Today, on my way to the late Ralph Mercado’s viewing at Riverside Church, I saw one of my heroes, a man who I’ve admired since my college years, the inimitable Felipe Luciano, former Young Lords founder and chairman turned journalist, turned politician. As I saw him, my face instantly froze. It’s been seven years since I’ve seen the man, but the impression he left on me has lasted with me to this day. And when I went to see him, I literally blanked out. I forgot his name completely, went right up to him, and told him exactly what I just finished typing.

Dude gives me his card and says, “If you’re in trouble and it’s your fault, then don’t call me, but if you’re in trouble and it isn’t your fault, call me.”

The charm’s still there.

Clearly, that’s the type of luck I have. After looking for a means to connect to the man over these years, I run into him while attending to some other business. That’s pretty much how I’ve addressed my blogging: a consistent means of reflection which, along the way, has led to other opportunities I could have never imagined. I’ve found myself getting highly professional and highly personal on my blog, and I keep threading the fine line. Yet, throughout these essays, I’ve been able to navigate this blurring of lines. On the one end, I don’t really talk about my blog in my school, but as soon as my kids mention that I have a site, I pull a play out of A-Rod’s book: “Let’s keep this about math. I’m only here to talk about math.” On the one end, everyone who’s read this blog extensively knows I’m in a relationship and have been so for quite some time, but I will neither mention the person’s name or anything of that nature. Even if most of you actually have my Facebook where, incidentally, she’s spotlighted in my profile picture.

I run an education blog that doesn’t strictly talk about education (is that why I can’t win any of those glossy awards?). I write a political blog where the revolution is personal first. I have a real website where my full name is on it, and people can search me at their leisure, but in real life, I really don’t promote it all too much. I have a ton of friends / readers on these different social networks, but consider my actual inner circle MUCH smaller. I’m the president of an organization I helped found and yet, despite the huge strides we’ve made, I probably haven’t done much personally to let people know just how much headway we’ve made and everything we’ve done. I’m an extension cord, I’m a lightning rod, I’m a lion ROAR, I’m a dinosaur, I’m a sinus minus the nose, I’m a cold (sorry, Lil’ Wayne, I had to bite off you)

I’m constantly living in a contradiction when it comes to this blog, but the only thing that’s been consistent about anything is my integrity through it all. After everything I’ve seen on the Internet, I make no apologies about the presence of my writings and never acquiesce the message for fear of losing blog points on Technorati or wherever else they’re rating me. As far as what happens in real life, it doesn’t matter either.

Even with my struggles, the writing becomes all the affirmation I need.

Thanks for reading.

Jose, who wants a a beautiful Blue Moon now …