Donations to Alfie's family (PLEASE READ!)

[Carlos Gutierrez]

> -----Original Message-----
> Carlos,

> I seem to have missed the original post about this for
> some reason.  Can you fill me in?  >>

Hi Geo, Thanks for asking & good to hear from you.  I actually wrote
another message but haven't checked my Excite acct. for the digest yet,
so I dunno if that went thru yesterday.

I am actually cc'ing the lists I am on, as there are several who have
asked about Alfonso "Alfie" Rojas.  While I think he may have been on
the main list, he rarely posted, but when he did it was always technical
& asking how to *do* something to his Sentra "E".  He posted on the
SR20DE Forums more.  He always just signed off "Alfie '92 w/ Primera
swap" IIRC.

He first contacted me back in 2000 sometime, when I got the SERCA ball
rolling out here in SoCal, asking about the club.  He asked if he could
come & hang out b/c he only had a plain Sentra E W/ an SR, and I said of
course!  I met him at our '00 summer beach BBQ.  He drove out w/ his
wife (g/f at the time) Yolanda & his little boy, who was about 3 then.
He used to drag race up at LACR in Palmdale, where he eventually met
guys Frank Orozco (FMAX B14), Jose Vega (ol' school dragger B13) Jesse
Torrero & Len Carson (G20s) and a few other drag-rats.  I even sold him
2 old 14" OEM classic rims that he said he would use for drag racing :)

The last time I saw him was late last year, IIRC, he was doing some
tranny work in Nov./Dec & needed an FSM.  We have 4 loaners here that
are always available to loan out, so he made the 15 min. drive up to
Valencia from Burbank to get it.  Then returned it a month later or so,
IIRC, this was all before the end of 2002.  He called me about
something, maybe it was to return the FSM, & apologized for taking so
long & keepin' a low-pro.  He then shared w/ me that he had been
battling small cell lung cancer but that he was gonna beat it.  He was
doing his chemo, hadn't lost a lot of weight, but "had to go w/ the
shaved head & do rag look" he joked.  He was looking forward to hangin'
out again, & I wished him all the best to him, & his family.

Monday I got a call from a fellow San Diego member & friend asking if I
knew what all the talk about Alfie was on the SoCal list.  I was floored
when I read the news that Alfie's cancer had spread after going into a
brief remission, and he finally lost his fight this past Sun. 2/23/03
only 3 days before the anniversary of Matt Kempe's tragic & all too
sudden death.  Zak Nilsson put it best in his post, which I included in
my reply to this list as well.  We are not your typical group of car
geeks, young or old.  These silly little cars bring us together, be it
thru SERCA or not, but it's the friendships & camaraderie that keep me
going.

Take time to let those around you know how much they mean to you.  You
never know when it will be your time.  It shouldn't take things like
this to make you want to either; it's all in the heart.

T/c & GB & Happy Motoring!

SincERely,

CAG
One of the older ones
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