Going hungry is a terrible thing. There's a program for senior brought to you by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Seniors 60 years and older are invited to participate in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
They can receive a free food kit once a month. This kit is prepared w/ specific nutrional needs such as: meats, canned fruits and vegetables, dry milk and related products, cereals and other grain products plus much more.
Program Requirements for Seniors are:
* California ID or Driver's License
* Proof of Income - SSI or pension (bank statement, check stub, benefit award letter) or
* Medi-Cal Card
The senior can also authorize someone to pick up the kit every month but they must bring that person the first time the register.
The next distribution will be at the Salvation Army in Glendale, 320 East Windsor Rd, 91204.
Next Wednesday, March 31, 2010 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Please pass this along to any seniors you know.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
From Bad to Worse Now That's Historic Reform
Let me disclose that I am against our government continuing to bailout corporations and individuals. I feel that their primary job is to protect its citizens and keep our borders safe. Just because I believe that it is not our government's job to provide affordable homes or health insurance does not mean that I don't think it is our individual responsibilities to help out our neighbors in need.
No matter how hard we try we will always have rich, poor, and middle class. By trying to eliminate poor we try to punish the rich in the form of higher taxes. The rich have a way of making it all roll downhill so the middle class suffer. Yes we can continue to be envious of all the money that the rich have but the majority of the rich are first generation millionaires. They worked hard all their life and didn't live beyond their means to get where they are at today. Now because of our envy we look at them as the evil person and that they need to pay for our social programs.
You can continue to believe that paying your fair share of taxes is fine and let us allow the government to run our lives and our businesses. Then one day we will realize that businesses have left to find other tax havens and our unemployment continues to rise. Who do we tax when our businesses are gone and someone does not have a job to pay taxes. Even the Bible states that we'll always have poor in Deuteronomy 15:11 "Of course, there will never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving you this command: Always be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and poor."
I will always believe that we can help people better with local community hospitals to address wellness programs. People can pay for these services in cash and others can apply for aid. People can then purchase high deductible insurance plans for emergencies. The reason I want it out of the hands of government is because we have seen generations of families become handicap to the government's helping hand. There's no guilt in taking from the government but taking charity from someone will make people want to provide for themselves and one day pay it forward through their own contributions.
Let's help our neighbors who do need it and those who don't please continue to pay it forward. After all we are all brothers and sisters under God and we need to find a balance where we continue to encourage innovation while not allowing others to suffer. We just can't have our government continue to raise the tax burden for everyone and think that we will still encourage investors to invest in some of the most innovative people that can advance medical technology. Maybe we can raise tax revenues to pay for it all if we adopted a fairtax, http://www.fairtax.org.
No matter how hard we try we will always have rich, poor, and middle class. By trying to eliminate poor we try to punish the rich in the form of higher taxes. The rich have a way of making it all roll downhill so the middle class suffer. Yes we can continue to be envious of all the money that the rich have but the majority of the rich are first generation millionaires. They worked hard all their life and didn't live beyond their means to get where they are at today. Now because of our envy we look at them as the evil person and that they need to pay for our social programs.
You can continue to believe that paying your fair share of taxes is fine and let us allow the government to run our lives and our businesses. Then one day we will realize that businesses have left to find other tax havens and our unemployment continues to rise. Who do we tax when our businesses are gone and someone does not have a job to pay taxes. Even the Bible states that we'll always have poor in Deuteronomy 15:11 "Of course, there will never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving you this command: Always be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and poor."
I will always believe that we can help people better with local community hospitals to address wellness programs. People can pay for these services in cash and others can apply for aid. People can then purchase high deductible insurance plans for emergencies. The reason I want it out of the hands of government is because we have seen generations of families become handicap to the government's helping hand. There's no guilt in taking from the government but taking charity from someone will make people want to provide for themselves and one day pay it forward through their own contributions.
