A New Year, A New Platform

Hello again everyone!  I pray you're all safe and healthy as we move into 2022.  

I've been using Blogger for a few years now, but obviously, I haven't posted much.  I won't bore you with why I posted so little during that time, but I plan to write more this year.  Now that I'm an English teacher, I am more motivated to practice my writing skills to show my students how they can use a platform to vent out frustrations, stand up for a cause, or just be a better writer to handle my assignments.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't make many resolutions, if at all.  However, this year I have made it a goal to write more.  

I am moving to a new platform called Substack.  I can continue to blog and even include audio posts such as a podcast.  I hope you'll follow me there and when you do, be sure to spread the word.  I haven't narrowed down a topic yet, but it will not be political.  We have enough problems in this world, and going political never solves anything, so I want to keep my new page as light and humorous as I possibly can.  Of course, I'll tackle specific issues, but let's leave the right/left discussion for those who have nothing better to do.  Let's have some fun and lighthearted conversations.  

This site will still be available, and I plan to post here while I post on Substack, but most of my work will be done on the new site.  So I hope you'll join me.  The link is below.  

I wish you all a blessed and prosperous 2022!

D.Z.

https://danielzendejas.substack.com/p/coming-soon?showWelcome=true

The Present and the Future

Happy New Year to you all!  It's the end of a year and the beginning of a new one.  I have not written here in quite some time.  2018 to be exact.  Where have I been, you might be asking.  Or, you never noticed I was gone.  Both reactions are acceptable.  I don't normally make a new year resolution because, frankly, I know I probably won't keep it.  I'm still not at the weight I want to be, I'm still working on my credential, and I haven't been writing in my blog.  Did you notice the year I last wrote here?  Hence, no more resolutions.  I know, now he's going to say 2022 will be different.  Well, I really want it to be this time around.  I'm not getting any younger, and I have goals I have yet to reach. So, I first want to reflect on 2021.  I'm finding writing things out will be more therapeutic, so I'm making this one of my goals as well.  It's been a year of ups and downs.  Indulge me; I promise this won't take long.  

Covid makes another comeback and shows no signs of letting up as I write this.  I will not get into whether you should get the shots or not.  This really should be an individual decision, and I am no medical expert on vaccinations.  I have no problem if you vaccinate or not.  I myself am vaccinated, including the latest booster.  I did it mainly for my family, friends, and my students.  Did I make the right call?  I'm still here, so for now, I think I made the right decision for myself.  

I bring up Covid because, unfortunately, I have lost friends.  My first church pastor's wife and daughter were taken in 2020.  In my church, Larry, a close friend of mine, also succumbed to Covid.  Larry was a God-fearing, stand-up human being.  He was like an Uncle to me.  I miss him terribly.  I also know of others with whom I wasn't close, who also passed.  It doesn't get any lower than this.  I'm sure some or most of you know of someone taken by Covid.  This virus is no joke, ladies and gentlemen.  Please be safe out there.

Covid has been a low going on for almost two years now and continues to dominate the headlines.  Despite this, there have been some highs.  My new career in education has taken off.  I was asked to intern at the charter school where I work back in September, and I accepted. So I'm officially a high school English teacher.  My substitute days are over.  I do miss being a sub.  I had the opportunity to visit many schools in several districts in Kern and Ventura counties and met a slew of students who have so much potential.  I hope I had a small impact on their futures.  Now I can turn my attention solely on my own students, who I also call my kids.  In essence, they are my kids because I now have the responsibility of teaching them English and life lessons.  No pressure, right?  I've enjoyed the two and a half months I've been their teacher.  I know it's been a transition for them as they have to view me as their teacher, not their sub, but we'll get there.  We move on to the next semester.  

Lastly, I was able to travel a bit this year.  I visited my sister in Missouri at the beginning of the year.  I took a drive through southern Illinois while I was there because I felt like it. Summer vacation took us to Seattle, Washington, and my fall break took us to Arizona.  I'll post pictures of the Seattle trip in my next post.  I'm hoping to continue the travel in 2022.  Covid may dictate that decision.  

2021 may have been a great year for you; it may have been the worst year ever.  Life happens, which means it's all unpredictable.  Andrew Smith was quoted as saying, "We fear what we don't understand and hate what we can't conquer."  I feel only God knows what will happen next, but wouldn't it be nice if he at least gave us a clue?  As you reflect on 2021, I hope you find something that brought joy to your life.  Any small thing that you can build on for the coming year.  I know that may be difficult, but hopefully, the worst is behind you. When I reflect on 2022, I'm hoping I will have more happy things to report and share stories of the ups and downs of that year.  I want your feedback.  Tell me about 2021, good or bad.  Tell me what you're looking forward to in the new year.  

