Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
In a world where storytelling has been our link to the past since the days of cave drawings, there exists a timeless tradition. It's the art of passing down knowledge, and for Military Veterans, it's a crucial piece of their legacy. Join us on the Veterans Archives Podcast, where we dive deep into the heartwarming and awe-inspiring stories of those who served, no matter when or where.
Here, Veterans get the chance to be the authors of their own narratives. Through guided interviews in a relaxed and safe environment, they paint their experiences with their own words and unique voices. The result? A memory card in a presentation box, a precious gift they can share however they please.
But that's not all. These stories find a secure home in our archive, a treasure chest of experiences for future generations to explore. The best part? It's all a gift to the Veteran – our way of saying thank you for their service.
Tune in to the Veterans Archives Podcast, where history, heroism, and heartwarming tales come to life.
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Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
From Ecuador to Michigan: Jose Alvarado's Journey
Jose Alvarado's remarkable life journey spans continents, cultures, and challenges that have forged him into a man with powerful wisdom to share. Born in Ecuador in 1957, Jose's childhood transformed when his mother moved the family to New York City seeking better opportunities. The stark transition from playing in South American jungles to navigating the concrete streets of the Bronx marked the beginning of a journey filled with pivotal moments.
During his turbulent teenage years in New York, Jose found himself drawn into gang life until a letter from his grandfather, an ex-military man in Ecuador, sparked a profound change. At just seventeen, he made the decision to enlist in the United States Army, seeing it as an escape from street life where "either I get killed here or I get killed there." This choice became the foundation for everything that followed.
Jose's military career took him to Panama where he served as an "aggressor," training soldiers in jungle survival techniques—work perfectly suited to his South American upbringing. His identity as one of the "Red Devils" came with pride and purpose, though it ended earlier than planned due to a career-altering injury during his final helicopter repelling exercise. This physical challenge has remained with him for decades, a reminder of his service and sacrifice.
After the military, Jose discovered his talent for automotive repair almost by accident when his Toyota broke down. Teaching himself through manuals and determination, he built a successful career as a mechanic that eventually led him to establish Doc's Automotive in Michigan. His business philosophy mirrors the values learned through military service: integrity, knowledge-sharing, and building something that outlasts you.
Today, Jose finds his greatest joy in teaching his grandchildren practical lessons about the world—from using magnifying glasses to identifying north by looking at trees. Each lesson carries the echo of what his grandfather taught him, creating a beautiful continuity across generations. Through pain, challenges, and triumphs, Jose has maintained a profoundly human message: "We all should take care of each other, no matter what, because this world is only one, this life is only one."
What will you learn from the stones Jose has placed along his path?
Today is Friday, june 27th. We're here with Jose Alvarado, who served in the United States Army. So good morning Jose, good morning Dave. Thanks for being here this morning. My honor again. All right, so we'll start out simple. When and where were you born?
Speaker 2:I was born on May 5th 1957 in South America, ecuador. Okay, now did you grow up in Ecuador? I grew up until I was 12 and a half years old, my ecuador. I grew up until I was 12 and a half years old. Okay, my mother did move in 1968, 69, here to new york city or there to new york city, and a couple of years later she uh got us back into, uh, back to new york city okay, now what was it?
Speaker 2:like being a kid in south america I loved it at then, at that time, remembering that I was able to play soccer at one point in the middle of the day, but nowadays you can't because it's too hot. That's the only thing that I can remember from playing in them days. Do you have brothers and sisters One brother and two sisters.
Speaker 1:Okay, all born in Ecuador, then yes, Okay. And so what prompted your mom to move to New York City? She?
Speaker 2:became a well lady. She used to deliver babies and she was doing what she did and I guess she went into. She wanted to come to the United States because it was a better place to make something out of ourselves. I guess I didn't know nothing about it. Besides, you know stuff. I guess I didn't know nothing about it. Besides, you know. Follow what she did and, uh, when she did that, we all came to this country and it was beautiful.
Speaker 2:I remember the first time that we seen the bathtub, really, I thought, yeah, the bathtub. We thought it was a swimming pool, so it was. It was a beautiful, uh thing. When we came to this country it was September of 1970, I think it was Okay, if I remember correctly, okay.
Speaker 1:And then I'm just going to ask, because we didn't really talk about this at the time what about your father?
Speaker 2:My dad. He wasn't around, but I did meet him in the years later on. I'm going to say 2013. Passed away about uh four years ago okay it was 91 years old, okay, so you did sort of reconnect with him then later on I just wanted to make sure that my uh, my conscience was clear, knowing that I did met the man that brought me to this life okay all right, so let's talk about growing up in New York City.
Speaker 1:I'm assuming you lived there right up through the time you joined the service. Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:From Brooklyn. I went to school a couple of schools did okay learned the language. We moved back up to the Bronx, joined gangs. After that I was not a good kid and of course I was a follower at that point and I got in trouble with this gang and finally decided that it wasn't good for me. My grandpa got in my case because my grandpa was an ex-military back in my country and he sent me a letter stating that I wasn't good and I was not right. Blah, blah, blah. I still have that letter, as a matter of fact. It makes me choke up.
Speaker 1:He cared enough to say something to you.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, yeah, sorry You're fine, you're fine. But he changed my whole life. Yeah, sorry, you're fine, you're fine, but he changed my whole life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I decided to change. And again I said that, like I said, I went to the station and this gentleman that says take the test, pass the test line colors, I guess Guy says you know, just be in Ludlow Street and Broadway at 4.30 in the morning, the bus will pick you up. You know, just be in Ludlow Street and Broadway at 4 30 in the morning, the bus would pick you up.
Speaker 2:I remember going into that bus, you know, not knowing what was on the other side of that wall now you? You fibbed about your age right when you first talked to him yes, I said it was, I was 18 and the reality I was only 17 and a half. I think it was okay. I remember correctly but that cannot go back to that how old I was, to be honest with you, but I think I was less than 18, if I remember correctly but you take the test, you pass with flying colors and test it with no issues and that was that so you hop on a bus at 4.30 in the morning 4.30 in the morning, the bus was so quiet.
Speaker 2:I remember that. It's like you know, you say hi to each other and then the seats, and it's like, uh, once you get out, once, once you get to the base, you know the first thing. You see a couple of drill sergeants outside and you think like it's gonna be all cool and the first thing get the f out of my bus. You, you know, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And that was the beginning of oh my God, what did I get myself into? But I was glad that I did it because my mom didn't want me to go in, because she says, well, why are you doing this? You know what about if the Vietnam War keeps going? You know, blah, blah, blah. And I says, mom, it doesn't matter, either I get killed here or I get killed there. So I'd rather learn something better than learning something stupid here in this in new york city right.
