Monday, January 26, 2009

Answering Emails

Hey, Emilio, thanks for your email. It is always nice to hear from young people. I am glad my book is inspiring you. I wish I had something like my book to help me when I was a kid so I would not have had all that heartache. But then again, that is who I am today. Keep reading because it is good for you. Studying and reading is never for nothing. It makes your brain grow. It really does.
Do I still have my garbage business? No, I sold it three years ago. I do have my book business and it is doing really well.
Yes, I did see Obama as the new president. When I was 15 or 16 we had a better president who we thought was going to fix the world. That was President Kennedy. They killed him because he wanted to make too many changes and the people who run the world did not like it. I had just started high school like you then. I hope Obama is very careful and does not get out in the open because things as that really happen in this world a lot. Just like 9/11.
Did my dad really make me go out in the dark? He sure did! Man, he was hard on us when we were little guys. Everything I write in my books is true. I remember that story so well because I was so scared!
Did I have an anger problem? I sure did. That was the toughest thing I had to overcome to be a regular person. I had a fight with myself to not get upset with everyone so easy. It was very hard for me. People who see me now and knew me when I was a kid cannot believe I am the same person. One of my old friends said he saw someone we knew when we were young. He told the guy I was doing well and a family with a lot of children and a business. This guy answered, "Oh, no, it couldn't be the same Art! The Art I knew had a bad heart!" When my friend related this to me I felt bad. But I am OK now.
Emilio, it sounds as if you have younger brothers. Remember this, you have to set a good example for your brothers. The younger brothers always want to be like their older brothers. If you miss up more than likely they will follow what you do. So if you are a smart guy and do the best you can, then they will want to be like you.
I owned Number "1" Disposal for 20 years and sold it.
I would like to write another book but I have not been feeling well. I am sick and to write a book you have to feel good. Maybe I will, we well see.
I have four books. They are on my web site.
How old am I? 21. No, I wish. I am 59 years old but in my mind I feel 21 but with my health so bad makes me feel really old. When I was young I never thought I would get old. I thought there were two kinds of people, young people and old people. But it happens to all of us. So make your life a good one and a happy one!
Take care and read my other books.
Your Friend, Art Rodriguez

Friday, January 23, 2009

Answering Emails

Hey Pony! Thanks for your email. I am glad you like reading my book. Keep reading because it is good for you! How am I? I am happy but not healthy. The main thing is I am happy! Today I am fine. I have been going out giving talks at middle schools and high schools almost everyday but today I am taking it easy answering emails.
How many sons do I have? I have four sons. One step son who I raised as my own and three sons. My life with them is very good. One of my sons moved away and I never see. My oldest son bought into my house, made it bigger for his family and helps me a lot. My youngest son is 22 and lives with me also. All the other kids are married with kids. I have a very good relationship with them. When ever they have problems with their kids, they try to work with them the way I did with them.
They joke with each other about all the talks they had with dad (me) when they were young. I used to do a lot of talking and asking a lot of questions when they were teenagers to get into their hearts. It worked because they are all good people now, very good.
If I am going to write other books? While, I have four books right now. I am working on another but I do not know how far I will get with it. My health is not too hot. I have to really feel good to write and that has not been the case in the last three years. But I might.
Thanks for writing to me and remember, you have to read my other books! The more you read the larger the world will become to you! And at the same time it will help you with your education. That is so important. That way you can make life a little easier for your child. Work hard in school!
Your Friend, Art Rodriguez
Hi Erika, thank you for your email. I always enjoy receiving emails from young people. Really from everyone but more so with young people. I am glad you learned from East Side Dreams that even if you hang with your friends and try to keep out of trouble when they do anything wrong, you will be charged with the crime because you were with them. The D. A. does not care, as long as they get someone or more then someone that is what they want. Thanks for bringing that out for other young people.
I always wonder where Ernesto is now. About 8 years ago I went to a book fair and seen one of the hommies from Preston, our company and he told me that Ernie was still alive that he sees him around his town. The other day I spoke at a middle school and one of the students told me that Chuco was his friend's great grandfather and that he was dieing. I gave the kid my email and asked him to find out where he is so I could call him and talk to him. But I have not heard from him.
My kids are doing great, in Those Oldies but Goodies, my other book, I talk about all of my children. They all worked for me in the business accept the youngest. I sold the business three years ago. Two of the boys work for a large company driving trucks. My daughters, one works with a loan company, One for the school district and the other two work (hard!) at home taking care of the kids while their husbands work outside the home. My youngest son is not married and works for a cable company and my other son works out of town as a manager of a business. I have 15 cool grand kids! And I am happy and waiting for more and great grand kids! Sure we can keep in touch. Work hard in school so you can take good care of your little baby and teach your little girl to love and respect all people. There is more happiness giving to people than there is taking from them, and that is the truth!
Keep studying as long as you can! Remember, it is never for nothing! It will always pay you back a lot more than you put into it!
Your Friend, Art Rodriguez

