In 1997, while hanging at Westcott’s, Old Man Charlie, Russell, and Mad Dog decided to start a sister club for Los Carnales. They decided on “La Familia” for the name and created the colors worn today. A day or two prior to leaving for Sturgis that year, Russell presented Old Man Charlie and Jesse each with a set of colors, and the La Familia Motorcycle Club was established.

Upon returning from Sturgis, Old Man Charlie and Jesse convinced Bucho to join and be Old Man Charlie’s Vice President. They then also got Dizzy, Connie, Lisa (Pescado’s wife), Miriam (Fallen Fox), and Purple Bike Mike to join. And the Club grew.

The first meeting was held at Tequila Lopez. Funny how we still end up there on occasion even today. The second meeting was held at Texas Borders.

Prior to starting La Familia, and during a trip to Austin for the HOG State Rally, Old Man Charlie, Bucho, Dizzy, and several others went searching for a place to swim to cool off from the heat. They met up with a girl who told them she knew the perfect spot. She led them down a treacherous, rocky dirt road. Keeping the bikes standing was difficult and the dust and grime quickly coated the paint, the chrome, and the riders.

Upon arriving at the river, Old Man Charlie was pissed at the condition of his bike. He paced back and forth and ranted and raved. However, according to Bucho and Dizzy, after several fortifying sips of Crown, Old Man Charlie relaxed, stripped down to his underwear, and swam in the river with 20 of his closest friends, and had the time of his life.

Unfortunately, in October 1997, Old Man Charlie passed away. He died the day of the 3rd La Familia meeting. He had gotten to Tequila Lopez early and collapsed prior to the start of the meeting with a massive heart attack. He never regained consciousness. He is missed. We hope that he is proud of how La Familia has grown.

The next time you have a shot of Crown, raise a toast to this man who started this family that we all love so much. POR VIDA!

Rick Rodriguez worked for the Harris County Sheriffs Dept. in the jail with Brat. A bunch of us were riding to San Antonio for a gig they was putting on in 2001, I believe, we were to meet at the old Pecks Bar. Houdini and I got there early, and in walked Rick. He said that Brat had invited him to tag along and see what the club was all about. He started off asking a few questions and we explained the probation period and I'll never forget when Rick asked "I don't have to take an ass whoop'in do I?”

I thought Houdini was going to fall off the stool. We explained we was not that kind of "Motorcycle Club" and that GREAT BIG SMILE came over his face. Anybody that had ever met Rick knows of the smile. Rick advised his sled was in the shop so he was taking his cage and offered to take any extra gear we might have. Rick hung with us all weekend in San Antonio and the next weekend a bunch of us were having a party at Pecks again.

Pescado was there and we was talking about Rick and we was already kicking some suggestions for a riding name, low and behold we look up and Rick walks through the door, like so many of us, Pescado looks at Rick and says "Hell he looks like a big ol Chalupa" and the Chalupa saga began. Chalupa was off on Fridays , Saturdays, and Sundays so when he left the house on Fridays he tried to carry everything he would need with him, as he very seldom would go home. Somebody would just say “Chalupa you stay at our house this weekend.” Chalupa would pull his toothbrush and tooth paste out of his vest pocket and take off.

As for his favorite spirits, Hello tells the story when Chalupa went home with him and asked if Hello had a beer. Hello said “Yea it's in the ice box, help yourself.” Chalupa goes to the box and grabs a beer from the bottom shelf, drinks it and asks for another, Hello said drink all you want, after about 10 beers Chalupa looks at Hello and says "Man, there something wrong with this beer, I've had about 10 and I don't feel nothing, in which Hello replies "That's cause your drinking non-alcoholic beer", the good stuff is on the top shelf. That was Chalupa.

Chalupa was a big man about 320 lbs. and rode a Sporster, but I will say this he would ride, was nothing to see him on his way to San Antonio going down I-10 for the weekend. The day he died, he and I had been to the Bay Area meeting and they had a crawfish boil, we hung there and decided to go to the Nomad Tavern and about 2000 hrs. Caboose and I headed home, a couple of hours later we got the call he had gone down. Caboose and I went to the hospital and met Crazy Horse and Dogman among others, it was decided that we needed to get his colors so the nurses wouldn't cut them up. Horse, Dogman and myself got permission to go back, this is the first time we found out that Chalupa didn't make it, next to him was his colors already cut and on the inside, his toothbrush and toothpaste.

I had a real nice lady that sewed the colors back together and after getting permission from the family they would be put in his casket.... along with cigarettes, a bottle of Jack, and his toothbrush and toothpaste!

