Louis Gilbert Lopez:  

Life Hello My Friends, It is amazing that five years have passed since last this was edited, so an update is well past due. I am hopeful life has been kind and generous to you with much love and humor, and that the unpleasant surprises and challenges have been minimal. I find myself approaching 58, I retired five years ago after 28 years with Riverside County in federal Employment and Training Programs, where I served as the Equal Opportunity Officer, assuring appropriate process and access to the various programs. Still, I have retired because I can, and to pursue other projects as a Disability Rights Consultant, with Social Justice and Equity Advocacy Associates. I hold degrees in law and sociology, and do extensive volunteer work with charities and civic groups. There is a daughter by a prior marriage, and have been married for the past eighteen years with Melissa, whom you may visit in the photo section. Two additional step-children were acquisitions from that merger. Melissa has interests in citrus, and a number of activities and charities. My daughter Marika received a degree in fashion design, and after some work in the rag business now finds herself working in the Public Defender's Office, and is working on another degree in Psychology from the University of La Verne. Max has graduated from U.C Riverside and Miles is working with a pizza parlor, and both can attempt to elude apprehension by law enforcement agencies. Max starts a new job tomorrow at Collette Elementary School translating English to Spanish for children. Were it not for his understanding of computer imagery, the above photos would probably still not have been loaded. One area that has been fun is my participation with the Riverside Concert Band after a hiatus of some decades. French Besson makes a fantastic trumpet, and it is just too much fun to take part in local concerts. There are other musical groups, such as the Tuxedo Cats Jass Ensemble, which will perform in three weeks in downtown Riverside, and you are also welcome to attend Handel's Messiah, which is scheduled for 15 December this year at the Mormon Temple on Jackson Street. There has also been extensive work with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which has also led to consulting with pharmaceutical companies and various advocacy groups. We live in Riverside, but also make it a point to get around to other areas. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to get together, especially to drink your lunch! School Thinking of high school is a chilling experience. The young ladies I admired often did not reciprocate the feeling, and vice versa. As to teachers, I met some truly wonderful people who did things that sent me in directions I am still experiencing. Esther Gobrecht helped me become a much better writer, and I think of her often. Jim Helder encouraged my musical and artistic abilities, and provided jazz guidance. I hope he is well. Winning the Atlantic Monthly Merit Award for Creative Writing for the 1973 competition set the pace of my life. I continue to write, and so many doors were opened that I did not think would be available. You are welcome to see some of the more recent work at Yahoo Voices, simply l...Expand for more