As I sign off, I want to let you know I'll be using a new platform next year called Substack.  I'll provide all of that information in my next post so stay tuned.  I hope you'll follow me there.  My pastor uses a scripture at the end of our services each Sunday. So I want to end my post with this.  It comes from the Numbers 6:24-26:  "The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."  

Happy New Year to you all, and God bless!

Sincerely,

D.Z.

Farewell Sassy

Greetings to my friends and family far and wide!!

Once again I come to you all with a different subject other than life as a PK.  Life has a certain way of playing tricks on you.  I do promise I'll get to the subject of PK's at some point but this time I wanted to share with you about our little dog.  Like the saying goes, you don't realize what you have until it's gone.  Indulge me as you read about our little dog Sassy who came into our lives 14 years ago. 

We moved into the house we're in now in 2003 and of course right away the kids started asking me when can we get a dog.  In all honesty, and please don't hate me, but I've never really been a dog person.  It's not that I don't like dogs.  I do prefer them over cats however Garfield was my favorite cat of all time.  But I digress.  During my childhood we had a total of 4 dogs.  I can tell you all about them.  I don't remember the name of our first dog but apparently I had one when I was a baby.  The dog I do fondly remember was our pure bred Siberian Husky named Snowy.  Oh how I loved that animal but that in and of itself is a whole other blog post.  Well one evening as my father was watering the front lawn (this is the mid 70's folks before sprinklers were popular) he let Snowy play out front.  Dogs, as you know, like to explore so before you know it he's all the way down the block and completely out of sight.  I honestly don't remember if my folks looked very hard for him but since he was a pure bred and not tagged no doubt someone else gladly took him in.  Snowy was out of our lives for good.  That one hurt. 

Skip ahead to the 80's, after we moved to Oxnard, we went through 2 more puppies.  One was a St. Bernard my uncle gave us and another dog someone in our church gave us.  Since church was usually the priority back in those days, we just weren't home enough to care for the dogs properly so we returned them to their owners thus ending any hopes of having pets in our home. 

A few of my friends, and my unofficial therapist, have said that may have tainted my thinking of dogs hence not being a dog person.  That may be true but I'll let my therapist decide on that one.  Well I certainly didn't want to deny my kids that chance due to my failed pet ownership skills.  So when the kids asked me over and over again when they can get a dog I finally relented but on one condition, I will not purchase one but if someone offers us a free one we'll take it.  Secretly I was hoping that wouldn't happen but of course God has a sense of humor so lo and behold our friends dog had a litter of long haired chihuahuas and Hailey took her pick.  August 2004, Sassy came into our lives.  The kids were ecstatic and of course making them happy is what makes me happy.  All pets can certainly bring us all joy and happiness because they just want to be loved and their love to us is unconditional.  I'm sure I won't get an argument on that.  We truly loved that little dog. 

Unfortunately the thing about pets is they don't live as long as adults.  We don't know what illness she contracted but during the weekend of July 20th Sassy started throwing up.  That Friday evening she seemed fine and was comfortable and even slept well through the night.  Sadly the next morning she passed here at our house.  I'd like to think we gave Sassy a good life in those 14 years.  Yes she annoyed me from time to time.  Who hasn't been upset with their pets right?  They really do become family members so of course it's natural to treat them like one of your own.  As much as it pains me that she passed on, I am happy she passed at home instead of us having to decide what route to take with her at a vet's office.  She was certainly a part of our lives for 14 years but as a friend of mine said, we were her entire life.  That really put it into perspective. 

I'm sure as you read this those of you who have lost pets can empathize.  It's not easy.  It's been almost three weeks now since her passing but I still wait for her to follow me outside to start the BBQ grill.  I still open the front door slowly when I come home not wanting to hit her head knowing she's right there waiting for me.  I still watch my step to make sure I haven't stepped on one of her many accidents.  I still walk to the kitchen looking for the treat jar to give her a snack.  I'm sure you all have similar stories.  Time will definitely heal all wounds but she will not be forgotten as she was the first pet I had from birth until death.  Farewell Sassy.

A New Career

It's been several months since my last post.  I have a few good reasons for that.  I'll get to that shortly.  My ultimate goal for this blog was to have some fun, which I normally prefer, but also to feature many of my friends who are fellow pastor's kids.  We all have interesting stories to tell about growing up in the church and I want to share that with all of you.  I promise I will get to those stories.  I have a few of my fellow PK friends already lined up to share their stories with me which I will pass on to you.  I can assure you they will be worth reading.  However, I wanted to devote this particular post to what's been going on with me lately.  Indulge me.