Speaker 1:Well, and when you're in the gangs, I mean really, there's only two. You're either going to end up in prison or end up dead right. One of the two, yeah I think everyone I know that was involved in some criminal activity. There was only two ways to go.
Speaker 2:Two ways yep. And my only way was that one. Yeah, I'm glad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, here you are today talking with me. So you went to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Is that where you took your basic?
Speaker 2:Fort Dix, new Jersey, basic training and then Fort Benning, georgia, for the AIT advanced training.
Speaker 1:So you were infantry.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, I was infantry Once I did that, 1978, uh, uh, reenlisted for another four years, uh-huh, and that's when I, uh, they sent me to Panama, which I loved it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's almost home right, as a matter of fact yes, it is, because it's jungle.
Speaker 2:I was born in the jungle, you know, and to me the jungles was like the backyards of my house, my cousins, we used to play. As a matter of fact, I tell my grandkids now, in them days, our weapons, because that's what my grand says, you know, because I don't call it gun, I call it weapon. Right, I says my weapon was a stick. You know, they laughed like crazy because I take the stick and I start going and they laughed like crazy.
Speaker 2:I said but that was my weapon. Now you guys have all the beautiful make-believe weapons. It's not like we didn't have none of that, right. You had imagination, we had a great imagination. We didn't have iPads, we didn't have none of that stuff. Right, the world was outside playing all the time, climbing trees, you know, jumping to the lakes or the rivers, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:But we have fun yeah, so, yeah, make your own fun. Right, that's right? Yeah, absolutely so. You, um, you came in, went to basic training, went to ait, so you were kind of on the. Was that the downside of Vietnam then?
Speaker 2:Vietnam. I ended in 75. I can't remember exactly when, but to me it wasn't facing me anything like. I mean, I wasn't facing nothing that scared me. To me, what scared me more was getting hurt somewhere back in new york city, which it was a worse jungle, I think yeah yeah, the 70s were tough in new york.
Speaker 1:It was, it was, I don't think people remember that yeah you couldn't go down to times square. Yep, it was not the tourist trap that it is today.
Speaker 2:No, no, it was really bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So you end up going to panama, then you end up not going to vietnam, but going to panama.
Speaker 2:I stayed in panama yet, uh, and became a more of a uh, uh, uh. How would you call that? Uh, an aggressor? Uh-huh, that's what I was. So all that, all we did, was just, you know, make sure that these guys learn how to survive that jungle. You know Right, and I never got lost in the jungle.
Speaker 1:That's the greatest thing ever. I can't tell you how many times I've been lost.
Speaker 2:It's just like you know, teaching, like my grandkids, one of the things that I thought. The other day my little grandkid comes over, he takes a magnifying glass, you know, out of the drawer. He's playing with it. It is very hot outside so he goes outside with it, he's playing with, looking at like this, and I said what are you doing? He's not playing. I says, papa, you can't play with that, that's very dangerous for your eyes. Number one he's looking at the sun. Number two you can start a fire. He said no, you can't. How you start a fire, papa. And I showed them took a piece of paper, took the sun and the fire started and their face lit up like wow, wow. I said that's how, camilo, play with that, because it's kind of dangerous. I said you can start a fire and that's no good. And they are, they learn in a heartbeat. I mean one time and they know it all already.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're like little sponges, right, they just soak up all that information. I'm telling you.
Speaker 2:And that's what keeps me going. Yeah, otherwise I don't know where the hell I'd be with my crazy mind. Let's put it that way yeah. Because right now I'm going through a lot of pain and don't know what it is.
Speaker 1:They can't figure me out and I got to live with it, yeah, so I think that's related to your time in Panama.
Speaker 2:It is because, again, we talked about this stuff, the guys, and it's like you know, why are we going through what we're going through? It doesn't make no sense All these years since I got out, the day that I got out, it was more because it was the last jump of a, of a, uh, repelling of a helicopter, uh, right into the jungle and, uh, I hurt pretty bad on the side, came back out, uh, I waited about six years. Of course, I stayed on the research for six years to make sure that I can go back, cause I wanted to make it a career Right, and my grandpa did it and I'm like I wanted the same thing. My grandpa was my dad in reality. He was there for me all that time. Yeah, but the day that that happened, I remember I couldn't go back into the jungle. It killed me. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It just I didn't know what was going on and all these other things with sinuses issues and things coming out of your body popping out, and we didn't understand what it was, and come to find out, even pictures from where, in the barracks where we used to live, my wife, my ex-wife and my first kid yeah, pictures.
Speaker 1:So how long were you in Panama then?
Speaker 2:So 1978, so almost four and a half years.
Speaker 1:Okay, and this is where you met your first wife.
Speaker 2:No, here in Kansas City.
Speaker 1:Oh, in Kansas City.
Speaker 2:That's my first son that was born there.
Speaker 1:That's really cool. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:That goes back to when I got out.
Speaker 1:You look so young.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Wow, new York City, that's great.
Speaker 2:Don't forget where we come from, right. Yeah, that's one thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so walk me through this. I want to make sure I got the timing correct. So you uh, go to ait down at benning. And then where did you go from benning? Did you go right to panama, or did you go to okay? And so how did you? How did you meet your first wife? In fort raleigh kansas so this is after you got back from Panama.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no. That's before we went to Panama.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Go to a bar, blah blah blah. They got dancing, all that stuff. I was a good dancer, you know, yeah, Probably still are, yeah. And of course there's this chick, you know, blah blah blah. She wants to dance with them. That's how we met and they didn't know that she was only 17, and I was already what? 18 and a half, I think, 19. So she was very younger than me and they didn't know that, and their parents signed to marry her, Okay, and then she went down to Panama with us.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, I understand now, so yeah. So how long were you dating before you got married?
Speaker 2:I'm going to say about six months. That was stupid.
Speaker 1:You know how stupid it is when you're young you do things, Yep. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember in that bar we were so like invisible, you know taking shots of 151 rum. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Bacardi, I used to go to parties where they would put some in the ashtray and then set it on fire and it would like burn all night.
Speaker 2:yep, yeah you should drink that up. Yeah, it was fun, but who knows what the heck is happening now. So right.
Speaker 1:So you, you actually it's an accompanied tour down to panama, then, so your wife goes with you and you have your first son. He's's born.
Speaker 2:Right there in Panama.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Fort Davis, Panama.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then. So how old was he when you left Panama?
Speaker 2:He was two years old, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, and so you were really down there. Kind of training people Is that sort of what your job was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, aggressor. Yeah, exactly what he was an aggressor. Okay. You know, and just making sure that these guys didn't go the wrong way, uh-huh the map like again. You know the things that you learn and you still don't stop learning. You know, right, as old as you get and I'm still learning.
Speaker 1:I mean up to now. Yeah, if you stop learning there's a problem, because then you think you know everything right.
