P.Star Saga: Eight Months of Misery

I know it has been a long time since my last blog post. First, I would like to discuss why I stopped blogging..

Things were going well for a while, but then I started feeling pain in my right leg back in September of 2011. I thought I would be fine if I just took a few painkillers, but that was only a temporary fix. It was just the beginning...

Incapacitated
It was October 15, my birthday. I expected my friend from the West coast to come to NYC. I bought her ticket, but I was kind of sad knowing she didn't show up. I guess it was just not meant to be. That week my pain became extremely painful.... I remember the next day being sick and that night going to Craig Derry's vocal classes when my partner Elis Pacheco, who saw something was wrong with me. Of course, I didn't tell him that something was wrong. I just told him that I was okay. That week, it hit me hard. I was gradually walking slower and then a week later I couldn't walk at all. Depression hit me, knowing that I wasn't able to walk again after all that I have already gone through to get back on my feet. I was afraid to go see a specialist as I knew he would just tell me that I might have to have surgery again. It got me scared! I could see my life crumbling down around me. Feeling hopeless... feeling useless... just feeling alone, knowing that I can do nothing about it.

Eight months I was stuck in the bed just doing nothing. My children were afraid for me. They tried so hard to convince me to get off the bed. I just didn't want to do anything. Even while I was in bed a lot had happened, but I just wanted to isolate myself. I cut off my network. I cut off my phone. But most of all, I cut off my family & friends. I spent Thanksgiving alone, I spend Christmas alone, even though my daughters were here. I was in the room while they were throwing a party outside on the other side of my door. On New Year's Eve of 2011, Priscilla and her boyfriend Darryl spent it here, while Solsky spent it somewhere else. Where was I? I was in my room again: alone.

Happy New Year 2012!!!!

January came by...nothing. February came by...nothing. March is here and it's time to fill out income taxes, but since I'm not filing taxes for myself, I have to do it for Priscilla. I believe that was the only thing I did that was productive over that eight month stretch.

Getting Out
It wasn't till the end of April that Priscilla finally convinced me to take a vacation. I went out of town for couple of days, hoping things would work out for me but I had this gut feeling that something was going down in New York City...and of course I was right. I decided to get an early flight back to NY to check up on things. It was a mission to try to catch a flight on a Saturday! I was on a waiting list to see if I could eventually get on a flight, but thanks to God I was able to catch a flight back home. When I finally arrive, Priscilla and her gang were throwing a party at my house while I was gone. Needless to say, she was surprised to see that I was back so early. I still let her throw the party but the gut feeling that something was really wrong wouldn't subside.

I invited my friend Lisa to come over because we were going to be the only adults at this party, but I still was feeling uncomfortable. My reservations about the night grew as the first guests arrived. I didn't even know who the hell they were, LOL! My nerves were already acting up, but Lisa was trying to make me feel comfortable. She tried as much as she could just to calm me down, but I couldn't.

The house got packed with people. I didn't even know who any of them were. They started dancing, my house started rumbling, people coming in and out, and they were smoking everywhere. The party started getting out of control. Then, it happened!!!! At 3:30 AM, a fight was brewing. I had just taken off my sneakers just to relax for a minute, when my daughter Solsky began banging on my door screaming! I ran out the door to approach the guy who was arguing with another guy. Then, I noticed a couple of the guys putting their hands inside their coat. (I knew they had something inside the coat because I saw two of them begin pulling it out and I was able to convince the men not to.) My first reaction was to try to calm this guy down and take them to the hallway of my building. There was one knucklehead who wanted to shoot I saw it in his eyes. As a defense, I grabbed one of his guys by the neck just for protection like a bulletproof shield. I told him to put the gun away and put it back in his pocket, but he refused to listen to me. I ended up dragging him down the steps until he got in front of the building. That's when I told him that my building had security cameras and in the next two minutes the police were going to show up, so they all decided to get back in the van and leave. That was a close one! Of course my daughter made it seem like nothing was going to happen, but if I wasn't there someone would've gotten shot.