I have been working since the age of 16.  My very first job was a busboy at a coffee shop in Oxnard, CA called La Trampita.  It was a summer job but I remember enjoying it immensely.  The coffee shop was located on the peninsula and part of a large resort called Casa Sirena which was owned by Princess Cruises.  Yes, that Princess Cruises aka the Love Boat.  Of course I was teased big time for working for that company however I never saw bikini clad women come into the coffee shop during my short tenure.  But I digress.  Anyway, I completed that job then later worked for Target, Subway and finally State Farm Insurance in 1990.  I started in the mail room and slowly worked my way up to other jobs in the company.  I had a long career there.

Notice I wrote had.  March 7th, 2017 it all came to an end.  26 1/2 years gone in a flash.  I'm not going to dive into the details as to how and why it ended but know I never stole nor did I harass anyone.  Corporate America certainly isn't what it used to be.  The bottom line will always be the bottom line.  This was the first time I was let go from a job.  I had left the others on my own power.  

So what's a middle aged guy like me going to do after he gave over a quarter of a century of his life to a company he thought cared about his well being?  It was not an easy time for me hence why I have not written on my blog for quite some time.  You can't help but have some embarrassment.  How do you explain to your family and friends you made one small mistake that cost you your entire career.  Fortunately this story does have a happy ending.  

While working, I did earn my bachelor's degree in 2008 which has provided the opportunity to become a substitute teacher for several school districts.  I am finally using my degree which is something I didn't get to do at SF.  I can't say enough how happy I am in this new career.  I actually look forward to going to work now.  I haven't had that feeling in quite some time.  Like the saying goes, when one window closes, God opens another.  I truly believe in that.

In conclusion, I can't thank my family and friends enough for standing by me during this rough patch.  It's not easy being unemployed.  Let me encourage you with this:  you can start over.  If I can start a new career at the age of 49 then you can as well at whatever age you happen to be.  Pursue your dreams.  You won't regret it.

Thanks for reading.  I appreciate you all.  More to come in the next couple of weeks.  

Peace and blessings!!

Daniel Z.  

I'm still here

Greetings to all my faithful followers near and far.  It's been quite some time since I last posted a blog but fear not, there are a few in the works.  As I sit here in our hotel room in beautiful downtown Oklahoma City, OK,  I am working on future blogs as I have much to share with you all in the coming weeks.  I hope you all stay tuned.

My fellow PK Josiah Lair and I are working on a blog together.  We both grew up in Pastor's homes and we are both the oldest.  How's that for similarities?  We're in the process of comparing notes.  How similar do you think our lives were growing up with a man of the cloth?  Will we have the same heartbreaks and triumphs?  Are we bitter for having to sacrifice our parents to do the work of God while we were forced to maintain a normal home life as well as "act" normal at church?  These questions and many others will be answered soon.  More than likely this will be a series of blogs between us and I do hope you all enjoy them.

Lastly, I will be collaborating with other PK's in the future as well.  I have a few lined up already.  Since my blog is geared to showing how our kind live, (the Pastors Kid kind that is),  I think it's a good idea to get other perspectives as well so again I hope you all stay tuned.

I wish all of you a very happy Independence Day.  I'll be celebrating the holiday with my sister and her family in St. Charles, MO and yes, many fireworks will be lit.  Don't be jealous.

Peace and blessings to you all!!

D.Z.

Christmas Through a PK's Eyes

The title of my recent blog, as you obviously see, is not quite an original title.  I closely follow the ministry work of Dr. David Jeremiah (a link to his website is below) and his current monthly devotional magazine is entitled Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child. So naturally I couldn't help but do a blog about Christmas time during my younger days as a pastor's kid.  Please indulge me.  

Let me take you back to the 70's.  Yes that's right.  The age of disco, bell bottoms and leisure suits.  I never wore that type of clothing nor was I allowed to engage in disco because it was, so I was informed, of the Devil.  I'm sure the Devil had more important things to worry about than my ability to enjoy disco.  To this day my Dad has no idea I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever but I digress.  My father worked for Sears in downtown Los Angeles and was doing very well there so every Christmas our tree was literally filled with gifts for my siblings and me.  Each year we expected a bounty and Mom and Dad never disappointed. Check that, the fat man never disappointed.  I'm talking about Santa of course, not my Dad.  Santa, for me, didn't die until years later but that's another blog.  

Fast forward to 1978 when my Dad decided to leave the glamorous world of Sears and go into the ministry.  We moved to Oxnard late summer of that year and of course everything changed.  The high salary my Dad was making was no more. We were now relying solely on the giving of others.  What did Dad get us into? Tough times were ahead.  Or so we thought.  Christmas 1978, we had a tree and gifts were put under it.  The tree wasn't 8 feet tall anymore but we still had a tree and Santa still delivered just like he did in our house in La Puente.  At that age I really didn't fully comprehend how tough it was for our parents to still be able to provide us a tree and gifts to put under it but they did.  Of course I thought it was Santa but we all know better.  

