He had just shaved his head before this picture. Now he's got long hair. On the hair scene, we went through similar extremes.
Serg He's a wanderer, reading Carlos Castenada, listening to both rap and hippy music. He's one of the most deeply moral folks I went to high school with, whether it's loyalty to friends, or public behaviour, Serg was thoughtful, sensitive.
And the best soccer player I know - quiet power.
He was always the fastest runner, the hardest hitter. In field football, give the ball to Serg, and kiss it goodbye.
Once he was going for one of his never ending three quarter field running plays, the other guys long given up, I kept chasing. He didn't think anyone was on his tail. He turned right before he reached the 8 yard line, and I nailed him. His team scored the next round, but I had tackled Sergio. It was quite an honour. He grew up in more adverse circumstances than most of us at Parker. He was there for the full fourteen years, daily taking a bus or two, a long time, to get there.
I remember going one time to visit him out on Ashland street, and while we were roaming around his neighborhood, his house was burglarized.
I learned a lot about toughness and respect from Sergio, both in the way he acted, and sitting around La Petite asking him about how to handle eye contact on public transportation.
He is hispanic, and I think he found the University of Illinois a bit unweildy. That may be putting it mildly, but that's a story I would like Sergio to tell sometime.
Here's a recording of Sergio's Wise Words.
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