Bad News
In May, I got a phone call that the mother of my children is in jail for attempted murder. Yeah, she had just got her life situated and was staying drug free. Now she faces prison time up to 10 to 15 years. It's sad to say that she's got two young daughters with a messed up father, and these kids will not have their mother around, AGAIN!!!!

Failure to Communicate
June 14th P's birthday: Since that party things weren't working out for us. We had a big misunderstanding, so she moved to New Jersey with my dear friend Karen Fowler, the Vice President Sesame Workshop. Things are going well for her there, I knew she was suffering because of my illness but I just needed for her to be more independent and not worry about me so much.. I was just being selfish. She grew up too fast!
On Father's Day, she came to pick me up to have dinner. We started talking again, I could see it in her eyes she was still hurting because of my situation and me being ill. She was trying to motivate me, trying too give me hope again. I just couldn't...but at least I got out of the house.

Fostering Safety
July 17th, I got a phone call at 5:30 in morning from Solsky and Priscilla's sister. It was kind of strange for her to even call at that time. We hadn't spoken for about a year. I picked up the phone and asked what was wrong. I could hear her tears over something terrible that happened to her while mother was away and her father was staying with her. When she told me what had occurred, my first reaction was to come to the house. She arrived around 8:30 a.m. I just couldn't believe what they did to her. I got  ACS and the police involved. Once again I became a foster parent; once again another child changes my life. Soon, she will be officially adopted and her name will be changed to St. Clair Diaz!!!!!

Mexican Stand-off
August 31st, St. Clair's Birthday: I had told the girls that for me just to get my mind clear, I needed to take a vacation. So I decided to leave to go to Mexico September 3rd. I was on my way to the airport when I noticed I had an infection in my right finger. It was bothering me so much, then it started getting swollen. I decided to keep to my plans despite the infection. Then, I caught a panic attack inside the plane when we had to make an emergency landing in Dallas. They rush me to the hospital because I told him that I was a diabetic, and they noticed that the finger was swollen. I stayed in the hospital for three days. Man, I was so upset knowing that I couldn't get to my Mexico! They kept me there just for observation while giving me some antibiotics for the infection in my finger. They wanted to make sure that it had nothing to do with the diabetes. So, I finally left the hospital, got back to the airport, and American Airlines was so nice that they put me on the first class flight to Mexico.

Back In Action
September 10th, Solsky's Birthday: I was still in Mexico, preparing myself all the chaos in NYC!! A couple of days later, I arrived back in New York City. I had to register St. Clair for high school. I was able to put her in one of the best schools in New York City, thank God!!!! I also was able to prepare myself to go see the specialist about my chronic back pain. The moment I got back, I was getting phone calls to start working again and my energy boost is up to 100%. I'm back!!!!!!!!

Oct 15th, my birthday: I threw a dinner party at my house with my kids and their friends. I had begun seeing a specialist and getting therapy for my anxiety attacks. I was happy to know that I was back to normal again.
November 15th, I went see the spine specialist. That's when they dropped a bomb on me: My bones didn't heal right and I have a cracked screw... yeah, that's right, a cracked screw in my back... and it broke... so now I have to go for a second spine surgery! I was afraid of that, but at least I was mentally prepared. The spine specialist laid out the risk factors. He told me that if I don't do this, in six months I will not be able to walk again. If I do get the surgery, I only have a 50/50 chance of healing, meaning that I may walk or may not walk. . I have to leave it up to God. It also a six months recovery, therefore six months stuck in bed. Wow! Not again! At least this time I will have something to do. I'm buying studio equipment so I can make music from home and work on P.Star's album, which she will co-produce with me. I am also working on Jay Wise's Project. We're close to getting a deal as well as setting up a tour overseas. Lastly, I am working with THE NO-NAME GANG, my godson Bugzy's Project. As for my own personal project, I will be finishing my book very soon. At least I'm keeping myself on a positive level!!!!!