Speaker 2:There's times now that even my brain is not working correctly. I says you know, people look at me, you know, and they are like we get together, we look at each other, take our hats off. First thing that says why are you painting your hair? And I'm like I don't do that. This is my original hair.
Speaker 1:They don't want to believe that because their hair doesn't look that nice.
Speaker 2:Right the old white hair.
Speaker 1:Happens to some of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's something that comes up every time we got together. It's like you know. No, I don't paint my hair. I hate chemicals. I try to eat right. Better stay away from sugar now, especially with all this stuff. Get my own vitamins, because I'm just looking out for myself. Nowadays, you can't depend on the doctors. Nowadays, you got to look after yourself.
Speaker 1:You get one body. You got to take care of it, exactly. So you leave Panama with your wife and your son. Where did you go from there? Back to New York, oh, back to New York. Okay, new York. And you're still in the Army at this time.
Speaker 2:I was in the reserves. Okay, I signed up. After that, after I got out, I went to South Carolina, north Carolina, and I signed up another six years to be in the reserves, just in case because I want to recoup, yeah, but it didn't happen. I tried so hard it didn't happen. Something was not right.
Speaker 2:And my back, just in all these years I never used the government, the VA, because at that time I was thinking there was a lot of veterans that came out from Vietnam that need that more than me, and I never used it, even though the guys telling me that's kind of stupid not to do that because you earned that, and I'm like, hmm, never thought of it. And it's kind of funny because I never said that I served the country, even when I was working at the township back in 98. Never talked about it. I never did want to talk about it.
Speaker 2:Uh, until about seven years ago something stupid happened and and I says to myself, I says, before I do something stupid that I'm gonna regret, I'd rather wear the hat, yeah, stating that that's what I, that's where I've been. I like that hat, I don't. I don't think I want to do stupidity or hurt somebody. Right, that's, that was the main thing, and ever since then it's like I have worn the hat very proudly, which I didn't want to do because, again, excuse me, bill, oh, you're fine, I'm gonna go get some tissue paper, I'll be right back.
Speaker 1:anyway, excuse me, bill. Oh, you're fine, I'm going to go get some tissue paper.
Speaker 2:I'll be right back, anyway, especially when all these great brothers went there and did what they had to do to come back out and be called child killers. People didn't have no idea what they all went through Not at all. Not one bit, I think, and it kind of hurt. That's one of the things that I never want to say, because the first thing that they wanted to do is look at you, especially if you wore a hat. They look at you like a baby killer or something like that kind of stuff. You know, and and it was disgusting and that's how I never said anything until about seven, six, six, seven years ago.
Speaker 2:As a matter of fact, it was 2019 when my commanding in chief, which was mr trump, and all this hate, came around. I went for pain management and after that I came back. My whole right side was completely worse than what it was. It didn't make no sense, but up to today, I'm still thinking that this country and the racism is so, so sad, because we all have the same values. You know, right, no matter what kind of person, animal, you are, especially animals you know, if we don't take care of them, who's going to take care of them? Right, same thing with us, but my mind goes in so many places nowadays that I can't think straight anymore. Yeah, you know. Yeah, you know, because in trying to cover all the hurt, right, right, it's just like all these years, you know, I said to myself I want to give my kids the stuff that I never had, which I did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a thing that parents really, really strive to do is to give their.
Speaker 2:you know we all want our kids to have a better life than we had and you know I know your son, so I know that he's there, yeah, and the worst thing about this is what kills me is having my two oldest sons one of them have to live next to the VA hospital in Ann Arbor because he's got to get infusions every month. And that's the only thing that I regret about no-transcript and him looking up to me, knowing that I would try to be a great soldier, and he tried to do the same thing, but instead he rebelled, he changed, he was telling me how they brainwash you in there. And I says to him son, they're not trying to brainwash you, they're just trying to teach you the worst thing scenario.
Speaker 2:You know, because that's what I will do for you. It says I don't want you to get hurt, Just like they will not want you to get hurt. They're just training you. You know Right. But and I think finally he understood that, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So let's back up a little bit to you and a little bit to you. End up back in New York City. You're in the reserves for six years. What are you doing for a living while you're in New York?
Speaker 2:Thank God for my stepdad, my stepdad. He was a they call it a superintendent this big building which they have a rock can't remember the name of the players, but they have big people that lived in this building, so we had to go and buff the floors. Blah, blah, blah, mop the floors. That's how I started. I went back and I had a job like that and kept me busy. My mind was not right, though. It was really bad, and I divorced my wife, and my wife took off and went to Canada. My ex-wife right and, as a matter of fact, she just left with my kids. So you had two, two boys at my first wife too okay, yeah, so she took off to canada because I was going bananas, right, and I can't blame her.
Speaker 2:Uh, uh, I try to straighten myself up and and all he was is the whole time was just the pain that I was going through. And I'm still going through it. It's just that a certain time you start as a man. You start thinking, hey, put it away, think about keeping yourself up there, right?
Speaker 1:yeah, push it down. Don't talk about all the things you're not supposed to do, because it hurts you it hurts more yeah mentally it really does. So how, how long? How long did you stay in new york then? So?
Speaker 2:1992 may. As a matter of fact, before may of 1992 we came here. My younger sister moved here with her husband and he found a job here. That a gentleman from New York came here and opened up a business Inco Graphics, they used to call it, or they still call it so he moved out here and we came out here in May of the year before that, and this was my wife now.
Speaker 2:Okay, so did you meet your current wife in new york, then well, I knew her okay, I knew her because, uh, she used to live in the same building where I used to live. Oh, so I kind of knew her. We met each other. As a matter of fact, uh, I met her again in the blackout of 1977. I think it is okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when all the.
Speaker 2:The New York blackout. Yeah, that's where I met her and I went back into the military and she got married and I got married and then when I came back out, we met again after my wife left, and that's the story about that. And I had my first kid and the second kid I moved out here and it's beautiful out here compared to new york city. Uh, it was too fast. It was too fast. Uh, I was the type of person that I hated to see, uh, bad things happening compared to what I used to do at one point.
Speaker 2:Right, uh and I used to look at that and I'm like I can't believe that was myself at one point. And I used to look at that and I'm like I can't believe that was myself at one point and I was a type of person that had changed. I didn't want to see that. I had kids right next to me that I didn't want them to see that Right, and even the corners of Broadway you know McLean Avenue there'd be drug dealers in the corners and I'd be that guy that pushes them away.
