Legalize/Tax Marijuana?

Those of us living down here so close to the Mexican border wonder if Mexican drug cartels are the next Afghanistan. They are thugs, well-armed and well-funded. Law enforcement friends in El Paso tell us that whatever weapons the law has, the cartels have bigger and better weapons. The irony is that United States citizens are the cartel customers. We are the users. Of course this drug traffic includes cocaine and heroin. Are we fighting the wrong battle here? Would legalizing/taxing/controlling drugs knock out the cartel power? A large percentage of incarcerated criminals in this country are convicted of drug crimes that we citizens subsidize to the tune of $45,000/year per prisoner. Hmmmm. Think of the money saved there. Maybe we could build schools instead of more prisons? Drug use is the culprit - how do we fix that? Strengthen the family unit? Lower our lifestyles so one parent can afford to stay at home and raise our children? How do we heal the holes in the souls of all those addicts out there that can't get enough? How do we keep children's hearts and souls intact?

Sea Glass From San Clemente

Greetings from San Clemente! I arrived at my friend Leigh's beach bungalow yesterday via Lake Havasu and my gal pal Jackie's lovely home above West Covina. Beautiful 65 degree sunny weather here with cool marine breeze - a pleasant change from Phoenix. Leigh and I took our dogs Fancy and Maggie down the hill for early morning blue sky walk that has become a ritual whenever I visit. Surf was up and surfers were a-bobbing.
We were back home by 8:00 and celebrated the morning with a glass of Piper Sonoma sparkling wine.

The purpose of this whirlwind trip was to provide the editor of San Clemente Times with some photos he requested of the sea glass I had collected during my cancer treatment/daily commute from San Clemente to LA. Each morning I'd walk along the pounding surf, searching for sea glass. It calmed my fears and filled my heart with joy. I wrote a poem about San Clemente Sea Glass which will appear in San Clemente Times on June 25th as an excerpt from Cornfield Heiress. As soon as I learn to upload pictures, I'll post for all you loyal followers.

Photo shoot went well. Leigh is a great cook and for our dinner, prepared grilled lamb chops, grilled asparagus, fresh corn on the cob, paired with a central coast California pinot.

Tomorrow it's down the coast to San Diego to spend a day with pal Julie and her three children before heading back to hot hot hot Phoenix.

Photo Shoot in San Clemente

Great News! The San Clemente newspaper is going to publish my poem 'San Clemente Sea Glass'. You can find it on page 220 of Cornfield Heiress. The editor asked for some pictures of me,my sea glass, and my friend Leigh, who hosted me while I was undergoing daily cancer treatments in LA. I began each of those many mornings searching for sea glass, allowing the surf to calm my fears while my little glass treasures filled my heart with joy. Sharing the poem with San Clemente residents is my way of saying thank you for an extraordinary gift of sea glass.

Book Review: Cornfield Heiress:A Memoir Of My Lives And Loves

Book Review: Cornfield Heiress:A Memoir Of My Lives And Loves

zzsimonb's rantings: WTF

zzsimonb's rantings: WTF
Thank you for reading and reviewing my book, Cornfield Heiress. I hope others find it enjoyable, too.

One-Armed Inspiration

OK. Several people have suggested that I speak to others about overcoming cancer, the loss of use of my arm/hand. I always wondered why they thought my story would help anybody. What's the point? Well I get it, thanks to the prosthesis department at Scottsdale Nordstrom's. I needed a new prosthesis as mine had sprung a leak. The lovliest,tall blonde salesperson with a smile a mile wide stepped forward to introduce herself as the prosthesis specialist. She was so articulate and positive and beautiful - I thought she might be Mrs America. As she started to help fit my bra, I noticed that her left hand was nothing but a stump. "Looks like you're one-armed challenged as well," I commented. "Oh, I was born this way," she retorted lightly, and on she went with business at hand. I'm telling you, I was touched and inspired and felt hopeful. Why? I guess because she didn't let her handicap get in her way. It's OK to be positive!!! A handicap is not who we are! We must proceed as normally as possible. I get it. Maybe I can help someone else be stronger by sharing how I've overcome my one-armedness. We are a community. We must keep our arms around each other and stay strong, vibrant, alive.

pharmaceutical irresponsibility - Again.

Boniva and Fosomax - bad stuff says my dentist. Thank God I don't take it but my dentist warned me that either of these drugs will make oral surgery almost impossible - apparantly these drugs will prevent healing. You'll never heal from oral surgery if you take these drugs. Why does this country allow such irresponsibility? All for the almighty dollar? Pharmaceutical corporations had it made when they were issuing hormones to every menopausal woman in the world. Never mind that the drug was never properly tested. Never mind that they knew the drug caused cancer - hooray. . . pharmaceutical companies can make even more money treating women's cancers!! Isn't it obvious why so much emphasis is placed on cancer treatment - and not finding the cause???? Way too much money made to stop treating cancer. We should be outraged. I'm outraged.Is anybody out there listening???