Jack Aguirre, his son Tomas & Toby: 1970's
Jack was an honorable man.
February 1, 1939 - March 19, 2021
A man that did not revel in deceit nor malicious conduct of person.
Instead, he was a ruler of life's have-to, and life's purpose.
At times a totalitarian dictator whether running his successful business or his family.
You could question him, and he could even cry, but his ego was strong, so strong he never weakened into being a submissive, or frail into decision.
In the first years raising a family, he was young and restless during the late 50's, 60's and 70's era.
Living within responsibility under an impoverished rule.
Poverty was supplied by the system of others and he was resentful that he ended up, under their rule-set.
We left our garbage at the police station dumpsters in downtown Oakland, every few weeks, because there was very little money.
Jack wanted another life, a life to be a philosopher, and walk into eastern philosophies, "be a Buddha", rather than a mimic of another.
His voracious appetite for learning philosophy, was gathered through the martial arts and book gatherings from the great religions of Zen, Hindu, Confuciousism, and Buddhism. All the while reconciling with the demands of being raised as a Catholic, and knowing their world, that so many of his friends and family adhered to. He was tired of being beaten by aggressive nuns at grade school, thusly he never went to church or confession, an adult. Instead he looked for spiritual meaning through the eastern philosophies and philosophy itself. He was all about the dharma of who we are, and who we become; both in personal character and in represent.
During the the 60-70's era, he lived in the heart of mixed worlds. Where the Orient, Mexico, Africa and Europe meet; toting their gifts of person whether, Chinese, Latino, African-American, Native American or simply a White Caucasian from the European invasion.
They were all treated with fairness to my father. As children, along with my mother; we had a bit of a machismo low-rider beginning, with dogs and children all going on a trip to Mi Rancho for fresh tortillas, but that was part of our spice. We cruised Oakland in grossly over-sized station wagons, and I was always proud of my father, regardless of his angry interludes. No matter his tempestuous undertone that he held, as a bitter chip, due to poverty and life's injustices, during these early years, we were still his amazing children.
Young King Jack and Queen Mary;
with their young family: 1960's
Respect Respect Respect, not only from his persona, but from his ability to love us forever deep down into his soul. We were his family, his children, his gifts to the world.
Divisive children and their shallow begets, often squandered his direction. It was his purpose being our father, and he never let that go. His head-strong children one and all, stumbled and tripped throughout their lives, and Jack was always there to catch our fall. My father Jack, will always be the leader in my life.
Work Ego
The work ego, was where he was forced into distance and concentration.
Yet, I knew, there would be time for him to relax and play again.
Drummer
He played the Conga all throughout my childhood, even with a drum he built himself with an old mule hide. That drum still exists, its metal braces have slipped and the sweet embroidered material that held the wood together is missing. Yet the drum still speaks, and he played it just a few months ago. It keep falling on the floor, so we switched his drums to bongos and he had a tabla by his bedside. He was drawn into the tabla and drove the city streets of San Francisco with one next to the gear shift. Sometimes driving us mad with the sound, because the tabla does have a heavy learning curve. Yet, eventually he became proficient, and he slept with 1-2 tablas in his bed at a time, as he studied and lived. They became an expounding element of Jack. Where seeing Jack, also encompassed his tablas, the drums of Shiva. They could not be separated. Even during his sleep in the heart of his dreams, the most magnificent tabla sounds would surround the house, in the middle of the night. Just last week he rolled his hands effortlessly over the little drum, to wake it up again.
Through the drums; all the work diminished and faded away, and his life became part of the rhythm of this earth's energy. Where the jungle and Yma Sumac would meet, in a high trilled call. He had ventured into Columbia all by himself during a dnagerous time, and I believe that trip returned him into a deeper understanding of who he was, in relationship to others.
There are 3 types of people, the people of themselves, the people of their family and the people for the greater good. All steps in life to better one as a person. His duties and love for his family was not the end, he furthered himself and his knowledge into supporting the greater good. Some people tap into the greater good, and others simply know it already. It was not about God or religion; nor the goals of the greater good only about being about supporting political leaders. It's about having a vision in how the world needs to be in represent for our future.