Speaker 2:And it came to a point that people are telling me you're going to get killed. I didn't care. That's how bad it was. I did not care. I was a loose gun, let's put it that way. But the day that I came over here, everything changed, came back over here, went back to New York uh, champion Cadillac, I was working for this dealer uh, cadillac dealer which in reality the government sent me to school for about a year and a half before that, and then, from the school, went to write to a Cadillac dealer Okay, worked there for about nine years. And then 1991 came here, 1992, we moved there and then two years later, I bought my first house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what did you do? What did you do for work here in Michigan then?
Speaker 2:A mechanic. Okay, so became a mechanic and, oh my God, well, going back a little bit, so I had a little Toyota. When I got out, you know, and I was going through all kinds of stuff. My wife left, blah, blah, blah, and I had this little Toyota. I can't remember what year it was, but I used to go from the Anchors all the way to Tarrytown, which is about 15 miles, every day, right In the snow. This little car would take me from here to there without issues.
Speaker 2:The car broke down right in the parking lot of where I lived, 218 McLean Avenue. I can never forget that. Down the dirt I didn't know what I was doing. I knew how to check my oils, and this because I had to drive my own Jeep back in the when I was in reconnaissance. Yeah, but I was in reconnaissance, yeah, and so I decided to go across the street, pick a book up and read on it and look to see what was wrong with the car. It wouldn't go nowhere because it was a clutch. Okay, anyway, opened up the book, put it on jack stands, put some blocks underneath there, take the transmission out, take the part. Right across the street to the parts store and the guy says yeah, it'll be a couple of days before I can get you that part. I put it back together and I felt so freaking good after I put it back together.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what I was doing, but I was reading and then of course the government calls me up again because when I got out they wanted to recruit me to be a DEA agent because of the lingo Okay, either there, florida, uh, or anywhere else in the country, I guess, or out of the country because of my lingo. But I couldn't do it because it hurt. Otherwise I would have done it too, you know. But I'm glad I didn't because just looking back at a lot of my friends, how they have to look behind every time, I didn't want to do that. But once I fixed that car and they says and I asked the government is there any place that I can go and learn how to fix cars? And the lady says, of course, and it was 10 miles from Yonkers down to Manhattan. Every day In one month I had three speeding tickets because I had to get down to school, right, and after that I got one of them, old radar detectors. I remember that. Oh, yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I put it on and it never got caught again after that. Up to today I never had an accident car accident. Two people have hit me, one rear-end me and the other one T-boned me and I don't know that's part of my neck issue anyway, oh my God.
Speaker 1:So working with your hands and fixing that car really kind of.
Speaker 2:It put me on that path. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It put me on that path. And again, once that lady called me up and she said send me to that Cadillac dealer. It's funny because the day 1991, when I told 1992, march or February or March, I think it was I went to, it was a union shop, so they couldn't give you raises right away. So I went back and I says hey, mr Chick, I got to tell you I'm leaving, I'm not quitting, I just got to leave because I'm moving from this country, from the state, and they didn't want me to leave. Jose, why are you leaving? You know we can give you a raise, we give you a raise. I says it's not about that. I says I want to get out of this crazy town. I says I don't want to be here. I says I'm going to do something stupid. And.
Speaker 2:I'm glad that I did. I moved out of there, came over here and it was beautiful. There was no traffic, even when I was, when I got. Of course, after I got out, and I forgot to tell you I did drive a taxi cab to New York City.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:And it was about seven months, I think it is and I says to myself, nah, I can't do this Again. My mind was just crazy, especially when stupidity was in front of me, right, right, and I had to stay away from all that.
Speaker 1:So you make it to Michigan then, and where did you go to work?
Speaker 2:then I went to Sundance.
Speaker 1:Chevrolet. Oh goodness, I'm very familiar with them. Mr Hank Okay, jerry Hanks Went to school with my mom, actually.
Speaker 2:Really yeah.
Speaker 1:My mom knew him in high school. Wow, that is unbelievable, ain't it? It's a small, small world, it really is. Um, so you have two kids. How old are your children then at this point? Uh, the oldest one or the ones now? Well, the ones that so, the ones that you brought with you to here in michigan?
Speaker 2:how old were they when you moved? He was, uh, not even two years old, okay, uh, alex was about four years old and danny was about seven. Danny's my uh step kid, okay all right, and of course I'm um, yeah, um, that's all there was okay, um, so you're still pretty young yeah, yeah, yeah went to uh, sundance, uh-huh from sundance, being like the stuff that was going on there.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's just not a fit right.
Speaker 2:That's what we'll say. Well, and then of course end up at Dave Spaniak and Charlotte and I used to drive all the way from Okemos, 2213 Iroquois Road and here in Okemos all the way to Grand Ledge Every day. I don't know how long it was, but there was a gentleman there that he says he left Davis Pontiac to go work for Capital Cadillac. And I knew him already. Jesus, I can't remember his name, but anyway, because he knew I worked in Cadillac, because a couple of Cadillacs went to Davis Pontiac, I was able to fix them and they're like, oh my God, are you kidding me? I don't have to send them all the way to Capital blah, blah, blah. And of course he moved to Capital Cadillac First thing I did.
Speaker 2:He does 1990, oh my God, 1993. Yeah, 1993. He calls me up, he, jose, I got a job for you. And I says what, davis pontiac? Well, you go back to davis pontiac and says no, capital cadillac. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Yeah, sure, I'll take it. And uh, I'm 1993 to 1998. So about five years I worked there. I just had some gentlemen that came in from corporate America trying to change capital Cadillac, and I don't like politics.
Speaker 2:You know, I just put my keys down and took my toolbox and left and, as a matter of fact, I went, started a job here at the township a Marine township, uh, became one of their mechanics for the EMS, fire trucks and the police. I loved the job too and I did not like the politics. Again, 2001, we decided to sell the house that we bought here in the Okemos just to move to Florida, build a house in Florida, come back after two years because it was too, too hot and I'm from South America. I figured that one out.
Speaker 1:Well, you got soft living up in New York, didn't you?
Speaker 2:Very soft, I tell you, but yeah, that was it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So where did you end up moving back to Okemos then?
Speaker 2:Yep, as a matter of fact, my back gave up so bad. Uh, 2001, uh the, what do you call it? Yeah, when that planes hit the, uh, the building oh, yes to relevant I was working. As a matter of fact, uh, I remember that day because I was kind of frustrated for what happened, and the the other one is I remember me doing a serpentine belt on a semi truck which I fell off the wheel backwards.
Speaker 2:And I had done martial arts, Even my kids, you know I teach them and we went to class for that. Anyway, I come back in with another vehicle and all I was doing there Florida air conditioning. That's all you did there that's all.
Speaker 2:I did bring this car in, pop the hood. As soon as I pop the hood, I felt something else pop in my back. I heard it. It was in my back and that's when, after that, the lady screams and uh, of course you know that the planes are hitting the building. I'm like, oh my god. And that's when I decided it was too hard for me. Number one, number two, uh, I got hurt and I couldn't do it anymore. We sold the house, came back here because my, my son, we had a house here already in Lansing. I sold the one here but we had one in Lansing. Came back and my back was a mess. I couldn't walk. They had me on rehab, they had me on all kinds of things going back and forth.
