Hernán Cortés Cortés was intelligent, courageous, ambitious, insubordinate, greedy, ruthless, and an inspiring leader—the quintessential conquistador. He established the Spanish empire (New Spain) in Mexico. In 1511, Cortés joined the conquest of Cuba, and impressed the island’s first Governor, Diego Velázquez, who chose him for his secretary, appointed him mayor of Santiago (Cuba’s capital), and […]

This article is an over-view of hernias that occur in both males and females. But to explain the frequently used terminology and to clarity there is a difference between a hernia and a prolapse, a herniaoccurs when part of your “insides” bulges through an opening or weakness in the muscle or connective tissue that is

When I was young, I used to do a lot of what might best be called adventure travel. I spent two years youth hostelling around Europe, carrying everything I needed in a backpack. These days, I need a bag that size just to carry my meds. A lot of my adventures required camping for weeks

Final Wishes I was on Facebook when an ad caught my eye. A brochure addressing death was featured, available at no cost, from a local funeral planner. I happened to know the man who co-founded this company. I made a mental note to ask him for copies of the brochure the next time we spoke.

There was once an old farmer in my grandfather’s neighborhood named Crow. He was known locally as Old Crow, and I only know two things about him, that he was impoverished and that he had a large family. When my dad was very young he wondered aloud at Old Crow’s impoverished state and at the

Before Ajijic and Chapala existed, before the Spanish conquest and Christianity, before the Aztecs came looking for the eagle and the snake bringing the god Huitzilopochtli and the Flower Wars, there was Cosalá. On the forested shores of the lake, Cosalá—meaning Place of Trees in Náhuatl—had existed for who knows…two thousand years? More? The people

SHE As I lie bedbound and suffering yet another migraine, I sense movement around me but hear nothing as she changes the ice pack on my head. Later I awaken to find my beverages refreshed. My room is organized and cleaned. This is one of my “mal dia.” She knows just what to do. Without