Thanksgiving day... I woke up at 4:30 to put in the roast. I started preparing Thanksgiving dinner with my daughters, and their friends decided to come over to eat dinner with us. Yes, it was a lovely night. We took pictures and everyone got twisted, except me.

Black Friday, I did a little bit of Christmas shopping, but I was mainly preparing for all my trips. As you know, I'm going to have surgery again and it doesn't look too good for me, so I decided to take a couple of trips before I have surgery. On my next blog you will get to read about all the trips I enjoyed. Yes, it will be business and a vacation.

Until next time, merry Christmas and a happy new year! I'll see you next year!!!

PS... I want to thank my friends for being there for me. Jay Wise, Sunita, Evelyn Inoa, Malik, A-Mafia, Charles Perez, my dear friend Dr. Karen Copeland, my cousin Maria Hoyos and Lisa West!!! My family, I'm sorry for pushing you away Elis, Solsky, Priscilla Star... I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Summer 2011

Recovery Update

It's been a while since my last blog post, and I know that you are probably wondering whats up with my recovery. I have to say, though my back is healing, it's been a slow process, but things are going well.

Physical therapy has been decreased from 3 times a week, to 2 times a week. Things are taking longer than what I expected, but I have accepted the fact that now I have to take things slower than what I used to before. I'll see my specialist again at the end of the month, and I hope he gives me some good news about my back so I can be okay to go work out and things like that.

I've been overwhelmed with so many things lately; it's been too hectic to work on the blog. I was juggling a number of projects that I am really excited about. I have been working on beauty pageants, consulting with different labels, working on two videos P-Star starred in and of course the most important thing: recovering from my surgery.

Projects in the Making

I am currently still working on the TV show pilot call “Mediators”, which goes deep into the lives of bullies and their victims. We have a host of different celebrities, one per show, who will do interventions in these volatile situations. The celebrity will sit the bully down, talk with them, mentoring them as well as the victim. The purpose of this show is to instill new-found confidence in them, so they will be impacted enough in life for things to change. The goal is for the bully to see the error of his ways, and for the victim to rebuild their self-esteem and no longer be victimized.

Another exciting project is the American beauty pageant pilot. It's a competition like no other, because the focus is not solely on outer beauty, but on inner beauty as well. As such, our competition will have contestants that might not make it to other pageants. We want to build their character as well as reinforcing their self-esteem. Adding to unique flavor of this contest, we will have an all American boy and all American girl winner.

Family Happenings

Mother's day passed. It's a day when everyone can sit back and appreciate those mothers that dedicated their lives for their children, as I and other parents have, sacrificed their lives for their children. I had a wonderful Mother's day. As you know, I am a single father and taking care of my kids is priority. My kids realized that, and so they celebrated with me as if I were mom on Mother's Day. I received flowers and gifts from my kids, which is funny since they only gave me a card on Father's Day! (LOL) As a parent we watch our kids grow and we guide them in the right direction. Seeing how they have grown is truly a blessing to my heart.

When I look at my girls, I can see the fruits of my labor. Solsky finished high school, got a job and is getting ready to go to college. Priscilla finished school this year, and is going to the next grade with honors. I'm a proud parent because I did the best I could teaching them right from wrong, work ethic, and giving them a great education. In the upcoming year will be getting more involved with their education. Priscilla will go back to high school this fall, where I was nominated and elected into the position of Vice President for the Parents Board Association. I was honored. The one thing we need more than anything in this world is education.

Another proud moment for me was my daughter, Priscilla's 17th birthday. She decided-instead of a party, that she would go be with the military children. She was able to film a video with the children.

It was such a beautiful thing for her to do on her birthday. She didn't have to do it, but she felt that it was more needful to give back to the community than it was to celebrate her birthday.

Priscilla's selfless act made me want to give her a celebration she would never forget. So, I gave her a birthday party on Saturday. It was a full on all teen birthday party. I was the only adult there, but they had a great safe time. Priscilla thanked me so much for having this great party for her. It was one of the happiest times of her life.

