Wiser With Age

Tag: California

  • Danny Trejo busier than ever, but why helping others is most important

    Danny Trejo busier than ever, but why helping others is most important

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Danny Trejo at Trejo’s Tacos (Courtesy @officialdannytrejo)

    When you think of Danny Trejo, probably his legendary “tough guy†image immediately comes to mind – with a fiery explosion taking place behind him – like in the “Machete Kills†movie poster.

    He is one of America’s most hard-working actors, averaging four films a year (usually of the action genre) since the 1990’s. Lately, however, he’s been picking up the pace and expanding his repertoire (which now includes more than 370 credits) with some “softer†roles. Most recently, he plays Eduardo, a former attorney and grandfather, who saves the day by using his legal expertise in the film,  â€œGrand-Daddy Daycare.â€

    “I am a worker, I’ll do whatever you got,†says the five foot five actor, with tattoos, and a very kind, deep, voice that makes you feel like he’s got your back no matter if you just met. “I am blessed.â€

    Trejo still lives near where he grew up in Pacoima, California, with his six dogs. He says he usually starts his day early, because his life has only gotten busier now that he’s 74.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Danny Trejo at home with his dogs. (Courtesy @officialdannytrejo)

    “I get up in the morning, say my prayers, and find out what I got to do,†says the man on various missions. “Seventy is the new 50. I started owning restaurants at 70. I am now 74 and have eight restaurants.â€

    In addition to appearing in more than a dozen films this year alone (including “The Prey,†and “Remnants of the Fallenâ€), Trejo is owner of various food establishments in the LA-area, including Trejo’s Tacos, Trejo’s Cantina and Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts. He also produces music through his DT Music label, volunteers as a drug rehab counselor, and is an overall good Samaritan whenever he can.

    A typical day for him when he’s not acting, he says, is waking up at 5am, visiting his donut shop, then going to auto mechanic shop to work on his cars, which is one of his favorite hobbies. At around 3:30, he might go check in at Trejo’s Cantina – which he tries to do often because food quality is important to him, and he makes sure all leftovers are given to the homeless. Perhaps, he also wants his mom to be proud.

    “My mom always wanted to open a restaurant, but my dad was like the Mexican Archie Bunker and he didn’t like the idea,†says Trejo, explaining that his dad wanted his wife to stay at home, because otherwise it made it look like the ‘man of the house†couldn’t provide.

    “Right now, she’s in heaven with my dad. She’s telling him, ‘You see! We should’ve opened a restaurant!,†Trejo says laughing.

    “I’m having so much fun right now. I have all my dream cars. I just started a record label. And we have a new album, Chicano Soul Shop Volume 1, will be dropping this month,†says Trejo, sounding like he’s just reached a peak in his life. “I am the narrator, like a radio DJ style.â€

    Trejo’s beginnings were far from glamorous, however.

    His role model was his uncle Gilbert – a drug addict and armed robber. Trejo started using drugs at 8-years-old and was addicted to heroin by 12. He spent many years in juvenile halls and prisons, when he was released for good at 25. The reason: he prayed while in solitary confinement (because of a fight in Soledad prison) that if God would let him die with dignity, he’d devote his life to doing God’s work and helping others.

    Much to his surprise, Trejo was released the following year, in 1969, and he’s been keeping his vow ever since.

    “Every friend I have carries extra underwear and socks in their car,†he says, explaining that in case they see a homeless person, they have something to give them. “God intended us to live by helping our fellow man.â€

    Trejo became a drug rehab counselor when he left prison and did that full-time for 17 years, before he got his first acting gig by chance. Today, he still helps heroin addicts at Western Pacific Med Corp. drug rehabilitation facilities.

    “Everything good that happened to me was a direct result of helping someone else,†he explains.

    That, and maybe one of the traits he seems to have inherited from his father also helped – being a hard worker.

    The most important piece of advice he says he gives his three adult children is, “The key to success is perseverance. You gotta keep going to be a hit.â€

  • Grandma Lan’s Vietnamese Thanksgiving Quail

    Grandma Lan’s Vietnamese Thanksgiving Quail


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.