Let's help our neighbors who do need it and those who don't please continue to pay it forward. After all we are all brothers and sisters under God and we need to find a balance where we continue to encourage innovation while not allowing others to suffer. We just can't have our government continue to raise the tax burden for everyone and think that we will still encourage investors to invest in some of the most innovative people that can advance medical technology. Maybe we can raise tax revenues to pay for it all if we adopted a fairtax, http://www.fairtax.org.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Growing Closer to God
This blog was definitely inspired by the book I just read. Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life's Terms
, by Zig Ziglar is a very inspirational book. Not only does he share his own story but he has a few others in there as well. I have said this before but I'll repeat it again. When I was going through my divorce and realizing that being the only parent that was going to look after the kids I felt the weight of the world. We always feel so alone in our darkest hour especially when our relationship with God is not as strong as it should be. The morning of September 11, 2001 I woke up a little later than usual and decided to take my time and watch the news. The events of that day will always be on our minds but those same events made me realize that what I was going through was nothing compared to how thousands of people had just been affected. Life can change in an instant and at that moment I began to pray for thousands of other people that I have never met and my life wasn't all about me.Struggles in our life we definitely try to avoid but when they do happen we must take the lesson from it and grow spiritually the way God has intended for us. I don't question God anymore cause I know with his guidance he will lead us to where we're supposed to be. As a matter of fact I don't even ask God for patience cause he always seems to bless me with the opportunity to show patience. I guess that's where "be careful what you ask for" comes from. I now thank God for everything he has given me. I praise him for the good and I praise him for the opportunity to learn and overcome struggles. I pray that all of you can also experience the clearing of your vision the way I have. Below is a dedication or poem that I just wrote for my daughter's yearbook as she gets ready to graduate. Be kind cause I'm not a poet and as I started to rhyme I couldn't help but try to be funny. I hope you enjoy.
When I was young I was lost.
My selfish mind was the cause.
I thought of nothing else but to coast through life,
Lots of money, a house, and a lovely wife.
Needless to say I'm quite not there,
money in my wallet is quite rare.
Instead God has blessed me with you,
and soon to follow another two.
You have grown faster than I'd like,
but you'll always be my baby who I taught how to ride a bike.
You were God's gift to me.
You cleared up my vision and now I can see.
Unfortunately you have only seen the struggle,
Having you and your brothers I have learned how to juggle.
It is through the struggles that we grow spiritually,
and you have grown extraordinarily.
The lesson I hope that you have learned from this,
is to keep God close so that your life is bliss.
The struggles that you have endured so far,
are God's gift to you instead of a car.
One day you'll look back and see
that God was really looking over you and me.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Dreaded Sex Talk
Last night I decided to ask my daughter for a few minutes of her time so that I can have a serious conversation with her. I didn't think that the time for me to have the talk with my little girl was ever going to come. I had to realize that although she will always be my little girl to others she is now a teenager and it is a matter of time that I'm going to have to pull out my shotgun (just kidding I don't own a gun but my hands are considered lethal). Reading Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World 
made me realize that if I didn't talk to her than she would get her information from some smooth talking teen or from her friends who probably get all their information from shows like "Gossip Girl"
I kept my conversation very simple. I simply told her all men are pigs and save yourself for marriage. Okay not that simple but going into it that's all I wanted to say. I have taught my kids using myself as an example so that I hope they can relate and take my advice to heart. I wish my parents would have talked to me more about it but growing up and reaching my teens it seemed perfectly fine to lose your virginity. I lost mine by the 9th grade and that's the same grade my daughter is going to be in next year. This might be a shocker to most men but yes I wish I had saved myself.
The following is why I wish I would have saved myself and what I shared with my daughter. When we start to have feelings for the opposite sex you start to realize changes in your body. As a young boy you begin to get aroused and then talking to your immature friends you then believe that you must go out and have a conquest. I had one girlfriend throughout high school and I believe one of the reasons why was because once I had sex that is all I could think about. Why get to know other girls when I knew where sex was readily available to me. Once the relationship became about sex it was all about sex to me, the boy. I can't speak for girls and how they feel and I am not going to try to do that to my daughter. Hopefully her aunt will talk to her.
"Your virginity is something special and should be shared with someone special, preferably your husband", where the final words I told her. We also went over dating guidelines and how she should only seek relationships with boys that add value to her life. My daughter is a very smart girl and she was more concerned on why she can't date until she's 16 (2 years away). She felt better when I told her that she can go out with groups of friends and the 16 year old rule is to go out on a 1 on 1 date.
In the end I am glad that I had started the talk. I say started cause I know it is not over. At least now she knows that she can talk to me. My baby is growing up and I have come to terms with that. I only hope that she will take some of the lessons that I've learned from my mistakes and make better decisions than I did.
She'll always be Daddy's little girl.
made me realize that if I didn't talk to her than she would get her information from some smooth talking teen or from her friends who probably get all their information from shows like "Gossip Girl"I kept my conversation very simple. I simply told her all men are pigs and save yourself for marriage. Okay not that simple but going into it that's all I wanted to say. I have taught my kids using myself as an example so that I hope they can relate and take my advice to heart. I wish my parents would have talked to me more about it but growing up and reaching my teens it seemed perfectly fine to lose your virginity. I lost mine by the 9th grade and that's the same grade my daughter is going to be in next year. This might be a shocker to most men but yes I wish I had saved myself.
