My cousin David

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, i used to go visit my cousins in Santa Cruz. There was this one time that sticks out in my mind, i was there at Steps house and Ralph,David and Ruben were there along with a couple friends of theirs. We were partying of course, after awhile i was asked if i wanted to go with them to a friend of theirs house, of course i said yes, so off we went. I was sitting in the back between David and Ruben. Along the way the guy driving says "hey there's so and so and he's hitch hiking, i'm going to stop and give him a ride. This American Indian Dude gets in the car and they introduce him to me, can't remember his name, but i remember he was a very serious Dude and he was involved with A.I.M.( The American Indian Movement ) We talked for awhile, then the guy starts talking about Dennis Means. Means was one of the radicals back then and at the time he was being sought by the F.B.I. i'm sitting there tripping,because this guy was talking about some pretty heavy stuff. Then the guy turns towards Ruben and David and says, these guys and Step are my brothers. He says, i gave David and Ruben Indian names, I call David "Standing Buffalo" and i call Ruben " Soaring Eagle" or something like that. David didn't bat an eyelash, as soon as David heard something about a bird he just started talking like a parrot saying "Polly want a cracker" and a bunch of other bird talk. I couldn't help myself, i just busted up laughing and the more i laughed, the more David would talk like a bird, before you knew it we were all cracking up even the Indian Dude. I can still picture David talking like that as if it just happened yesterday.

There was another time when i was living in Colusa, i was still a kid. David and Ruben were working for the city as garbage men ( G-men as they used to call themselves ) We used to go with them sometimes and help them and check out what was being thrown away. You'd be surprised at what some people get rid of. We'd have to be there at about 3:00 am. One time there was this rich lady that had this little dog that used to bark and cause a big commotion every time the garbage truck went through the alley, nobody paid it any attention. One time David told me that they were backing up the truck and the little dog comes out and starts barking and then all you heard was a little yelp and that was it, so they go check it out and sure enough they ran over the dog ( croak ) well the next time they're going through the alley the lady that owned the dog comes out and says " my dogs missing have you guys seen him" David said we had to tell her so we apologized and told her what happened and the lady got pretty emotional and then she asked them what did they do with the dog and David said we threw him in the back of the truck with the garbage. The lady said "YOU DID WHAT" and she started cussing at them and saying "oh my poor little dog, how could you do that" Now don't get me wrong, David had a heart of gold and he would never hurt any animal on purpose and It's sad what happened to the dog, but if you heard David tell this story, he would have you crackin up. He was a funny guy and great story teller. This is why i say there will never be another one like him.

I remember one time David asked me what was the matter cause i looked real bummed out. I told him i had problems and he looked at me and said what the hell are you talking about, your too young to have problems, you don't even know what problems are, i was only about 13 or so. He gave me a real tongue lashing, but he also made me see that what he was saying was true. He compared "my problem"to the problems of our folks. Made me realize that what i was complaining about was nothing compared to what our folks go through. Thank you David, you were not only funny, but you had good sense too.

We all know what a big time Niner fan David is. He used to come over our house and watch the games sometimes and my wife would fix us some good food and him and i would kick back and watch the game and just enjoy the hell out of ourselves, One time he calls me up and says to come pick him up and he'll go watch the game with me cause the Niners were in the playoffs. I told him i'd be over on Sunday to pick him up. Come Sunday i go over to my Tia's house to get him and he comes out with Niner shoes, Niner socks, Niner pants, Niner shirt and this giant foam hand that says were number one and this big inflatable red and gold Niner helmet, he had to take it off to get in the car, but once in the car, he puts it back on and tells me "take me down main street" so off we go down main street with David waving this giant foam hand that says were number one at people walking down the street and at cars passing by. I'll bet you to this day there are people in Woodland that say "remember that time we seen that car go by and that guy was waving that giant hand out the window saying Go Niners"....God Bless you David, you were one of a kind.