by Ricky Doc Sauceda
1 Samuel 16:8-11
Then Jesse called Abin′adab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
As a child I was always using my imagination. This trait became a valuable resource for me as I relied upon it to help me cope with unhappiness. If I was beaten, scolded, mistreated or had a bad event happen...I would think of something happy. I would think of being in a park or some other place of serenity.
At my first elementary school, in Houston, I was always daydreaming. I would just stare out of the big windows and lose myself. I did not like being in school because I had been accustomed to being at home with Momma.
I always had a fondness for music. I listened to pop, rock and country music; my three sisters and me were always doing that. Those days are far removed from me now.
After our move to Cut-n-Shoot I found myself in a different world - a countryside setting with old ways. I was beaten up on the bus on our way home from school on the very first day. The kids were cheering,"Beat that pepper belly wetback! Get him! Get him!"
The kids figured that my family was from Mexico due to my foreign appearance. My family is Italian-Spanish mostly, with French, German and Irish mixed in as well. Of the four Sauceda children, I was the only born with dark features.
On weekends and summer vacations I developed a routine of studying people in the news. Momma bought every magazine and newspaper imaginable - tabloids included. I read all of them. It is from this period of my life that I began to see celebs as "people."
There were articles about life events of all kinds, happy and sad stories and news of what new movies, shows or songs were coming up. I enjoyed reading about them and grew interested in the reality of their daily life. Not always spectacular and very common like the rest of us.
I began writing in my room back then. I filled sheets of notebook paper with my own articles and news stories. The name of my imaginary publication was "The Grapevine."
I even fantasized about having a talk show on TV - The Ricky Show. This due to the influence of watching Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore and the myriad of prime time shows on TV at that time. I had a tape recorder in my room and would record myself talking to imaginary guests of all kinds.
I'll say one thing for sure, it kept me occupied. In comparison to that time I mainly do the same thing here on social networks and my blog. Only the writing is real to life and tied in with my deep faith in God.
I am happy to have friends from all walks of life and from around the world. All I am doing is sharing what it takes for me to get through a day. That is the truth.
Some days I am upbeat. Some days I feel challenged. Some days my heart pines for another life companion.
I see these same things in all of you. We are living one day at a time. That is the way life is.
I enjoy sharing about my life. I enjoy sharing about God. I always will.