Redlands: A Place I Call Home pt. 2

I finished the book on Redlands 'Old Timers' today on my lunch break at work. I was almost late going back because I couldn't put the book down! I still have to digest some of the stories from the people at the beginning, so I don't even know where to start! All I know is that I see Jesus all over these pages, working in the lives of people who offer everything they have for the betterment of those around them. Who doesn't love stories of redemption, crime fighting and restoration?!

Lewis Jacobs: When I read about Jacobs I get a picture of a man truly after business. It seemed that it

didn't matter the type of business he was in, it was the adventure itself that seemed captivating. He went from owning a store, to owning a saw mill to opening the first private bank in San Bernardino County. Through the bank, Jacob's was able to fund several projects that directly affected the growth of the cities in our valley. Just a few accomplishments were:

1. Panamint Stage Line, which made San Bernardino the supply center for mining

2. Arizona Stage Line to Yuma and Tucson

3. California Southern Railroad to San Diego

4. Electrification of the street car system

5. The citrus industry in Redlands and Riverside

He also loaned money to Judson and Brown to build the Bear Valley Dam in 1883. I am sure these were only a handful of the many things he was able to do with the resources he had gained from opening the bank. I can only imagine what it would be like to have the resources to fund the first steps of transportation into my city, or be a lender for business and exploration! For a brief article on some more history check this out!

Thomas J. Fitzgerald: Coined 'One of God's Gentlement', Father Fitzgerald came to America, Colorado to be specific, from Ireland to help in the recovery of his illness (not mentioned what it was). After a death diagnosis, he lived four more years in Colorado until he moved to Beaumont. When people learned that he was trained in the priesthood, they desperately wanted him to start a catholic church here in Redlands. At the time, Catholics had been highly persecuted by Spaniards and Indians and only about 10 Catholic families were left in the area. He finally accepted and started his work as a priest.

The thing I find most interesting is his attitude toward his community. He was a catholic, of course, but despite the recent history of persecution he went out of his way to meet the needs of his whole community, not just his church. He was on call day and night, without regard to denomination or race. He kept a hospital room to be ready for any emergency. It is noted that he was solely responsible for shifting the mindset of his community toward Catholics. "It is no mean achievement to have changed the thinking of a community and that is what Father Fitzgerald did." I would love to be able to put that on my resume: Skills: Excel, Outlook, Erasing prejudice, Organization......

Its not always what we do, but who we are that leaves the greatest impact, for if I do one million deeds but refuse to love a single person, I will go unseen... and even worse, Jesus himself will remain confined in the human eye. Its not for business, but for adventure! Its not for church, but for community! Its not for riches, but wealth in resources! Its not for me, but for all who desire to dream! Today is a day for redemption if you simply set aside the things that continue to tell you you can't, and just follow your feet because chances are you'll end up on someone's doorstep!

Until next time, have another full day of work, love, rest and of course a delicious cup of coffee!

Redlands: A Place I Call Home

There are plenty of reasons why I love living in Redlands.

1. The weather is pretty much amazing... I mean, it gets hot but its really only 'hot' for about two weeks, and it barely gets cold enough to wear a beanie.
2. Redlands is super close to the mountains if you want snow, and super close to the beach if you want waves.
3. It's where I grew up so chances are anywhere I am, I have (mostly) fond memories.
4. There is such a rich history here that I believe is rather unique... and this is where I find my inspiration to write today.

I checked out this book called "Redlands and Certain Old Timers" from our historic library and within two pages was already captivated by it. It is a very small book but written from a perspective that speaks very highly of the people who were the first to settle in this area.

Interesting fact #1: The first person to own property in what is now considered Redlands was a woman. She was also the first to open a passable road between here and Los Angeles. Her name was Maria Armenta Bermudez.

Interesting fact # 2: The Pledge of Allegiance was written for the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America, it was also used in the patriotic program which Redlands had on that same day. A first grade teacher at Kingsbury School had her class salute the flag at the end of each day if there had been no tardiness or absenses. A man by the name of General Lawton had his son in her class and when General Breckenridge visited, he witnessed the salute by the first grade class. He then went back to Washington DC and requested the salute be done at an large gathering. This was then written to the first grade teacher by Mrs. Breckenridge:

"All the distinguished men and women in the East were there and the children gave the salute, which was beautiful and impressive and created much praise, enthusiasm and applause. It was mentioned as coming from the California children. I thought that you would like to know it, since it is all owing to you."

