'BLINKY'S' STILL WORKING TOWARD PEACE.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
NORTH HILLS - Get me Benicio del Toro's agent on the phone. I've got a real life movie role for him that's a natural - an Oscar nomination next year, guaranteed. Tell him if he doesn't hurry, Antonio Banderas or Jimmy Smits would be perfect for it, too. It's about a Latino kid who grows up on the mean streets of Pacoima and Sylmar back in the '60s, and is given the nickname ``Blinky'' by his pals because he blinks blink v. blinked, blink·ing, blinks v.intr. 1. To close and open one or both of the eyes rapidly. 2. To look through half-closed eyes, as in a bright glare; squint. 3. a lot. He's a tough teen-ager on the outside because he needs to survive in this neighborhood, but something different is going on inside. He's seeing too many kids dying, too many mothers crying, and it's getting to him. He's not even 20, yet every month he's going to another funeral - putting his arm around the sagging sag v. sagged, sag·ging, sags v.intr. 1. To sink, droop, or settle from pressure or weight. 2. shoulders of one more crying mother of another pal he grew up with, another victim of gang violence. Telling her how sorry he was, and how he wished he could do something to help. One by one, the kid's pals become men and leave the old neighborhood - some, like state Sen. Richard Alarcon, moving on to successful careers. Most, however, move on to more violence or an early grave. William ``Blinky'' Rodriquez stayed. He made a promise to some crying mothers, and he was going to keep it. The kid who used to blink blink the involuntary movement of one or both eyelids of both eyes simultaneously. The frequency varies between species. Cats blink the least, with the possible exception of owls. In birds it is the lower eyelid which is moved up to meet the upper lid. a lot grows up to be the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's leading peacemaker - the guy that police and city leaders depend on to do something they can't do - broker gang peace on some of the city's' most violent streets. Along the way, the unthinkable happened. Blinky's own son, Sonny son·ny n. pl. son·nies Used as a familiar form of address for a boy or young man. [Diminutive of son. , becomes the victim of a drive-by gang shooting. The Valley's peacemaker finds himself at another funeral with his arm around another crying mother - crying with her for their own son. Blinky grieves, but he doesn't get bitter, doesn't take to the streets to get even. Instead, he redoubles his efforts to bring gang peace to the Valley. He hits the streets, and in 1994 helps convince the leaders of 75 separate Latino street gangs to sign a peace treaty because only fools and idiots want to see more babies die and more mothers cry, Blinky tells them. It works, and in 1998, Blinky and his wife, Lilly, are on an airplane to Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. , Switzerland, where the Swiss government is awarding the peacemaker from the Valley the Fete d' Excellence - a medal of excellence from the United Nations. When he returns home to his job as executive director of Communities In Schools, a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. group that works hard to convince at-risk youths to stay in school and out of gangs, he's greeted like a movie star with an emotional ovation from his staff and the kids. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. anyone who has been more dedicated and more passionate about ending violence in this city than Blinky,'' Alarcon said Wednesday, after hearing his old pal is being honored by the A&E Network and its popular TV show, ``Biography.'' At 12:30 p.m. Friday, Blinky will be recognized as an A&E ``Community Hero,'' during a ceremony at the Westside Pavilion The Westside Pavilion is a shopping mall located in West Los Angeles. It is owned and operated by The Macerich Company. It is a three story urban-style shopping mall with 150 shops and is anchored by a Macy's (formerly May Company and later Robinsons-May) and a Nordstrom. , at Pico and Westwood boulevards Westwood Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles that runs through the heart of Westwood Village and further south in West Los Angeles. Westwood Blvd begins south of Sunset Boulevard in the campus of UCLA as Westwood Plaza. in West L.A. His photo and biography will become part of a traveling ``Biography'' exhibit that will be at the Westside Pavilion through Sunday before heading to Seattle. The rest of the country is soon going to find out what the Valley and Blinky's old buddies from the neighborhood already know: The guy's a hero. I called Blinky at work Wednesday to congratulate him on another well- deserved award, but he wasn't in. His secretary said he was busy at his other job. She didn't have to tell me where that was. It was Blinky's first job. Back out on the streets of the Valley, trying to broker another gang truce because the old one he put together has pretty much broken down this year. At 47, the kid who grew up on these streets is still chugging away, refusing to give up on another generation of kids. He made a promise to some crying mothers 30 years ago, and he's not about to go back on it now. Because only fools and idiots want to see more babies die and more mothers cry. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: In this 1994 photo, coach William ``Blinky'' Rodriquez talks with Jose Garcia Jose Garcia / José García is a common name that can refer to:
John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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