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Partly Cloudy Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook
May 31-June 6, 2012
Adios, friend
To the Editor:
I just read the obituary on Kelvin Rodriguez (“Local teen dies in motorcycle accident,” May 24-30). Kelvin was such a great young man. The whole neighborhood is heartbroken.
I have known Kelvin for a few years now, back to when he was still in high school and working in East Meadow. When he died, his stepdad, Francisco, told me he had just completed his first year of vocational school. Through misty eyes, he kept saying to me, “why?” — because Kelvin had a new car at home, but he loved to ride his motorcycle — he just didn’t understand.
Even though the article said that his father died 10 years ago, I feel that Francisco was his real dad. He refers to Kelvin as his son, and they shared the same last name.
Kelvin and Francisco took over a landscaping business from a man they had worked for, and they went at it with two little mowers, working hard with a sense of family and commitment. They were partners in life as well as in business.
Kelvin always smiled, like your article said, and never, ever forgot to say thank you, especially when I would tell him that I remembered to clean up my dog’s poop just after he went in the yard. He always laughed at that, and petted my dog at the same time. He would say “Hello, my friend,” and I would answer, in my broken Spanish, “Hello, amigo.”
I’m going to miss him. My heart and prayers go out to all of his family. Thank you for the article and picture remembering him. He deserved it.
William Hine
East Meadow
Root for the Rocks
To the Editor:
Congratulations to the players, their parents and team manager Joe Lores for the Lady Rocks softball team taking home an unprecedented ninth Class C title.
Their inspiring season of victory is a credit to the hours of practice on the field and studies in the classroom. The team’s success after success this season has certainly prepared them well for the start of the New York Class C Championship Tournament on next week. We should all root for the Lady Rocks to go all the way.
