Donate to Leukemia Society for My Daughter Thalia

I am raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my 6 year old daughter who has Leukemia. Please donate any amount you are able (tax deductible of course!). Follow the link below for more info!

Come see her story here (be prepared to cry!):
http://teams.lightthenight.org/ThaliasThunder

E-Bay Live In Chicago

I went to eBay Live since it was in Chicago this year. I met with a number of vendors that had some great services and products for the World Neighbor store. I also met a number of very interesting characters there. Several of the eBayers were more interested in collecting the pins and free stuff than they were in talking to vendors and going to the education sessions. It appeared to be a tradition since all the vendors had there pins ready. There was one cranky guy named Tom (saw it on his conference badge). He apparently hurt his knee and he was tooling around on one of those little scooters. He always had a scowl on his face as he angrily asked questions of the vendors and demanded a free give-away. He cracked me up, what a waste of energy.

One of the best parts of the conference was when the gala on the final night. Demetria and I went to enjoy the dinner and the Chris Isaac concert that was planned. We had a great time and Chris was in fine voice. He was very entertaining and everyone of at the eBay conference loved the show. Of course, they were all begging for his picks and drumsticks so that they could sell them the next day on eBay!

The Rest of Thalia's Wish Trip

OK, now that we are back to the grind with work, school, cub scouts, baseball, soccer, doctors appointments, etc. etc. I will try to sum up the remainder of Thalia's wish trip with one big honkin' post. I will also continue to edit down the multiple hours of video in to edible bits of goodness for posting on YouTube.

Kualoa Ranch – vignette numero uno:
We visited the Kualoa Ranch for a flurry of excellent activities. First up was a tour in an old 6-wheel drive Swiss Pinzauer through the jungle trails and up a lush, remote valley for fantastic ocean and mountain views. The best part of the trip was Duke the dog. He rode along with us and the kids loved him. We jostled and jolted our way through the countryside in this back firing old beast. Duke was sure-footed and steadfast.
We also took a catamaran ride in the bay. Thalia was a true sailor, she wanted to hang out on the front of the boat "Titanic" style. Zacch and Thera were a little less enthusiastic. They buckled down and got through it pretty well. Everyone was excited by the big sea turtle which was swimming off the port side of the boat. We made it back to shore and we finished the day up with a great horse ride for the kids. No little ponies for these kids, we're talking the real McCoy stallions here.

Luau - anecdote numero dos:
Our Luau was awesome and a great treat for the kids. They had several activities and games for the kids. We all tried our hands at throwing spears at a hay target. Zacch was the only one to get that spear to stick. We also took turns rowing an outrigger into the bay, creating leis and getting tattoos painted on our arms. Thalia could not wait to see the fire dancer, this along with Zoe and the beach were the top three in her hit parade. We enjoyed the show of traditional dancing and the grand finale brought out Thalia's hero. This buff dude was whipping that fire around like it was a stick of iced wood.

Beach - tale numero tres:
To round out our vacation we headed to the beach, early and often. We tried to body board and surfboard, and we hung out in the warm waves. We didn't really spend much time in the sand as the kids wanted to be in the water. The good mother that Demetria is, she was never more than a foot or two away from them. You never know when that rip tide is going to come into that 1 and a half feet of water! ;-)

World Neighbor!!

Thalia's Rainbow

Please also see the URL at the end of this post for a special message to all our supporters.... As we were travelling back from Hawaii late Saturday night/Sunday morning, Thera had to endure a serious bout of diarrhea for her 8 hour flight. We thought it was a passing case of food poisoning - which in and of itself is not fun at all. Then we got home and she started having serious cramps, a low grade fever and finally lots of blood in her stool (sorry to be so graphic...but this is a health related page after all). Her doctor told us to get her to the emergency room immediately. I had to cancel my work trip to San Antonio so we had coverage for the kids (Thanks as always for the support Greg!). Well as parents of a child with Leukemia we of course expected and were preparing ourselves for the worst. In cases like this the wonderful world of the web is more scary than helpful. According to the web, she could have had hepatitis, juvenile diabetes, Leukemia, or any number of other life threatening illnesses. She lost 7 pounds in two days and was massively dehydrated. They ran a complete blood count and took x-rays to see if there was an obstruction. After what seemed like a century, all her tests came back clean...Thank GOD. They are currently running a culture which will take a few days, but it looks like she just has a particularly nasty virus or infection (salmonella, e-coli, etc.). The hospital gave her an antibiotic and pumped her full of IV fluids and finally sent Thera home at 1:30 am last night/this morning. The poor thing is still having severe cramps from the gas today, but she seems to be improving ever so slightly. Now I guess we can consider our Hawaiian vacation excitement complete! Here is a video that I made last night as I was nervously waiting for news from the hospital. This is a brief synapsis of Thalia's story over the last year with some of our Hawaiin vacation footage.