Things happen as you go through life. Some good, some bad. The only tragedy is when you let life pass you by.

HERMANOS HASTA EL FIN

Boxcar ‘07

In Memory of Abraham Ortiz " Pistolero"
Today one year ago our brother Abraham Ortiz left this world to go home to our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. He left us physically but Abe will never leave us totally. He will always be here in our hearts, souls and memories. Abe spent his last day doing what he loved doing best riding his Fat Boy Harley Davidson and spending time with his brothers and sisters of Los Carnales & La Familia.

The day began Saturday morning Nov. 30th 2003 at the Nomad Tavern, Abe, Dice, Bandana, Bucky and a couple of more bros for a ride.

Shortly after they hooked with Boxcar and Flash then started calling everyone to come meet up that day. Bike by bike more and more of the Family started meeting up along Hwy 6 then to the R-Bar. This is where the most of us got to spend our last day together riding with our brother Abe.

We are all so fortunate and glad to have spent that last day riding together with Abe. I'm sure his memory of us that day was the same.

Abe did not wear the Sgt. at Arms patch because his time had not come yet. But he was a friend, brother and our Sgt. at Arms, always looking out for every brother and brothers Ol Lady like his own sister. He was always there for everyone. I remember when Noe worked late at the Nomad, Abe was there and followed her home, then turned around and drove all the way back to the East side . Well sometimes he came in for a night cap and stayed the night.

We all still remember that night as Abe and Hey Joe rode off from Pauls Oyster House on Hwy 6 into the dark to never see him ride again.

We will love him forever and never forget his kindness and smile.

Prez. GTC
LFMC Houston
11/30/04

To all of the Nation…

Especially my brothers and sisters of La Familia Houston…

I love you from the bottom of my heart for what you have one for me, and my family.
This club proves it’s a brotherhood over and over again and I am so proud to be a member of this great family…
Thank You for my employer (David Harvey), my co-workers, friends, pepe, Yo Yo of Tequilia Lopez… Thank you so much.

I especially want to thank Lynn, with D. E. Harvey for her hard work… and also Chainsaw, Ripper for taking this project up…and Baldo, Pappy, Springer, Dice and on and on (you know who you are)… Thank You

The thing for me is that I have always trued to be in control of everything that I do…The problem with that now is I have a disease…lung cancer… (of which I have no control). Cancer controls my life now. Everyday when I wake up…Cancer lets me know what kind of day I am going to have right off the bat…but with God’s grace and the doctors and team at MD Anderson I am responding to the treatment even though it makes me sick and I have my down days. I am responding positively to the chemotherapy.

Being on cancer treatments for nearly a year…first 40 radiation treatments and now three chemo drugs…one permanent for life and the others for 18 weeks…I feel a little like the Texas weather… If you don’t like what you got hang on cause it can change any moment.
So when friends call, and I do appreciate those calls, and ask how I’m doing at that time I may be doing great, or not so good…It's always subject to change.

To my family I am so sorry I have to put my family thru this, because they want to do so much for me… and they can’t… They hurt with me… They cry with me… They suffer with me each day… and they are powerless to change a thing. I want my family to know how much I deeply love you with all my heart and thank you for your love and support and positive attitudes.

So for my family, my brotherhood, my friends, my co-workers, neighbors and all the vendors and to everyone of you involved in this grand effort…of giving…I thank you. I still have a strong will, a huge life force… and a positive attitude… I just need to get my “mojo” back… If anybody finds it…I'm looking for it… and having said all of that… The breeze can’t wait to get this old head into the wind at the beginning of next year…Next year is a brand new year for The Breeze…

Por Vida-Signed

The Breeze

Memorial to Breeze from Shae

Slider's Own Words
To say Robert Fuller loved to ride his motorcycle is an understatement.

His wife, Frances Fuller, said that's what she'll remember most about her husband -- that he couldn't get enough of being on the road. The 75-year-old died Jan. 3 after his motorcycle collided with a car at the intersection of William J. Bryan Parkway and Villa Maria Road in Bryan. "I'll remember him driving up on his motorcycle," Frances Fuller said. "That's the way he left here and that's the way he was the first time I met him." Fuller was a decorated veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars and an accomplished pilot who served in the Army for more than four decades, retiring as a major in 1994. He moved to Hilltop Lakes after he and Frances married five years ago. Fuller's funeral service was Saturday in Hilltop Lakes and included about 100 members of Los Carnales, a motorcycle club for police officers and their friends. The Civilian Air Patrol did a flyover in the "missing man" formation to honor Fuller. "All the ones who knew him best were here," Frances Fuller said. "Those were his friends."