Diaz Family Productions On the Road

We started promoting the upcoming album called “The Reintroduction of Miss P-Star”. It's an album that will solidify her as a positive role model to educate people in life in general. The first show we did was outdoors at the Puerto Rican festival, where she was able to perform a song from the album. The concert went great. The song was well received.

On that same day we had to go to Staten Island for the film festival, where we performed as part of the Children's Literacy Society, who sponsored the film for that event. It's a great organization that promotes literacy for all children. P-Star is honored to be the face of such an organization.

They also showed the P-star movie. We were overwhelmed, as there were lots of people with lots of questions. The next day the movie won an award for “best audience choice for a documentary”, which is another one on our sleeves (yay!). It's very exciting to know that the movie is being seen all over the world. We get great feedback from the fans, and I get nice compliments about being a good father. Of course you get the negative ones, but that's part of life. You can’t please everyone.

As you see I posted new videos of P-Star. She directed them both videos, which were shot in here. She has set yet another two records not only by being the first, but also the youngest, American to rap in Japanese.

She is working with my artist Jay Wise who is a wonderful kid. He has been working with me for 8 years. He developed from a street kid out of Washington Heights to this wonderful humble man who dedicates his music to everyone. Jay truly puts passion into his work. I have never seen anyone work the way he works … on his music and life. He has an album coming out soon named “The Wake Up Call”. Jay Wise and P-Star are working on another album together along with a few other artists. That project is called DFE “The Super Group”, but the name could change. Currently, he has a single called “King of the Jungle” as well as a song called “Teach Me How To Fly” featuring P-star.

So don't forget to check out the videos, the songs, and watch for Jay Wise and P-Star's albums, both coming out soon.

We are very fortunate and blessed and I thank God for all the wonderful things He has done for me. I truly enjoy life itself. I get it. I truly understand how people are. I could go on and on and write about all the revelations I have received through this life, but I will save the whole life story for my book. Its title is not set yet, but it will be a good book about single parents.

Help Me Find My Brother

Sad part … I have a twin brother that I haven’t seen in over 25 years.

Wow! A Twin brother! Yeah, my fraternal twin brother. His name is Alex. I have been trying to look for him, even though when we were doing the documentary we thought we found him. Unfortunately, we were a day late, as he had been released from prison right before we arrived. I tried to get his address from the lawyer, but there was no known address for him. I feel so deeply that I need to find him, especially knowing that he isn't aware of our mom and our sister passing away. His kids, Michael and Steven, ask for him all the time. I wonder what he is out there doing now. We don’t know if he is still a criminal or on drugs, but I have to make this a mission. He is my brother, so good or bad; I have to know for myself what is going on with him and where his is now.

His full name is Alejandro Jesus Diaz. If you are reading this blog and see this, if you know someone who knows someone, or if you have hears anything about him please don't hesitate to contact me. I know he is nowhere but in California, so please contact me and let me know. I have to see if I can find him.

I promise I won’t take another four month to write blogs. I will try to do at least one per month. I promise I will NOT take this long again!

I know you guys wanted to know what's going on with us. Feel free to comment or ask questions, but the most important thing is to help me find my brother. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Until next time...

Jesse Jess Diaz

DFE

P-STAR-"DONT STOP THE DANCE" (JAPANESE VIDEO)

P-STAR "SUKOSHIDAKE KATAOMOI" (JAPANESE VIDEO)

RECOVERY

First and foremost, let me thank everyone for their concern, the flowers, the balloons, and the cards. Thanks to everyone who called my daughter and followed up with her about me. I truly want to extend my gratitude to everyone for the blessings.

In my last blog post, I wrote about how I had to reschedule my surgery, which turned out to be a good thing. It actually gave me enough time to prepare myself mentally. I had to come to terms with the reality that I may not make it. The reschedule also gave me time to write my will, send it out, prepare my kids, and let them know the details of the surgery.

