John & Sherry

Here are three pictures of my son John and his fiancée Sherry. John is finishing his 5th semester at Ross University School of Medicine in Miami, FL. He will take his Final Examination Friday the 4th of August.

Following the completion of his semester, John will remain in Miami for two weeks to take another required examination and then will drive back to Missouri. (Don’t forget to bring my television John!)

John will spend some time here in Missouri before driving to Edmonton, Alberta to be with Sherry. While in Edmonton, John will be studying for the next step in his medical school experience, taking his Step One Boards.

Cardinal Update

The Cardinals completed a big trade this afternoon. Dominican utility infielder Hector Luna was traded to Cleveland for Dominican second baseman Ronnie Belliard. Though I will hate not seeing Hector Luna in a Cardinals uniform, I am quite familiar with watching Belliard play in the winter in the Dominican Republic and he is really good.

Belliard is a 31-year old veteran with 8 years Major League Baseball experience. His 2006 salary is $4,000,000. He has played with the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians and now the St. Louis Cardinals.

Belliard is 5’8 and weighs 197. He has played in 93 games this year with 350 at bats, 43 runs, 102 hits, 21 doubles, 8 home runs, 44 runs batted in and 147 total bases. He is currently hitting .291.

Belliard was a member of the 2004 All-Star Team.

Belliard resides in Santo Domingo. I watch Belliard play a lot in the Dominican Winter League where is the Captain of the defending champion Licey Tigres. The Tigres defeated my favorite team, Aquilas de Cibao (Cibao Eagles), in their best of 9 Championship Series last February. Following the Dominican Championship Series, Belliard represented his country in the Caribbean World Series eventually won by the Caracas Tigres (Venezuela).

In addition Belliard played for la Republica Dominicana in this years World Baseball Classic.

Comparing the Countries
Sosua Beach, Dominican Republic

I moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico in January of 2004 and lived there for one year. Puerto Rico is not a foreign country. Though different in about every way from the United States, Puerto Rico is a United States Territory.

In January 2005 I moved far to the south in the Caribbean to the tiny country of Dominica. Dominica is one of the Lesser Antilles islands and is about 4 times the size of Washington, D.C.

In April of 2005 I moved to Sosua on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Except for the time I spend here in Missouri, I have lived in la Republica Dominicana for the past 15 months.

Each of these places have been very special to me. In some ways they are all somewhat alike and in other ways very different. I thought it might be fun to compare the three of them in different ways.

Prettiest Beaches: Puerto Rico

I know that the Dominican Republic has many beautiful beaches, I just haven’t seen very many of them. Puerto Rico’s beaches are white sand, usually ringed with palms and just beautiful. Dominica’s beaches are few because the island is so rugged and the beaches are black sand.

Prettiest Women: Puerto Rico

Beautiful but unavailable. The Dominican Republic is a close second and the beauties there are available. Dominica has lots of pretty girls also.

Craziest Driving: Dominican Republic

No rules, no regulations, no cops on the road, no lines on the road, wild and crazy. Puerto Rico is bad also. There are so few roads in Dominica, there just isn’t much traffic.

Most 3rd World: Dominica

The Dominican Republic is also a 3rd World country but more advanced than Dominica. Urban Puerto Rico is 1st World and rural Puerto Rico I would classify as 2nd World.

Friendliest People: Dominica

They are just awesome people. I enjoyed them so much. But, I have met many beautiful people in each of the three places I have lived.

Best Place To Learn Spanish: Dominican Republic

In Dominica they speak English. In Puerto Rico the language is Spanish, but everyone can also speak English so conversations with English speakers usually are in English. In the Dominican Republic less than 1 out of 10 people speak any English so you are forced to learn the language.

Most Corrupt: Dominican Republic

The military, the police, the government is incredibly corrupt and dangerous.

