.  If we’re not careful, life can beat the crap out of us and keep us down for long stretches of time.

But the hardness of life doesn’t have to defeat us or win.  We can choose everyday to fight back and allow the good things in life to supercede the bad.  We can make the choice to wake up every morning and be happy or find at least one tiny little thing to focus on that will keep our head above water for that day.  For some it’s their kids or mate.  For others it can be their faith in God.  Some even find it in a hobby, sport, or even their craft.  Whatever the case, I feel like there are at least three things that we can do everyday that will always make it good a one.

LIVE.

I’ve had someone tell me before, “I love the way that you live life”.  This was of course in response to seeing all the stuff that I do and how much fun I’m always trying to have.  Regardless of how tough things might be, I really do love life.  I enjoy living and experiencing all that life has to offer.  If I could afford it, I would travel the world and see as much of it as I could.  I do what I can now with what I have, but this life was meant to live and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m a little kid in a man’s body per se, and yes, I do want to have as much fun as possible.  Just seems like the natural way to live.

Every morning when you wake up, choose to Live.  Don’t get caught up in the routines of life.   Make the most of everyday.  Treat yourself.  Have fun.  Take time out to have fun, however that may be.  And if you have a hard time treating yourself, get someone to help push you and force you to make time.  Take trips.  Go running.  Swim.  Ride a bike.  Do something good for someone else.  Give.  Dance, even if it’s by yourself in your home with the radio full volume.  Move yourself to get the most out of every single stinkin day of your life.  This life is too short to get caught up in the crap that it throws at us everyday.

LOVE.

I firmly believe that Life without Love is no life at all.  There are so many different forms of love.  There’s the love that you have for your kids or family.  There’s love that you would feel towards a friend.  And then there’s straight up falling in love, which is one of my favorites.  But love is essential if we are going to say that we’re “living life”.

I’ve been “blessed” with such a big heart and the ability to love and forgive so easily.  Sometimes it’s a blessing and sometimes it feels like a curse, but I definitely wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m not ashamed of it.  Those who know me well know that I have no problem expressing my feelings and sharing my heart.  Again, life is too short to keep what we feel bottled up inside and all to ourselves.  If I love someone why keep it inside?  Why not let that person know how much they are loved?  We all want to be loved and appreciated, so by me keeping that inside, I’m depriving someone from receiving one of the most powerful feelings and emotions we as humans could ever experience.

Open your heart today.  Allow yourself to love and be loved.  Don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve and let others know what you feel or think.  We’re emotional beings and were created to love.  Love with all of your heart.  There should be no such thing as loving with half of it anyway, right?  Choose to love today.  Give love today.  And if someone loves you, open your heart and receive it.

LAUGH.

Some research shows that by the time the average kid reaches kindergarten, he or she is laughing some 300 times each day.  Compare that to adults who only laugh about 15 - 17 times per day (men and women laugh about the same, just at different things of course).

I’m 38 years old, and I would have to say that my laughter count is more than likely way more than 17 and hopefully closer to that of a kid’s.  I love to laugh and I love making people laugh.  A day without any laughter would suck!  We all know how powerful laughter is too, because we’ve all had a friend or family member who has been down or sad and what is one of the first things that we try to do for them?  Yep, we try to make them laugh or bring a smile to their face.

Laughter just feels good.  It’s a physical and audible way of our bodies expressing happiness.  So be happy today and laugh.  Laugh alot.  Let the kid inside of you come out and play.  Again, life is too short to take it too seriously.  This life is over before you know it, so why not fill it with laughter and peeing your pants (that’s what happens when something is super funny). 

Have a good day everyone.  Live. Love. Laugh.

- Hector

Right now i’m sitting in a small restaurant / bar / pub (i think) and I’m sitting alone, only because my lunch meeting had to reschedule.  So of course, I have my handy little companion called my laptop sitting in the truck, and it makes up for the missing person, kinda, but not really.

So here I am, eating a great bbq bacon burger and fries and chillin to some decent music.  The rain outside and the ambiance within this semi cozy / dark place makes it perfect for a little bit of writing.  And I’m always ready to write, especially since my tiny little brain never stops and always has something to say.

