TIO CRAZY CHUY: KNOWLEDGE OF ANOTHER KIND

My tio was addicted to some difficult things. Rocks and sometimes boulders. The heavy street kind. They say that when you're lost, sometimes you may seek comfort in the knowledge of pain, or in the misery of others. My uncle Jesus was crucified daily for his ill journeys through the alleys of hood existence. It was a comfortable position that he championed, that place in soul between sleep and war where the drugged mind moves slow and shaken.

When your skin burns severely, I heard that your nervous system shuts down and your pain receptors go numb. I suppose burning your skin is similar to the way the soul works...if you burn it enough, it slumbers.

I remember the roaring engine under the hood of my tio's 1983 to 1987 (can't exactly recall) Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme. It was black, and had fake dayton rims. He acquired his vehicle from a time when he was involved in an accident while walking through the shadows late night around 3 or 4am. There was a turn on Avalon and Gage that nearly cost him his life. He was approaching a dope spot to pick up some merchandise, and as sudden as the power of the hit, a car lost control and the back spoiler of another vehicle flew into his lower back...with sharp twisted metal, he was pierced. Bleeding deeply, he was certain to go.

Hard to understand why some are giving many opportunities and others are not. My tio lived cuz things had to change in a way that imitated his crooked motion and missteps. Talvez el que hace las cosas de la vida, somos nosotros. Life has a strange balance between things- we are the walkers of the talk.

I was a child. I stood by the place where he stole my bike and wondered about "LA MUERTE." I would miss him if death came... He was a charismatic man that could build, fix, and sell almost anything. A "New Jack" of ALL Trades. He was known as Crazy Chuy officially, when he was spotted ridin' his GT DYNO on the 110 Freeway South. On the back of the bike, you could see his latest creation-- an attached cart made of old kids' bike parts, recycled wood with twisted nails, telephone wire, and multicolored cardboard here and there...in the cart were his belongings.  A car stereo with car battery, house speakers, empty cans and bottles, various old flanel shirts, dickies, and a blanket or two.

After the accident things changed. For a while. I suppose that knowing death in such a close way propels one towards the need and responsibility to satisfy and celebrate the maker of life. Soon after he awoke in a hospital bed, My Tio was contacted by a man. He won a lawsuit of about $25,000 minus lawyer's fees. Can't do the math, but he was able to purchase an ice-cream truck, and a couple of luxury items.

to be continued...