Cheapest Place To Live: Dominican Republic

It was expensive to live in Puerto Rico, but we lived in San Juan and it was also expensive to live in Dominica, but we lived near the medical school that John attended.

Worst Violent Crime: Puerto Rico

It is very dangerous in San Juan mostly due to the incredible amount of drugs.

Most Mountainous: Dominica

Called the Rock, Dominica is basically one huge volcano and the mountains extend right out to the edge of the ocean. It is a very rugged country.

Most Beautiful: Dominica

Dominica is incredibly beautiful. The Nature Isle. The mountains are rugged and covered with forest. The rivers flow down and are clear and pure. The sea is incredibly beautiful. The palm trees and natural tropical flowers are just breathtaking.

Link of the Day
http://www.antiwar.com

The Human Cost of Occupation
American Military Casualties in Iraq

American Deaths

Since War Began (3/19/03) ..... 2577 Total ... 2086 in Combat
Since 'Mission Accomplished' Speech (5/1/03) ..... 2440 Total ... 1987 in Combat
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03) ..... 2112 Total ... 1780 in Combat
Since Handover (6/29/04) ..... 1711 Total ... 1454 in Combat
Since Election (1/31/05) ..... 1141 Total ... 969 in Combat

American Wounded

Total Wounded ..... 18988 Official Count ... 20000-48100 Estimated Count

Last Fatality ..... July 30, 2006

July 30, 2006
Baghdad: Iraqi insurgents killed four US Marines in the restive eastern province of Anbar, the US Military said on Sunday as the violence raging around the country claimed a dozen civilian lives.

The marines were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7, which is based in the Western Euphrates River Valley and they were killed on Saturday "due to enemy action," a statement from US Command said.

The military has not released anymore details of the incident, which followed two attacks on Thursday in Anbar in which four more marines were killed. While mainly Sunni, Anbar has been spared the sectarian violence wracking the neighboring province of Bahgdad, it is home to a fierce anti-US insurgency that accounts for most US casulties in Iraq.

Big News from la Republica Dominicana
Leonel's (President Leonel Fernandez) New Law

Last week brought a sweeping change in the hours of operation of bars, discos and restaurants in the Dominican Republic. In an attempt to reduce crime President Leonel Fernandez has ordered that all establishments selling liquor must close at midnight on weeknights and 2 am on weekends.

Needless to say, this has been the topic of all the Sosua and Dominican Republic talk forums on the internet the past few days. Some of my friends currently in Sosua tell me that this has created quite a 'stir.' In the past the discos did not really get going until after midnight and people party through the night.

Despite all the protests and meetings it seems to me that things will settle down and everything will be the same, people will just start and finish earlier or go from the bar to their apartments for late night socializing. For me, I like the law. I go to bed early and consequently rarely went to the disco simply because I do not like staying up all night. So, when I return to Sosua, I will be able to go to Classico much more often and listen to the music and watch people dance.

Below is the article that appeared in Sosua-News late last week.

In Sosúa, Punta Cana and other tourist locations you don't really notice it much, but according to the government and church leaders, the levels of criminality have risen considerably in the Dominican Republic. The drugs trade and its associated problems seem to be the main cause.

The President of the Republic, Leonel Fernandez has therefore decided to take drastic measures in order to solve these problems

Firstly an extra 10,000 police officers and military have been put on the streets to reduce crime levels. Secondly, a new law has been passed changing the closing times for bars and discos. From Tuesday 25 July, all establishments selling alcoholic beverages, i.e. the bars, discos and restaurants, must close at midnight. At the weekends they may stay open until 2am.

Yesterday evening the entire main street of Sosúa (Pedro Clisante) was in chaos. Lots of tourists were disappointed to find that the Merengue Bar and D'Classico were forced to switch off the music and close the bars at midnight. There were plenty of police officers around to ensure that this new law was applied correctly.