    Last year, in a special Thanksgiving collaboration with I Am An Immigrant, Cooking with Granny traveled to California to tell the refugee immigrant story behind Grandma Lan’s crispy Vietnamese quail. It’s baked, fried, and flambeed — and served with a side of her famous fish sauce. Under Communist rule in Vietnam, Grandma Lan thrived as an underground fish sauce dealer in the black market so much so that she came to be known as “Madam Fish Sauce.â€

    Watch Grandma Lan’s food story here.

    What Thanksgiving traditions does your family savor?

  • Pastor walks 150 miles in the name of immigration

    Pastor walks 150 miles in the name of immigration


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Bishop José Garcia during “El Camino del Inmigrante,” “The Walk of the Immigrant†(Photo/Esteban Garcia)

    Bishop José Garcia, 63, just finished walking an average of 12 miles a day, for 11 days straight. Not for exercise, but for the basic rights of immigrants.

    “El Camino del Inmigrante,” “The Walk of the Immigrant†in English, was a 150-mile pilgrimage from August 20 – 30, aimed at highlighting the challenges of the current U.S. immigration system, one of them being hunger of immigrants. The walk started in Border Field State Park on the U.S.-Mexico border and ended at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, with various stops in between.

    Garcia, who resides in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with his wife, is currently the director of church relations at Bread for the World – a non-partisan non-profit organization focused on educating policy makers, and the public, about hunger in the U.S. and abroad. He also serves on the board of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.

    “It’s been very emotional walking with the people and listening to all the different stories and the reasons they are doing the walk,†says Garcia who was accompanied by approximately 120 other walkers. “One of the individuals that I met told me that as they were crossing to come to the U.S., two of the people in their group got sick and were not able to keep the pace, and the coyote told them they had to leave them behind. This person told me they felt miserable, guilty, all these emotions walking away from these two individuals…”

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Walk participants placing crosses in the sand. Each cross represents a deceased individual who lost their life crossing the border. (Photo/Johnny Lim)

    “I would like to create awareness of the plight of the immigrant and call to attention the political leaders, especially the candidates for the Presidency, for the need of immigration reform here in our country. We are doing this advocacy, because we see the connection between hunger and immigration.â€

    According to research conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies, nearly 70 percent of Mexican immigrants, and their U.S.-born children, live in poverty. Many immigrant families are farmworkers who are hungry due to low wages; they also often don’t have access to health services, and work in hazardous conditions.

    “Immigration reform is more than giving citizenship but dealing with the laws and systems of why people leave their countries to begin with,†continues Garcia. “These men and women are bringing values, morality, their faith, and traditions that will contribute to making this a better country. It’s not only about what they get, but what they give.â€

    The Christian pastor of more than two decades, says he empathizes with immigrants, because he himself migrated from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico to the mainland U.S. at age 27. Since the island of Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S., he did not go through a lot of the legal issues other immigrants do, but some struggles he could relate to, he says.

    “[I would receive] a patronizing attitude,†says Garcia, who in addition to studying at a seminary, holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Puerto Rico and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. “Because I spoke Spanish, I was considered not smart enough. There were also stereotypes about our food.â€

    While working as a state bishop from 2004-2014 at the Church of God of Prophecy in California, Garcia explains he was like a pastor of the other pastors in his state – making sure that they fulfill their duties.

    “Pastors have different issues. Many of them had congregants who were undocumented,†says Garcia. “That’s how I began doing advocacy for them – for immigration reform. Listening to their stories are very moving. One of the things I took for granted is that people live in fear – never knowing if their families are going to be separated. They felt that they couldn’t claim those rights. That’s why I engage in this work of advocacy.â€

    He says a typical day for him, today, deals with meetings concerning strategies, signing letters, making press statements, representing law makers, trying to engage leaders, and mobilizing people locally.

    “My favorite part of my job is being on the field with the people crying for justice who are treated unfairly,†says Garcia. “God requires us to love one another, and the scripture teaches us to care for the stranger, and that for me is an affirmation of the work that I’m doing.â€

    What piece of life advice would he give his younger self?

    “Be informed and engage in justice for those who don’t have a voice.â€

  • Nation’s oldest park ranger plays pivotal role in national park

    Nation’s oldest park ranger plays pivotal role in national park


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Betty Reid Soskin (Courtesy National Park Service)

    At nearly 95, Betty Reid Soskin has lived a remarkable life, but her adventures are not over.

