I remember the days of the penny post card and the three-cent postage stamp. I even recall with some disgust the taste of licking the backside of stamps for my mother. I wondered why the U.S. Postal Service didn't flavor licking stamps with cherry, cinnamon, or root beer. Now it's too late. No one needs to licks stamps anymore. Besides, email and text messages have become the new methods of communicating between friends, while the three-cent stamp escalated to forty-one cents. The U.S. Postal Service concluded that if people weren't buying stamps to communicate with friends anymore, they might buy them if stamps represented something else besides paying for the use of our mail system. So stamps have become a method of honoring folks that have contributed to our nation. Past presidents, writers, movie stars, and other leaders' faces have adorned our stamps. Recently, the U.S. Postal Service announced it will be honoring one of my heroes, journalist Ruben Salazar.

He was born in Mexico. Eight months later his parents moved from Juarez to El Paso, Texas. Subsequently, Ruben became a naturalized citizen. After graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso with a journalism degree, he got his start in 1955 with the El Paso Herald. By 1960, he was a reporter with the Los Angeles Times and went on to win awards for examining issues that faced the Latino community. He also covered the Dominican Republic, the Vietnam War and Mexico. Then in 1969 he returned to Los Angeles to report on the Mexican American community that was in turmoil during the Chicano movement.

It was then that I met Ruben. He attended Chicano events and wrote about them. His voice was the only one with the ability to convey to Los Angeles the struggle that faced young Chicanos in schools. He wrote, "Chicanos feel cheated. They want to effect change. . ." He pointed out that despite their large numbers, Mexican Americans were politically impotent. Soon Ruben was given space on the editorial page every week. His Thursday columns became a must-read for concerned Los Angeles residents and beyond.

Although, he left the Times in January of 1970, to become the news director for KMEX, the Spanish-language television station, he continued writing a weekly column for the Times. His independence as a guest columnist and concern for justice created his greatest columns. It was during this period that he became critical of law enforcement's treatment of Mexican Americans. What impressed me was that Ruben lived in Orange County but cared about Mexican Americans living in East Los Angeles. Law enforcement responded with a visit and told him his comments were not appreciated and strongly suggested he selects other topics to write about. A shaken but undaunted Ruben Salazar met with the Western Region Office of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and reported he believed his life was in danger.

On August 29, 1970, Ruben and his camera man covered an antiwar demonstration in East Los Angeles. A clash between 20,000 demonstrators and the police broke out which resulted in the loss of lives, including Ruben Salazar's. A sheriff's missal fired into an East L.A. establishment had killed him instantly. The Mexican American community's most widely read voice was silenced forever. Although the coroner's inquest found Ruben's death to be a homicide, no criminal charges were ever filed. He became a martyr at 42 years of age and a hero to many. Schools and scholarships were established in his honor.

Now Ruben Salazar's likeness will be on stamps in 2008. I'll buy some but probably will never use them for my mail. They'll be at my desk reminding me that others have died for the right to write what they believe. That's the view from the pier.

Herman Sillas, a San Clemente resident and L.A. attorney, can be found most weekend mornings fishing at the pier. He may be contacted at Sillasla@ aol.com.