It has been 49 years ago that we drove up in front of Irene's home to broach the subject of whether she would let us adopt her beautiful and precious 5 year old little boy, On the drive to her home neither Juanita nor I could come up with a plausible persuasive reason for convincing this woman whom we had never met until her husband's funeral that she should let us adopt her child. So with nothing but love in our hearts we just decided to hit her cold turkey with our request. And that is exactly what we did. And she refused us just as quickly and kindly. But she had an advantage over us. She had expended 5 years of unconditional love on that little boy; something that we could not compete with. Her faith made her believe that somehow someway she would be able to provide for those 9 children in the absence of their Father. She was brief and to the point but kind in understanding our concern for her and her children. But we were not getting Alex at any price or for any reason!


On our trip home Juanita and I decided that we would not see or include Alex in our lives. It would be too painful for us and could drive a wedge between him and his Mom if he realized we could do more for him than his Mom could despite her love for him. So we opted out of seeing Alex.


It was many years before we saw Alex again. I kept in touch with his Uncle Librado Renteria who has been my good and trusted friend ever since Procopio's death. Librado informed me of Irene's death and how her oldest married child, Carmen Abril became the surrogate Mom to the children along with her husband Gene. Gene had his own business and in time owned and operated two shoe repair business plus one repair shop out of his home. He and Carmen built a summer cabin near Heber. From Librado I would occasionally hear, when I inquired of him, that Alex was in jail or that Alex was in prison or that Alex had just been released from prison. Renterias were a large family and it seemed someboy was always dying and I would see Alex at the funeral if he was free to go. Most of the time he was under the influence of alcohol.


He was under the influence of alcohol at the funeral of his Aunt Angie and came up to me at at the gravesite and put his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek and told me that he loved me and said....."Bill, I think my life would have been so much different if my Mom would have allowed you and Juanita to adopt me." I told him that I had never stopped loving him either and that his life could change for the better if he could ever have the power to stay away from the liquor and hold a job." He was a handsome man, swarthy and dashing with his pencil line moustache and Mexican coloring. That was really the last visit I had with him. His obituary told me that he had had two wives; one deceased; was survived by two brothers, Eddie and Jimmy; daughters: Illoni Lewis; Vanessa Renteria; 6 beloved grandchildren and sisters; Carmen Abril, Betty Martinez, Yolanda Valenzuela, Paulina Araiza and brothers, Frank and Librado (Not the Librado I know who is his uncle). The obit further said that his son, Mark, had pre-deceased him. When I inquired at the cemetery of his Aunt Sally what had happened to Mark, she said that he had been shot to death in a gang like killing when he was in his late teens. She said that it had never been clarified whether Mark had been a gang member or whether he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.


At Alex's funeral when I walked up to his open casket I was shocked. I saw no resemblance to the Alex I had known and loved. But there were so many there who knew him as their beloved Alex and who had loved him. So I felt better....... for apparently they had been with him as he slipped into death and he looked like Alex to them. But missing for me was that beautiful little boy who might have been my son if fate had willed it.


The Catholic Church was huge and cavernous and since I am hard of hearing anyway I could not discern the words of the sermon as they were lost to me in the hugeness of the church. But the one thing I enjoyed was the man who looked like he could not weigh one ounce less than 300 pounds and sang with the tenor voice of an Angel....absolutely beautiful.


His service was attended by many and it was obvious to me that he was loved by many.


I went to the cemetery and stayed until he was committed to the earth