What I want to share today has to do with relationships and more specific, marriage.  By the way, I’m married, and have been for almost 13 years.  You learn a lot about a person in 13 years, 18 if you count how long we’ve known each other.  But one thing you never really learn is how to handle conflict or crisis.  And this is mainly because every crisis or problem is different.  Add to this the fact that no two people are ever at the same places in life or at the same place and mindset that they were during the last conflict you had to deal with.  Conflict sucks but it’s part of life and definitely part of relationships. How we handle conflict is the key though and here are 3 things that I do know need to happen during times of conflict if two people hope to get through it together.

ONE. It’s important for any couple, married or not, to look at the relationship as two people on the same team.  If you view each other as team mates, playing for the same team, then anytime there’s a conflict or crisis, it will hopefully be natural to look at the problem as an outside force, working against both of you, not both of you working against one another.  This also helps keep two people from pointing the finger at one another.  Placing blame sucks and it’s usually the biggest hurdle to overcome during conflict, especially if you feel the other person “did you wrong”.  Working as a team changes the perspective, even if there is a “victim” and it allows both people to ask the question “How do WE get through this?”, rather than either person asking how THEY will get through it on their own.

TWO. You hear all the time that communication is the key to any relationship.  Well, after being married for only 13 years, I can say that this really is the number one key.  If two people can’t communicate effectively, it will be very difficult to settle anything or come to any kind of resolution during conflict.  A good example of this would be where one person is the one who speaks up all the time, and the other “shuts down” because they don’t like dealing with conflict.  Sometimes there’s a partner who doesn’t really know how to deal with conflict so they prefer to say nothing at all and have a difficult time expressing themselves.  Whatever the case, two people can find a way to communicate effectively and those lines of communication should always be open and taken advantage of.  We’re all human and no one on this earth is a mind reader, so please don’t expect your partner to read yours.  It’s very simple.  Both people should work to always provide a safe haven of communication and both should simply say what’s on their heart and mind.  Always be honest with your feelings and don’t hold anything back.

THREE. Couples should never, ever choose to handle “major” conflict on their own.  Most stuff of course can be dealt with between two people, but when the conflict clearly becomes greater than the two, both should agree that the right thing to do would be to bring someone in as a mediator.  A mediator helps in so many ways.  They can help two people see more clearly and give an outside perspective.  If there’s a lot of arguing and an inability to communicate effectively, a good mediator helps direct the conversation in the right direction and can help remove any obstacles that might be the culprit for the poor communication.  The simple fact that two people would try to handle a major crisis on their own is a clear sign that they should get some outside help.  Sometimes we have close friends that would serve as great mediators, but it would be wise to get an expert or skilled mediator involved at some point.

Relationships take a lot of work.  The key, I believe, to any successful relationship, is for both people to put the other first and serve the other person.  If you have two people that are working to put the other before themselves, you can’t lose.  Out-give your partner.  Out-love them.  Out-cherish them.  Out-serve them.  Live like this and you’ll be out-smarting the many things that work to destroy most relationships and marriages.

(Note:  This was started yesterday.  After I left the restaurant, I walked out the door, slipped on wet decking wood, and crushed my laptop.  I know, it was fun.)

- @hectorgarcia

It’s not a secret that I love riding bikes.  Anyone that knows me or kinda knows me understands that most of what i do in life revolves around the bike industry.  I’ve been riding bikes all my life, or at least since I was like 7 or 8, and since I was in high school I’ve been attempting to kill myself by doing stunts and tricks on any kind of bike I can get my hands on.  It’s what I do and it’s basically who i am. 

There’s something about riding a bike that I really can’t explain.  And i know lots of other people that feel the same way.  But last night, while hanging out with some friends one of them explained this in the most simple way ever.  I brought up the subject and stated “Man, I don’t know what it is, but i LOVE just getting on my bike and riding”.  I followed that with “there’s just something about riding that I can’t explain.  What is it?”.  Without much hesitation or thought, my friend Miquel stated “it’s because it makes us feel like kids again”.  And there it was.  The easy explanation to it all and the most accurate that I’ve ever heard.