The following is why I wish I would have saved myself and what I shared with my daughter. When we start to have feelings for the opposite sex you start to realize changes in your body. As a young boy you begin to get aroused and then talking to your immature friends you then believe that you must go out and have a conquest. I had one girlfriend throughout high school and I believe one of the reasons why was because once I had sex that is all I could think about. Why get to know other girls when I knew where sex was readily available to me. Once the relationship became about sex it was all about sex to me, the boy. I can't speak for girls and how they feel and I am not going to try to do that to my daughter. Hopefully her aunt will talk to her.
"Your virginity is something special and should be shared with someone special, preferably your husband", where the final words I told her. We also went over dating guidelines and how she should only seek relationships with boys that add value to her life. My daughter is a very smart girl and she was more concerned on why she can't date until she's 16 (2 years away). She felt better when I told her that she can go out with groups of friends and the 16 year old rule is to go out on a 1 on 1 date.
In the end I am glad that I had started the talk. I say started cause I know it is not over. At least now she knows that she can talk to me. My baby is growing up and I have come to terms with that. I only hope that she will take some of the lessons that I've learned from my mistakes and make better decisions than I did.
She'll always be Daddy's little girl.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
2010 T-ball Mets - Division Champions
Our season is over :(. We came one game short from reaching our goal of making it to the championship. The only loss we had and it happened in the semifinals. Our defeat came to the Cardinals from St. Roberts. We could not have lost to a better group of kids, parents, and coaches. If we had to lose to an organization I'm glad it was to one from our same parish because I believe that we have the classiest organization. Yes I might be biased but you can find out for yourself by becoming part of it next year. Bookmark this page http://www.bplbaseball.com and get ready for sign ups during the last weekend of September and first weekend of October.
The Mets still ended the season as division champs but as we kept on winning during the season we started to focus more and more on the championship and winning rather than having fun. I wrote about these kids last year, http://mariovillagransmind.blogspot.com/2009/03/2009-st-robert-bellarmine-mets-t-ball.html. What they accomplished from last year to this year is amazing. I can honestly say that we started out the season really focused on learning, trying our best, and having fun. We taught the kids that winning would be a result of putting those things together. As the season went on and we continued to win games we started to lose focus. As manager I take sole responsibility and I am a little upset with myself for not controlling it more. I knew we were out of control once I heard parents complaining about the changes I would make so that I can get all the kids involved. We forgot that we were dealing with 4 to 8 years old kids. The pressure really started to build. I could only imagine what my kids were feeling since I was also having a nervous breakdown on the sideline. The winning is everything mentality did us in and because of it I had kids that were crying in the end instead of smiling and it was honestly heart breaking.
In the end the children had a great season and we were all brought back down to reality. The focus of t-ball is to teach, have fun, encourage children to try their best, and hopefully they end up loving the game. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to teach these kids because they in return have taught me so much. The friendships that were made by these kids and the parents also will last a lifetime. I know I'll see most of these kids playing all through their childhood and having fun along the way. This is why they will always be Champions. Below is a letter from me to the Cardinals wishing them luck. I included this cause I want to show what kind of sportsmanship is taught in the Parochial league.
Dear Cardinals,
Hard fought game tonight between two teams from the same Parish. I've written before about how t-ball in the parochial league is no laughing matter. It's a competitive league and tonight's game proved it. The undefeated T-ball Mets took on the Cardinals. Some would say it was like David taking on Goliath.
The pressure really got to some of the Mets players. As their coach I was a very upset with myself and my inability to get them to focus on having fun. Seeing these 4 to 8 year old kids cracking under all the pressure put on them to win was disheartening. This isn't to take away from the Cardinals cause they played some awesome ball tonight.
The Cardinals batted first and were held to a scoreless first inning. The Mets scored 2 runs in the first inning and the Cardinals hung in strong and kept themselves in the game. I would recap the rest of the game but I was so nervous that I lost track. In the end the Cardinals were the hungrier team and won by 2 points. If we had to lose a game I'm glad we lost to the Cardinals and that SRB will be represented well in the championship. You guys are led by 2 great coaches in Tony and John. The Cardinal parents were also a great crowd.
I know there might have been talk about SRB stacking a team since the Mets had such a great record but tonight showed that SRB always puts teams together that can beat each other on any given night. I'm so happy to be part of such a great organization. I wish the Cardinals lots of luck in the championship versus the SFX Reds. The Mets will be there to cheer you guys on. Go Cardinals!!!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Taking The High Road Can Be So Hard
Competition can bring out the best in the competitors. It can also bring out the worst in some competitors, parents, and fans. As a coach I try to teach the kids that God gave us sports so that we can realize our potential. It's also a tool to teach sportsmanship, teamwork, and just have fun. Winning will be the end result when you put all the above pieces of the puzzle together.
