Hello friends!

Happy Sunday to you and yours, wherever you call home. Speaking of home, I just arrived last night from a special trip with my only daughter, Vanessa. It was a short but sweet escape from the blistering Arizona heat. I have alot to cover with you since I wrote you last, so I'll get started!

 It was a quick four day road trip to the Black hills of South Dakota, to see the sights the area has to offer. I've been extremely busy this past month, and with the economy booming as it is, my workload has also increased immensely. So when Vanessa, who lives in Las Vegas, called me last week and invited me to join her on a father/daughter adventure, I couldn't say no! Despite my full workload, I was able to move things around, and push a couple others back a week, to be able to join her. She flew into Denver the first part of the week to see some friends, and I took a flight from Phoenix on Wednesday to meet her there. Vanessa wanted to visit Mt. Rushmore and the famed Badlands, along with the towns of Deadwood and Hill City. She had already rented a hotel and car when I arrived at the airport, so off we went and drove the six hours to Hill City.

 I also saw it as an oppurtunity to rest my hurt and aching right elbow. I have been struggling this past month with what started as a slow, nagging pain in my arm. From my elbow down to my fingers and tendons, the pain has now become excruciating when I work, and even when I sit down to write. I guess the clinical term is tendonitis or 'Tennis elbow'. I have never felt that kind of pain before, and with the type of work I do, my right hand is extremely important! Not only with work, but my writing time has also suffered, as I come home every afternoon with a numb wing, ready just to ice it and rest it. My partner Mike has picked up the slack, and I have even gotten better with my left hand, but rest is really what I need in order to recover from this injury. My hands get a good workout all week between jobs,the gym, and the laptop, and I suppose it's just worn out. 

 Going back to South Dakota in the summer was a treat for me, since the last time I was there was in January of 2017. I was cold, (I mean freezing), broke, and miserable while on the 44th stop of my Gigs tour; it was not one of my better stops. This trip was a totally different experience, especially because Vanessa and I spent some quality time together. We ate, laughed, and enjoyed the park, animals, and conversations that only a father and his little girl can share.I am so proud of the woman she has grown up to become; beautiful, strong, independant and wise. What more can a parent ask for? After we departed yesterday, we vowed to do it again more often.

 The other good news is that after many months of waiting, Mary Ann has finally finished my first edition manuscript! The proofreading and reformatting is now complete on my 96,000 word book. Starting this week, the next step begins, as I choose the publisher that will print and e-book my long awaited story. In the meantime, I'm halfway done with the second edition, and I hope my right hand holds up under the stress I'm putting it through. I hope the ball rolls faster with this next step of the process, and I plan to write you more often with hopefully exciting updates!

 I truly thank you for the interest and loyalty you continue to show for my story. It's getting painfully closer each day, and I can't hardly wait!

Juanjohn

'Good evening friends,

and happy Monday to you wherever you call home, hoping you find yourself well. Greetings this hot and humid night from my house here in Tucson. Yes, that's right, I said humid, and terribly hot. Days like these always make me question why I'm still living in this sun burned state! I hang on to my dream (plan) of becoming a successful writer someday and I guess I have to endure this "easy bake oven" called Arizona a bit longer!

 I"ve been busy working like a doggie, and entertaining my grandson and nephew the last two weeks as well, so my time behind the computer has been liminted lately. Now they are both back home with their parents, where they belong, and Kalani and I are back to our normal routine of watching T.V. and eating shrimp and ribeyes every night!