Since then, the salute to the flag has spread over America.

It is very interesting learning about the history of the place you live. It is so easy to just live your daily life without recognizing the foundation that has been laid out for your town. It is easy to assume that it's just a city. But cities are where people dwell. That means there are stories associated with those people. This book really only gives a short glimpse into these stories, but on my quest in learning the history of Redlands I thought an appropriate place to start was with people.

Until next time, when you are walking downtown stop and take a look at the plaques you find on the outside of the buildings, you never know what you'll find!

Obscenities

This Christmas has been full of obscenities... That's right... I said it. Obscenities that I will remember for the rest of my life.
One: I spent a worry free afternoon at the Yardhouse with my mom and brother while waiting to see Sherlock Holmes, the second best movie of the year
Two: I finished the fifth season of Dexter on Christmas Eve
Three: I went for a lovely hike around Lake Gregory with my mom and Pearle after opening one of the best gifts I have received, my own socket set!
Four: This one is by far the most obscene, a visit from my best friend ever, Karen Bush.... I have missed her more than anything in my life to date!

This is for you, Karen. I hope to update this thing more so we can not only Facebook stalk each other but also creep out on each others blogs!

Another new blog series...

My life is an endless series of changing series...

Yes. This is how I feel most of the time. Everything changes so quickly, before I know it I am going to bed wondering where my day went. Not to say that my day is not full or I didn't get any work done. It is quite the opposite really. It's not a walk in the park to try and open your own business and the reality of the matter is that it is going to take a lot longer than I realized. But I think I am slightly prepared for it.

Anyways, I have known the fact that I don't like to journal (sorry to break it to everyone but blogger is a journal) so it seems natural that I don't post blogs, and when I do it's about all sorts of random things. BUT I have come to a point that I need to write down my thoughts, because I have a lot of them unfortunately.

So, here it goes. It's short.

I have learned that life very much sucks and there is nothing I can do about it. BUT, the good thing about that is I can accept this fact and move on with my life. I am not forced to sit in front of a mirror and recollect all the shitty things that have happened. I CAN MOVE ON, and I will. God has provided me a way out of the system that society wants me to be a part of and I chose to accept it.

Next time there will be more substance, I promise, this is just a start.

New Blog Series: My Brother

So, I went for a long walk today with my mother and Teresa and we discussed the subject of me writing a book. After several attempts at reading books written for Christians I have resolved to write a book that would solve everyone's problems. It would solve everything from "How to Save Your Marriage" to "How to Get Married" to "How to be a Woman of God" to "How to Poop Like a Christian". So I would write my book and call it, "Its Answered" and it would consist of 200 blank pages until the last one and it would have one line on it saying, "Seek after the Heart of God and all this shit will be taken care of."

Simple.

But now that I am on to my second book I thought this one could be a little more thought out. You know, require a bit more brain power. I know, I know. How could it get better than that? you're wondering. Well, it just might.

As we were all walking, stories about my brother Joseph, I call him Joe, came up. For all of my readers, or lack there of, my brother is autistic. This only means one thing, he is very stubborn. So as we were laughing about all the little things he does to piss us off, Teresa mentioned I should write my next book about Joe. I laughed and said in my head, 'There's plenty of things he does that would fill a book.' But it dawned on me, what a great idea! So I'm going to start writing about memories I have of my brother and what it was like growing up...

It starts with Chapter One: Background

This is by no means a literal book. But a journal so to say. It won't be edited to look fancy or sound proficient... it's about my autistic brother for crying out loud, who doesn't care about grammar. So as long as these ground rules are accepted, I shall divulge.

It is my intention to reveal the life lessons I have learned through Joe. There have been many. I also have learned quite a bit about God through my brother because he views the world differently than I do.

Some of my earliest memories of growing up sort of mend together into one large scene. I can picture the apartments we lived in, the pool, the neighbors, the old lady, the asphalt I fell on, the store across the street, the new house, the new neighbors, the treehouse, the 3-inch thorn (I'll get to that later) and the green felt for carpet. But to sit here and try to remember specific things will definitely be a challenge. Especially the ones that just include Joe.