February 15^th: Surgery

I woke up early and my daughter, Solsky, took me to the hospital. We arrived around 10am, did all our paperwork, and got ready. My daughter Solsky stood beside me the whole time. My spirits were up, until I realized what I was signing. I had to choose a “healthcare proxy” so that I could set up who would take care of my medical needs in the event of my incapacitation. It was disturbing to truly realize just how serious the surgery really was. I gave it to Solsky to make all my decisions. The paperwork was getting scarier and scarier. I was shook! So when they started asking about the anesthesia, I started asking questions.

They explained how they were opening me up and fixing the spine. I had a great surgeon, Johnathan Stieber (http://www.stiebermd.com/), who I highly recommend as one of the finest specialists for back surgery in the country. He is a 5 star doctor with a 99.7% successful rate, with me adding one to his belt as being part of his success rate. Take a look at Johnathan Stieber's website. It's amazing the technology that they have now to go in and fix a spine. Back in the day, the risk factors were all included in the process of having surgery. Now, your risk factors are all in the recovery process, like if you have diabetes or some sort of disorder that would get in the way of healing properly. I was so nervous! It petrified me knowing I would be put to sleep for 8 hours. I was afraid that I would wake up through the anesthesia! That was my worst fear. He was great at getting me to calm down, easing my fears, and giving me confidence that the surgery would be a success.

Between 10:30 and 11 a.m., they escort me to the operating room. I gave my daughter a hug and let her know that I truly love her. All I remember after that is them telling me I was going in and me saying one word before I was out.

After Surgery: Ten and a half hours later

The moment that I got up was the greatest feeling ever! As soon as I opened my eyes, I could see that all my children were there: Solsky, Priscilla Star and my nephew Steven Diaz. Knowing that I woke up alive, knowing that all my family was there, got me so excited that the staff had to tell my kids to leave because being overexcited was making my blood pressure go out of control. The kids told me that while they were leaving I was saying crazy things like “I have superpowers!” and “I am the bionic man”. It's really funny when you think about it. The doctors were explaining to Priscilla that they had to reconstruct my back, so they had to clean up my back and make sure everything was put in place before even getting to work on the spine, which is why it took 2 more hours. The extra work made the total time 10 1/2 hours in surgery. I went in at 11 and got out at 10:30 at night. Thankfully, I did not wake up under the anesthesia, as I had previously feared.

I fell back asleep and I woke up the next day, in my room, asking the nurse if I had seen my children. I thought I was dreaming that all my kids were there. While I was inside my room, I was receiving flowers, cards, letters, from numerous people that knew that I was getting this operation. I also received from my dear friend Karen Fowler and the Electric Co. Staff Edible Arrangements, balloons, and cards. I truly want to thank everyone again for their concern and love for me throughout this ordeal. You have no idea how encouraging it was to know that so many people, even if they didn't know me personally, cared enough to send their well wishes.

I immediately felt my condition upon waking. I was unable to walk, had tubes all over my body, was in excruciating pain. It was uncomfortable to sleep, especially knowing that I couldn't move. It was so frustrating. I was unable to take myself to the rest room, so I had to be taken care of by the nurse. Although I felt uncomfortable, mentally I knew I had to get better so I could get discharged. I knew that I had to speed the recovery process so no infections occurred. I had to mentally get myself out of the bed...and I had to do it all by myself. No nurse or physical therapist could really help me. It was all up to me.

February 18^th:Release and Recovery

I was released on a Friday evening because I was anxious to get out of there already. I was homesick! When I was discharged, they gave me my prescriptions, and my godson (Manny Rosario), his girlfriend (Jovina), and my daughters come pick me up. I had so much stuff in the room that they had to carry it all out. Manny was still with me, even after he had come to the hospital every single day. He was faithful to bring me chicken noodle soup, crackers and Gatorade. All he kept telling me is “Jess get better. Six pack!” meaning we are going to work out together and get a six pack. I can’t even imagine having a six pack! He is psyching me up about working out, me getting better and just working out with him.