We overwhelm ourselves with winning. As fans and parents winning sometimes becomes the only thing that we forget to accept losing as a chance for our kids to learn. This attitude eventually reflects in our children, after all they model their behavior after their parents.
The other night my son's baseball team pulled off a win to make it into the 2nd round of the playoffs and the other team was crushed. This team had beaten us the previous two outings that we met in very close games. This nigh time had just expired and so they couldn't play a 6th inning. Knowing that there was one more inning that could be played the other coach tried to convince the umpire to bend the rules and allow for the last inning to be played. Obviously the other team was crushed because they only lost by 1 point. It is hard for me to blame the coach for trying cause you get caught up in the moment and if there was a few seconds that would have allowed them to start the inning then why not ask. The problem I have is with the character of some of the players and parents after.
Once the umpire had explained about the time expiring then it is obvious that we play by the rules and we don't bend them in order to win. I can't say what the opposing coach told his players. I could only hope that he told them that they played a great game and put in a great effort. What I do know is that at least one parent tried to take some happiness away from my son and I. Here's what was said in front of my boy:
Me: "Congratulations you guys played a great game. These 2 teams always play each other tough and it makes for an exciting game."
Other Parent: "Yeah it was a great game but they should have let them played the last inning. It wasn't right for them to end it."
Other Kid: "What a cheesy win!"
Other Parent: "Well anyways we beat you guys twice and you won this one. Your coach shouldn't have talked to the umpires about ending the game"
Me: "Oh well great game"
Yes I walked away. Keep in mind that our coach had not said one word to the umpire. The umpire looked at his watch and called it. I knew that they were so bitter that it blinded them to what was really going on so it was not worth arguing. I really wanted to say something because of the fact of what the kid said and the fact that she had the audacity to say this in front of my kid who was really happy to win. The adolescent in me wanted to say well we won when it counted and it's playoffs so it's win or go home but I didn't. I had to remember that I set an example for my kid and my athletes.
It is very tough to take that high road especially as a parent that feels their kid is being attacked. What kept me from doing it is thinking about the hurt that they had just experienced. I can't blame the kid for what he said after listening to the parent. Reacting to what they said can have easily made a bad situation worse. I put my arm around my son and explained to him that in life sometimes people react negatively cause they're hurt. "Misery loves company" and so they will try to bring you down with them. You have to rise above it and not allow for anyone to take away your joy. He understood that showing good sportsmanship is on both the losing and winning end. I was happy to see that what they said didn't affect him but I know had I reacted, which was the easiest thing to do, it would have affected him negatively.
We overwhelm ourselves with winning. As fans and parents winning sometimes becomes the only thing that we forget to accept losing as a chance for our kids to learn. This attitude eventually reflects in our children, after all they model their behavior after their parents.
The other night my son's baseball team pulled off a win to make it into the 2nd round of the playoffs and the other team was crushed. This team had beaten us the previous two outings that we met in very close games. This nigh time had just expired and so they couldn't play a 6th inning. Knowing that there was one more inning that could be played the other coach tried to convince the umpire to bend the rules and allow for the last inning to be played. Obviously the other team was crushed because they only lost by 1 point. It is hard for me to blame the coach for trying cause you get caught up in the moment and if there was a few seconds that would have allowed them to start the inning then why not ask. The problem I have is with the character of some of the players and parents after.
Once the umpire had explained about the time expiring then it is obvious that we play by the rules and we don't bend them in order to win. I can't say what the opposing coach told his players. I could only hope that he told them that they played a great game and put in a great effort. What I do know is that at least one parent tried to take some happiness away from my son and I. Here's what was said in front of my boy:
Me: "Congratulations you guys played a great game. These 2 teams always play each other tough and it makes for an exciting game."
Other Parent: "Yeah it was a great game but they should have let them played the last inning. It wasn't right for them to end it."
Other Kid: "What a cheesy win!"
Other Parent: "Well anyways we beat you guys twice and you won this one. Your coach shouldn't have talked to the umpires about ending the game"
Me: "Oh well great game"
Yes I walked away. Keep in mind that our coach had not said one word to the umpire. The umpire looked at his watch and called it. I knew that they were so bitter that it blinded them to what was really going on so it was not worth arguing. I really wanted to say something because of the fact of what the kid said and the fact that she had the audacity to say this in front of my kid who was really happy to win. The adolescent in me wanted to say well we won when it counted and it's playoffs so it's win or go home but I didn't. I had to remember that I set an example for my kid and my athletes.