I guess the best place to start is to mention that I have two brothers, in fact, Joe and Josh. Josh is the oldest, Joe in the middle and then there's me. Oh, and I wasn't supposed to be born either. When my parents had Joe they knew he was different. They knew that there was something a little off about him and they weren't sure how much attention he was going to require. So they decided to have my mom's tubes tied so they wouldn't be unfair to more children if Joe required serious attention. Well... I came along and the doctor went 'oops, my bad' and so the story exists.

Josh and I were born in Nampa, Idaho and Joe was born in Sacramento, California due to a short move for my dad's job. We moved to Redlands, California when I was three and its where we've been ever since. We moved into a condo which looked and felt more like an apartment, with only two bedrooms. This meant that the three kids shared one room. But it was awesome because we had this huge bunk with a trundle underneath so we all had our own beds. It was massive and we'd use it as a hideout, stakeout, gym or any other thing that was needed for our imaginations.

It was a two story condo with the family room and kitchen downstairs and the bedrooms upstairs. The stairs served both as racing turf and sleeping bag slides. I still remember sliding down and slamming into the wall at the end of the stairs. Every kid must have stairs. Our dinner table was glass and you could see through it. The kitchen was tiny and we had this awful pink patterned couch. The carpet was something left over from the 70's and the decor never left the 80's. But considering we grew up in the 90's, we weren't that far behind.

Now back to Joe. I'm not sure if I can put these memories from the earliest to most recent but I will just start with the ones I can remember as far back as I can.

Chapter Two to come...

Torn

If I could relate myself to anything right now it would probably be that rock in those commercials trying to sell anti-depressants.

Yes. Another emo post.

But here's the thing about the rock. I don't think he is struggling with depression. He is struggling with the fact that this stupid little bird is chirping and hopping all over and the rock is having an identity crisis. He knows he is just a rock and can't fly around all happy-go-lucky. But his circumstances tell him different. Maybe they are circumstances or maybe it is peer pressure from that little blue bird. Now I don't want to put down the little bird because he doesn't know any better right? I mean all he knows is to sing and dance and the rock is doing neither. So this inner struggle erupts where the rock is suppressing how he really feels to fit in more with the bird.

This is all making sense right? Not so much.

Here's the thing about me. There is an inner 16 year old with pimples and self confidence issues that is dying to come out or at least be expressed. I feel as if my circumstances are suppressing that little girl and telling her it's not ok that she come out at this time. Meanwhile, people are dancing around her who shouldn't be dancing. There is nothing in these circumstances that qualify dancing. Not even back-up dancing. So I am torn. Do I let this girl out even though it seems like she should be tucked safely away in my back pocket?

As much as I would love to let that little girl out and all the tantrums that come with it I am softly being reminded that I can still walk in confidence DESPITE my circumstances. It really kind of sucks tho because I want to play toward those emotions of anger and frustration and hurt and confusion. But God is whispering to me and asking me 'Aren't I your strength? Aren't I the one who gives your rest?' And I agree of course but inside I want to say "No!" while stomping my feet on the ground because it just doesn't seem fair!

So then I really can't even be torn. I can't even get the sympathy vote for anything because my strength isn't my own. Talk about unfair. I can't even use it as a pick-up line! All I can do is crawl to a corner, let the little girl out for a little bit. Clean up the mess and then get back to my life.

What a day.

You can call me Emo

Since I now have one follower (fist bump to my girl) I feel I owe it to my reader(s) to post.

This weekend has been nothing short of a cuss word. Maybe the one that starts with an 's' and you could probably throw in a couple of the ones that start with an 'f'. And then on top of that it should end with a very long sentence made up of all sorts of cuss words kinda like the finale of a fireworks show. That'd be very appropriate.

Without going into detail I just want it noted that there's a reason why kids don't do the right thing despite the circumstances or outcomes... it's because sometimes it just outright sucks. It sounds like the right thing and maybe even looks like the right thing but it sure as hell doesn't feel like the right thing. I mean, reality bites right? That's what everyone says. Or maybe it's the commercials that say that. It just doesn't seem fair but then life isn't fair... blah blah blah...

I hate that relator is my number one strength. Because right now I don't want it to be.