Speaker 2:Finally came back here, went to Dr Farrell and Dr oh my God, the guy that did my surgery on my lower back, but anyways, beautiful, great doctor. So they both took care of me. They looked at it blah blah blah had a herniated disc. They fixed it. Dr Flood, that was his name. Dr Flood did the surgery on my back and not even three months after that, I remember going back and forth from Capital back to Okemos and this little building where I have the shop now there's only two garage built, two car garage.
Speaker 2:Kept going by there and I'm saying to myself, well, I can't do this anymore, so what am I going to do? Right? Well, I decided to think, well, I've got a nephew that wants to learn this, I can teach him. And I says, well, okay, cool, I've got another, somebody else that came in. You know a parent. Hey, you know, my son is looking for a job. Blah, blah, blah, send him in, I'll teach him. And that was my motto until the date that 2019, as a matter of fact, june 3rd of 2019, when I got injected in my hole, everything changed for me. I came back to the shop and I says to my guys I said sorry, guys, but I'm done. You know, I can't keep, I can't do it.
Speaker 2:So the guy that worked for me for about 10 years, says, well, I don't have a job, you know, I run it for you. And I'm like, okay, well, and again, all this whole time, what I did was just teach a couple of the guys that the trade, because I passed on something that was passed on to me and that's just the way I work. And ever since then, all this time, I've been that type of person that I just want to make sure everything is right. I mean kind of like the way you feel, I don't want to do the wrong thing, period, everything has got to be right. I don't want to do the right the wrong thing. Period, everything has got to be right.
Speaker 2:And even in the shop, when I used to get customers, you know, ladies used to come in. You know, oh, this shop is taking advantage of blah, blah, blah, and I hated that because I'm like, how can people do that? And that was my motto. My motto is you know, hey, this is not right. You just got to keep making the right, you know. And and just, everything just fell in place, you know. And again, uh, about two years ago Anthony was working at the shop. I said, son, you can, you can, you don't know that the business number one. The only way that this is going to happen is that we're going to have to invite professionals with licenses that know what they're doing, not trainees, not somebody that you want to teach like I have done. That's how I never became wealthy, because you know, I did the right thing and I'm so glad about it.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Well, you laid the foundation, I laid the foundation. Yeah, Exactly yeah. And once that happened again you know, not even two years ago now he decided to go on with it, marketing and doing all this, and he's doing real good he is.
Speaker 1:You know he's doing real good.
Speaker 2:And I'm so proud of him, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, and you've hired the right people. There too, I've done business with you. You've got the right people in there. Yeah. Which is important.
Speaker 2:It's very important and it's kind of that's another one that I used to tell anthony because we got cameras in the shop and, uh, there's times that I will look at the cameras and I may you know like something might happen. Blah, blah, blah. We look at the cameras and I will see a, an employee. When I look at an employee, I know that he wants to work, he, he wants to survive, he wants he's hungry, right, that's the type of person that we want, not the one that's going to put his hands in his pocket and, you know, kind of slow, going into the shop or coming in one minute before eight o'clock. No, you don't want that Guy, there be 15 minutes before your job. You know, right, 15 minutes for your job. You know, right, you never go wrong. Do one deed every day. You can never go wrong. And they learned that.
Speaker 2:And you know, as a matter of fact, again, that Chad, which is my main mechanic there, that kid man, I'm telling you, his dad just recently passed away, last year from cancer and I kind of stepped in for him because, you know, even his dad praised me for doing the things for him, making him what he is, and I says I didn't do nothing. All I did was guide him right, says I was taught that way guidance Guidance. If I can do it with everybody else, I'm doing great and I'm glad. I'm glad.
Speaker 1:So how long has Doc's Automotive been in business?
Speaker 2:So March 29th that's when I first got my license from the state. Again, March 4th is when I got my surgery. March 29th I went right around the corner from uh, from uh, from the shop uh, and got my license. And uh, let's see. So May started doing working cars they didn't have much, got a couple of people and, of course, the people that I used to know from uh Capital Cadillac. I didn't want to pull people away from that. No, that wasn't me, but they found out where I was. And the funny thing about this is that every time I used to do roadside service for Cadillac too, I used to get into this big truck with tools and parts and I would go from here to Grand Rapids and pick somebody's Cadillac. Wow, parts of that. I will go from here to grand rapids and pick somebody's cadillac, you know, and uh I completely blacked out again.
Speaker 1:Oh so we were talking about uh docs automotive. We were talking about uh. You didn't want to bring people in from uh capital cadillac, but they found out you were working they found.
Speaker 2:They found me somehow. They found out I was and that's how I started. What a mouth. And never advertised, never did it, and I'm like, as long as I do right, everything just falls in place, which is true. It's just like I always tell guys. You know that, hey, you want to be a president in this country. First of all, you got to earn your spot, you got to become, you got to serve your country and learn what is right from wrong. And which is true, you know, if we don't do the right thing, nothing is going to fall in place. Right become, it all comes back around.
Speaker 1:It all comes back around. Absolutely so you're, you're um, are you kind of in the process of kind of transitioning out of the business. Then, at this point, I'm already.
Speaker 2:As a matter of fact, yesterday I went to the lawyers and did my trust, Uh-huh so, and everything is falling in place now. So now I'm kind of like everything is getting easier for me, Like you know, like I'm letting go, which I didn't want. To be honest, it hurts, it's hard, isn't it? It's so hard to try to. I mean, you, look at your business. This is what I did. Wow, how did I do that? You know? Uh, it took some you know, real nerds to make that happen make that happen.
Speaker 1:Gohones, right, gohones, I think that's how you say it. I don't know.
Speaker 2:And it's funny because, again, you know when I started working for the township, if I didn't do that I would never have a spot in Oakham. I don't think Right. Everything you did, I did it for a purpose.
Speaker 1:Yeah, brought you there, and sometimes you don't even know what the purpose is. Right, we're like, oh we should just be doing this. I don't know why Exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not like that. You know you got to earn that spot. Like I said in Okemos, I did earn that spot. I worked for the township, I did what's right. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you're finally, though, able to kind of start a matter of fact yesterday was one of those days.
Speaker 2:I walked around my whole perimeter in my house and walked back and forth. What am I going to do? What am I going to say? What am I going to do? And I'm still going through that right now. Anthony, he doesn't know much about what's going on either, because I don't want to tell him. I just want to surprise him.
Speaker 1:Well, and you hire quite a few veterans too, don't you? You have some veterans.