A protest meeting has been organised for Wednesday morning in Casa Marina Resort, to which every entrepreneur in Sosúa is invited. Plans will be drawn up to try and persuade the President that this law should be more flexible in the tourist resort towns.

Dominican Culture Lesson
The Car Wash

In Republica Dominicana the local car wash has a much larger function than just washing vehicles. At the car wash there is usually a small bar where people gather to sit and drink and socialize. Best of all, the car wash is a place where concerts are held. Some of the country's most famous Bachata and Reggaeton entertainers perform for the people at the local car wash.

The sign above says that on Saturday the 22nd of July Zacarias Ferreira will be having a concert at the Sosua Car Wash. If you do not appreciate the music Bachata you would not recognize the name of Zacarias Ferreira, but he is one of the most popular Bachata singers in the Dominican Republic.

Some Common Scenes in the Dominican Republic

These are pictures that I found on the web. I took none of these pictures. However, they are very common scenes you encounter daily when you live en la Republica Dominicana. These girls are selling fruit on the beach. They are probably haitian since they are carrying their wares on their head.

Cockfighting is huge in the Dominican Republic and it is quite common to see men and boys carrying their best bird around.

This is a truckfull of Haitain workers either going to the cane field (sugar cane) early in the morning or returning late in the evening. This is something you see every day. Hundreds of thousands of Haitianos live in the Dominican Republic and perform the most menial tasks in society.

You are liable to see just about anything traveling around on the back of a motoconcho.

This is a Haitian lady selling zapatos (shoes). They walk around on the beach and in town selling their wares.

Why Not Adopt-A-Soldier
http://www.soldiersangels.org/

This is a very special website devoted to supporting the soldiers who are serving around the world. The organization was founded by the mother of Sgt. Brandon Varn during the time he was serving in Iraq.

In the summer of 2003, Sgt. Varn wrote home expressing concern for the many soldiers in Iraq who never received any mail or support from home. Ms. Varn decided not to allow a situation like that to continue. She contacted a few neighbors, friends and extended family and encouraged them to write to a soldier to two.

This organization has since grown to a point where thousands of volunteers write to soldiers in foreign lands, send 'care packages' and give their love and support for the men and women who serve their country.

I encourage you to get to know this website and get involved.

My Daughter Rachel

I had a wonderful evening Tuesday evening. Isn’t it amazing what you can accomplish with a computer. Tuesday evening my daughter Rachel in Charleston, S.C, my son John in Miami, FL, John’s fiancée Sherry in Edmonton, Alberta and ole dad (ME) in Columbia, MO, all were online at the same time, hooked into a four-way conversation. We actually spent the entire evening together, talking, laughing, sharing pictures. I enjoyed it just as much as if we had all been sitting in the same room together. The computer is such a wonderful instrument for families that are spread apart by great distances.

It was not something uncommon for John, Sherry and I to talk through the evening, but last night was the first time that my daughter Rachel joined in.

These are some pictures Rachel shared with me last night. Rachel’s boyfriend Tim appears in most of the pictures. Also present is Rachel’s long-time best friend Liz. Liz, who lives in Charleston, was the reason that Rachel went there in the first place.

I will always remember the night Rachel was born. It was a stormy night in April with tornado warnings all about. Soon after she was born, the siren went off in the hospital and all the patients, staff, nurses and doctors were in the hallways of the hospital and so was was 15-minute old Rachel Marie.

Tom & Sofia

My good friend Tom is shown here with his new bride Sofia. I was honored to be Tom’s Best Man at his wedding recently. Tom is from Denmark and like myself and my friend Ed, he is a retired teacher. Tom is the owner/operator of a comfortable little outdoor restaurant on Pedro Clisante Avenue in Sosua called Hamburger Paradise. I spend time almost every day, as do many other expatriates living there, sitting at one of the tables either having lunch, a snack, a cup of coffee or a coke. There is always lots of laughing and telling stories about our latest experiences. I value Tom’s friendship very much and miss him. I will be glad to be sitting at the restaurant again.

