The Ultimate Change

 

            Julio was born in the Mission District, a neighborhood of the rapidly declining city of San Francisco, the only son of a family that had been part of the United States for three generations. With three older sisters and one younger sister, he learned to be hard, aggressive, and protective of those he loved. Unusually tall for a Hispanic boy, he learned to use his size, his passion, and his strength to instill fear in those in the community around him, eventually taking on the reputation of one whom no one dared anger.

               By his thirteenth birthday, he had grown taller and larger than everyone in his extended family. On his way home from school, mere months before beginning his years of high school, he came across two classmates harassing his younger sister with vulgar comments and suggestive threats against her person. Without giving away his presence, he motioned for his sister to ignore his approach, to then knock the heads of the two boys together and watch them drop to the street.

               He stepped on the hands of both boys to release a cracking sound and a groan from each, to then put his arm around his sister and walk her home with promises that he would never allow anyone to harm her, speak to her in that way, or get away with that kind of verbal abuse. As they mounted the steps to their apartment, little Maria wrapped him in a strong embrace with tears of thanksgiving.

“Thank you, brother,” she said. “I am always amazed at how some people still do things like that when they know that you’ll deal with them in a way that they won’t find pleasant.”

               He gave her a gentle hug in return, opened the door for her, and sat down on the steps to communicate the message that he would have no one treating his sister in that way. From his seated position, he could see the two boys pull themselves to their feet and run in the opposite direction, noticing a quick glance back from them both. With the look back, he stood up, descended the steps and made an aggressive move toward them as they ran away.

               From that day forward, Julio always walked little Maria to her school before heading toward his own building. He was part way through his next school day to see the two boys from the day before with their hands in bandages, which stirred in him a small laugh as he watched them struggle with working through their homework and taking notes.

               The school year finished and Julio began his four-year journey through high school, already having the name and attitude that everyone respected and didn’t care confront, knowing that violence would certainly follow any disrespect to him, to his friends, or to his family. Upon reaching graduation, he had no intention of continuing an education into university and instead took a job as a delivery person. This path became his new reality, providing a steady income to take care of his needs and the needs of his family.

               On more than one occasion, he was confronted by small groups of young men who intended to abscond with his packages and impose some pain upon him at the same time. Julio knew of what he was capable, protected the responsibility with which he was entrusted and broke more than a few bones on those who dared confront him. After six years in this role, his reputation and show of sheer force created a reputation that no one else dared challenge.

               This role of delivery person gave him the opportunity to see his own neighborhood, other neighborhoods, and how people in other cultures lived and succeeded. The criminal activity of those around him tore at his heart, moving him to make the decision to begin a new role and create a new reputation in and around his community. The day after his last delivery, he called together his four closest friends to brainstorm on an idea that had been building within his heart and mind.

               “Hey guys, thanks for getting together,” he said. “As I’ve been doing this delivery work for so long, I’ve seen a lot of crime, and how other people live. I’ve been thinking that the five of us could start a security business where we provide protection for a wealthy clientele.”

               “Security, really,” one of his friends said. “I have a feeling that we would be hard pressed to convince pretty much anyone to hire young Hispanic guys for protection.”

               “I’ve been doing some research,” Julio said. “The pay for roles like this is exceptionally high and I know we could do a great job with our knowledge of these neighborhoods, and how to protect ourselves and others. This will give us the opportunity to disprove the ugly picture that so many have of young Hispanic men. I’ll set everything up, let’s give this a try. I’ll keep you updated as all the details fall into place.”

               Two weeks passed and Julio began to make connections, began the paperwork for a business license, to then receive confirmation from his four friends that they would be interested in joining him in his endeavor. “Hey guys, I made some business cards for us that we can begin delivering to different people, different businesses, and different neighborhoods.”

               Within one week of passing out business cards and connecting with businesses around the city, his phone began to blow up from client’s seeking their services. Julio and his friends began their work of protection for over one dozen clients, which allowed them enough income to create an office with a warm, clean, and friendly environment to receive new customers.

               When Julio and his friends reached their thirtieth birthdays, they were in awe of how large their client base had become. “Guys, we really should consider hiring more people to help us with the amount of work we have right now,” he said. “I really hate the idea of turning down work because the five of us cannot handle it all. If you have any ideas, talk to them and if they’re interested, we can bring them in for an interview and hopefully continue to grow our client base.”

               ‘Julio and Friends’ became the protection service that most small companies and wealthy individuals in and around the Bay area went to for flawless and genuine protection. Julio and his four friends watched their business continue to grow, taking on more and more agents. When Julio reached the age of fifty, he made the decision to bring on more agents and spend the majority of his time making connections, handling paperwork, and helping change the neighborhood for the good of those he knew and loved.

               As he drew closer to retirement age, he chose one of his agents to take over the role that he currently filled, while accepting a reduced income from the business to continue supporting himself and his family. ‘Julio and Friends’ continued to blossom, create safety, protection, a safe neighborhood, and also destroy the unfortunate stereotype against young Hispanic men. He and his four original friends sat in the park playing chess across from their office which had recently expanded, as they shared stories about how radically everything had changed since they began this business of protection.

               He would stop into the office once a month to interact with those he had placed in charge since his absence. After each visit, he would leave the office smiling, knowing that he and his friends had done a good thing, were helping people, and were making the world a better place. Though drawing close to seventy years old, he was still stronger and more agile that most on the streets of his neighborhood.

               After a pleasant afternoon with his four friends, he invited them to join him on a short walk throughout the neighborhoods that surrounded the Mission District. As they slowly walked from block to block, they counted seventeen different situations that involved agents from ‘Julio and Friends’.

               “Guys, we have done a good thing,” he said. “Who would have thought that a crazy idea I had so many years ago would turn into a flourishing business that is destroying the bad image that so many have of young Hispanic men. I want to remind you of how proud we should all be with the work we have done.”

               “I couldn’t agree more,” one of his friends said. “Honestly, I’m getting tired. Let’s go back to my place, watch a movie and enjoy some pizza delivery. We aren’t too far away from there right now. This has been a great day. Yes, Julio, you are right. Since we started this protection business, we are seeing many of our young men with jobs to support themselves and their families. This was a great idea that you pulled together and has created hope for our community.”