Go through a neighborhood or pass by a park during a nice day and you’ll see kids having fun on their bicycles.  What do kids seem to always want for Christmas?  That’s right, they want a bicycle.  Riding a bicycle allows us to go fast, it gives us a little more power, and the ride, simply put, is just FUN!

No matter how old you are, there’s a desire in all of us to be younger.  Some of us go as far as wishing that we were kids again.  A kid’s #1 goal every day is to have as much fun as possible.  They don’t have to worry about bills, performing well at their job, taking care of a family, or any other type of responsibilities.  They exist simply to have fun, and that’s the life that we would all love to have again.

But why wish to be younger or be a kid again?  We’re adults.  We can come and go as we please.  We can drive a car.  We can stay out as late as we want, and if money permits, we can buy whatever “toys” we want.  We have the time and power to have as much fun as possible.  If i want to get on my bike and go for a ride at midnight, I can do that.  If I want to go to the beach today, i can do that as well.  Basically, being the adults that we are gives us the power to be as much of a kid as we want to.

I guess this is how I live.  I don’t allow my age to dictate what I can and cannot do.  Of course my body will remind me at times that I’m not a teenager any longer, but I’ll at least give it the opportunity to tell me that.  I live day to day like everyone else, but I like to mix my thinking with what a kid would normally wake up thinking.  “How much fun can I have today?”.  Let that be your question today or tomorrow morning.  Allow the “kid” in you to come out regularly and have fun.  Life is too short to be an adult your whole life.  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for reading.

- Hector

My day usually starts with the opening of our blinds around the house, allowing the sun to come in and hang out for a while.  I make coffee and begin with one of many huge cups.  This morning was an early one for me and after pouring that cup, I decided to sit on the back steps and enjoy the cool morning and hang out with my son.  He’s a 70+lb golden retriever named Homie and he’s basically like a child to us.

Had this 13 year old dog since he was a puppy.  We have a lot of history together and so many memories, good and bad.  When he was a puppy he had an uncontrollable chewing fetish and over the course of a couple of years he had destroyed a couple pairs of glasses, a cell phone, wood window seals, shoes, tv remote controls, and half of a Christmas tree.  Yeah, that’s right, he ate half of our tree one Christmas.  We came home one day to find that the bottom half of our tree was missing and ornaments that once had a place to hang were all over the floor.  Apparently the taste of the tree was so good that Homie decided to have a good lunch.  He’s crazy to say the least, but despite his antics over the years, we still love him.

As he grew up, I’ll admit that I didn’t handle a lot of his antics very well.  He definitely tested my patience and received a few beat downs (a.k.a spankings).  Trust me, many times I wanted to give him more than a spanking, but even those ended up hurting my hand.  He of course matured and developed into a very obedient and loving animal.  Best dog I’ve ever had.

With all this said, I’ll get to my reason for this post.  As a dog owner and straight up animal lover, there’s a trait about dogs that I think we can all learn from.  If I ever saw the ability to forgive in any animal, it would have to be dogs.  And I learned this a looonngg time ago.  There were many times that Homie would “piss me off” and I found my self slapping him in the hind area like I was spanking a kid.  Multiple times and sometimes a punch in the ribs.  Yeah i know, not good, but that was then.  Remember, my patience was tested with this guy.  But every time, immediately following one of these disciplining episodes, I could sit next to Homie and notion for him to come give me a hug and he’d be right there.  It didn’t make any sense.  I had just given him a whoopin, why would he even want to be near me?

You see, dogs don’t know how to hold grudges.  They don’t know how to hold unforgiveness.  Of course, if they’re seriously abused they’ll develop a fear towards humans, but in general, dogs only know how to do one thing, and that’s love.  It’s as if they were born to love us humans, and I’d say that there’s a lot that we can learn from them.  You could slap a dog, kick him, give him a couple of body slams, and then lay on the ground next to him and he’ll be right there ready to play and show his love.  He/she completely forgets that just a few minutes ago you were unleashing your “fury” on them.