Lisette

While I am introducing you to Tom, I would also like to post a picture of my Dominicana friend Lisette. Lisette is one of Tom’s employees and she has become a great friend. Lisette is a very nice girl who divides her time between attending the university in Puerto Plata, working at the restaurant, studying English and time with her family. She is just a very sweet girl.

How Is Your Spanish?

This is a picture I took of a sign above a store doorway in downtown Sosua. Can you read it?

Let’s take a look at it from the top down. At the top is the name of the store; Tienda (Store) Damaris (which could be a family name though the word dama means lady) … so top line is the name of the store … Damaris Store.

Second line … Ropas y Calzados. Ropas of course means clothes. The letter y in spanish means and. Calzados means footwear. The second line says Clothes and Footwear.

Third Line … Para Damas means For Ladies. Further to the right Pelo, Colas y Pelucas. Pelo is hair. Colas means tail or appendage. Pelucas means wig. In Sosua the wearing of wigs , hairpieces etc. is very popular. Pelo, Colas y Pelucas basically says Hairpieces and Wigs.

Fourth Line … Caballeros y Niños. That’s an easy one. It says Gentlemen and Children. To the right is Pelo 100/Natural. Also easy. It says the hairpieces, wigs are 100% natural.

Fifth Line … Cosmeticos y Acesorios. Even if you can’t speak Spanish you can figure that out … Cosmetics and Accessories. To the right is Niña . Primiun. Niña means girl. Primiun is a tough one and may be misspelled which isn’t unusual for public signs in the Dominican Republic. It may mean Premium clothes for girls or it may be some sort of slang. If anyone knows please tell me.

Sixth Line … At the bottom of course is the telephone number or numero de telefono.

Transportation In The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a 3rd World Country. Almost none of the people own automobiles and the great majority of the population depend totally on public transportation.

Before you take to the roads in the Dominican Republic you should understand there are no driving laws or rules and regulations. At least if there are, they are not complied with.

You will never see an American-style police presence patrolling the roads and keeping order. The police have no automobiles. I realize that seems hard to believe but it is true. The Sosua police have one car that I know about and it looks like it just finished a Saturday Night Demolition Derby.

Sooooo it is basically everyone for themselves on the road. Add to that the roads are usually not lined, marked or lighted and often are full of potholes and especially dangerous to travel after dark. Traveling about can take awhile to get used to.

For short trips around town most people travel on the back of motorcycle taxis. They are called motoconchos or motos. They are literally everywhere. For every automobile there are 25 motos on the road.

These are mostly small Yamaha 100s with two-stroke engines. Like a lawnmower you mix the gas and the oil in the same tank at the pump. Consequently they are loud like a lawnmower and spew smoke into the air as they buzz around.

The streets are literally filled with them. I have seen 6 people riding on one moto. I have seen motoconchos carrying everything from stoves and refrigerators to animals to multiple gasoline cans (rolling bombs) and anything else you can think of.

In November when I return, I am going to photograph motoconcho oddities. I think this will be a great time-filler and you will just not believe the strange things you see being ferried about in this manner.

For trips town-to-town within the region, the people usually choose one of two forms of transportation. People move about in taxi’s (old dilapidated compact-sized automobiles). It is not unusual to be in an automobile like this with as many 8 or 9 people.

The other popular form of transportation are the gua-guas. Gua-guas are old, old minivans, for the most part very dilapidated. The most people I have counted in a gua-gua in which I have ridden is 27 (that’s the truth so help me). Believe me the taxi and the gua-gua are not comfortable rides. Cheap yes … comfortable no … educational yes ... wild and crazy driving you bet.

For longer trips the Dominican Republic does have an excellent bus system (Caribe Tours) with new, modern, comfortable buses that travel throughout the country for prices that are affordable for Dominicans and a total bargain for expatriates. The buses are large and air conditioned (always take a sweater or long sleeve shirt). You can take the bus from Sosua to Santiago for 70 pesos ($2.15).

