My Blog

John (João) Silva’s Long Lonely Journey Back Stroke is the No. 1 cause of disability among adults in the United States. That devastating reality hit hard last year when former ISSM/ ISSO John Silva while working for Boeing was unexpectedly struck down while on his way home from a trip in September. Silva was voted one of the most trusted people in America and was a fixture on Boeing VAFB in the mornings from 2009 until 2017. His charm, wit and warmth made him a welcome guest in many a home. The stroke almost took all that away. "I remember I looked up and saw my grandmother, father, my brother, both my sisters," he told his longtime friends and colleagues. "That's when I knew." My grandmother told me to come back, because I have something important to do. After my recovery, I went home and I later found my mother, and uncle, at their respective homes with cancer and made sure they were made comfortable during the terminal phases. My mother survived via a m

If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T! Do this simple test: * F ace: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop? * A rms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? * S peech: Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly? * T ime: If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.

A History of November Facial Hair   How civic pride grew a mustache November is a time for civic-minded men to participate in “Movember,” during which they grow mustaches for men’s health causes. But while this follicular fundraiser is a recent invention or even trend… it’s not the first time facial hair has served a public purpose in the USA. In the 19th century, American men grew November ‘staches to show support for something else: voting. Charles G. Leland's Pipps Among the Wide Awakes (1860) was aimed at Republicans to persuade them to vote for Abraham Lincoln. Because of the sex and age requirements for casting a ballot – ONLY men who were at least 21 yo could do so – voting was often seen as a rite of passage for a young man. Growing an impressive beard and/or a mustache before Election Day became a way for new voters to prove they were adults and not “beardless boys,” says historian Jon Grinspan, author of The Virgin Vote. An 1860 cartoon drawn to persuade

I don’t remember my first language anymore, or at least not most of it. When I was 9 1/2 yo, I immigrated with my uncle to join family into the United States from Nova Sintra, Brava, Cape Verde Islands, Africa, and we all spoke Krioulo a dialect of Portuguese consisting of that language and other African languages. I also had the equivalent of a third grade education in Portuguese the tongue of the motherland. I didn’t know any English before I started school, so when my teachers noticed I was behind, my parents decided to stop speaking to me in for example, Krioulo. My teacher a Spanish speaking person, gave to me a well used dog eared, Portuguese-English Pocket Dictionary, he probably got in a used book store somewhere in Brooklyn NY. I also took Spanish in High School for 4 years and some French -- all simialr in that they are Romantic Languages. I'm fond of saying that Portuguese is a complicated version of Spanish because it is mixed with French, it would seem. This was a com