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Showing posts from October, 2017

John (João) Silva’s Long Lonely Journey Back

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...

Act F.A.S.T!

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.

About ME!

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It's All In The ’stache

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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 ...

My Forgotten Language - Krioulo

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...