August 2009

A TRUE BAG LADY By Margie Harrell   They go by many names depending on what part of the country you are from. Handbags, totes, clutches, bolsas and the one I have never been able to understand, pocketbook. Even on a good day mine wouldn’t fit into my pocket. Whether they are five inches wide or […]

CREATIVE PUNS FOR “EDUCATED MINDS”   1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her

HOW IRISH WHISKEY SAVED MY BRAIN (Maybe) By Bill Frayer   Alone, getting my brain scanned, In Guadalajara The kindly radiologist told me With sad eyes, “I think you have a tumor In your brain.” And showed me a large shadow On the MRI which looked, well, big. I rode home in the cab In

DON’T BLAME THE WRIGHT BROTHERS By Bob Tennison   When I was a flight attendant, we would not have made flight announcements like some heard by passengers today. We would have found ourselves facing our supervisor for a reprimand. You may have heard or read some of these before. But will enjoy again. Hostess to

Amaranta  Santos – Singer Extraordinaire By Kay Davis   Los Cantantes del Lago have made their impact on Lakeside, and one of their many talents is a bi-lingual contralto named Amaranta Santos. Where did this “larger than life” voice come from? Originally, Mexico City. Amaranta does not understand the fear many of us have of

THE MYSTERIOUS BALKANS By Terry Hogan   Trieste, just the name is evocative of intrigue and adventure. Trieste is in a little known corner of Italy that has a great literary history. The café culture is conducive to long conversations in beautiful old outdoor cafes. The harbor comes right into the middle of town and

FALLS By J. Manuel Cordova, M.D. (part 2)   Our past comments about falls consider an elevated risk factor for aging people. That is true if we consider the reason behind falls and fall injuries. Usually a fall occurs when one’s center of gravity moves outside of his or her base of support and insufficient,

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR   Dear Sir: Ken Crosby in “MILITARISM DAY” (July issue of the Ojo) tells us what we need to hear. He makes a good case, backed by historical references. The military recruiters troubled me when I was a teacher at Austin High School in Houston, a school that was almost 100%

NOT IN THE SCRIPT By Jay Koppelman   I wasn’t crazy, I knew that. I also knew that going to a psychiatrist for couple’s therapy is   common in modern society, so I agreed to accompany my girlfriend of over one year with the mutual goal of strengthening our healthy though sometimes fragile relationship. Jealousy had

The Renegade Spaniard By Mildred Boyd   Gonzalo Guerrero, a seaman from Palos, Spain, was serving aboard a caravel bound from Panama to Santo Domingo in 1511 when disaster struck and the ship went down. All fifteen of those aboard were able to reach and launch a lifeboat only to drift aimlessly in adverse currents