SOME RANDOM ANECDOTES & ADVICE – whether you want them or not

SOME RANDOM ANECDOTES & ADVICE – whether you want them or not

Someone has said that free advice is not always worth the price, but I am not intimidated because when you are as old as I am you stop worrying about what other people think. Dr. Daniel Amen MD has a "18/40/60 Rule" which is: At age 18 we are worried about what everybody is thinking of us. At 40 we stop caring what other people think of us because we think we are pretty special. Then, by age 60, we finally realize that nobody has been…

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AIN’T I A WONDER AND AIN’T YOU A WONDER TOO!

AIN’T I A WONDER AND AIN’T YOU A WONDER TOO!

That's the title of a best selling book written by Jess Lair a Montana university professor and published in 1977. In it he talks about self worth and how we should see how wonderful we were created to be even with all our faults I was reminded of the book one day  while listening to the radio in my car to a sermon by evangelist Joel Osteen which he titled "Seeing Yourself as a Masterpiece." In his talk he  said too…

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MY GRANDMOTHER Marija Mattia Vulic’ BABAROVICH August 8, 1953

MY GRANDMOTHER Marija Mattia Vulic’ BABAROVICH August 8, 1953

My maternal grandmother Marija Vulic died on August 8th, 1953. She died the year I graduated from high school in Anacortes, Washington. Her life story is one of great courage and sacrifice involving immigration to America while not being able to speak English. I've previously talked about that in writing about my mother. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/07/mary-thelma-luvera-.html.html I remember her vividly. A tall erect woman with hair piled high on her head, she looked regal and carried herself in a way that projected dignity…

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THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHWEST & OUR FAMILY FISHING ADVENTURE

THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHWEST & OUR FAMILY FISHING ADVENTURE

Sonora resort is located in British Columbia Canada's discovery islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland. It can be reached from Vancouver Canada by helicopter or on a  Kenmore floatplane from Seattle. A water taxi also connects on a daily basis from Campbell River BC. This five-star resort has swimming pools, an outstanding spa, indoor tennis court, hiking and biking trails, nature water tours, a basketball court, a theater, a library, and a game room along with other luxury features. This is a five…

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DONALD AND HILLARY

DONALD AND HILLARY

I suspect most everyone is very tired of all the politics and hearing about politics. However, after watching last night's Republican convention talk by Donald Trump I can't help but express my fears about the presidential election from my standpoint as a Democrat.I think that most of the political issues that have been discussed and which were reviewed last night at the Republican convention and the talk by candidate Donald Trump relate to issues of values,  self-interest and survivorship. They…

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ARE YOU TROUBLED BY “ANTS”? RULES FOR POSITIVE THINKING.

ARE YOU TROUBLED BY “ANTS”? RULES FOR POSITIVE THINKING.

A friend sent me an article by Dr. Daniel Amen who is a physician, psychiatrist and best-selling author http://ahha.org/selfhelp-articles/ant-therapy/  The title is "ANT Therapy." By that he means "automatic negative thoughts" or "ANTs." These are the cynical, gloomy and complaining thoughts that just seem to keep coming all by themselves. He makes the point that every time we have a thought, our brain releases chemicals with an electrical transmission going across our brain. Thoughts are real and have an impact on…

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MY MOTHER MARY THELMA BABAROVICH LUVERA

MY MOTHER MARY THELMA BABAROVICH LUVERA

Early Friday morning, July 7th 2000, my mother Mary Thelma Babarovich Luvera, died in her sleep at the San Juan Care Center. Her death was not unexpected. After all, she was born on December 28, 1905 and was ninety four years old when she died. She had been in failing health for some time. Her passing was, in fact, a personal blessing to her as she had been ready to meet her maker for some time. Never the less, it…

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MY GRANDFATHER NICOLA LUVERA

MY GRANDFATHER NICOLA LUVERA

My grandfather, Nicola Luvera died in Anacortes on Independence Day, July 4, 1956 after living more then ninety years. His story is one of courage and determination. After working in a slaughter house in Italy for twenty cents a day he decided to try to find a better life for his family in America. He managed to borrow money from relatives to sail to the “new world” where his relatives had found work. In 1902, he left and made his…

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THOUGHTS AND IMAGES OF OUR FAMILY IN ANACORTES

THOUGHTS AND IMAGES OF OUR FAMILY IN ANACORTES

The Anacortes Museum has an incredible collection of material about Anacortes which includes photos and videos. See collection at: http://www.cityofanacortes.org/museum.   Here are a few that have a connection to my family.                                                       This is a photo of my dad Paul Luvera, Sr. who took up totem pole carving in his retirement. The story has been recounted elsewhere in this blog but this photo captures it well     Mother & dad were married 64 years. He immigrated from Italy & mother's family from…

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WHEN FEELING INSECURE, REMEMBER DAVID & GOLIAH

WHEN FEELING INSECURE, REMEMBER DAVID & GOLIAH

When faced with challenges that make us feel insecure let’s remember that the most powerful force we have is what we tell ourselves and believe. It’s all in our attitude because we create our own reality. Even the Bible gives us examples of courage against what appear to be insurmountable challenges. In 1-Samuel we have the famous story of David and Goliath. The Philistines had gathered their forces for war in Judah with a pitched camp. Saul and the Israelites…

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