Member-only story
CHANGE FRIDAYS
We've Come So Far
Is progress changing, and do we need a paradigm shift?
What prompts change? Need. Do we still need change today? Of course, we do.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision. I so respected and agreed with his message for ALL of us. In case you weren't listening, he said he had been to the mountain top and had seen the future.
As a homeless boy trying to feed my mother, brother, and two sisters, I also had a vision. In my dreams, I saw our family living in an apartment and I was making money to support them at age 9 ½ years old. I could have been like others and denied the dream. But instead, I embraced it. Every day I looked for work; however, as soon as a potential employer discovered that I was so young, even though I was already 5' 7", they said NO.
One summer Saturday, I walked down El Cajon Boulevard from 24th to downtown San Diego and back. I went down the street's north side and returned on the south side.
Nicolosi's restaurant was at the southeast corner of 24th and El Cajon Boulevard. Every afternoon I would go by and feast from a sea of galvanized trashcans. On one particular day, I was tired, sweaty, and hungry.
