Sofia's Life - Tapa dura

This story describes the trials and tribulations of one of the many unknown Texas heroines. There is great fear, sorrow, struggle, uncertainty, romance, history, and joy. The story is about a woman named Sofia. She did not sport a pistol, crack a whip, or handle a rope as a few frontier women did during the latter part of the 1800's and early 1900's when there was border banditry. It is a true story about a woman with no education, who could not read or write. She had an accounting system of using knots on a string and created a few Moms and Pop stores. The story is told as seen through the eyes of baby boy up to his teenage years in the military during the Viet Nam War when she passed away. Born in 1887 she lived through the silent films to the talking motion pictures, Mexican Revolution, that affected the Texas/Mexico border, the initiation of Social Security, the Gusher Age which was the Texas oil boom, and the following wars: World war I, World war II, along with the (Unterseeboot) U-boats which sank ships in the Gulf of Mexico and patrol pretty close to the shores of South Texas, Korean conflict, and the Vietnam conflict. She saw the invention of television. Sofia with her life experiences weathered the great depression, which began with the crash of Wall Street of the month of October 1929. She got to know of the prohibition era, which governed the national ban on the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933 mandated by the 18th amendment, civil rights movement, cold war, arms race, and space race. She was always keeping up with the current events by radio and television that affected American lives. As time passed she got to witness the first man in space and the first man on the moon by watching one modern marvel, which was the television. Sofia had no schooling but was knowledgeable of the law. She knew that it was imperative that her boys (Husband, sons, grandsons, and great grandsons) register for the draft. There is some description in this story about the atrocities committed by the Texas Rangers, border Bandits, wild Indians, The Mexican American or Chicano movements, some of the migrant issues, a couple of comical situations, and addresses education. There is some content about the turbulent times of the 60's and 70's. Sofia raised her children, grandchildren, and finally her oldest great grandson. She was tough as nails and would not put up with anyone's nonsense. Sofia's Life describes the heart breaking hardships encountered by Sofia.

Lucas C. Jasso was born in McAllen, Texas. His family moved to Corpus Christi in 1957. He was fortunate to spend his summers with his great-grandmother in McAllen. He spent his last two high school years in McAllen, Texas. After graduating from McAllen High in 1969, he enlisted in the Texas National Guard. Six months as a guardsman came to a stop when he reenlisted in the United States Army until 1978. He moved with his sister Mary in Houston, Texas, for several months after he was discharged and went to work as a data entry clerk in St. Luke's hospital. He moved back to Corpus Christi with his parents to work at the Corpus Christi Army Depot for a year. After a year, he went off to work for the United States Postal Service in the Computerized Forwarding Section. He retired from the postal service credited with forty-two years of service. He has been a board trustee for the West Oso Independent School District (WOISD). A very special lady who taught English and college-level writing, retired from WOISD, urged Lucas to write in the early years as a trustee. Many years after Mrs. Rita Lockhart had recommended him to write, he decided to give it a try. The end result is the story about Sofia.