TRANSCRIPTION
What are your earliest childhood memories?
My earliest childhood memories was I was very inquisitive. I was very proud and I am a proud person. I've been that since I was a little boy. I'm 72 years old, I was born back in nineteen throw it away (laughs). My early childhood memories was asking a lot of questions to my mom and dad. Just like any normal child I wanted to learn everything.
What schools did you attend?
Well the first school I went to was in the first grade elementary. It was called Collins Garden Elementary. I believe it is still around, but then I haven't been there since I left. That's the first school that I went to. I went to Burbank High School and graduated in 1961 a very long time ago (laughs).
What was it like going to school? Did you like it or did you want to focus your time on something else?
The lord always has a plan for everybody, and when I started school I didn't know how to speak English. I had a Spanish and Mexican environment in my house. Both my mother and my father spoke nothing but Spanish so I had a hard time starting to learn English. Again I am a proud person. I am fluent in both English and Spanish and very proud of it. I love to learn because as I always say if life to learn is to earn.
What were your parents like?
My parents were the most beautiful people in the world at that time until they passed on. My father was very lenient and my mother was very loving.
Were there any traditions your family would have?
Respect each other. That is a tradition we always had and still have. Family always respects each other and love each other. Family is one of the most important things in life.
What was the first job you've ever had?
Well growing up I had several jobs. I was ten or twelve years old when I started working. My mother never wanted me to shine shoes, and that was one of the times I did against what my mother told me. My mother didn't want me to shine shoes. I made a little shine box and left it at my friends house so my mother wouldn't know I shined shoes. On Saturday's and Sunday's I would take the first bus that passed by my neighborhood and went downtown. At that time we had Lackland Air Force Base, Kelly Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston and we had soldiers on Saturday's and Sunday's downtown and I would charge ten cents a shine. I've always wanted to and I always want to have money in my pocket.
When did you get your first car and what was it?
The first car I bought was a 1930 Chevrolet and that was back in 1952 or 1951. I was thirteen years old. I got my driver's license when I was thirteen years old. My father had to sign for me, but at that time they would allow a thirteen year old with a hardship, and my hardship was that I wanted to drive a car. So my dad signed and I bought that car for fifty dollars.
Aside from working, what did you do for fun?
I always watch the news on television. I always want to keep up with what's going on in the world. What's going on in my city, what's going on in my state. I always want to keep up with everything. Around my teenage years I started to lift weights. I found it very fulfilling.
How much was gas compared to now?
Well believe it or not when I started driving back in 1950 or 1949. A gallon of gas costs thirteen cents. You could fill up a car at that time with three to five dollars.
If you could sum up your time in the Fire Department in a few sentences what would you say?
I would describe my time in the fire department as a learning experience and as a gift from God. I joined the Fire Department when I was twenty one years old back in nineteen sixty eight. At that time they just shot Martin Luther King. My first day in training in the Fire Department was a simulation riot, because they were expecting riots in San Antonio and lot of the big cities in the United States. It was quite an experience. I had never been involved in any emergency situations, but believe me I got in it right away and I am blessed.
How did you meet Hilda (my grandmother)?
Your Grandmother is the prettiest woman in the world. I met her when she was fifteen and I was nineteen. I married her when she was seventeen and I was twenty one. So we grew up together and she is the luckiest woman in the world. I tell her that because whatever she wants she gets and then some and I can provide for her.
Lastly, why do you think San Antonio is one of the best cities to live in?
Because I live here (laughs). San Antonio is a great city because I grew up here, it's closest to the border, the weather is fine. When it gets cold it doesn't get as cold as up north. When it gets cold you can work in the cold. I love San Antonio because San Antonio has been good to me and I have been good to it.
