The man who would not Shut Up!

ryan — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:12:50 +0000

Alfredo Tobar is a man with many talents, a keen sense for justice, and a big mouth.Restaurant owner, City Commissioner, Artista and Rebel are a few of the titles he proudly wears. We met Wednesday night at Pepe’s Café in Ozona, Texas, the only town I had seen in over 90 miles. Ozona seems like your quintessential Texas small-town. I had lucked-out when I connected the Pastor’s wife when I called Christ Church earlier in the afternoon. They extended their southern hospitality and invited me to their Wednesday night fellowship meeting for dinner. Pastor Johnnie’s message was about blessings, something I’ve been receiving a whole lot of lately. After the service we chatted about the Obama and the state of the town’s oil trade (Texas -Tea is the town’s primary industry). A few members of the “proudly Republican” bunch even went so far as to speculate to Obama’s election already causing a downturn in the local economy. Leaving the church, Pastor Johnnie dropped me off across the street at Pepe’s Café, one of the few joints that would be open after 9pm on a weeknight. I walked in and was shocked to see huge paintings of Obama, Che and even Lil Weezy himself! I sat down and ordered two entrees (the usual nowadays with the metabolism I’ve got) and was soon joined by Alfredo Tobar, the cordial owner and creator of the pop-art that decorates the small restaurant. He began to detail a very different town than I had heard about back at the church.

Ozona exemplifies the historic Anglo/Mexican conflict that has shaped so much of Texas’ history. Gun toting lawmen abuse their authority on the local Hispanic population, (according to Tobar, 42% of the town’s Latino minors already have a record), and the rich have gotten their way for quite some time. The current state of affairs has placed Tobar at odds with much of the wealthier white community, many of whom hold ties to the oil business. Eight months after he was elected Commissioner he underwent fraudulent allegations and a trumped-up charges in a trial that lasted over 8 months. The trial was premeditated by the town’s local sheriff, who seems to have allegiance to the local oil-istocracy. (Read more about the trial here )

Tobar was found not guilty on all three counts this past June, but his business has still suffered. “Now there’s white folks who [for fear of risking their jobs] won’t come into the restaurant any more. In fact… since everyone knows my food is some of the best in town, they’ll order take-out send somebody else to pick it up!”

A strong will and a passion for following what he believes is right are what I could see guides this man. He has defiantly expressed his no-nonsense sensibilities on murals around the town ever since his youth. His fascinating stories seemed endless as he told me about growing up and trying to do the right thing in a small town riddled with drug traffic from the Mexican cartels. “I was a pretty wild young man, I must say”, he explains while showing off a picture of him holding an Uzi at age 23. “But i’ve changed alot”, he said.

I would have to describe Alfredo’s energy as tenacious. He’s always getting himself into something, and much like his youth, he’s challenged to do the right thing in a world full of wrong. Heck, where I live in LA, it seems like when the local law enforcement are against you, you’re often on the right side of justice.

From troubled youth to city commissioner all within half a century is impressive and inspirational. I valued Tobar’s renaissance-man look at life, and especially how he seamlessly incorporates his personal and political mission. While his mouth seems to get him in trouble, his art speaks for itself. His rebellious spirit shows in the exterior of Pepe’s Café, styled to resemble the Alamo. He remodeled it himself proudly stating “I always wanted to have my own Alamo, besides, there’s not really much I can’t do, so I pretty much do everything myself”.

I greatly appreciated meeting Alfredo. If you’re ever driving through West Texas on the I-10 you’ll have to drop by and see for yourself. I can honestly say that he is the type of man that I aspire to be one day…just not in a town so small as Ozona!

Ride Ryan Ride!

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:28:27 +0000

While surfing around online I bumped into a few forums that offered criticism and support for Ryan’s journey. Unfortunately some of the forum posts turned into brazen personal attacks aimed at denouncing Ryan’s character and integrity. Nevertheless, it is evident that Ryan is determined and motivated to accomplishing the goal he has set forth with integrity and dignity. As the journey unfolds day by day and as you follow up on Ryan’s progress, I hope that you too will be inspired to follow your dreams no matter how crazy or impossible they may seem. I hope you will be inspired to push yourself and be the CHANGE you’ve desperately sought after. Keep in mind that change doesn’t have to come only through political means. There are other areas of life that can sure use some change if we just take the time to do a little self examination.

So tomorrow Ryan will begin the epic journey to the inauguration. We the website team, along with his many well wishers, wish him the very best and we can’t wait to follow up on his progress as we read of his exciting stories on the “highway of hope.”

Ride Ryan Ride!

Biking for Obama » character

The man who would not Shut Up!

Ride Ryan Ride!