Speaker 2:I got one now. Yeah. I had another one before, but he moved on Uh-huh. I got another one now and this kid is awesome.
Speaker 2:I mean, he's that type of person that all the other guys around him he's like John. Oh my God, john, this is the guy. This is the type of person that all the other guys around him is like John. Oh my God, john, this is the guy. This is the type of person. He's always very serious. I says, and I make joke of him sometimes hey, john, stop being too serious, will you? And he's a. I think he's a hundred percent disabled too because of the PFAPs. Yeah, but he can work though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think people misunderstand that. Yeah, they do Big time. Yeah, yeah, because I have. I have PTSD, severe PTSD, which sometimes limits me, but I can still work, right, right. But I have these other problems and that's where the disability comes in.
Speaker 2:I try to overcome them. Right, that's exactly what we have to do. Honestly, it's just like keep saying every time you know the crap that we're going through, dude, just think this way. We put that Hancock right on that piece of paper. Okay, we did it to ourselves, we felt invisible. Think about it, yeah. You know I remember them days. You know we used to do stupid things. I can't believe that. You know Going out diving and catching lobsters in the middle of the freaking night.
Speaker 1:You know who the hell would do that I know, sometimes I think you probably have some great stories, but I think that there's times where I'm like I'm lucky to be sitting in this seat right now because I did some stupid stuff.
Speaker 2:I can tell you one story about a friend that his wife was pregnant. It was at night, we were sleeping and he decided to go in back into the ocean to pick up lobsters. So we already know, because when we go spear fishing, when we park, we leave a note, right, we always did that. We always back each other up. Well, his wife was having the baby that evening. So of course, you know, he sends the one of the kids right next door and my wife answers the door Sharon, sharon is having a baby, sharon is having a baby.
Speaker 2:And of course, you know, larry is all the way, somewhere about 15 miles away from where I was and I'm like, okay, and it started pouring and I had a 1971 volkswagen completely fire engine red, I mean fire engine, it was beautiful little volkswagen. Bam got into the volkswagen. Okay, no problem, I'll go. I know where he's at, so I'll go all the way out there. I'll leave it. No, because I didn't want to go back into the water. Anyway, it was night and so I said, god damn it, larry, come back out. And I'm over here shining the light on the ocean, you know, trying to see where he. So I'm shining a light, he don't come up. I leave the note. I left back. I went back and it's muddy. This is not a what do you call it? A beautiful road, right?
Speaker 1:That nicely paved, yep.
Speaker 2:So I take off and it started pouring and my freaking little wipers are going back and forth. I'm over here trying to look, Going up the little hill, come back and down the hill. There's trying to look, going up the little hill, come back and down the hill. There's a freaking bull. I'm coming down the hill and all of a sudden there's a big freaking thing in front of me. I mean what the hell and this freaking bull charges and get right on top of that front of that little volkswagen, the whole little hood.
Speaker 2:You know there's nothing in the oh, yeah, the whole hood just caved in the white, the windshield, I mean the windshield just completely shattered Because his horn hit right there and I'm like, oh, and the wiper was kicked. I put it in reverse, tried to go back up and I put it back and forth and tried to hit him and he took off and I drove about I'm going to say about 13 miles maybe, no windshield, wiper, no windshield. Got home, I tell, tell you, I remember that freaking evening and then the next day, when larry comes up, he looks at my car. What happened? I had to come out and bail you out. This is your fault. It's your fault. You owe me a card. I didn't know I didn't have it, but anyway, it was one of them things that you will never.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know little things like that. It's like yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, so I'm going to ask you. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. This is, this is kind of new. I've never asked anyone this before. But, um, can you share, like one of the stupidest things you ever did, that you're lucky to be here? I mean, I know here. I mean I know what my story is on that, because me and my friends share it all the time but what's like, what's something stupid that you did that you're just lucky to even be here right now there's too many of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't even describe them. Yeah, they called us the red devils. I don't know if you've ever heard of that before. I have not. This is exciting. There's a tag now that they say that we have. Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Yep, I see it Red Devils.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they called us and yeah, just looking at that thing and that's the patch on my arm uh-huh, and you guys did all the stuff no one else wanted to do.
Speaker 1:Right, right, yeah yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 2:Uh, great experience, that's all I gotta say. It was a great experience if it wasn't because of that one last freaking repel. I just go back to that freaking repel. It just never goes away. It stays in your mind. You know how freaking invisible you feel. You're going down.
Speaker 1:Oh shit Right.
Speaker 2:Straight down the fucking rope goes up helicopter leaves. I was in so much pain that day I'm like, okay, well, I gotta call back. Um, oh, I never said anything about, uh, 1978. Uh, they pulled me out of the jungle, uh, because my grandpa passed away february. Uh, february 28th of 1978. Yeah, 1978. Yeah, they pulled me out of the jungle. They didn't know what was going on. I thought I got in big trouble. Right, so I go back at the base. The captain says sits me down. He's, you know, just like me and you here right now. Sits me down, alvarado, I got bad news for you. He says bad news. Oh, my God, I'm glad I didn't do nothing bad in my mind, right, yeah. And he says well, your grandpa passed away and I just buckled up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your grandpa was very important to you, yeah.
Speaker 2:So was my grandma. Yeah, because the reality my mom being what she did. In our country it's not like you have beautiful roads, right, it's dirt roads. You either get into a bull road, a donkey and travel. So my mom was never around. So my mom was my grandma, even though my mom's still around she's 91 now as a matter of fact but I praise her for that well, she was trying to take care of you the best she could and thankfully you had grandparents that were there to support.
Speaker 2:It's just like the way I'm doing now with my grandkids.
Speaker 1:Now I'm here, son you learned some important lessons from that. It sounds like yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, big lesson.
Speaker 1:Now you're passing them on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it hurts, you know, just thinking about it. You know, as a man, you know you freaking tear up it's because you got feelings Right, you know. If I didn't have freaking feelings, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't think I'd be here talking to you. Sometimes you just gotta cry. Yeah right, it brings out the best for you. If you feel better afterwards, oh hell, yeah, it's like something, some poison, leaves your body when you cry.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what it is. Yeah, it's exactly what it is.
Speaker 1:This is the poison that comes out of you right, right, all the stuff that you don't want to remember, all the stuff that's happened, right, all of those things you got to, you got to deal with them and then let them go. Yeah. They don't ever go away completely, though we both know that.
Speaker 2:Stay right there, yep, stay right there. We learn to live with it, overcome, maneuver it. Yeah, it's just like again it's just like again, you know the things that I'm teaching this little, this little kids. Uh, I already told you about the, uh, the magnifier class, but the other one is, you know, like teaching the kids like, okay, guys, you know where north is north, south, east, west? My granddaughter is like yes, we know, okay, so where's north? And she says, like well, papa is it that way, no.