He was not as deep into the destruction of capitalism and materialism as I, and yet he never fought my direction. As if he knew I was right. The processed taste not only from food, but from the demands of society, and years of living around the standardized others, was sometimes difficult for him to break free from. He adored golf, whereas I prefer only a nature reserve. We took trips to the rose garden here in El Paso which he enjoyed immensely. "Let's go the the rose garden"
Jack's Old Age
"Old King Jack"
eating a sandwich:
March 2021
He was almost a vegan, aside from eggs on occasion, eggs from his own garden hens. His cholesterol had dropped, and his heart was strong, after years and years of eating rich fiesta food, with smothering's of cheese. For 6 years, I worked on his diet, downgrading the malicious fats from burritos etc, and moving him towards green drinks every morning. He ate all the time, breakfast into lunch and then more food, and he became thin, like gandi was thin. His body fat was normal, no longer classed as obese. Jack finished his buddha bowls, and fed himself with his spoon, the majority of the time, and even his teeth had stopped falling out, the loosening had stopped, and the dentist trip to Juarez from 2 years ago, didn't have to re-occur, all due to the white sugar reduction. He was showing all the signs equating to a longer life. The doctors want to call it Parkinsens, and yet it's something the Native Americans have had for the last 8,000 yrs. In finding a cure, in this decade of moments, I believe would be too arrogant a belief and yet I still tried through his dietary changes. Dried beets and kapikacchu drinks, with aminos, every day, and last week he brushed his own teeth, and his hallucinations had reduced with the vitamin b's. all alarming improvements, not failures. What a damn disease I call it. As the indian ascends the mountain to die with the clouds, perhaps it's not a disease we will ever be able cure, only learn to redirect it away for as long as possible.
Jack did walk that mountain for a time, even 16 miles in one day, just like that old Indian, who walks away from his home to transcend with the birds and the clouds, joining in with the spirit world to die. Yet, the mountain was filled with houses and cars, so his magical journey to the other side couldn't happen that way. His spiritual nirvana was held at bay, listening to meditation & mantra music.
His Career
In his San Francisco Office: 1990's
Returning to music from the past; Jack was an Opera fiend also, and regularly listened to Opera Radio,
during his many years of being a Store Planner for furniture stores around the world.
While working from his Mission District office(s*)of San Francisco. *2 of the offices were devoured by earthquake damage.
Design Styles for Wood & Glass:
Patterns and Concepts
Throughout the years, he planned over 100 furniture stores, incl. the design of: Living Spaces, Mathis Bros, Warren Buffett's Nebraska Furniture, Guildcraft, Fairmont, Sandy's (BC), Sadlers, Gardner White; and as well as, major stores in Saudi Arabia, Puerto Rico and Taiwan. Jack's last major design work was with Darvin Furniture, a fun store with themes all around.
I also put together a book of his stained glass designs, which include some very basic yet necessary concepts for design, space and structure. It's not only about the designs specific to glass or wood, but for design use on a much larger scale also. ie., a city center gardens.
Geneology Discoveries
During his last few years, he discovered he was also 15% Native American Indian,
along with the odd fanaticism people have of being Royalty. His king line is vast, and eventually merged with my mothers,... "Queen of Capetian France", that I am. He enjoyed the topic of being a Royal but was still quite grounded.
Environmentalist and Collector
I have to insist though, that through life participation and example, with my mother through her years, and mine being an eco-self, we kept him in-line with the necessary calls to save our planet. From the animals to the oceans and the forests to the streams.
We were one of the first families ready to Recycle and Reuse. Possessions were kept, for that someday use, rather than being thrown away; and as I look at the 1000 golf balls in the garage, they will go into the rock walls and be kept for repairs, instead of taking down the mountains for concrete and mortar. Jack was a frugal character and a collector. He loved rummage sales and was often a vistor to the Pacifica Seniors Center.
On a side note about walls; mud with manure and straw and mashed prickly pear pads, has held and has lasted very well in between the cracks of the rock walls.
Generousity with his Time and Money
He was never a big spender for himself, unless it was for friend or family gatherings, where he loved to foot the bill.
In the early years of his business success, he played with that money, and kept the many thousands earned, as hundred dollar bills folded in his pocket. They were the cash years and cash impressed people. He soaked in their reactions to the site of the money.
Sadly, most people need to be impressed, is who people have become, in this short journey through 30 million years of evolution.
Even our ancestry from the monkeys tauts that want, where monkeys fashion their hair each with different styles.
If you're not impressing others, you're simply treated as less and washed away... from people's fields of visions and thoughts.
Making life a difficult and a stranded experience, even when the pure character of human should not require impressing others in order to be loved, cared for, wanted or adored.
His Last Day
Jack died suddenly from a fever. The fever spiked quickly and he was in a trance with the death racs until he died.
As a child he had Rubella, and nearly died. Maybe the Rubella itself could be attributed towards his rapid decline.
I don't want an autopsy of course, but if others deem it necessary I will consent.
My Life Change
I really wasn't ready to touch the computer, & communicate with people online, showing a work ethic. It's been 6 years of being Jack's sidekick and tending to Jack. We drove all over together, even to Washington State from the Bay Area, looking for property and visiting rummage sales along the way.
In 2017, we moved from Pacifica and ended up here in El Paso, his childhood home, near his sisters and brother. Since that time, 2 of his sisters, Margaret and Bernice have past away.
