My name is Alex. I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York.
I was born in New York. I grew up with Italians. My mom and dad were born in Puerto Rico. I've traveled there many times. I used to spend my summers there. My grandparents didn't want me in the streets of New York during the summer. Puerto Rico taught me a lot. I learned about our agriculture there and my origins. I think that Puerto Rico today is a wonderful retirement country, but I would always say, like anywhere else, you should have a plan before you retire.
I always wanted to be a Yankee baseball player. Sports was always one of my passions. But then a woman took my heart and I threw away the bat and ball and … I became a dad at 14. It's hard because you can't leave them with babysitters until they're at least three or four. And then the second one was coming along.
Then, I went into the Army, just after high school. I just knew I had to do something because during high school, we were doing things we shouldn't have done. And, you know, always asking for our mom to write an excuse, ‘cause we missed so many days.
I was still of out of control... A lot of people that have been in the military before look back at their time and like kind of reminisce of who they were before they joined the military. 'cause it changes you as a person. The plan is that we learn discipline. Discipline is needed in any manner, whether it be war, whether it be against the enemy, whether it be with a friend or foe. Discipline teaches self-respect, responsibility, and the fact that, if we're going to be a strong nation, we have to protect one another. So there we are. Discipline was something that I lacked when I was a youngster. I thought I had all the answers back then, but if I could do it all again, I'd do it differently.
I'm the oldest of six and I buried two brothers and three sisters. My goodness. My two brothers died of heroin overdose. My sister Susie, she had a hysterectomy that went bad a few months later. And then my youngest baby sister, she hung herself.
And then mom and grandma outlived them all. Grandma buried them all. She was a strong woman. Puerto Rican women are real strong. She was the glue to the whole family. We couldn't do nothing without her. But, then when she left us, that's it. There was nothing else.
Now, I have four kids of my own. I have three wonderful daughters, and I have a great handsome son. They're in Massachusetts as we speak. I'm really proud of them, contrary to how they feel about me. I've made some bad choices. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life for which I've learned, never to do again. I left New York right after 9/11… And, here we are in a wonderful state of Nevada.
How I got to Reno? In short I wanted to see Elvis, but I got here too late. I went to Vegas, got a job. The weather's better. My arthritis was betraying me. So I wanted warmer weather.
And, in my aging process, I thought that I wanted to start a bucket list. And there was a lot of things I didn't get to do in New York, which I can do now in warmer weather… like bungee jumping and rafting, those things we just didn't do in New York.
I’ve been in Reno 18 years now. And it's been an adventure. There's been a lot of remodeling. I’ve seen the phases and the changes. It is the smallest little city in the world, but it has a big heart.
The population has almost doubled since I've been here. It has its flaws, you know, like every city, but it's a wonderful city. Tourists are always welcome. It's a wonderful place to live. There’s lots of work here.
I’m actually retired. I'm 62 waiting on my first retirement check. I worked 17 years for FedEx. I was a driver. All of a sudden when the Covid hit … people were panicking and buying hundreds pounds of toilet paper.
So I couldn't make the 20. I got to 17 and said, I gotta let go. But otherwise, here we are in this wonderful city. The weather's always unpredictable. You think it's gonna be cold and it'll be hot and vice versa… So if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute.
Unfortunately, I had a fallout with a significant other who chose to go elsewhere, and she gave her heart to someone else. I wasn't doing well with the breakup. And, I started looking at the bottom of a bottle and turned around and she abandoned an apartment that we were both sharing for 13 years.
I have no plans to go back to New York. I remember why I left. It was overpopulated, too expensive, the winters almost seem like they last about eight to nine months. When it's cold, it's cold. And I like smaller towns, smaller cities, and this is this where I belong.
Where do I sleep at night?
Well, you know that’s almost like that's a question I would only answer to the Secret Service.
There are a lot of organizations here that are helping the needy, whether it be with food, health, mental, and or funds. And, you know, if you knock on the right doors and if you present yourself and under the proper circumstances, if time and funds allow, they will help you.
They'll give you addresses, they'll give you phone numbers. And quite frankly, they'll even give you a bus pass if you have no transportation. So what they don't have, they'll see to it that somebody will, they'll know how to send you in the direction of somebody that will have whatever needs you have.
You have to want to get help though.
So where I sleep, it all depends on how tired I am. And at what point did I get tired? I could sleep on a park bench waiting for a bus and find that I never got on that bus.
And it's two days later and there I am still sitting on that bench.
We all have tragic trauma. We all have a story.
Our Town Reno Interview by Aimee Arellano