Let’s keep this in mind today as we go about our business.  If a dog has the ability to forgive as easily as they do, shouldn’t we all the more?  If you are holding a grudge against anyone or have been carrying around unforgiveness, lay it down.  It’s not worth the effort to carry that junk with you.  It actually takes more energy to walk around being bitter and mad at someone than it does to simply forgive, let go, and move on.  It’s definitely easier to say this than do, but we all have the power to forgive.  And if you need help with that, God is always right there ready to help.  Unforgiveness is dangerous and limits our growth.

So learn from the dog.  Study their ways.  Live a lifestyle of forgiveness.  And if you don’t own a dog, go get one today or tomorrow, or this weekend.  They’ll change your life.

- Hector

I’m 37 years old.  I don’t act my age and many people always tell me that I look 10 years younger.  Ha, those are definitely compliments.  At my age I’m still riding bmx bikes and riding around with people half my age and fitting right in (I think).  I don’t have to try hard, it’s just who I am.  Yeah, I would say that I’m basically one big kid trapped in a man’s body.  A very beautiful body by the way.  haha.  Kidding of course.  No, really.

I’m definitely a Toys-R-Us kid and have no intentions of “growing up” anytime soon.  It’s funny because at family parties I always find myself hanging out with the kids and without fail, if there is a moonwalk at one of these parties, I end up inside.  I don’t know why.

This “kid” inside of me is something I embrace though.  You hear people all the time complaining about aging too quickly and wishing they were 20 years younger.  Ha, I don’t complain, I just do what I feel in my heart and if this heart wants to play around on a bmx bike until it’s 5o years old, I probably will.  Why should kids be the only ones allowed in moonwalks or on slip-n-slides anyway?  We only live once.  Live like you mean it.  And like my Facebook friend Gengis Suarez says it, “Live Hard”.

Well, if there really is a “kid” inside of me, I’m discovering it even more as I work on a new children’s book.  The idea came through a Facebook contest where a friend was asking “friends” to share stories on how they met him (friend is Drew Canole).  I decided to enter and since I’ve never met Drew, I could only make up a story.  Less than 5 minutes later my story involved Drew riding around on a vespa scooter with his puppy who’s name was “Puppy”, they crashed into a light pole, were thrown into the snow, I heard the crash while cutting wood with no shirt on so that my abs could breathe, and by the end of this story I was carrying Drew and Puppy up a hill and doctoring them by a warm fire.  Ha, as crazy as this story sounds, it was super funny at the time and sparked the beginnings of an idea for a number of kid’s books.

I started working on this concept a couple of months ago and with the help of a wonderful friend, I was inspired to develop these characters along with many others.  What started out as one book idea is now a series, all with a very good and encouraging message.  The books will fall under the title “The Adventures of Drew & Puppy” and will chronicle the life of these two partners as they travel their town and possibly the country in search of the ultimate adventure.  In their search they find themselves in situations that teach them that the ultimate adventure is not in climbing mountains or exploring new territory, but in meeting new people and helping others and doing good.

I’m picking the writing back up and finishing up this first book soon.  I’m doing all of the illustrations myself and may get some help from other designers.  The image above is the cover of the first book with Drew and Puppy chillin on their Vespa scooter.  The release will be something we do in conjunction with a huge party and benefit.  I’ll keep everyone posted through Facebook and this blog.  I’m hoping that these books make a difference in kid’s lives and help create a “Shift” in them early on.

- Hector

Those that know me well know that I’m a guy with a huge heart.  Not a huge physical heart of course (how would they know that?), but the other one.  The one that’s full of love and passion and lots of other stuff.  If I love something or someone, I pour my whole heart into “it”.  I believe that if you’re passionate enough about something, why only give it 50% of yourself?  Why not give 100%?  If you love someone, why only give a portion of your heart?  Why not give them all of it?  Right?

Well, this is how I live and this is what you’ll get if you know me and are a part of my life.  I doubt that I’ll ever be accused of not being passionate enough.  I hope I don’t?  Life is too short to simply be content and settle for whatever.  You can’t fake passion either.  It’s either in you or it’s not.  And if you ever have to question whether you’re passionate about something or someone, then you’re probably not.