On my way home, we had stopped at every drug store to try and get my meds. Can you believe that none of them had it? It was kind of frustrating for me because I was in a car an extremely uncomfortable due to my condition. I was so anxious to get out of this car. It was the worst ride I ever had.

Once I got out of the car it was all I could do to get up the steps. It took me 45 minutes to get up 5 flights of steps to my home. FINALLY, as I arrived at my apartment, I realized that I could lie in my own comfortable bed and have a normal sleep! What a relief! One of the greatest feelings in the world is knowing that you are going to be able to sleep in your own comfortable bed.

The next day, they finalized my outpatient procedures, which provided me with a home attendant, nurse aid, physical therapy. As the process has gone on, I have been getting better, walking more, and having less pain. It's still frustrating that I'm stuck in the house trying to get caught up with all the business that I had to put on hold. I am grateful that the people involved with the pilot shoot wanted me to be there. Kind enough that my Executive Producer paid for my nurse to come down to do the TV shoot for “The Mediators” of which I am the producer of the show...but I will give u more details about that later.

All in all, it's great to be back home with my family. I cannot thank you all enough for making this recovery process more tolerable through your love, prayers, and well wishes. You have no idea what a blessing you all

Until next time
Love,
Jesse Jess

The Ending of January

January has come and gone, and it has been some time since my last blog entry and a lot has happened.

Where should I begin? On Martin Luther King Day, school was out, so we decided to go into the studio to record some songs that P-Star had written for herself and for some other artists. In addition to work, we took some time to recognize that Martin Luther King fought for civil rights and for equal opportunity. MLK had a dream and the dream has come along way. There is still much that we need to work on, but there has been a lot of progress. Like MLK, I have my own dreams. My dream is to help those that cannot help themselves. To help others be the best they can be. I’m a person that believes, pushes and supports whatever people want to do. I believe that you if can dream it; then you can do it!

Moving on to my girls…. I’d like to begin with Solsky. What can I say about a young lady that has so much going for herself. Solsky has achieved so much and surpassed my (or any father’s) expectations. Solsky has a unique way of doing things and she has been able to use the computer to her advantage. Because of her computer, Solsky has been able to soar to incredible heights! Solsky has defied the odds and will graduate from HS with a regents Diploma!

How about Priscilla?!?! P-Star is an amazing talent, but more importantly, she is a little girl with a great big heart! She writes from her experiences and transforms all that life gives her into what she expresses. She is a truly remarkable young lady. She lives, learns and displays! What more can I ask for?! Like her sister Solsky, Priscilla is proof that hard work, dedication and determination, will guarantee success and happiness!

I would like to dedicate this blog entry to my daughters, Solsky and Priscilla. They are proof that hard work pays off. They have also proved just how important having an education is towards achieving your goals. Make no mistake….. No matter how much they achieve, it is still up to us parents to support and enforce education! Life is based on knowledge, wisdom and understanding and I totally understand how important education is!!!

Priscilla recently had an art gallery event which took place at her High School. I took Armando Soto, my business Partner and Sinclaire to this event. The artwork being displayed was created by the students. The students involved were from grades 6^th to 12^th. The event was a fundraiser for the school. It was a truly amazing event! The artwork was significant and appeared to have a lot of meaning to the artists. The event was truly representative of the past, present and future. The event also showed that having positive influences will certainly show in the artwork. The artwork was memorable and impressive!

Last week we celebrated London’s and Alexis’ birthday on Saturday. We had such a great time and a lot of my old friends showed up. My God son Manny Rosado also showed up and I was thrilled to see him. The last time I saw him was at a showing of "P-Star Rising" at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009 -but it was only for a second. We took time to catch up and we talked about the good old days -my God son turned out great. We partied until it was time for me to say good night to all.