It is very tough to take that high road especially as a parent that feels their kid is being attacked. What kept me from doing it is thinking about the hurt that they had just experienced. I can't blame the kid for what he said after listening to the parent. Reacting to what they said can have easily made a bad situation worse. I put my arm around my son and explained to him that in life sometimes people react negatively cause they're hurt. "Misery loves company" and so they will try to bring you down with them. You have to rise above it and not allow for anyone to take away your joy. He understood that showing good sportsmanship is on both the losing and winning end. I was happy to see that what they said didn't affect him but I know had I reacted, which was the easiest thing to do, it would have affected him negatively.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
It's Only T-Ball
Don't repeat those words around the Burbank Parochial League, http://www.bplbaseball.com. This league has one of the most competitive t-ball divisions I've seen. This, I believe, has been one of the biggest draw to this league besides being one of the few winter leagues around. For the most part parents and coaches are civil.
I have the pleasure of managing for a second year the St. Robert Bellarmine Mets. This is a great group of kids who have managed to go undefeated through the regular season. In t-ball you get some kids that are more interested in playing with the grass than paying attention to the game. That was not the case with my kids. Okay, maybe just a few but they kept it to a minimum. I want to credit this to a new approach I took with the kids. I also coach coach for my kids' school and since it's a catholic school, I'm required to take some training courses. Thank God I did because I ran across the University of Notre Dame's "Play Like A Champion" training. You can find more information at http://www.playlikeachampion.org.
I was able to implement what I learned and had a successful season with all the teams I coach from my win-less girls' basketball team to my undefeated t-ball team. How can someone say that their win-less team had a successful season? I also use to judge success based on records. This program kept me focused on what my job as a coach of young children really is and that if I do my job right I will develop champions.
Whether we were winning or not I was able to teach and keep the game fun for the kids. What my kids have learned is that sports is about competition. When people compete there's always one that is crowned but we can not forget about what that competition did for everyone. It brings out everyone's full potential. For that reason is why we always pray before a game and ask God to keep us focused so that we can give it our best and bring out the best in our competitor.
Competition can also bring out the worst in some people when not approached the right way. We get into this win at all cost attitude. I know sometimes my parents freak out when I do this but I try to mix up the players and their positions. I don't want to win and find out that I hurt someone's feelings because I didn't play them enough. I want to encourage the smaller kids to come back to the sport.
Well my t-ball team starts playoffs next weekend and if they lose in the first round I wouldn't care, okay just a little. I already know that my team is a success. Today the kids told me what they have learned and that is to have fun, be a good sport, try our best, pray that everyone is safe, and thank the parent who brought the snacks :).
I have the pleasure of managing for a second year the St. Robert Bellarmine Mets. This is a great group of kids who have managed to go undefeated through the regular season. In t-ball you get some kids that are more interested in playing with the grass than paying attention to the game. That was not the case with my kids. Okay, maybe just a few but they kept it to a minimum. I want to credit this to a new approach I took with the kids. I also coach coach for my kids' school and since it's a catholic school, I'm required to take some training courses. Thank God I did because I ran across the University of Notre Dame's "Play Like A Champion" training. You can find more information at http://www.playlikeachampion.org.
I was able to implement what I learned and had a successful season with all the teams I coach from my win-less girls' basketball team to my undefeated t-ball team. How can someone say that their win-less team had a successful season? I also use to judge success based on records. This program kept me focused on what my job as a coach of young children really is and that if I do my job right I will develop champions.
Whether we were winning or not I was able to teach and keep the game fun for the kids. What my kids have learned is that sports is about competition. When people compete there's always one that is crowned but we can not forget about what that competition did for everyone. It brings out everyone's full potential. For that reason is why we always pray before a game and ask God to keep us focused so that we can give it our best and bring out the best in our competitor.
Competition can also bring out the worst in some people when not approached the right way. We get into this win at all cost attitude. I know sometimes my parents freak out when I do this but I try to mix up the players and their positions. I don't want to win and find out that I hurt someone's feelings because I didn't play them enough. I want to encourage the smaller kids to come back to the sport.
Well my t-ball team starts playoffs next weekend and if they lose in the first round I wouldn't care, okay just a little. I already know that my team is a success. Today the kids told me what they have learned and that is to have fun, be a good sport, try our best, pray that everyone is safe, and thank the parent who brought the snacks :).
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