Alright, you Progressive, liberal mateys! Listen to a new weird and wonderful tale of Puerto Rico come to San Antonio, Texas.
I’m not rich but I’ve managed to position myself as relatively self-sufficient. Animals find me a safe haven and now, apparently, so do people. I’m the product of a mixed marriage — adopted into a family comprised of a cheap, “frugal” dad and an overly-generous mom.
So when this happened: watching my alleged “president” throw paper towels at Puerto Ricans, desperate for assistance and life-saving supplies, I got pissed. Who the fuck does that, right? So, I posted an offer on Facebook against my paternal instinct. I realized I’m rather poor and didn’t have cash to give so I offered space in my home to either two couples or a family of four in the mold of my mother.
The offer went unanswered for about two weeks and it seemed weird to have the offer sitting out there unanswered for over two weeks. So I figured, hell, take it down. The afternoon I was going to remove it, a woman decided, hell yeah, she and her two kids were in!
So, here we were with a Facebook post cementing our new relationship. Her mom was afraid that I might be involved in an organ scam. My friends feared I was opening my home to potential mass murderers. In the middle, was a mother trying to get her kids out of a danger zone and a woman (me) willing to put her Texas home on the line.
We put together an alliance of fundraisers who helped buy three airline tickets from San Juan to Texas. Our goal was $500: We raised a smidge over $600; which allowed us to insure costs in case things went sideways. Nothing went awry and the family showed up, as expected, on the 30th of October — the day before Halloween. Now, as a single woman with no kids, I figured I’d done what I needed to do — give a family a space into which to escape. My parent-friends didn’t find my bare bones outreach sufficient; thus, an amazing outpouring of school supplies and Halloween costumes poured into my home.
A dear friend with union connections and a daughter who happened to be the principal of the middle school the kids would attend, stepped in and got more school supplies and accommodations in line for us. He also sits on the local mass transportation board and donated her first month’s bus pass, not to mention ferreting out living room furniture for Ana’s future home.
The plan was for the family of three to come to Texas, get a job, housing, and car then save money to bring grandma to the U.S. Well, as I read posts from Denise Oliver and Pakalolo describing deteriorating health conditions on the island, by happenstance, I revived communication with an old high school friend. In the course of our Facebook messaging, she asked why grandma was still in that quagmire of filth. I explained that we had only raised enough money for the three to come to San Antonio. She found that insufficient and offered to pay for the additional ticket. We held a family confab and decided to bring her here sooner, rather than wait. So, my high school hermana paid for the extra ticket and grandma arrives Dec. 14.
Back to Denise Oliver … I reached out to her, thinking she might help me with a fundraiser to get the Cortijo family a car, so Ana can bail out of the mass transit routes that make her commute 2+ hours long. Denise is a busy lady and explained she might know others who might help. She did and put me in touch with a fantastic woman from Daily Kos, who has asked for anonymity, donated a $500 down payment toward a car for Ana to get to work.
Listen people, when I went into this, I thought I was going to do something sort of alone. Turns out, I could not have done that even if I’d tried. For example, when we went to the counselor at the school, she asked if we needed anything. I simply asked if there was somewhere we could get something for Mom, as everything was being given for her kids. She asked her to come back after school and took her clothes shopping, then to a cool meal that introduced her to Mexican food and Margaritas! Then there was the woman at a clothing bank who, upon hearing her story, cried then prayed and gave her more than the limit of clothes.
Geebus, even walking to the mailbox to grab birthday cards for her youngest’s birthday, we ran into some neighbors who, on hearing her story, delivered a TV to the house so the kids could play their Wii! Oh, and promised the second month of bus passes! A local Puerto Rican motorcycle club, Jibaros (Hillbilly) of Army veteran medical folks just made a surprise birthday party for the youngest. Got him a bicycle, cake and ice cream! My garage is filled with things people have given to start off their new life. One guy carried a microwave from a subdivision away. Another couple, of Puerto Rican descent, said come pick through our garage of excess.
The beauty of bringing the Cortijo family to Texas, rather than fighting the influx in Florida, is that services here and housing are fluid. People with resources don’t feel overwhelmed nor does this seem commonplace. It is novel and I’m seen as unique. As I’ve said, the thing that remains on the table is fundraising for the car. If you’re amenable, here’s the Paypal account you can use if you care to chip in to her car fundraiser: closerwalk2@att.net
Monday, Dec 4, 2017 · 1:39:04 AM +00:00
·
Kathy Scheidel
Oh my gosh! People have found it in their hearts to donate money and … if we can get it off its blocks … a car!! Thank you so very much for your kindness and love. Ana is in tears (again!) I love you guys and gals so very much!