By Joe and “Cookie” Gonzalez

This is a collaboration of events that happened in my wife’s life and mine during the course of our marriage. I decided to include my wife’s side of “her” own childhood life, including her growing up as a teenager and as an adult. Cookie, as her siblings and many of her friends know her, is normally the “nucleus” that keeps the life of the party going in the majority of all the family gatherings. She has always inspired me to write with truth, honesty and with passion. Prior to our getting married, we had our own share of struggles due to having strict parents who were barely earning enough money to buy groceries, buy us our school clothes, pay the rent and being able to put food on the table. Earning twenty-five dollars a week back in the fifties and sixties while trying to raise a family was not easy for anybody. In those days, many families were living just like that. So, how do you make ends meet?

Back in those days, kids skipped school to go work in the fields. Many kids were forced to drop out of school. Many kids never got a chance to graduate from high school. Many never learned how to read or write their own names. And later on, they went back to get their GED. It was not the same as receiving a high school diploma, but it was something.

During our first years of being married, he had our own share of struggles with money and paying our bills. But we always kept God in our lives. We both came from very strict Catholic parents and we will always be grateful and thankful to them for that most wonderful gift, and that is, to love and trust in God and in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, no matter what happens in our lives.

For some unknown reason, we were not bless with children of our own. Only God knows why. After working at several businesses and locations, and doing odd jobs, something led us into the law enforcement profession. Maybe, it was the Holy Spirit or maybe it was Divine Intervention. Altogether, Orelia and I were in law enforcement for over 61 years. Because I got into law enforcement at a much older age, I was in law enforcement for a little over wonderful 23 years. As for Orelia and me, there are no objections and no regrets. Before retiring, we both suffered minor injuries, which normally comes with the job. After thirty-eight plus years, Orelia finally retired. After retiring from the PD, I went back to driving trucks. After that, I decided to write. And now, the rest is history. Throughout the years, I know that we both always felt the God was blessing us with his mercies and graces.