Book Recommendation

A friend of mine gave me the book Monkeewrench by PJ Tracy when I was in Sosua. What a great book!

PJ Tracy is actually a mother-daughter team that have now had three books released and a fourth due for release August 3. Their books are mystery who-done-its, but it is not so much the plot as it is the way the books are written that makes them so interesting.

Two things make the books stand out to me. First they really get into the characters in the book and before long you begin to totally identify with them. Since the characters pretty much move from book to book, it doesn’t take long before you feel like you know them. The second thing I like about their books is the humor. The books are serious in the plot and direction the book takes, but the humor is there as well on every page and you find yourself laughing out loud while you read them.

After I returned to the states in April, I went straight to the bookstore and purchased the other two books … Live Bait and Dead Run. As mentioned the next release, Snow Blind will be August 3 and I am anxious to read it as well.

These books are definite can’t-put-me-down books and I highly recommend them.

Link of the Day

http://www.deadspin.com

Tired of getting all your sports news on ESPN, Sportsline, Fox Sports and all the traditional web sites. Try Deadspin, I like it a lot.

More Of The Friends I Have Made The Dominican Republic

On the right is my friend Ed from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ed and I met in Sosua. Like me, Ed is a retired teacher and basketball coach. Presently we are both back here in the 'states' and anticipating our return to Sosua. Ed is pictured here busy at one his more strenuous daily activities ... sitting on his butt by the pool. Seriously Ed and I have become good friends and I certainly value his friendship.

On the left is Helmut from Meckenheim, Germany. I am anxious to get to know Helmut better as I have discovered Meckenheim is less than two hours from where my son Matthew will soon be stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base near Kaiserslautern.

A Dominican In The Process Of Stealing Electricity

Visit the Dominican Republic and you will see many things that will cause you to pause and scratch your head. One thing you will see is more wires than you have ever seen in your life running from the various light poles into houses in the barrio. 50% of all Dominicans steal electricity and cable television. This is one of the main reasons that electrical power goes on and off all through the day and night. It is difficult for the government to pay their electric bill when only half the users are paying their bills. This situation makes it absolutely essential to find a place to live that has a good generator.

Below is an article that appeared in Sosua News about the problem.

The most authoritative newspaper in the Dominican Republic, 'Listin Diario', reports yet another example of an illegal connection to the electricity grid in Santo Domingo. It's been known for some time now that only half the population pay their electricity bills. The other half connect a small wire to a street light and tap off this free electricity for their TV or washing machine. During one of the power cuts (and there are plenty of these for several hours a day) people often take the opportunity to quickly connect a wire to the cable powering the street lights. You have to do this quickly, because you never know when the power will be restored.The photo here shows somebody climbing an electricity pole with a lightbulb between his teeth. He uses the high voltage wires as a stepladder to reach his goal. Let's just hope that power isn't suddenly restored, or he'll get a nasty shock.