    During World War II, when Soskin was 20, she worked as a file clerk for Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow segregated union. In 1945, she and her first husband, founded Reid Records, a small record store specializing in Gospel music. In the 1960’s she enjoyed writing songs and performing them at college campuses during the Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1970’s she became a community activist and started serving as a field representative for California State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock.

    It was through this civic work, which led Soskin to become involved in the planning of a park to honor the active role of women during World War II, a role she knew of first-hand. For the past decade, she has been working in that very park – Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park – located in her hometown of Richmond, California.

    “I didn’t become a ranger until I was 85,†says Soskin, who is considered the most senior park ranger in the entire U.S. “I think most of what moves me is the park that I’m involved with is part of my living history. I’m a primary source.â€

    Soskin works five hours a day, five days a week, in the park’s Visitor Center.

    “I work at the desk answering phones…On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, I screen one of our nine films and then do a commentary,†she says. “On Wednesdays and Fridays, I work on writing, answering mail, catching up with my e-mail, and am involved in planning meetings with the rest of the staff.â€

    She’s proud that she played such an active role in the development of Rosie the Riveter National Park, and gets to continually do so every week.

    “I get to add the history of African American women,†says Soskin. “The park wasn’t meant to celebrate that part of history…History that’s not in the history books.â€

    She says the first people were who were hired to work in the World War II effort were men too old to fight, then single white women, then when that pool was exhausted, they hired married white women, then black men.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Betty, at 20, in 1942. (Photo by Emmanuel F. Joseph)

    “Then in 1944-45, they began to train black women to be welders,†recalls Soskin. “I was working in a segregated union hall making 5×5 change of address cards for people who were constantly moving.â€

    She says her history was very different from that of Rosie the Riveter – a cultural icon representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom worked in the shipyards and factories making war supplies.

    “I get to trace that history for people,†says Soskin, about her work. “It was a case of being involved in one of the most dynamic histories in our time…and I can make it come alive for people.â€

    Her favorite moment in history took place on January 20, 2009.

    “I was a seated guest at the Capitol, and I had a picture of my great grandmother – who had been a slave – in my pocket, and the first black President was being inaugurated. I don’t think she could’ve imagined that happen in the world she lived in. I don’t think she could think that could happen. We are living in such a fast changing world. It’s absolutely unbelievable.† 

    As far as the current elections and race relations, she says we didn’t come so far in one piece.

    “A lot of us got stuck,†says Soskin. “When I was a young woman, my father was a craftsman, and  my grandfather was an engineer. We lost in everything in the 1927 floods in New Orleans, and my father lost his status in that world.â€

    It was not possible for him to be a craftsman in the west coast, so he started working on the railroad – he worked in the sandwich car.

    “He was a very proud man, and I think being on that level must have been very, very hard for him,†says Soskin.  

    She continues to say that she feels that every event in her life was leading to the place she is now.

    “I seem to be using everything I’ve ever learned, now, in this context,†says Soskin. “It’s an amazing place in life. I’m still an evolving person, still now. If I were to choose a favorite period, I think it would be the last 10 years.â€

    During the last 10 years, she’s worn her uniform proudly.  

    “I enjoy wearing my uniform, because I’ve seen little girls look up at me and wonder,†says Soskin. “It does give the silent message that this could be a career option that they might not have thought of.â€

    The piece of advice she would have liked to have given her younger self:

    “Don’t get hung up on the answers. It’s the questions that lead you through life,†she says. “Answers have always been temporary for me. As I aged, if I found an answer, I knew they would never last – they developed into new questions. No one lifetime can encompass all those answers. That is still where I am.â€

  • Inventor auditions for “Shark Tank” soon after heart transplant

    Inventor auditions for “Shark Tank” soon after heart transplant


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Steve Albin auditioning for “Shark Tank” on May 20, 2016.

    Steve Albin grew up in the Santa Clara Valley prune orchards in northern California and has lived in nearby Los Altos his entire life. He has always appreciated the little things of his everyday life, and even more so now.

    Towards the end of his successful 42-year career as the owner of a custom picture frame shop, his health started to deteriorate, and he mysteriously started losing his muscle strength.

