Enabler

If you walk into my bedroom on your right you'd see a mirror. Tucked into that mirror is an old fortune I once got in a cookie (chocolate chip, of course). The fortune reads "Generosity and perfection are our everlasting goals."

Did you know that even though fortune cookies are served in Chinese food restaurants they have no origin in China? They actually started as a marketing thing outta California. Invented by a white guy as a kind of appetizer. See people'd come in and get their cookies and have a lil mysterious note give 'em a piece of advice and talk 'bout it. Nuthin' to do with the blog today but i find it to be an interestin' lil fact.

I like fortune cookies. I enjoy the taste. I like havin' a lil sumthin' to talk 'bout after dinner. And on occasion they have decent advice. Generosity is an everlasting goal for us. We can never give enough. We take a lot of the world's resources just by existin', we should use what we can to give back what we can. No reason to hold onto money other than in the event of an emergency or maybe some for your kids to misuse and depend on. I don't need twenty-billion dollars unless I'm gonna use it to help other people. I'm survivin' on less than twenty-grand a year and that's with two jobs and an Associate of Literary Arts. I could use more to be more comfortable but I know I can live without it. So if I could make twenty billion and survive comfortably on say seventy-five thousand, that's a lot left over to do some real good.

I talked to Dad the other night. I love our conversations. I wish all of you could have your own sit-down with him. Sixth-grade education and probably the smartest man I've ever met. His advice has never failed me. He was a lil drunk this night and still made all the sense in the world.

The conversation really started when he began to complain about certain burdens in his life. He's carried a lot of people for a long time. He owns a business after all, and with the nine people he employs that's several different families he's got the burden of providin' for. For some of these people he's been an enabler.

An enabler is the guy that gives the crackheads a means to survive with their crack addiction so they never hit that rock bottom and get themselves better. He allows people to survive while livin' in a way that's self-destructive. It's no good I explained to him. It's why he's about to be sixty and has no nest egg to retire on.

While he was drinkin' he brought this up again. He said he was proud to be an enabler. He was proud that he's had the means to support so many people. He's proud that he has been a pillar of strength for his friends and family. He's proud that he's had enough success to spread his wealth around, even if he suffers for it.

He went on to talk about George Lopez. It didn't make sense at first but it does now. I dunno if you saw it or not but they had Sandra Bullock on that talk show he does now. She said she wanted to be more latina and so they did a makeover for her. She came out in dickies and a white tee-shirt with a long sleeve plaid shirt only buttoned at the neck, heavy lip and eye liner, and an overall chola look.

Latina ain't the same as chola. Latino ain't the same as cholo. George Lopez has made a career and a fortune by sayin' that these things are the same. He is probably one of the most widely recognized Latino celebrities in the world and he says, "We are all ignorant gangsters, full of machismo bullshit, and we don't need or want any respect." with his perfomances. Granted, I think he's funny. But he doesn't do anything to help his people. Maybe he doesn't want to. That's his right. He doesn't have to. But I'd have to say it's like havin' Richard Pryor get up on stage and sayin' "We're all niggers and it's okay that you see us that way." Jeff Foxworthy gettin' up on stage and sayin' "We're all ignorant hicks that sleep with our cousins." It is a slap in the face to his people. It encourages a stereotype.

Lopez gets up on stage and talks about how Erik Estrada didn't help him any and didn't give him an autograph, but I fail to see where Georgie boy does anythin' but pokin' fun at his heritage for the sake of mass appealing to some audience. By doin' that he's worse off than Estrada. He's not helpin' anyone but holdin' people down.

In the 80's they had a show. It wasn't particularly realistic in the sense that it dealt with a high class family. I know that sounds pretty average today but back then it was a big thing. A doctor for a dad, a lawyer for a mom, kids that did funny things and never dealt with real world problems like teen pregnancy, or financial crisis. It was a hit show not because it portrayed these people as they would really be but as they could be. Guess the name of the show yet? Cosby ringin' a bell?

If you want people to move up in the world you don't show 'em their flaws you show 'em how good they could be. People start believin' a story if it's told enough. Of course it'd take work. Education has to be important. People need to be made aware of their opportunities. The opportunities have to be there. That dream is the most important thing though. People have to have that to believe in.

My father believes his role in this was to offer opportunities to people. He took his chances and did the best he could with what he had. He so far has ended up a lot better off than where he started. With his help he believes he can help others move up in the world too. He believes it's his duty as a person with a lil bit extra to use that extra to help others.

He treats his workers well. He tips well. He uses his sixty years of experience to offer the best advice that he can. He has a tremendous load upon his back. He likes it there. It's all he can do. He is an enabler through and through.