A View From the PicaFlores Apartments Where I Last Lived

The Top 8 Reasons I Like Living in the Dominican Republic

1. I have a huge curiosity about what life is like in other places and other cultures. I have spent much time with Dominican families in the barrio and have learned much about their way of life and their culture. Many things are the same as our culture, but many things are quite different.
2. People from all over the world have chosen the Dominican Republic as the place they want to live. I have made friends from all over the world to include Canada, Great Britain, Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden among others.
3. The weather is great, especially in the winter. From October through March the temperatures rarely get above 85 or below 70. There is always a cooling ocean breeze and lots of sunshine. The only downside of this is that your blood gets very 'thin' and when you return to the 'states' and the temperature drops below 60, it feels very very cold.
4. I love the beach, the palm trees, the colorful tropical flowers that bloom year round. I never get tired of feeling the sand between my toes or standing by the sea staring out.
5. Music is a huge part of the life of all Dominicans. It is a very poor country and one of the things they have is their music. Watching them dance is a treat. Such rhythm they have. The two most popular music forms in the Dominican Republic are bachata and reggaeton. Bachata is Dominican born and has become my favorite music to listen to.
6. If you are going to live in the Dominican Republic you must learn to speak Spanish. Learning to speak espanol has become my challenge in life this past 2 1/2 years. While I am still not fluent, I have become quite good and able to move about the population with no worry about not being able to communicate. Probably less than 1 Dominican out of 10 can speak any english so learning the language is a must. The hard part, I have discovered, is not speaking the language but understanding the language. Dominicans speak very fast and there is much slang in their language.
7. The cost of living is great and I am able to live much more comfortably there on my retirement income than here.
8. The women are absolutely beautiful and available.

5 Things I Don't Like About Living In The Dominican Republic

1. The Dominican Republic is a 3rd World Country. Everyone has heard the term 3rd World Country, but few people from 1st World Countries have lived in a 3rd World Country. The people are poor, incredibly poor in most cases. Service is slow, excuses are many, no one gets in a hurry and much patience is necessary.
2. Few of us who live there have not been the victim of the many scams and cons that some of the people have become quite good at. Each and every day we must remind ourselves to be careful of people who consider it their job to part us from our money. Many of us often say, if these people would put the time and energy into learning a skill and getting a job that they put into scamming, conning and stealing, they would be able to live a much more comfortable life.
3. Because there are no littering laws and the culture places no value on taking care of their environment, the country is dirty and littered. It is quite common for a Dominican to walk down the sidewalk and throw their wrappers to the ground or to throw things out the windows of the vehicle in which they are riding.
4. It is an inconvenience for the electricity to go on and off several times a day. Each time it goes off it takes a few minutes for the generator to be turned on and power to resume. For a Dominican family it means their fans do not work, they cannot watch television and entire neighborhoods go dark. When your fan doesn't work, it means you feel the heat much more intensely and the moving air is needed to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
5. Probably the most feared people in Dominican society are the police. The police are incredibly corrupt and one of the things that all people from other 1st World countries must learn is how to lessen the chance that they will catch the attention of the police. Most of us would never go to the police if something were stolen from us. If we are involved in an accident, it is likely that regardless of what happened, we will judged at fault.

More Information On Matthew's Future Air Force Assignment

LOCATION: Kaiserslautern, Germany is 80 miles southwest of Frankfurt, Germany and 295 miles northeast of Paris, France. The city lies in the Rhineland-Pfalz State of Germany and is a crossroads to many parts of Europe.

U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern is the Army’s installation support organization in Kaiserslautern, Germany; a city hosting the largest presence of American armed forces outside of the United States. The area includes Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, 21st Theater Support Command, Ramstein Air Force Base and is also home to the headquarters for the Defense Commissary Agency Europe. The community also has the only joint German American Community office in Germany staffed by representatives from the Army, Air Force, and City of Kaiserslautern.

Kaiserslautern boasts a bustling community with 100,000 residents from more than 126 nations, with an additional 50,000 American armed forces personnel, civilians and family members. USAG Kaiserslautern is the support agency for all army installations in the operations area. It is a fully operational Garrison with more than 800 Soldiers and civilians assigned.

Ramstein AB's east gate is about 16 kilometers, or 10 miles, from Kaiserslautern [K-Town]. Other nearby civilian communities include Ramstein-Miesenbach, just outside the base's west gate, and Landstuhl, about five kilometers from the west gate. More than 16,400 American service members and more the 5,400 US civilian employees live and work in the KMC. KMC organizations also employ the services of more than 6,200 German workers. Air Force units in the KMC alone employ almost 9,800 military members, bringing with them nearly 11,100 family members.