Speaker 2:So I says listen from now on. When you want to know where north is, look at the trees. If you look at a tree, most of the trees that tell you that you're south is going to be facing this way. The one that says north is almost straight up, Look at the trees. And she's looking at the trees. Oh, you're right, Papa, Look at that. Oh, you're right. Papa, think about it. That's how I'm going to do with the jungle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and years from now they'll be using that.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:You know, Exactly Because you've probably done this, Like because you've probably done this, like you're trying to get something done, or you're trying to. You know, and you're like you can't figure it out. You can't figure it out. Then all of a sudden you remember something that your grandfather told you, or the, and then it's yeah, it's that lesson that gets stuck in there.
Speaker 2:And again, it's only one time that them little kids learn. One time, repeat it again, to do it again. Right, one time. Right, it's like, uh, recently. Uh, my wife takes her glasses off. We're outside playing balloons for taking balloon waters throwing at each other, and uh, my wife takes her glasses and leaves them in the sun in the steps. So we over there playing. All of a sudden, oh my god, where's my's, my glasses? She's looking for her glasses and of course Olivia knows where her glasses are, so she goes to me. Papa, I don't know why Nana does that. This is common sense. You're not supposed to leave your glasses on the sun.
Speaker 1:Common sense.
Speaker 2:Where did you learn this kind of world? It's just the smart of that little girl, I mean you know, know, it's just the smart of that little girl.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know, it's just like mind-boggling. Ever since these two little kids came into my life, even though I got other older grandkids, I haven't seen much. But these two kids have stolen my heart, especially her. Oh my god, he stole my, she stole my heart for sure. I got a friend of mine that, uh, he has not had a grandkid either and it's the first one. And I says, dar, you don't have no idea. When she comes or he comes, you're going to be a complete different person. Yeah, and then he called me up the other day you're freaking, right, man I cry.
Speaker 2:He says I cry when I seen that little girl. I'm like told you, told you, your life would change.
Speaker 1:Yeah, believe me, it would change, yeah when I held my granddaughter the first time yeah yeah, it was. It was completely right. Actually, I have a niece, amelia, that lives in arizona. Same thing she just I don't know what. It is smart too. They're both just really super smart, yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know how, what it is that they're eating, but myself and my kids, when they're that bright, I can tell you that right now they're so bright that little girl, not even three years old, outside playing and me rocking her on the trampoline and learned the ABCs in Spanish and English and the numbers. And then all of a sudden, her brother she's doing it. And her brother started to repeat and now he knows all of them. It shocked me because when she came out of school just recently now, from kindergarten, uh, majority of the kids in the states, they're in the 50 percent percentile, I think. Right, she's in the 90 percent. Yeah, he shocked me. I'm like are you kidding me?
Speaker 1:and you know it's what you teach a kid right, that's good parenting and that's good example setting, exactly by other members of the family Stones in places, you know.
Speaker 2:so this way you know where you're going to step on.
Speaker 1:Right, you're sort of a foundation layer, right. Like you laid the foundation, you knew the business and the mechanic work, but your son knows how to promote it.
Speaker 2:Exactly, he knows how to promote that real good, for sure.
Speaker 1:So you get the right people in there and then he can promote it. I mean, and that's just one example, Imagine what these grandkids are going to do. Forget about it.
Speaker 2:I don't want to imagine. As a matter of fact, I can't wait until this gentleman from this place. If they're willing to sell the property, I'm going to buy it where I'm at because I don't want to be moved. Anthony says you know, dad, let's take that building over here, chef's Garage on Saginaw Son demographics. There's so many, so many, so many things on a business that you got to look into, not only just going in there and thinking that you're going to make it happen. It's more demographics. I opened that there because I know where I was Right.
Speaker 1:Okay, I grew up a block away from Shep's garage. Really. Actually no Shep, Unbelievable, right. Yeah, that's my old neighborhood.
Speaker 2:That whole area it's an old world and I says yes, we can make it. That whole area it's an old world and I says yes, we can make it.
Speaker 1:I says all right, but it's not the same demographics, no, no, it's a whole different ball game.
Speaker 2:It's a different ball game, you know it's not like okimans, you know. I mean you know what it is in okimans already and I said it'd be great just to have a spot right where we at you know, just don't forget where you came from. That's all right, don't?
Speaker 1:get my grandfather came from the south, what he used to say. He said don't forget where you came from, that's all Right. Don't get my grandfather came from the South, what he used to say. He used to say don't get too big for your britches. That was his thing. Don't get too big for your britches, son, right, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it is true. Yeah, don't uh, just be yourself, be humble and that's it. Everything should be just great and dandy after that. Yeah, you're right, the foundation and the rock makes everything a big difference.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's how we make it better for our kids, right? We do the best we can with what we've got and we teach them to do the best they can with what they've got and they can just build on what we've built.
Speaker 2:And it's funny because looking at it, I think to myself. And as old as I've gotten right now, I think to myself how did I become a dad? I didn't know what to teach my kids because I never thought of anything like that. All I always thought is you know, hey, do the right thing. You know. And my grandpa, he was a very straight guy Do the right thing. Heck, I remember the day that I lied to my grandpa when I was a little kid. I told my grandpa that I got into my teacher, let me in the school because I didn't do class. Something was cool I didn't do, but it was a lie. I got into a fight with some other kid and, of course, my grandpa. He was a sheriff one time, Besides being a military, he was a sheriff and he was the guy that used to go to the plaza and make sure that that fish was fresh. Right, it was his job, Not a guy you lie to.
Speaker 2:And I lied to him and too, and I lied to him and of course you know he goes. How come? You're late? Because we're supposed to be at the plaza picking up the canasta to take food back home and I wasn't there. And so he comes over and he goes. What happened? Oh the teacher. And I lied oh, let's go to the school. Take me to the school, right to the teacher. I remember that vividly up to today. And the teacher says no, and that's when I tell her I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but you know, in Spanish it's a lie Get to the house.
Speaker 2:I remember that day I ran to the house and in them days it was very strict that if you did something wrong and grandpa was going to take care of it, you get in front of his chair and your knees and wait for him. That was the punishment. And I remember seeing my grandpa hitting my uncles and in days there used to be a whip like this size, like this, but it was curled up of a cow whip. I went up, that thing freaking burned. I remember him hitting my uncles for doing stupidity and I tell you, that thing freaking burned. I remember him hitting my uncles with stupidity and I tell you, we learned fast.
Speaker 1:I can only imagine like you only do that once. You only do that once. I'm not going to lie again. I might do something else, but I'm not going to do that one again, right?