 After being gone nearly all of June in Cali and Hawaii, hosting two teenage boys, and along with my heavy workload lately, the time is just flying by this summer. I did realize something very profound while the boys were here, and that is: I'm completely done raising kids! Don't get me wrong friends, I love my family (most of them, haha!) especially the younger ones, but the responsiblity of tending to their needs these past two weeks was a strain on my emotional and monetary system and my daily routine. Don't get me wrong, the boys behaved good for the most part, but after almost seven years of being alone, with just my pup, I gotten used to doing whatever I want, whenever I want, including things like traveling the country! My youngest son left home over five years ago, and he was hardly home the last two anyways. I forgot how much teens eat, how late they sleep in, and how they forget to do most things you ask them to do! They never pick up a glass, wash a dish, or even look at you when you ask them something because their face is stuck to the stupid phone screen! And when they do answer, I can't even hear or decipher the response. Usually something like "What...tata?" or "I don't know...?'

Is it just me?...or am I being a tool?..am I just being a normal granpa, and are they just being normal 2018 kids?  I don't know, but the thought of ever being responsible for another minor at my age (a young 56) just scares the krap out of me! A dog is easy like my Kalani, she never disagrees with me, she is always happy to see me, and licks me in places no one else will! Can't beat that baby!

 I became a father 3 days after my 18th birthday back in 1980 (I'm Mexican folks, don't judge me!) and felt like an old man at 31, when my third and last boy came along. I was totally devoted and did all the daddy stuff; sports, homework, trips, and my fair share of screwing up my three kids for life as well! Good or bad, I was always there for them, including 7 years of single parenthood, between marriages. So I've "been there, done that" with the young rascals, including a horde of cousins as well. To my three childrens credit, they have excelled in their own special ways despite me, and my latiino/babyboomer style way of rearing them.

 I guess it's true we old farts get set in our ways as we age (fall apart) gracefully, and maybe I'm just a selfish old tata, completely full of krap! Thank God he made nanas and grammies to love and spoil those overfed and under spanked, parasites we call grandkids!

Good night all, it's time for my nap!

Juanjohn

Hello friends!

Greetings this Sunday afternoon from the hot and blistering desert, that is Arizona! I hope you are doing well during these dog days of summer, wherever you call home. We took a break from our monsoon season, and are experiencing triple digit weather once again. All that does is make me miss Hawaii that much more!

 I returned from my month long visit to California and Hawaii almost two weeks ago, and haven't stopped for a minute.As you can imagine, I had the time of my life, along with my sisters, but all good things must come to an end. I had worked backed up here and still haven't caught up. As much as I enjoyed my time away, I don't think I can afford to leave 30 days in a row, with a business to run and in such a busy time period. The economy has been good all year, and guys like me are in great demand these days all over the country. I wish it would have been this booming while I was on my tour, and it probably wouldn't of taken me a year to complete! We have to get it while the getting is good, as they say, because we never know when the next slow period may come. The only drawback for me, other than the weather, is that I have preciuos little time to write my second edition. I'm almost halfway through that book, but I have to drag myself behind the computer, especially after a long hot day in the sun.I try to keep my chin up, and plow forward confidently, beliving it will all be worth it in the near future!

 My Grandson Isaiah,17, and his cousin Elijah 13, are here for a couple of weeks as well, on their summer break from school, and away from their parents in California. They stay up all night and sleep in late, watching t.v., eating, and playing with their phones during the day, like most teens they're age. Isaiah, who will graduate next spring with high honors, also came to take a tour of the UofA campus. We took the tour together on Friday, and he was impressed with the school. His 3.9 gpa will give him plently of options next year to choose from, and he just might end up he with me in 2019 as a collage freshman! Next weekend we will be taking a short trip along with my son Jonathan, to the Grand Canyon before they fly back to the Bay area.I grew up without any grandpas in my life, so it's a delight to share and see Isaiah evolve in to a fine young man.

 I also signed up for another storytelling program in the community in September, this one orginized by a local latino group. The event will show case local talent from the surrounding areas, including a standup, open mic oppurtunity for any wouldbe comics. I signed up for that evevnt too, along with the chance to talk about my Gigs tour as well. A double dip oppurtunity to show case my awesomeness! Lol! I'll let you know how that turns out later on.

 Until next time my faithful and staunch supporters, I bid you asta la vista amigos and amigas!

Juanjohn