Bob's Blog

My most earliest remembrance of my Tio Neto and Tia Carmen, and all the clan, were that they were all very loud,
But very protective of us kids, very loving, and very proud.
Recalling how Tio would give us all crew-cut haircuts with his clippers, whether you needed or not;
Recalling these great times with my cousins, how could I have ever forgot?

I remember the weekends we’d all go to Casablanca Lake,
Our skin would burn from playing too much in the sun and literally get darker and bake.
We would swim there, and Tio Neto would barbeque carne asada, while Tia Carmen made potato salad to die for,
We would all stuff our face until we couldn’t eat any more.

I remember the summers we all lived in that little home on Davis Street,
Summers there I recall the summer heat along with laughter all the time repeating.
My Tio Neto and Tia Carmen was much more than protective,
For they taught their kids to do the right thing; always do good, and above all, never lie, for that was the unwritten rule, for this was the objective.

So, I guess you could say spending summers in Laredo so long ago,
Give me now the magic memories to recall all the special times my Elizondo side of the family did bestow!

Robert Collazo, 11/29/08.  [Tio = Uncle; Tia = Aunt]

He was tops in his class of 1947,
To UT, then the Army, surely that had to have been no heaven.
Started as an accountant mainly by day,
Then many nights at law school,
To become the brilliant attorney, that he would portray.

Many years later in life through hard work and honest living,
Through much prejudice in Houston, he rose above, to became a pillar of his community;
His persistence was rewarded when he became the first Mexican-American judge there; it surely was his thanksgiving,
For only in America, do you have this kind of opportunity.

So if someone tells you that you cannot be what you really want to be,
Don’t ever let them discourage you, and say you agree.
For if my Padrino Abe can pursue and achieve his dream,
Then remember to work hard, keep your sights set on the goal; don’t ever surrender; and don’t ever, ever, lose your gleam.

Robert Collazo, 11/18/08.   [Padrino = Spanish word for someone who sponsors you at your baptism or holy communion.]

Long ago while in Sacramento,
A friend met a lady that gave her insights, maybe nice mementos.
She was a psychic, a seer,
Who told her very interesting things about her future and talk about someone who would someday maybe endear?

The seer told my friend that someday later in life, something with a “B” would be hers.
Now this sort of startled and shook,
For my friend always dreamt of running a “Bread & Breakfast”, it occurred.
But surely, she thought, that couldn’t be right; was a bit of a skeptic but nevertheless, was not quite deterred.

The seer told her details about someone named Richard or Dick,
That she should keep going, to run, swim, or sink; to keep walking away from him
For that if she stayed, life would be dim and horribly grim;
Was that a coincidence that the name of the idiot that left her was he?

The story gets better for when the seer told her that as soon as she walked away,
Good fortune would happen, she could readily say.
So, wasn’t it something that the day after she signed the final decree,
Greg, her great white knight, came to her rescue, and now Kay realizes that it was really meant to be.

Robert Collazo, 11/09/08.

From the land where our beautiful stars and stripes still waves
To our soldiers overseas, who still have sand getting into their ears,
We know that you’re sacrificing and giving it your all,
So that back home we can live and love, and go for the long haul.

From the shopkeeper at home trying to keep his business vibrant and alive
To the soldier in a foxhole in a far off land just trying to survive.
We know that you’ve suffered and sometimes died,
So that those of us back home can lie around the house, breathe, and just reside.

From the kid down the block writing on the sidewalk with his chalk,
To the soldier searching for Bin Laden in caves,
We know you’ve bled and lost limbs; have returned back in boxes for us to put you in graves,
So that we can all live in peace in the home where our flag still waves.

From a Vietnam-era veteran who never got a chance to serve in combat,
To you, our real war veterans, you are our great national heroes.
Know that you’ve kept us safe from the worse,
You’ve saved us like a great, dedicated 24 hour nurse.

To my own homegrown war heroes, Uncles’ Pete, Rudy, Nacho, Meme, Raul, George, Oscar, and Fernando, you deserve a great plaque,
So I salute you; for when your call came to attack, you didn’t look back.
Know that your time in war was not in vain;
For you kept us all free so that we could just enjoy the best of what is good that remains.

Robert Collazo, 11/09/08.

A former FBI Agent, her name was Sue, and she worked at the CI with all her great cohorts.
Renown and tops in her field, a professor of sorts,
She showed us who was Dominant, Conscientious, Influential or Steady,
To ensure we’d be ace at interviewing, and of course, to be ready.

Sue taught us well to detect deception by the use of NLP & other small subtle hints;
By the taking of baselines, then looking for verbal and non-verbal things, like maybe a slight little tic.
She showed us her “tool box” with all the tools we needed in order to do proper interviews so to be the best,
To ensure we would capture the bad guys, the crooks; we won’t let them rest.

On the third day, Sue taught us the heart of the matter to look at the subject for things like respiration, perspiration,
Even Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Adrenaline, and let’s not forget, salivation.
In order to pick up on signs that subjects may be deceiving
So to be especially aware of the tangled web the crooks may be weaving.

So a big hearty thanks to you, Sue, for this week you taught us all well.
We’ve enjoyed the journey of how to get at the truth,
For you see, now that you’ve passed us all the “tools” of your box,
We now have a chance to become quite the Sleuth!

Robert Collazo, 11/5/08