    “I’d been going downhill for three years,†says Albin, 73. “I was getting weaker and weaker…I couldn’t walk from the garage to the mailbox. We were going to doctors, and they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. My cardiologist told me I might have a disease called amyloidosis. The only testing that’s done is a biopsy of the heart, and most insurances don’t pay for it, but I was diagnosed and was told I needed to get a heart transplant.â€

    So, a year and a half ago, Albin went on a waiting list for a new heart. Fortunately, he had to wait only about six months for a heart transplant, and he’s now seven months out of recovery.

    “I feel fantastic now,†says Albin. “I’m right back on my program – inventing.â€

    The grandfather of seven spends much of his time now as an inventor – an occupation which stemmed from his past experiences.

    Albin is proud of the myriad jobs he has had since graduating high school – from working in a lumber yard to asphalt work, to bakeries and a paint store.

    “It’s good to have all sorts of jobs, because then you know what you don’t want to do in life,†explains Albin. “The paint store had custom picture framing, and I fell in love. It was an occupational instant love. I looked at it like I had at least 25 jobs, and this is one I really enjoy…When you find what you love, you’re very fortunate. Sometimes they don’t pay as well, but you love it.â€

    The owner of the paint store sent  the young Albin to an old framing master who taught him all the various techniques for picture framing. For one year, he’d split his time between working at the paint shop and as a student. Six years later, in 1970, Albin was able to open his own shop, Steve Albin Picture Framing, in a local shopping center.

    What he enjoyed most about his profession, he says, was the fine art of mounting on different types of papers so the artwork lasts a lifetime, as well as showing affection towards his customers.

    “It’s just a wonderful thing to give wonderful service and make someone happy and comfortable. It’s a good feeling,†says Albin. “It’s so wonderful having an occupation where you can give of your heart and of yourself…When you have a one man shop, customers tend to tell you all sorts of things. You just listen to their opinion. That’s the sign of a true professional – make your customer feel comfortable. Give your best service, that’s your job.â€

    According to Albin, anybody can put a frame together, and anyone can cut a mat, but the most important aspect of his craft is the design – putting it all together and the mounting.

    “You have to know what you’re doing,†he says. “No matter what, it’s priceless to the customer.â€

    Albin took his craft so seriously that he was one of the founding members of the Professional Picture Framers Association.

    “I was appointed the first convention chairman,†says Albin. “It exists today, and I traveled around the U.S. teaching framing, matting, and various different classes.â€

    During his time traveling to different trade shows with the Association, Albin says he would see different  products in the framing business, and he would tell people how to improve their product, and they did.

    “As my kids started to go to college, and I needed extra money, I started thinking of my own products such as, Easle Mate and Frame Connector,†says Albin. “In total, I had about eight products that I had patented and manufactured.â€

    Albin says he started Albin Products 15 to 20 years ago while he had the frame shop. One company ended up buy all eight of his inventions – which are now sold in Michael’s stores across the U.S., and stores worldwide.

    Earlier this month, Albin was one of about 450 to pitch his latest invention – the Handy Clamp – to the ABC television series, “Shark Tank.â€

    “You can use the Handy Clamp when you want to glue something with your finger and thumb…you tighten the clamp so you don’t have to hold the object. You can clamp it to the table,†explains Albin. “The audition was absolutely wonderful…It was very exciting!â€

    He explains further that everyone gets one to three minutes at a time to pitch their idea to the judges.

    “One of them said they’d seen everything, and when I showed him the clamp, he said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this!,†recalls Albin excitedly. “We have to wait two weeks to see if I made it for the next round.â€

    He says what makes an invention successful is that you have to make something that is not out there.

    “You don’t want to compete with a better looking screwdriver,†says Albin.†You have to have a new kind of clamp where if someone sees it, they say, ‘I need that clamp.’ When something is new and hot, you get people from all over the world wanting orders.â€

    What’s the most important life advice that he would like to leave us with?

    “Make sure you marry someone who is better than you are,†says Albin who just celebrated his 52nd wedding anniversary this month. “The key to everything is finding the right wife for you – success for business, family…

    Your wife is the most important thing you can have. She’s your partner in everything – in advice, in business, in sickness and health – everything…We got married when she was 18, and I was 20…Happy marriage is staying true to your wife. You cannot drift off. You have to stay true to your vows no matter what it takes…I feel very blessed.â€