Kaiserslautern is located in the German State of Rheinland-Pfalz which lies in the southwest part of the country. The Rheinland-Pfalz borders on France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the German States of Saarland, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen and Baden-Wurttemberg. The Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) is unique because it is the largest overseas military community and it is a combined branch (Army-Air Force) Community.

More Bushisms

There are some who, uh, feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is: Bring 'em on. We got the force necessary to deal with the security situation. “ - George W. Bush, July 2, 2003.

Link of the Day

http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage

The CNN of the Middle East. Reading it is an interesting slant on the news.

My brother John and his wife Barb have recently returned from a much anticipated vacation in Alaska. Thanks to the generosity of their host they were able to see many beautiful sites during their week there. They had a wonderful time, were in awe of the natural beauty of the state and are planning to return again next summer. Here are some of the many pictures they returned with:

Fort Leonard Wood Yesterday:

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I drove to Fort Leonard Wood to spend part of the day with my youngest son Matthew. I want to spend as much time as possible with Matthew between now and the time I depart for Sosua and Matthew departs for Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. This is a picture of the building that Matthew spends each day in Readiness School.

An added benefit of yesterday’s trip was that we drove around the ‘post’ as I explored many of the places that I spent my time during Basic Training there in 1969. I was able to find my old barracks and it brought back many memories.

I will be returning to Fort Leonard Wood next Saturday to attend my orientation as a Volunteer at the USO Club there. I have been accepted as a Volunteer to work there one day per week. I will also be able to spend time with my son after our duties are completed. I believe this will be a wonderful experience. I hope I can, in some small way, help as many young military people there as possible.

John & Sherry

My oldest son John and his fiancée Sherry will be getting married sometime in late March or early April. This picture was taken during John's 4th semester at Ross Medical School in Dominica.

Sherry is currently in Canada and we all anxious to meet her and see her pretty face on American soil.

John will be finishing his 5th semester of medical school in August. Currently in Miami, he will be coming home for awhile in late August. I am anxious to see him again and spend some time with him. The next step in his medical school saga will be to take and PASS his medical boards.

I will never forgot the time John and I spent living together in Puerto Rico and for a short time in Dominica. It was a special time for me that I will never forget. We were father/son, best friends and roommates. It was nice!

My Good Friend Bruce

This is a picture of my good friend Bruce. Bruce is a semi-retired doctor from Los Angeles and currently lives in the Dominican Republic. Bruce was/is my Dominican Republic mentor and gave me invaluable help and advice as I prepared to move to Sosua. I miss him this summer, though we stay in close contact through email. I will be glad to see him again in November when I return.

Sosua Beach

I will be happy to feel the sand between my toes again.

Just My Opinion

This entry appeared in the blog of freelance writer Jim McAllister this past week.

Friday, July 14, 2006
MICHELLE WIE
By Jim McAllister

I have no problem with Michelle Wie playing against the best men golfers. I do have a problem with her being given exemptions into several men’s events. Ok, ok, I know; she brings a lot of people to the golf course which the tournament sponsors love but isn’t it getting a bit overdone? She has yet to make a cut in a men’s tournament in five attempts. Suggestion to Michelle: You are a marvel at 16 but so far you can’t even win a ladies tournament. You want to play with the men? Go through the same qualifying process as they do and I will welcome you to the tour with open arms. Oh, by the way, whining isn’t going to help. Show me some scores.....

This is an opinion from a Denver Post Sportswriter last week.

Question: How many trees have died and how much cyberspace has been polluted to chronicle the exploits of Danica Patrick and Michelle Wie, neither of whom have watched a Sunday sunset with a victory to call her own?” Jim Armstrong, Denver Post: “Just wondering!

Top Ten Latino Nicknames For George W. Bush

10. Guacamoron
9. Loco en el Coco
8. El Otro White Meat
7. Tex-Mess
6. Bandito de la Eleccion
5. El Dorque
4. Los Er
3. No Habla Ingles
2. Adios In 2008
1. Senorita Cheney