With this said, there’s one thing that I’ve realized over the years that I am passionate about, and that’s writing.  Not just writing for the sake of writing, but writing what’s on and in my heart.  If you’re a close friend or family member, you may have received one of my heartfelt letters once or maybe twice.  They’re sometimes short and sweet, while other times they can be described as “novels”, as one dear friend described them.  In addition to my novels I simply love writing stories.  What’s funny is that i didn’t realize that until this year.  It’s been sitting there, waiting to come out and it’s coming out in the form of kid’s stories.  Don’t worry, I’ll be blogging about this later this week.

The written word is powerful though.  Words alone are powerful, but putting them down on paper or typing them in an email makes them permanent and brings them to life.  Words have the ability to tear down someone or lift them up.  The written word can make the difference between someone doing something great or someone giving up.  They can cause someone to fall for you . . . or run from you.

So, if you you’re going to write, at least do it with all of your heart.  If you’re going to send a letter to someone you love, be sure to give the recipient no room to question how you really feel.  Yeah, that’s right, put it all out there.  If someone needs advice or counsel and you feel you have some answers, don’t hold back, put it all in there.  Do it with care and use your words wisely.  Just be sure that your heart is inside.  Do that and you can be assured that your words will be nothing less than powerful.

- Hector

Note:  Graphic above is from the portfolio of artist Konstantin Shalev on Behance.net.

A conversation with a friend of mine earlier tonight brought to memory my dad, Jesse Garcia, who died when I was 10 years old.  Cancer was the guilty party and this happened in the Summer of 1983, June 19th to be exact.  It’ll be 27 years this June since he left us, and sometimes it really does feel like only yesterday that I was hanging out with the best, toughest, smartest man in the world.

Of course, at age 10, every dad is the smartest, toughest, most powerful man around, but my dad truly was a great man.  I have nothing but good memories about him and every time I hang out with my 70 year old mother, I drill her with questions about him that give me just a little bit more insight on who my dad really was.  Even though I was 10 when he passed away, i was still too young to retain solid memories.  There is a lot that is somewhat vague, which makes those conversations with my mom so valuable.

Like tonight, I sat with my mom for a couple of hours and learned about the initial diagnosis of his cancer.  I learned about how much pain my father had to endure and how strong my mom had to be for him.  I learned a little about what he wished for all of his sons and daughters and I witnessed a love that my mom still has for my dad even after being gone all these years.

So yeah, I have no problem expressing the sadness I sometimes feel when I recall not growing up with a father.  I can remember certain instances in life where having my dad by my side would have been awesome.  I remember being nominated for something in high school, and while all of the other students had their mom and dad waiting in line with them to go out on the football field, i stood there with only my mom.  I envied the others who had their dad standing there with them and I remember looking at my mom, trying to hold back my slightly tear filled eyes from leaking, and saying “Man, it sure would have been nice to have dad standing here with us right now, right mom?”.

When I see a father and son out in public and it’s evident that they’re not close, I sometimes want to go over and slap both of them in the back of the neck and tell them to snap out of it.  When I see a dad hanging out with his son(s) and enjoying his time with them and vise versa, I sometimes want to go over and shake his hand while letting his kids know how lucky they are.

I understand that not every family situation is perfect and there are probably some very good reasons why some people don’t grow up being close to their mom and dads.  I also know that certain situations take place later in life that put a wedge between us and our parents.  But whatever the case may be, I would give anything to be the 37 year old man that I am right now and have my dad in my life.  I would cherish and value every day that I could have with him and not take any of my time with him for granted.  I would still want to learn from him and simply be content with having someone in my life that I could call “dad”.

So whatever your case may be, and wherever you are in your relationship with your “dad” or father, I encourage you to do something different today.  Make a shift.  Step out and do something for him that you haven’t done for him in a long time.  Be the kid that he remembers you as and hug the crap out of him the next time you see him.  Buy him something that speaks volumes to the man.  Encourage him today.  Love him today.  And if you have to, forgive him today if he needs to be forgiven.  You don’t have to wait until father’s day to honor him and let him know that you were thinking about him.  Everyday can be father’s day.  Everyday.

