I remember vividly a few years ago. When I was staying with Jase, we went for one of our hikes up around the hills of Ladera. That day was no different than any other. He and I were walking along one of paths just chatting about food, work, etc. I was walking on his left. All of the sudden out of the clear blue sky...WHAM! He brought up his left arm and slammed his hand against my chest. Scared the crap out of me and it hurt a bit too! "What?!" I said. "Look" he said quietly, pointing to the ground. Turns out there were 2 baby rattlesnakes about 4 or 5 feet RIGHT in front of us. I never would have seen them. We then walked quickly around them, back on our way and continued our conversation about our love of Mexican food. Jase ALWAYS had that "protective father" instinct. I think a lot of other people would have just said, "Hey don't step on the highly venomous snake," and kept walking. But not Jase! He always made damn sure you were safe and protected any time he could.