#27 / 2003 Tour 2: California

MEETING JOE'S FAMILY IN CONCORD
#27

Full of ragged emotion, I followed the interstate into California. I was back at the helm of my VW bus now and well out of physical pain, but far from myself emotionally. My surgery and life on the streets took a toll on my self esteem. I lost my enthusiasm for this fabulous trip that we planned on for so long. I’m not sure if it is effects of pain pills, I still will take one about every other day, or just my tormented mind in general, but I am tortured at night with disturbing dreams, sad dreams, and worries about how my son is doing back home. I fight to regain my enthusiasm for the trip and I have noticed that the stronger I feel the better I feel.

Concord, California, to hook up with one of Joe’s many cousins, Celso Pacheco. Celso is a postman and a resident of Concord for over 40 years. Twelve years senior to Joe, he spent a lot of time in the house where Joe grew up, and they had a lot of fun reminiscing about the old days in Albuquerque.

Celso has been married to his second wife Mary for 16 years. He was her first husband and he says of Mary and her family that they were brave souls to accept a man with seven children into their family. They live in a comfortable suburban home with two dogs, adoptees from Mary’s mother since she suffered a stroke this year. Duke and Duchess are two border collies, sweet and demure with no attitudes. They are obedient and docile so it was impossible not to develop a soft spot in our hearts for them.

Celso and Mary made us both, but me in particular, feel so special. After my bruising experiences it was so comforting to have them remember us in so many special ways. When the two of them went to work we stayed in the house to work on video projects and keep up with correspondence. The fridge was stocked with beer, ice cream, fruits, salads, and all that our hearts desired. When we ventured out of the house we left the bus parked in Concord and took BART into San Francisco and Berkeley.

BART is a fantastic form of public transportation, just a few blocks from the Pacheco home. You get there by walking through a neighborhood greenway with little park alcoves along the way. BART is rapid and dependable. On our first trip into San Fran, Celso produced BART tickets for us so we didn’t have to spend any money or even have to figure the system out. On our next excursion he handed over a sack of quarters so we could add to our tickets at the station and finance our excursion to Berkeley. He took us out to eat so many times, kept us laughing, not to mention putting us up in the house. After all this time in the van, sleeping in a warm, happy home was a real tonic.

Walking Fisherman’s Wharf, we picked out Joe’s Crab House for a meal. I was still a bit miffed for missing out on a tour in the wine district on the way into Concord. Unlike the free tours we took ten years ago, now the wine tours were out of our budget costing $16 to $22 per person. Even in Seattle I never got to have the sumptuous seafood feast I had anticipated.

We wondered for a long time how we could reciprocate and show Celso and Mary how much we appreciated all their kindnesses. Celso spent a lot of time counseling me, as a father of seven, about letting go of our children and allowing them to make their own way in the world. I must say I haven’t had as many bad dreams since I entered their home. More than ever I wanted to do something outstanding for both our benefactors. At last we came up with the perfect project.

Mary’s mother hasn’t seen her dogs since her stroke, so we decided to do a “dogumentary”(Celso’s word) and let her know how her pets were coming along in their new home. We had a lot of fun on that last day creating a video complete with glamour shots and some of the family’s favorite Hawaiian music for Mary to pass along to her mom. We left Concord with happy and full hearts kindled with familial connections and plenty of dog love.