Military service

Fuller was 14 when he entered the military in 1947. He spent a decade with the cavalry and then infantry, including almost three years of service in Korea during the war. His personal account of his time in Korea was similar to many other soldiers -- one of seeing too much death and struggle. Fuller was working in a unit attempting to repair a damaged river crossing when hostile forces demolished a dam, sending a huge rush of water, then dead and decomposing bodies downstream. Fuller and other soldiers were tossed into the river. Fuller later detailed the situation in documents submitted to the VA hospital: "I managed to grab a life line that had previously been strung across the river. During my struggle to the bank, I was physically struck several times by decomposing corpses. I vividly recall the gore and stench that covered my entire body." Fuller was treated for several injuries, including torn ligaments in his wrist. After Korea, he returned to the states and received an honorable discharge, but re-enlisted in 1955 to become a pilot. He flew just about every type of plane in the sky and his specialty became helicopters. He amassed more than 11,000 hours of flight time with 1,100-plus hours of that being in combat. As a soldier and pilot, Fuller was honored numerous times for heroic actions.

In Vietnam

In his own account of his time flying in Vietnam, Fuller speaks of his "reputation for being a bullet magnet." On many occasions, by his own account and official military documents, Fuller and his helicopter crews faced significant enemy fire, including an incident for which he was awarded the Air Medal. Despite his numerous medals and commendations, Frances Fuller said her husband never felt like he was deserving of the praise and rarely spoke of his time in combat. Frances Fuller said that her husband had severe medical problems, including a loss of most of his lung capacity, from exposure to Agent Orange. He also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Frances Fuller said. One incident in Vietnam was particularly difficult for her husband to move past, she said. Another helicopter pilot who served in Fuller's unit, Dean Pomeroy, had protected Fuller after a crash downed the helicopter Fuller was in. Pomeroy flew above the crash site, transmitting a help signal and providing cover until help could come. Fuller was transferred to a different unit soon after and then learned that Pomeroy had been paralyzed from the neck down after being shot down. Fuller visited Pomeroy in a California hospital shortly before Pomeroy died from pneumonia. In Fuller's account of his relationship with Pomeroy, Fuller wrote: "I continually suffer feelings of guilt for not having been there to cover for him as he had often covered for me. He was and is a rare exception to my preference to not allow myself to become close friends with anyone because of the pain suffered when they are lost." Frances Fuller said her husband often thought about Pomeroy. "That really stuck with him, the guilt," Frances Fuller said. "He always felt like that should have been him that was shot down, not his wingman."

The later years

After his service in Vietnam, Fuller served in various capacities as a pilot and flight instructor, and moved to Texas in 1983, where he spent most of the next decade until his retirement in 1994. He worked for the Federal Aviation Administration until December 2006, when his medical condition forced his retirement. Frances Fuller said her husband's medical issues weighed heavily on him. He was forced to give up flying in 2006 because of his problems, and had to use oxygen frequently, something he did even while riding his motorcycle. "He would say, 'If I couldn't fly and ride my motorcycle, why I am still here?'" Frances Fuller said. "For me, of course, but he wasn't talking about that. He knew I was here." Frances Fuller said she met Robert Fuller in her niece's driveway, just a short distance from the home where he was living. They were married soon after and moved to her house in Hilltop Lakes. The couple spent much of their time on the road and frequently traveled to motorcycle events. "He was the most kind and gentle warrior on the earth," Frances Fuller said.

Robert Fuller is survived by his wife and his five children.

CHARLES R. "BOB" HARDWICK, 67, devoted father and loving husband, passed away unexpectedly on April 22, 2009 in Houston, TX. He was born on July 23, 1941 in Brownwood, TX. Bob was a member of the first class to graduate from Permian High School in Odessa, TX, and went on to graduate from Odessa Junior College. Bob owned Frontier Gallery. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force; and an avid Harley rider; he loved to fly planes and play the bass guitar. Bob was a gourmet cook and had a passion for good cigars and good wine.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Curtis Charles Hardwick, and Rubye Lee Price Hardwick. Bob is survived by his wife, Sharon Hardwick; son, Charles R. "Bobby" Hardwick II, a 16 year veteran of Houston Police Department; grandson, Albert B. Hardwick, a seamen for the U.S. Navy in Pensacola, Florida; and numerous other relatives and friends. He will be remembered by all who loved him.