Today is Friday, September 4, 2020, and it’s the start of the Labor Day Weekend. The year has flown by, but man, what a year! I’ve been working from home since mid-March, and keeping a pretty low profile. I only go out to shop for groceries and to the bank about once a week. Otherwise, here I am usually sitting at my desk working most of the time. I am very fortunate that I can work from home and receive a paycheck. My partner works in a hair salon and he is in close contact with people a lot. Thank goodness he’s careful and wears his mask at all times. I have colleagues who have to go in to work at the UA library too, and I worry for them, as the students are back on campus, and the Covid-19 rates are rising again. What a crazy time.

I’ve lost some dear friends and family this year. My friend RIchard died in late March, and then my oldest cousin Olivia died, and my uncle Art died, and then my aunt Mary died. I also just found out about the death of yet another cousin. Damn. All I know is that I’m staying home! I’ve been an emotional basket case now for several months. Richard’s death hit me the hardest. I dream about him a lot, and I sure miss him. We’d been friends since high school and we managed to always hold on to our friendship. There was nobody like him. My sister saw this poster recently at a bus stop, and she sent it to me. Then later, I was able to acquire a better shot of him holding the sign. Richard was always doing the right thing. Everyone misses him.

Working from home isn’t so bad. I manage reference services for Special Collections, and I get to do research on some interesting topics like vaudeville and architecture, although not having access to the collections makes it a challenge at times. I am also on a few committees, and the work comes and goes. Some committees are better organized than others, and those that are well organized are great to work on. We get our assignments ahead of time and agendas are sent out in advance of the meetings. Those committees and meetings that aren’t as well organized are a challenge, and it’s hard not to want to throw in the towel, especially on those that are voluntary. The older I get the less patience I have for disorganized activity. Nobody likes to have their time wasted.

I have started posting my album and book of the day features on Facebook again. This is now the third round of posts I’ve contributed since I started earlier in the year. I haven’t run out of stuff to share yet, which is surprising. It turns out I’ve read a lot of books! And I have hundreds and hundreds of albums I want to share with people. Every now and then I take a break because it becomes somewhat of a chore. And then I’m back, just like that. Lately, my friend Leanne has started posting albums too, and dang, her reviews are great. She’s so smart. She has a way with words, that’s for sure. My posts, in contrast are usually pretty brief and my descriptions aren’t anything nearly as interesting as hers. It’s okay, however. I don’t like to spend lots of time analyzing stuff. I don’t have that gift anyway. I just like what I like, and sometimes I can’t tell you why.

I sure hope we get rid of that idiot in the White House. He’s sure screwed everything up. I can’t believe anyone would support that evil creature, especially since he’s done nothing to help us get a grip on this pandemic. Neither has he done anything about the rampant police brutality and racism in our country. He’s only fueled the flames. I’m so sad to realize how backward our country still is when it comes to race. I thought we had moved forward, but it’s obvious we have not.

I’m starting to listen to music again. After I left KXCI in February, I pushed it all aside. I was done with it and I didn’t want anything to do with it. Music is my first love, however, and I’ll never let it go completely. I’m enjoying listening to artists who I’ve never really heard before and those who I’ve never really paid much attention to, like Rodney Crowell. That guy sure has a gift for songwriting.

There’s also this other country singer named Josh Turner who’s been around for a long time now who I never heard until just the other day. Oh my god, his voice is gorgeous. It’s so deep and low. I love voices like his. This video is a bit silly, but that voice. Oh my god.

I’m really torn about whether or not this kind of writing is interesting to anyone. Should I post it or not? I suppose I ought to, just to keep things going. I don’t care if others don’t read it, really. Doing this is a way of keeping track of my own life. Nobody else is going to do that for me. That’s for sure. Ni modo.

Here’s a song that just blows me away. Until next time…

Wow, it seems like it’s been forever since I’ve posted anything new. I’m still here! I’ve been laying low, working from home and gaining weight, along with a lot of other people, I’m sure. I decided I’d write a quick note to let folks know that I’m doing alright. The past several months have flown right by. Wow, what a year it’s been. I’ve had my share of sadness and challenges, that’s for sure. It’s been rough having to deal with the death of my dear friend Richard Elias, and the passing of two of my relatives, my cousin Olivia and my uncle Art, but life goes on, and I’m determined to stay healthy and strong, and to continue working and contributing to the betterment of our messed up world, in whatever way I can.

I have been fortunate to have been able to work from home since mid-March, and will likely continue doing so through the end of the year. I am currently managing virtual reference services for Special Collections at the UofA Libraries, and am also finding new ways to stay involved with the library profession. I recently joined the REFORMA (the National Association for the Promotion of Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking) education committee, after having been absent from the organization for over five years, and recently got elected to the executive board of the Library Faculty Assembly at work. I’m also running for a seat on the Council of the American Library Association. Elections for that position will be held in the Spring. In addition, I’m gathering information for an article I hope to have published. It’ll be about “diversity” and my experience working to promote it throughout my career. More specifically, it will outline and discuss the efforts undertaken at the University of Arizona Libraries in this area from approximately 1992 to 2005. I have a lot of documentation that I’ve kept from when I worked as Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity. I think it’s important that the history of the Library’s commitment to diversity is shared with those who don’t know what was done in the past.

In my free time I continue to work on my own personal archives. I’ve been sorting and organizing my personal photos, letters and memorabilia for a while now, and will at some point start sharing a lot of that here on my blog. I really enjoy going back and trying to remember things from my childhood and youth. I’ve been taking lots of notes and writing journal entries with information that one day will hopefully all come together in some sort of book or online publication. Who knows.

I have to admit, I do sometimes miss hosting my radio show, The Chicano Connection. I will continue to post audio recordings of some of my old shows here so folks have an idea of what I did while on the air at KXCI. I recently poured through my old KXCI files and found my very first playlists from back in 1983. My first show was a Latin show that aired on December 8, 1983, and the very first song I ever played was “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. I was in the very first d.j. class at the station. It cost me over $450 to take the class, but it was well worth it. I’ll be updating my KXCI page soon with other tidbits of information about my early days on the air at KXCI. Altogether, I was affiliated with the station for approximately 20 years (1983-1986 and 2013-2020). That’s a heck of a lot of volunteer time! And it was all voluntary. Never got paid a penny. So much for the old adage, “do what you love, the money will follow”….He he he.

I’m also slowly starting to listen to more music, and have even purchased a few cds, including Neil Young’s album “Homegrown” and a 1970 live recording by Laura Nyro titled “The Nights Before Christmas”. I’ve also discovered John Paul White and have recently listened to some music by Katey Sagal, who I think is just fabulous. It took me a while to even want to listen to music after having stopped my show. I don’t know why. I just wanted to be away from it for a while. It feels good to get back into it.

Well, I suppose I’ve rambled on enough. I’m happy that everyone in my immediate family is doing alright and that I still have a job! I’m also happy that my friends Adelita Grijalva and Andres Cano won their primary elections. I knew they would. Way to go! I’ll do another update soon.

In closing, I’d like to share a couple of music video performances that I’ve recently discovered, and have enjoyed listening to and watching…

Bob