i remember when i was 21 or about to turn 22 yrs old, the world trade center had already happen about a yr earlier.
i didn't care when it happen. i told myself good, about time something tragic happen to white america not just to regular ppl.. i was angry at the upper class ppl for various reasons and i also figured it was the arabs, i paid attention to world news and knew a lot about what we americans did overseas and i figured it was a matter of time something like that would happen to us.
pretty much what i told my girlfriend at the time when she told me to turn on the news at about 9 0' am..
already at 21 i had already given up a high paying jobs in construction contracting working for my uncle and wearing suits. i didn't like working with ppl who felt it was okay to kick ppl out of their their homes and their lawyers telling them it is cheaper to just kick them out and go to court then to postpone construction dates.... laughing that the poor dumb@$$es didn't even know their rights or would bother going to court or know how to file... i would stand behind as they talked about it so casually so i quit. gave up my company driver, my loft in a closed off security building with doormen(Frasier style).
my uncle felt i betrayed him b/c he was also using me to get to my friends and rich parents.. my mom was also angry.
i then got a job with my friend in construction and they even paid for me to go to school and get certified in different fields of the business.
so i was working in underpinning and going to the university for a few hours a week and also did volunteer work teaching taekwondo.. busy schedule i know. once i was certified i was bumped up to 18 dollars an hour and depending on the job if it was state or under certain stips i would get paid more from 24 to 32 dollars hour..
i was happy with my life and how it had changed. i was always busy but i was happy and it was honest work where my money didn't come from cheating ppl.. but my mom and relatives would constantly harass me asking me if i planned to be a construction worker all my life and if this is what i wanted do with my life after all the struggling our family had gone through to get and live in this country.
so this was always rattling in my mind when i was working with kids, after work at the bar during work.. one day my cousin showed up and my family wanted me to hang out with him and introduce him to my friends... they were like: your cousin John is a hero he just got out of the marines he is going to college to be a lawyer etc etc.. i would zone out and roll my eyes... why cant you be more like your cousin john instead of working construction quitting college what after 3 months.. and then your uncles company...
so later that night i take him to a karaoke bar this is in Nevada so you can actually get private rooms and back area curtain off.. my friends were drinking, i introduced him to my female friends and the guys.. i was bitter and angry watching him have a good time while i swirled my finger on my Budweiser beer..
finally he sat down. i asked him what he did in the marines, how much money he made and how much money was in his bank account? etc etc i just wanted to blow the wind out his sails..
after that we laughed at him and told him he was just a robot working for the man for corporate creed an uncle tom. he didn't do anything and his 10 grand in his bank account was a joke and we can make that in a month if we wanted to. i pulled out 4 grand from my pocket and told him this is what i made in one week and a couple of hours at the tables. my friends and some of the girls started to laugh at his expense one or two of the girls were mad at me for being so blatant and disrespectful...
he looked at me he was trying to be polite but he knew we were ganging up on him at his expense... he said that someone like me could never make it as a marine that i would fail.. i looked at him and told him i am a real man, a marine has never seen someone like me. if you can make it, i know i can. if your the standard then i have nothing to worry about, i got a six pack i can run 5 miles easy in 35 minutes. i was a high school wrestler, construction worker and a Martial arts instructor....
after that i stared at him and got very serious and quiet, he looked me in the eyes and neither of us blinked.. then the two girls who were mad at me tried to get him to dance with them and leave the bar/club since they felt i was being a prick and they really liked him... i didnt care. they walked him toward the dance floor while i made a line of coke and snorted it and drank my beer.. my cousin turned and looked at me and left with the girls.. my friends were like your related to that putz, i was like yeah....
about a 7 months later i kept thinking about my family telling me why cant i be like John and him telling me i couldn't make.. so during the middle of work i finally said F#@$ it.. i made up my mind to join the marines out of anger and spite to prove i could make it and john not being anything special..