- Hector

I know, the last blog post in here is dated August 29th.  Those very few followers that I may have had for a little while are probably wondering where i’ve been or disappeared altogether, just as I have.  My intentions for this blog were to be a source of encouragement for readers and provide inspiration for others to “make a shift” and do something awesome with their lives.

Well, that would have been kinda hard over the past few months, especially with a lot that’s been going on in my life.  There hasn’t been a whole lot of encouragement to give out since I myself have been the one needing to be encouraged.  Yes, these past few months have been crazy and life changing.  Lots of ups and downs, but I’m working through them and learning from it all.

If i had anything to share with you today, it would be this.  This life is not easy and it was never intended to be “easy”.  We are going to face challenges everyday.  Some of them will be small and others will bring us to our knees, but they are what they are.  What we do with these challenges and what we learn from them is the big question.  We all handle trials differently.  Some of us try to run from them.  Others react negatively.  And some of us embrace them.  However you handle the challenges in your life, don’t do it alone.  Hopefully we all have family, friends, or other people in our lives that we can turn to for support.  And if you believe in God or a “higher” power, allow Him to walk with you through this.  He can prove to be the best friend you ever had while going through your “stuff”.

I’ll be back to blogging regularly very soon.  I love to write and it’s very therapeutic.  My next post will include an update about a children’s book i’m working on.  Thanks to a good friend of mine who helped push me to get it started.  I now need to follow through with it and get it done.  thanks for following and visiting.

- Hector

Those of you who have been following Homie’s story as of this past week, thank you for your kind words and prayers.  We really really appreciate it.  Tuesday was when we rushed him to the vet because of his symptoms, and it didn’t look good for him.  We found out that he has Idiopathic Vascular disease, which is a disease that basically affects his balance, equilibrium, and other areas of coordination.  Homie basically walks around like a drunk person with his head cocked to the side all the time, as if he’s saying “Huh?”.   It’s Saturday and we’re pleased to say that Homie looks like he’s already improving.  He’s still walking around like he’s hungover, but he gets up a little more often and he’s starting to bark again.  We’ll know he’s doing super good when he starts grabbing his decapitated stuffed toy and ripping it’s cotton ball guts out.

We’ve been touched by everyone’s interest and concern about Homie, which is tight, considering he’s just a dog.  But is he really “just a dog”?  To us he’s like a son, and for those of you that don’t share the same passion for animals as we do, I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand this.  It’s funny because a friend of Minette’s from work didn’t see the “big deal” regarding Homie, because in his part of the world, dogs are just dirty animals that roam the streets and occassionally get eaten by humans.  We’d never eat Homie though, unless I was really really really hungry, but even then I’d have to have a few side dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and some corn bread.  mmmm. 

With Homie being sick this past week, it had me and my wife recalling many cool and crazy Homie stories since his puppy days.  One that comes to mind that we always rememeber was how much he use to love chewing stuff.  He once chewed up my glasses and we found them in pieces in the living room as if he was eating potatoes chips.  Another time I found my cell phone lying on the floor with huge teeth bites and a crushed screen.  He’s chewed up the corners of a coffee table, chewed paint off of a brick fire place, would always chew the wood base board underneath the windows, would ram his head into our wooden fence and break planks so that he could sit there and chew on them, and a stuffed animal never lasts one day after homie rips its eyes off first, then the head, then its guts.  He had and still has issues, but we love those “issues” and have a lot of good memories with this dog.

We’re hoping to see Homie recover a lot more over the next couple of weeks and pray for the best.  He’s still very healthy, has a lot of energy and though being 12.568 years old, he still acts like a puppy.  We’ll keep everyone updated on his progress, and I think i’ll pull up some old pics and throw up a gallery this week.  Thanks again to every for caring.  Homie says “Word to your mother” and that he’s a gangsta.  ha.

- @hectorgarcia

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