Speaker 2:Yep, no, we learned real fast, yeah, but there's no regrets at all. You know no regrets at all. You know no regrets. But the only regret, again, is that you know of, uh, the stupidity of people, period. You know, right, uh, again. So you know to call uh, to call us baby killers, not knowing exactly what that person had to do in order to make sure that I'm looking at your face. In other words, right, right, they don't have no reality of that, you know, and for that, for that reason, I didn't want to, I don't want to say nothing because they all, everybody, thinking oh, he was in vietnam too. No, I was not. You know, I heard bad stories, stories that you don't want to hear, right, you know, uh, uh yeah, I think we've learned a lot since then too.
Speaker 1:Like you can disagree with the war, yeah, but you don't. You know the people that go are the people that go. You can't attack them because they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, right. Right, you can disagree with in protest the world, but don't don't trust the troops. Exactly, I think we've learned at least a lot of people have learned that that lesson, which has helped a lot of veterans to be able to come out and talk about their time in the in the military.
Speaker 2:Right. The thing about this that I think is that the government which they should have done is this made an example, not in reality, but a make-believe example. Listen, this is what happens in them. Okay, I'm a parent, I'm a soldier and a parent. Okay, I got my wife, I got my kids. Guess what I'm going to do? I don't want to kill, I want to send my kid. I'm going to put a bomb right next to you. I'm going to throw it at you. That's what that kid will do, because the parents told them, not because they wanted to do it, but a lot of those people, they don't have no reality of that, right. Yeah, it's sickening.
Speaker 1:It is. It's sickening. I mean the same as putting up an explosive vest on a child in in the middle East. That happens, Yep. So yeah, Yep. Well, we have talked about a lot of stuff today, We'll. We have talked about a lot of stuff today, Jose. We've talked quite a bit. I've learned a lot about you.
Speaker 2:But as we kind of I got the chills.
Speaker 1:It's because I keep my house so cold.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, it's the chilling.
Speaker 1:No, believe me, it's comfortable A lot of people find this therapeutic, this discussion, and so, before we go, really have two questions. One is there anything that we haven't talked about that.
Speaker 2:you still want to talk about? No, okay, the real bad things. They just go down six feet under. Can't talk about them.
Speaker 1:Well, if you've dealt with them, you've dealt with them, yep.
Speaker 2:They're over with Again. My whole body is shaking just from not want to think about that yeah, but just changing my, my view.
Speaker 1:Like you know, it goes different ways so let's, let's turn the conversation then in. The last question that I'll ask you today is for someone listening to this 100 years from now, when neither one of us are here, what message would you like to leave people with?
Speaker 2:Be human. We all in this world for a reason, even though we don't believe in God or do believe in God, it doesn't make no difference. We're all the same. We all should take care of each other, no matter what, because this world is only one, this life is only one. We can step on two feet, but we cannot stand up on one feet. It's very hard. So that's how we've got to support each other. If you don't, that's your life. Got to support each other. You don't, that's your life.
Speaker 2:You know being miserable instead of having a better life and looking for each other's neighbors. You know, it's not like that anymore. There's neighbors that they don't don't even want to talk to you. You know, it's kind of like I don't know if I want to say this, but like I went there yesterday, I decided to go to a bfw yesterday and I got in there. It's the first time, first time that I'm going to a bfw never went in there, because the first time that I well, the first time that I went in, I'm the type of person that I went in, you know how you doing blah blah blah.
Speaker 2:But when you get that face that you're not here, you're not supposed to be here okay. Turn around and walk away, kind of had what happened again yesterday and that's why I never wanted to go into a place like that because of the racism, because, as parents, instead of teaching our kids what is right from wrong, we're teaching them wrong, right, like.
Speaker 2:I remember the day that my brother-in-law spanked my niece and my niece calls the cops on him and my brother-in-law ends up in jail. And that's the day that I learned that, holy Jesus, are you kidding me? We cannot even strain up our kids in this country anymore. I am glad that I was in my country and I'm a straight kid. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, because I learned a lesson one time, only one time, and I learned a lesson no, yeah, no, everybody should be grateful for what they have. Be yourself. Don't try to be somebody that you don't want to be. Don't try to think that money is going to make you even better, because it doesn't. It's just a piece of paper. You got to earn it, you got to work hard at it and things will change for yourself. But if you don't make changes in life, this world will never survive, and it's even getting worse nowadays, you know.
Speaker 2:But the best thing to do is, you know, look after each other, be good to each other, take care of each other, and I learned that again too long, long time ago, and I'm still doing it, you know, even at the shop. You know, yeah, because you know, as a matter of fact, is customers that will come in there when they had an issue with their vehicles. I had my vehicle here yesterday when I was a mechanic in the back and I had somebody on the front. You know, I had my vehicle here that I want to talk to the owner blah, blah, blah, and I come up front and you're the owner. Yes, I'm the owner.
Speaker 1:And I worked on your car right, Exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's the type of situations that I lived my life in this country, but I never paid no mind about that. In reality, as long as I kept my chin up and I was honest and I would make sure that I got your back, that's all that mattered. I don't care whether you was a racist or not, and I'll tell you something a lot of these guys they changed the way they were because you know just the way I felt. What do you get about doing that? Think about it, really think about it. What would you get by doing stupidity like that instead?
Speaker 2:of hey how about we go to the beach? You know, have a couple of beers or something? No, uh. How about we play some football? How about something different? Besides, having that mentality right, it doesn't get you anywhere. Besides, you know, hate that's what this country is right now, a lot of hate. It's unfortunate and it's kind of sad because my chief in command now I respect every one of them. I don't care how bad they are. You got to have that respect. But at the same time, I lived in New York and I did vote for Mr Trump the last time, not this time. Last time I did vote for Mr Trump and it was because, being from New York, hey, he's a business guy, I'm a business guy, let's try this. And when that race car came out with all that backboarding, I punched this and but that was childish. That's the day that I learned. That's like, oh my god this is not happening.
Speaker 2:you know, and that's when I'm thinking to myself and I've been trying to pass the word uh, if people realize that if you have somebody that wants to be in that position, you should at least have three to four years of service to your country, you can tell your flag and touch your flag and say, yes, I served. Not somebody that's going to have a golden spoon and get fed by it and then try to do the things that are happening right now.
Speaker 1:It's kind of scary to be honest with you.
Speaker 2:Looking at it, it's like back in Germany. Oh yeah, I did went to Germany for that. Oh well, there you go All about that. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks for spending the morning with me and sharing your story. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:No, you have brought out a lot of things in me, you know. But no, it's a great experience. I am glad that I've done it. I would have never thought I would do something like this, even though my grandkids, my sons and my kids are saying why don't you make something like this? You know, leave it to your grandkids, maybe this will work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, listen to my conversation. 20 years from now, when I'm gone there, you go, all right. Well, thanks again, jose, thank you Bill.
