Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Business idea #1

Ok I'm on this trek in search of a business idea. I don't know why but I just have this urge to create something from scratch and watch it be successful. Maybe it just runs in the family or something. My father might be a slight exception since after getting his degree in Business Administration and moving up to the San Francisco Bay area he got into contracting and maintenance engineering.

From what I understand my grandfather on my dads side owned a bunch of businesses and was what you would call a ranchero, land owner. He had clothing stores, bicycle stores, and even a gun shop! All profits were invested in land and his ranch which had cattle ... cows and stuff. I met my grandfather at a glance when I was 3 before he passed away. I never met my grandmother who died before my bothers and I were born.

My great grandfather was a well known land owner. I've heard stories about him from a lot of people. During the Mexican revolution soldiers would raid my GGF house looking for wealth, livestock, and food. My GGF had a secret hiding place in a hay bin compartment in the roof of the house where he would hide his wife in daughters. All of his gold was said to have been buried in the adobe walls and floor. The last time he was raided by corrupted soldiers, the soldiers became very hostile and frustrated because they couldn't find any sign of wealth or food. They ended up threatening to hang him unless he revealed where is wife, kids, and money were kept. He kept his mouth showing knowing that death would be awaiting him. From the bits and pieces I have been told were that one soldier persuded to hang my GGF but another was against the idea. Well it seemed like one soldier was just to damn greedy and went ahead and placed my GG
F in a nuse and let him hang until he lost conciousness.... and the soldier was shot immediatly for his wrongful actions. My GGF was cut down from the rope and revived, but never again did he function normally. Apparently his body lacked oxygen for too long that it ended up causing brain damage. Today his adobe house still stands in the middle of the acres of land he owned, but riddled with holes in the walls and floors from random people digging. Legend still has it around towns is that his gold is still buried. Little do they know it was unearthed ... of the sacks of platinum coins, my brothers and I have a few of them given by my aunts. Up to this day no one really knows what happened to all the gold.....but most of my GGF's land has been widely distributed among my fathers family.

I've never really met anyone in my fathers extended family. From what I understand greed destroyed the social atmosphere of my fathers family. My family pretty much associates with my mothers extended family which are all still in the mother land. I know my cousins and aunts on my mom's side better than my aunts on my fathers side who live just a few blocks away from my parents in Belmont.

I went off tangent which brings me to my first business idea. A spanish version of craigslist :-) . I figure there is a high concertration of the hispanic community in the Bay Area or throughout California. Craigslist is great but only caters to the english speaking community.

I figured this would be a good way to give back to my fellow hispanic community. I rarely do....it's funny how I didn't grow up in a hispanic community at all. I'm not mexican enough and neither am I american enough. I'm just myself absorbing the influences that surround me.

2 Comments:

Blogger cindy said...

wow. that's an awesome story. sounds like you should start a treasure hunting business to look for your GGF's missing gold.

June 16, 2005 7:50 PM

 
Blogger Rico said...

Man ... I didn't realize how much I ramble when I don't get any sleep.

June 17, 2005 12:35 AM

 

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