So what's the lesson here?  The lesson I learned is this and we all know what it is.  Like the scripture says it is better to give than receive.  Even at that young age of 10 I realized Christmas wasn't about me.  Sure it was tough not to be envious of the other kids who received everything on their list but I still received something.  Our church family at the time was more than generous to us as well.  Our first few years there they collected cash for us to spend on ourselves.  We were never without and I am very grateful for that.

We all have Christmas stories.  Some good, some bad.  For many it will be a very difficult time of the year.  Sadly I have friends who have lost loved ones recently so no doubt Christmas will never be the same again.  My heart and prayers go out to all of you who are experiencing this.  

May God keep you and bless you all during this Christmas season.  I love and appreciate you all. Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoyed it and come back often.  I plan to write more in the coming days ahead.  

Below is the link I promised you and check out the other blogs listed below.  My daughter Hailey has a blog and is a much better writer than me.  You'll laugh and cry at the same time. 

My fellow PK's Jessica Lair and Josiah Lair have just as much insight in being a PK as I do so give their blogs a look as well.  And finally, our friends daughter Hillary Hight has a very special page on Facebook talking about raising a child with Down Syndrome.  If you know someone who is looking for a support page on this topic click the link.  

Peace and blessings to you all and Merry Christmas.  

D.Z.

www.davidjeremiah.org

http://haileylooo.blogspot.com/

http://princessjessnicole.blogspot.com/

http://jdlair.blogspot.com/?m=1

https://www.facebook.com/hippohill/?fref=ts

Time is Flying By

It's been several weeks since my last blog post and much has happened.  Football season has begun.  I am the commissioner of our fantasy football team.  A very good friend of mine passed a very important test.  My 2 kids went back to school.  The youngest is doing cross country and basketball.  The oldest is in Europe studying English in England.  What a concept right?  My wife of many years booked her trip to go see the oldest in England in November.  I think I spotted a few more gray hairs.  My favorite sport, baseball, is rapidly coming to an end.  Hockey and basketball seasons will soon be upon us.  Where does the time go right?  That's a question I'm sure all of us ask ourselves no matter how old we are.  The events I mentioned are just a few of the things that took place since the last time I wrote here.  As I see my kids continue to grow up, and the grayer I become, I'm asking myself that question more and more.

I brought up sports because that is one facet of my life I thoroughly enjoy; mainly baseball.  Today is a sad day for me.  I grew up listening to the immortal Vin Scully call Dodger games since that one day in April 1976 when I was first introduced to Dodger baseball.  He has been the Dodger broadcaster for 67 seasons.  I've listened to him for 40 of those. Today is his last broadcast and I am listening to him as I write this.  So of course I am a bit melancholy.  Let me tell you a story. Enlighten me.    

It's a Sunday in April 1976.  My family and I reside in La Puente, CA which is located in the beautiful San Gabriel Valley.  All right, it's not exactly beautiful but I digress.  We were pretty close to our neighbors next door.  My friend Henry always talked about the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Of course I was a deprived child and had no idea who the Dodgers were but I did know baseball as I attended many little league games.  So on that Sunday he asked if I would go with him to see the Dodgers play the Houston Astros.  I asked permission of course and surprisingly my "must attend church every Sunday" father let me go.  So off I went with Henry and his family to Dodger Stadium to see my very first Dodger game.  I was hooked.  I wanted to go back.  Henry taught me how an entire baseball season works.  The Dodgers would play games at home and on the road as well.  He also taught me since it's not always possible to attend the games I could listen on the radio and even on TV.  I asked my Dad for a radio and he found one for me.  Thus my addiction to baseball and Vin Scully began.  I listened as much as I could to that voice that still captivates me to this day.  So trust me as I say again, this truly is a sad day for me.

Maybe you have to have lived long enough and be from Los Angeles to fully understand how tough this is for me and for countless other Dodger baseball fans.  He's the only voice we know that's been attached to Dodger baseball.  Chick Hearn was the long time broadcaster for the Los Angeles Lakers.  When he passed I literally broke down.  Bob Miller is the Los Angeles Kings broadcaster.  I hope to hang on to him as long as possible.  I'm sure many of you have your favorite sportscasters you couldn't live without as well.

So what's the point you ask.  My point is simply this.  Time is not slowing down so cherish the time you have with your friends and family.  The holidays will soon be upon us so document the events that mean the most to you.  Write in a journal.  Do not take anything for granted.  I know, that is a very old cliche but consider my memories of the sportscasters I grew up with mainly about Vin.  You don't realize what you have until it's gone.  So as Vin hangs up his microphone, this kid from LA wants to say thank you for all the great baseball calls you've made over the years.  Like any family member, there is no replacing you.  God bless Vin.  God bless all of my friends and family.

D.Z