I'm jittery without his presence, I adored my little Gandhi father. It's a tragedy to lose him, I expected a few more years of time to be near him, and take care for him. Just after I wrote this, I ruined the css on the blog, I didn't shut a div and lost the sidebar, went on an css chase, then one of Jack's guppies died, then deleted my html template, then the site theme of over 10 yrs,
however, it's all back together for now, I reconstructed it again due to saved backups. Now, it's a day to bury the fish and wonder the throw aways.
A House-Share Commune Creation
Jack's clothes could be reused, and kept here going with my "instant plan" to cohabitate with house-share people,
and maybe his other items, such as 10 pairs of cowboy boots and business suits, would also be useful to them.
I have to reject giving away to the Good Wills and Savers. Because my new live-in people wouldn't have to rebuy those items. I also have a small 11" jen kiln to create one small vase at a time; and even "a Singer sewing machine"
for the move-in's to utilize. I have used that Singer machine to create canopies to shade the summer garden, it's been so helpful.
I know that my "Lures" are very weak, and the land plot is small and narrow, but there are young fruit trees, and a chance for: vertical gardening, learning to wall-build with mud, and possibly creating a mezzanine bedroom or loft in the living room, while spending time with my 4 hens who proudly walk across their bridge resting over their 7' narrow pond. As they gaze at the goldfish within and capture a drink.
Perhaps, even as many as 5-6 people could cooperate and live together with me, in this little 1400 sq house; as an artists-vegan-dancer-guru-musicians commune, where, I already vegetable garden, and devour fresh broccoli, kale, chard & lettuce; even in this difficult climate. We could share the car, the gardens food, the bills, group purchase other food and supplies. where living life would become a payable event.
The New Baux Glass Castle in Baux, France
Meanwhile, I long for a place like Costa Rica where I can just eat Papayas all day and watch a colorful parrot fly by. Paid for through my "Catapult tax" and Large Estate "Fountain tax" *, that I've already held over France for nearly 7 years. The tax where the paid checks are sent to the Baux Castle in the Sud of France, directly by the proprietors of large estates and castles within France.
I haven't checked with the Castle grounds, and assume someone could assist in that venue, in order to verify just how much they've earned for the "Great Glass Castle Build". I have to presume something has been sent, either from the rich requiring humour from me, or the simple truth and necessity for a great glass castle to be built, perched above the grounds of the Catapults themselves.
Tropical Botanical Gardens
Once I ventured the idea to create a Tropical Botanical Garden Greenhouse in the back Garden 16 x 38' with an upper hill of another 5-10 ft. and yet that would be so many visitors, I would almost lose any time to breathe. I currently climb a ladder to get to the upper level of the garden hillside, which could be further planted with a few grape vines, and sweet potatoes etc.
A Hundertwasserhaus
Creating a Hundertwasserhaus (Mosaic House) is another idea. Yet it would have to be sponsored.
Creating and Running an Artists Non-profit for Exceptional Artists
I will also stick to one of my first ideas of starting an Artists Non-Profit in Jack's name,
because that's a real "dedicated career" for many people to bite into. Giving assistance towards fostering the future of the Arts.
The math on was simple; 10m per yr in donations; approx 60 full-time, supporting 20,000 exceptional artists with either $500 or art supplies.
Running the "Robles" Youth Hostel
I've contacted "hiusa.org" this morning, regarding the possibility to become a Youth Hostel Residence for *longer term stays, (*due to Covid.)
Mini Headquarters for Peta
I've contacted them this morning, where 4-5 workers would receive free housing and utilities, and the mortgage aspect would be paid by Peta, with a small income alloted to each dedicated non-profit house-share worker. The sum of $2600-3000 per month ($36,000 per yr), paid for by Peta, would allow for the paid workers, and house them as well. Where at the end of my life, the house is donated to Peta via their Legacy program.
* Becoming the "Los Robles Sanctuary" *
a Mediation and Advice Center;
run by Yogis & Gurus;
members and wannabee newcomers of Eastern Religions
In this way 4-6... to about 20 of us, would yogi-monk while house-sharing & gardening, working as a small non-profit,
dedicated to offering:
Directional advice;
Sewing & selling; our newly created saris and hand-beaded jewelry
Record & sell our yogi music...meditational music with about 20 various yogi drums, shakers, tambourines, flute, harmonicas and guitars (releasing our Yogi albums) (only a sitar is missing);
Possibly creating yogi dances with our music, and performing as a paid-for events, for weddings ie, while expanding the public's curiosity towards eastern philosophies.
Take care of and foster, Peta's animal rescues also.
Selling or trading our artwork...paintings, glassware, pottery and even mandala painted seashells;
While offering garden tours while creating vertical and rooftop garden spaces.
