Jack has a friend named Cougar Estrada. Cougar is such an insanely cool name that we thought about using it for the baby but we were talked out of it, just as we were talked out of Pablo, Nipsy, Mookie, Henry, Homer, and Milton. I always thought that Cougar was just his given name, but then, last night, I read the liner notes for Cougar's new CD, Canciones (Songs) for Delia. It turns out that Ruben "Cougar" Estrada Jr. was born three weeks early on January 15, 1970 in his parents' driveway in the back seat of a 1967 Mercury Cougar.
The CD is full of romantic Latin dancehall stuff and Cougar is one of the most creative, intuitive drummer/percussionists I've ever seen. He was on tour with the Latin Playboys last year, and Los Super Seven.
If you buy a copy, $1 goes to the American Cancer Society because his mom, Delia, died of breast cancer.