Before I leave I want to take an opportunity to inform everyone of a very important issue in my life. You’re all important to me, so it is important that you all know. On February 15, I’m having spinal surgery. I have a condition called Isthmic spondylolisthesis and I have it at grade 3 (close to 4). I went to see three specialists and my primary doctor and they all told me that I needed to do have this surgery. I have thought about this for about 4 months but I realize that it is something that I must do. I wake up in pain in my right leg just about everyday and I cannot take it anymore. At first, I thought it could be Stacia but it wasn't. I went to physical therapy, took the shots for my back for 3 months, but nothing worked. So, I am going to do this and I am sure that with all of your prayers, I will surely overcome this. I want to in advance for your support and prayers. If you have any questions please feel free to comment me.

Until next time

Jesse Jess

Cheer leading & Leandra’s Law

I got up around 6:30am, I worked out a bit and then got ready for my first meeting of the day. My first meeting took place at Sesame Workshop where I went to see my dear friend and the "Electric Company," Executive Producer, Karen Fowler. We discussed ratings and upcoming shows for "TEC." We also talked about Priscilla’s future in general. I told Karen how wonderfully “P” was doing in school and how she recently became a cheer leader.

Priscilla had her first game recently and it went well. She was very excited to see me there. Priscilla certainly did not expect me to show up at the game, so I know it was quite a surprise for her. When I saw the smile on her face and how happy she was to see me, it was one of those moments that every dad treasures for a lifetime! During the halftime show, Priscilla performed with the rest of girls and they were absolutely amazing! Now, I am not saying this because she is my daughter or because I am a proud dad, but because they are genuinely good!! When it was over she ran to me and gave me a big hug. She then introduce me to her friends and teammates. They were somewhat amazed at how young I looked! They told my daughter:” Your father is hot!” I laughed at the comment and then went home.

On a more somber and serious note.... I had a meeting today which was very interesting and somewhat overdue. It's been some time now since a little girl named Leandra Rosado was killed in a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver. At the time this tragic accident occurred, it was on the news immediately and just about everyone in NYC was devastated. It is more than fair to say that everyone could relate -especially those with children. When this father lost his daughter he decided to do something about it. He did not want his daughter to die in vain. Lenny Rosado called his friend Miguel Acevedo and asked him for help. Miguel is a community advocate and he also runs a program called “Fulton Youth of The Future.” Miguel is a kind a guy who would take the shirt off his back for just about anyone! He’s is a down-to-earth Politician, a well educated person, and an advocate of child-welfare.

Lenny, because of the loss of his daughter, is having more than his share of difficulties, but having Miguel there has made it easier to deal with this tragedy. Recognizing what was right; Miguel knew that the passing and enforcement of the law was super important, but he also knew that support this family at their time of need was equally important. Lenny simply states; “if you're going to drink, don’t drive!” “If you're going to drink, don’t get behind the wheel!” “The consequences are simply too terrible!” Man, I could not hold back the tears when he kept spoke of his little girl. I thought of how this could happen to anyone and how scary that reality was.

Elis Pacheco, Ed Christy, Miguel and myself talked about working On a PSA where P-STAR and Leandra’s Father, Lenny, would both talk about The "LEANDRA" Law. They wold discuss the events that led to the law and what the law is all about. What is the "Leandra" law? Well, it was an idea born from tragedy and it is now a New York State Law. This law makes it a Crime to endanger the life of a child while driving under the influence of alcohol. It is a felony which carries up to 4 years in prison automatically; but it also brings 15 years for causing an injury and for also driving drunk with a child 15-years or younger inside the car. Additionally, 25 yrs for causing an accident which results in the death of a child.

Tragically, the woman that killed Leandra Rosado got off with a very lenient sentence. She received only 4 years in prison! This woman, in all likelihood, will serve a fraction of that 4-year sentence and be out a lot sooner to live her life -along with her family! While the Rosado family has to continue a lifetime without their loving child! 4 years for the life of an innocent child... Where is the justice?

Well, I can’t talk about this no more... All and All there next goal is take this National and I will be there for them.

For those interested in learning more about the “Leandra Rosado” Law, please go to this website for more information: http://www.dnainfo.com/20091218/manhattan/drunk-driving-law-named-after-leandra-rosado-goes-into-effect

Until next time friends.

Love,

Jesse Jess Diaz