It's true that I've survived the pandemic with the help of Lennon, Dylan, McCartney and Ana.
Admittedly, I've been a sucker for "reaction videos" on YouTube, with young kids pretending to hear a Beatles or Dylan song for the first time and monetizing the hell out of it.
Anyway, I use their "discoveries" to listen to the songs that were the backdrop of my life.
My wife Ana adds a certain exuberance to each day with her pure joy at witnessing SpaceX or baking some exquisite Japanese or Filipino pastry using purple yams or yellow mangos.
Besides baking, she's addicted to online poker and, with over a million players online at any point and time, she's currently ranked 38th in the U.S. and 94th in the world.
The game has a chat feature and I hear Ana laughing hysterically when some "loser" from Bulgaria calls her the "C" word or similar.
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| Dr. Mark Morales |
None of the above is likely without the skilled surgical hands of Dr. Mark Morales, the dapper, flamboyant surgeon who performed my triple bypass at Valley Baptist after Ana forced me there for what I assured her was "nothing."
Drs. Schwarcz and Silva, both no-nonsense guys, ignored my bullshit and conferred with Nurse Ana about the best approach.
Yes, covid-19 has taken a toll. Ana has lost friends and neighbors in the Philippines, including two who died from reactions to sinovac, a Chinese vaccine not approved in the United States without a negative PCR test.
Her father, having been exposed to someone infected with covid, is now quarantined in his own house in Libona, Bukidnon, Philippines.
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| Camilo Garza, 1956-2021 |
My brother-in-law, Camilo Garza, age 64, died in January from covid. Camilo, three years in a row Brownsville's "Plumber of the Year," was a unique physical specimen, who, after a hard day's work, could jump out of his truck and beat his grandkids at basketball still wearing his cowboy boots.
And so we move on, trying to protect ourselves from danger and still finding joy in our lives.
Keep safe, my friends.
Plumber of the Year?
ReplyDeleteja ja ja
Plumber of the Year, he wrote excitedly.
Easily ten times the man you could ever be, Duardo, effortlessly eclipsing your puniness as a man and a father. While you cowardly hide behind "anonymous," this man's man went through brick walls to support his family for 45 years. You are not even remotely of the same species, but simply a dried up piece of soulless excrement, a useless turd devoid of any redeeming value. Go start your umpteenth irrelevant blog and keep your juvenile "ja ja ja ja" to yourself.
DeleteThis Duardo guy, I'm told, was fired from the Herald for writing a fake story. Whether or not that's true, I've never been a fan of an out-of-towner taking shots at Brownsville while living in McAllen. I never understood why he just didn't blog about McAllen. I think he's stopped blogging. Is he blogging again? Has his blog ceased publication? Who knows? I'm not a big fan of the guy or his writing.
ReplyDeleteYou're very lucky to have Ana, Jim.
ReplyDelete