Pearl of Wisdom: Dad’s life lessons guide Gonzalez’s journey

SAN DIEGO — A smile cuts through the tears as Pearl Gonzalez recalls the memories of her dad taking her to school in the working-class Chicago neighborhood in which she was raised.
Anthony Gonzalez wasn’t a perfect human being. He experienced the depths of heroin addiction and the disintegration of his marriage to a crack-addicted wife before he turned his life around and made something of himself.
His daughter, Pearl, was his everything. His motivation to be a better person. His mo