We have the Statue of Liberty with one message and then we have Donald Trump with another about immigration. Some of Donald Trumps statements about immigrants include these: “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” “When Mexico sends its people, they’re…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
