More on mean people. Seems you can never get away from them. One thing for sure though, being separated since 1993 there have been many times when I felt that I wouldn't have been so mistreated or disrespected had their been a man around. But, as Tony got older, I had less 'mean people' to deal with. I felt protected and safe from undesirables. If I were at the mall or grocery shopping with Tony if a man looked at me for too long or said something Tony thought disrespectful, Tony would say something to him, not just stare them down but say something to get them back in check. To Tony, disrespecting me or anyone in his family you would be disrespecting him. This is how any self respecting man acted, I thought. My dad was like this, my uncles, my grandfather. Your mother, your family was number #1. Have times changed so much? Wherever Tony went his presence demanded respect, his voice, his stature. But now, I feel like a sitting duck, very vulnerable. I've lost my bodyguard. I'm latin, mother's are sacred! I felt special with Tony, he made me feel special not to mention very proud, so very proud. When I lost Tony I lost all that.