Answering E-mails

Hey Tyler, I am glad you enjoyed my book. You read three books already, cool! You are doing well. A lot of young people who email me tell me it was their first book. Keep up the good work!
Do you still own your own business? No, I sold the business three years ago but I own my publishing company, Dream House Press and because my books are doing so well I am doing better in this business that the dumpster one. If it goes to a movie later it will even be better.
How old are your kids now do they work for a garbage company or did they take over your business? My kids are, ready? 40, 38, 38, 36, 33, 27, 23 and 22. I write more about them in Those Oldies but Goodies. No, they do not work for me or take over the business. They did not want it because there are too many headaches with that business.
The night of that party when you got arrested did you hate redhead, because he’s the one that snitched on you guys the cops where gunna let you go if it hadn’t of been for redhead and that stupid car. Do you ever think back on that day? No way did I hate Redhead. It was not his fault. After we got out of jail and got the court documents we found that the big snitch was Cesar's bother, I think I named him Isaac, his real name was Alex, he was in the same cell as Manuel and I when the three of us were together in jail..
What ever happened to Cesar? He has a long story himself. I cannot write it here it is too long. His real name is Hector Padilla and if you look up California gangs on Google you will see he was one of the main people who started the gangs. It you will go back to the 60's where it talks about a pair of shoes and people dieing over the shoes started the gangs north and south. The Internet says he is dead but he is not, he is alive and doing good now..
Where you ever scared when your mother went blind when she had her kids I KNOW I WOULD BE? I do not remember that, I was too young. When my older brother was born I was only 2. And I do not remember after I was born.
What ever happened to your brothers you never mentioned them in the end of the book. Eddie lives in the house on Virgiania. He baught it from my mother years ago and took care of her till she died. He is a very sick man now days. Victor works at a base in UT and is really a higher up White Collar and makes good money.
Tita lives in San Jose and married a very good man. She has started writing now too.
Did you make money of all of these books? As I said earlier, yes, the books are doing better and better every year.
OK, Tyler, keep up the good work in school. Read my other books! You can get them at any book store or order than online. My site if you want or any site.
Art Rodriguez

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Answering E-mails

Hi Gardenia! Sure I will write back. I always answer all emails I get. I am glad you liked reading East Side Dreams. In one of my other books, Those Oldies but Goodies I talk more about my kids. I had two boys the first time I was married. My first wife had a very tough childhood staying in foster homes with people who did bad things to her. So she had a lot of problems with everything. She felt she did not love the boys and did not want them. So I had custody of them. One was 6 years old and the other was 8 years old. Then I met my wife Flora and she had three young kids. She had a girl who was 4 years old, a girl who was 8 years old and a son 9. We were married and had five kids. Then we had three more of our own. I did not want my kids to have a hard life like I did, with all the heartache that comes with it. So I used to tell Flora, "We have to work hard with our kids because they are going to grow up and be men and women and are going to remember everything we did!" Well, they did, and they do remember everything. I am sure glad we did it right because all 8 of them grew up to love us very much and now I have 15 grand kids! They all come over to visit at least once or twice a week and people who live by me think I have a lot of parties! I have a good life with my family. But I have a bad life because of my health. When people tell you drugs are bad for you, believe them! I have lung problems now. I had open heart surgery this last May. I am 59 years old now. Plus I have other health problems.
No matter how many health problems I have I still go out and speak at schools at least three or four times a week. It makes me feel good that I could help young people think about their lives and what they need to do. When young people like you read my books, you think that you still have all of your life and there is a lot you can do. Having a little baby boy even more so. You want to take good care of him and teach him how to be happy and be a good person.
When my kids were young, I used to tell them my stories. I remember a friend told me I should not tell them because then they are going to want to do all the things I did. But I told him that no, I was also going to tell him what will happen to them if they do. Now that my children are grown, they appreciate the way I raised them. And now I tell all young people to learn about life though my stories. A person does not have to learn the hard way.
My business, Number "1" Disposal I sold three years ago. I sold it because I could not run it anymore. I was sick but the doctors did not know what was wrong with me. Three months after I sold it I had a heart attack. The put three stents in my heart thinking that was going to fix the problem. Then two years later I had another heart attack and had surgery.
Now I have my own book business, selling books and speaking to kids. I love doing that and that makes life good. Giving my advice to young people is a good feeling and hearing that kids change their lives because of my books really makes me feel good.
I hope you get a chance to read my other books. You will enjoy them just as much. Remember, everything you read in my books is true, nothing is made up.
Gardenia, thank you for writing to me and work hard in school because it is going to pay you back later. Ten years ago when I wrote East Side Dreams the only words I could spell were words like "is" "it" "and". if you were to ask me how to spell words like "there, what, that", I did not know. I learned it all with East Side Dreams.
Take care and work hard as I said.
Your Friend, Art