Hello friends, 

greetings from the warm Sonoran desert this Monday afternoon! I hope all are well, wherever you call home on this special celestial day.

 If you were fortunate enough to be in, or close to the path of coomplete darkness, then lucky for you! Here in Southern Arizona we only a 60% eclipse, so it just looked like we were just wearing a light shade of sunglasses for about an hour. It was nice to see so many people interested and distracted, at least for a little while, from all the ugliness and divisiveness that has dominated the national scene lately. As for me, I enjoy the natural beauty this planet offers and anything having to do with the stars, moon, and sky!

 After dealing with a lung infection the last couple of weeks, I finally feel much better. My grandson Isaiah was here for a week and we had a great time, despite my lingering cough. Speaking of natural beauty, I took him to a local water spot here in Tucson called Sabino Canyon. It is a mountain creek that runs in the spring with snow melt and now in the summer, with all the recent summer monsoonal rains. Isaiah was not too keen on jumping into a 20 foot deep pool of water, despite watching his granfather, me, dive in off the boulders like an olympic medalist! We enjoyed our time together and were already planning next years visit, hoping we can convince his parents for a two week stay.

 Now that I'm healthier and Isaiah is back home, I can refocus and catch up on my writings again. I'm just seven states away from completing the first edition, then plan to send it off to the proof reading lady, Mary Anne, then I will start the next 25 states in October. It has been a challenge at times, finding the time and energy to sit behind this computer, but once I do, it all comes back to me, vividly and enthusiasticly.

 Well friends, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week, so stay cool and safe.

Juanjohn

 Greeting friends,

 hello once again from sunny Arizona, I hope all are doing fine this Monday afternoon. I'm doing a little better myself, although I'm still battling the lingering effects of a bug that has been bothering me for a week. I feel much better now than last I wrote you, just in time to host my grandson Isaiah, who is visiting from California.

 Isaiah is sixteen now, and happy to escape to Tucson each summer with his 'Tata'. He enjoys some of the locl eateries that are not available in the Bay area where he resides. What else is there to do when a young boy is off on his summer break, than to eat, sleep in late,watch movies and play on thier computer? Eegee's subs, Old Chicago Pizza and Dairy Queen ice cream are just of the few things we do when he comes to the desert. I myself enjoy his company tremendously and spoil him at every oppurtunity. He is a shy, quiet and very polite young man, but very informed about the world around him. I get the chance to spend quality time with him here, as oppossed to my frequent visits to his home, where he is busy with siblings, school and homework most of the year.

 I myself didn't grow up with my grandparents as a child, and barley remember the only grandma I ever met, a privilege I think most childern enjoy from one side of the family or the other. Isaiah is also extremely smart, maintaining a 'A' average as he enters his third year in High school. He has also fared well in the State Spelling-Bee competition and has recieved other academic awards recently. But the best part of hanging out with this first of the 'next generation kid', is the time we spend talking about life and why things are the way they are, in the world he will soon enter as an adult. Having already raised three kids of my own, including his father, the world that surrounds us has certainly changed in the last twenty years. I hope I can infuse some knowledge and wisdom, as well as comfort and reassurance, that he can carry with him wherever and whatever path he will soon choose. In the meantime, we will enjoy the rest of the week he has remaining here, filling our bellies with treats and snacks, before I return him to his parents and the school system.

 In a time where there is so much trouble and strife,and it is so visible to our youth, I believe all the Isaiah's of the world need as much of our time and attention, to help them make sense of the fast changing climates, attitudes and circumstances that they are bombarded with constantly. I certainly will do my best with all kids, mine or not, that I may come I come in contct with, for the physical and emotional health of our youth. 

 Thanks for checking in friends, and stay safe wherever you call home. Asta la otra semana!

 Juanjohn