My father, Roger Martinez Locke, was a classical music
professor at the Conservatory and the University of Puerto Rico; a
professional clarinetist, early-music ensemble conductor,
lecturer, etc.... and was also a renaissance-man and walking encyclopedia
of world history, culture & fine arts. He could speak fluently in
Spanish, English & French, plus knew some Latin, Russian,
Italian..... His normal every-day handwriting was in calligraphy, and
he also had hobbies of photography, painting, cooking... and CYCLING!
But above all his vast education, he was a great soul, a true
humanitarian and a saint with a huge heart. It was from him
that I learned the true meaning of christian charity, compassion &
forgiveness. Here's an example and a true story:
When I was about 8 yrs old, he was an
avid cyclist who self-taught himself to build racing bicycles from
the frame up, including assembling all the wheels & components
from parts he would order from catalogs in the US & Europe. There
were no serious cycling shops on the island and NO internet back
then. He had a small 10'x10' tool shack in the back of the house that
served as his “taller de bicicletas”. By then, he had assembled a
professional racing aqua-green-colored Benoto bike that was
his proud jewel. We the kids had received for Christmas that year
fancy Raleigh bicycles – mine was a beloved candy-apple red!
About 3-4 months later, someone broke
into our property and stole ALL our priceless bicycles! I was
heart-broken, as was my dad, especially because of all the hard work
he had poured into building them. I'm sure you get the picture. Then
the next day the police came to our house and said that they had
caught a “barrio young delinquent” who was riding one of these
very unusual fancy bikes throughout our blue-collar urban development
(“urbanizacion”) and the adjacent poor-rural neighborhood, and
that alerted them of something odd and amiss. They had been
questioning (in PR that means "lightly" beating-up) him until he
confessed to stealing these bikes from a (our) house.
Hand-cuffed in the patrol car, he had directed the policemen to our
house.
The police wanted my parents to press
charges against them so they could lock him (and his collaborators)
up, “as these hoodlums should”, they said. They didn't know they
were talking to Professor Roger Martinez, who immediately said “hold
your horses gentlemen! Bring him here, I want to talk to this kid”.
My parents treated him with dignity and compassion! Dad offered him: “You
like bikes? Then come to my workshop and I'll teach you"...
Basically, my dad offered him to return the stolen bikes in exchange
for coming daily for a few hours to his workshop and work with him in
restoring the bikes!
This proved to be a true rehabilitation
via compassion and trust! He did NOT disappoint my father!! He came
through for my dad: the bikes were restored, he became an avid
“student” and friend of my dad, and he also became a cyclist,
later competing in local races in the sport. As a by-product, the word spread thru the neighborhoods, and our house (and family) was deemed a "sanctuary" protected from any "harm" from crime.
An act and leap of FAITH results in a win-win situation! :-) Compassion will never let you down!! It is thru this type of teach-by-example at HOME education I received from my parents, that I learned more of the values of Love, Peace, Truth, Non-Violence and Right Conduct... than from any other religious institution or church! In gratitude: Happy Birthday Mom (Feb 3rd) and Dad (RIP, Feb 15th)!!
Om Sai Ram. Namaste <3