Thalia's Video Story

The Golden Zebra

Today we experienced a one of a kind event. We visited the Three Ring Ranch and our new friend, Zoe the Golden Zebra! Ann Goody our zoologist guide and owner of the Three Ring Ranch, along with her husband Norm gave us a warm welcome. Ann was a real pro in working with kids. She provides educational programs to local school kids as well as training for veterinary students. A number of the animals that are rehabilitation residents at the ranch are there based on the shoddy work of local vets. The ranch is federally licensed by the USDA to rehabilitate and keep exotic and endangered species. They care for the animals and provide a sanctuary for abandoned or injured exotics. They also are licensed to breed endangered species in cooperation with the Feds and the Species Survival Plan.

It turns out that zebra are a cranky and aggressive relative of the donkey, so we couldn’t get too close. However, the kids were able to feed the zebra and the zebra were able to roam free in the “zebra zone” with the kids off to one side on the grassy knoll. Everyone came out for a visit except Zoe. Turns out she is a bit of a diva so she stayed behind bars voluntarily. We saw and interacted with many different animals. Here is a partial list: chickens, chinchillas, dogs, horses, ducks, geese, parrots, owls, tortoises, llama, gazelle, rats, flamingoes and of course, zebra. They fed many of the animals, grabbed some eggs from under a chicken’s cha cha, and held several frenetic fuzzy friends. This was one of the most memorable experiences that the family has ever taken part in. Everyone was extremely excited.

BTW…Thalia asked the zoologist, Ann, the eternal question…is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes. Ann said that was a wonderful question! However, she had to politely inform us that we were wrong on all counts. The zebra is actually white with BROWN stripes. As the zebra grows older the stripes get darker, but if you look very closely you will see that the stripes are a deep, dark brown that appear black from afar. Well, you learn something new every day!!

The Kids Hit The Ocean

Our first full day in Hawaii and we headed to the water! Our first stop was to Kona to dive deep under the ocean in a submarine. When we were talking about this activity back in dreary ole' Chicago, the kids were not too hot on the idea. The fresh Hawaiian air must have pumped up their mana because they were all begging to go on the submarine now that we were in Hawaii. While we were paying for our sub tickets we were suckered into the "pick an oyster, find a pearl" tourist trap. But for a cost of about $5 a kid, we couldn't refuse. Zacch, Thera and Thalia picked out the ugliest oyster they could find and the nice lady cracked 'em open. Both Zacch and Thera got a perfect white pearl, and low and behold, Thalia got a perfect pink pearl (her favorite color!).

OK…now the kids were ready to go be submariners. We dove over 100 feet down and became one with the surrounding aquatic life. We saw two wrecks and thousands of colorful fish on the coral reef. We even saw a 5-foot, free-swimming eel, which the captain said, was pretty rare since they like to keep hidden. I leaned over and kissed Demetria since the captain suggested that it would be the "deepest kiss we would ever experience"…needless to say Demetria thought I was a touristy dork…Ah, Demetria Aloha No Au Ia 'Oe (look it up for extra points!).









Our next stop was to Hapuna beach, which is consistently rated as one of the best beaches in the United States. This was the first trip for the kids to a beach so this was a great way for them to get introduced to the Hawaiian lifestyle. Needless to say the kids all loved everything about the beach. The sand and the surf were perfect. The salt water in the eyes, nose and mouth took a little getting used to for them, but they all acclimated quickly. Since we left the beach the kids have all wanted to get back as soon as possible.

The Shipment from Mexico Made it!

I just received all the goodies that I purchased on my Patzcuaro, Mexico buying trip. They arrived crated and stacked 7 feet tall on a pallet... all 600 pounds of it. I quickly unloaded the fine crafts and art and started my inventory process. My biggest problem is that there are so many great things that I wanted to keep for myself! I may keep a few items, but I'm not in business to hoard all these masterful works. I am in business to get these into the hands of appreciative collectors while at the same time helping bolster the fortunes of the fine artists through a fair trade approach.

Every time I meet a new artist (regardless of the language barrier) I find this work so gratifying and fun. Every time I sell another of these great pieces of art I feel thankful that I have found my calling. Thanks to all of you who have been following World Neighbor's humble beginnings. I promise to make it an interesting ride!

WORLD NEIGHBOR

The Hawaiin Roach Coach

Hey we are waiting in the airport to go to Thalia's wish trip and thought we would give a quick update. We were picked up early this morning in a big black stretch limo and whisked away to the airport. The flight takes off in about 30 minutes and the kids are very excited. Everything is in order, we made our packing list and checked it twice. We dumped Puggles off at my parents house and we are good to go. Well....we are boarding now - Golden Zebra here we come. ALOHA!!

...and after the plane lands....

The kids endured their 9 hour flight with great aplomb (aside from the questions of "are we there yet" every 10 minutes). We landed in Oahu to catch our Hawaiian airlines flight to the big island. The flight was delayed about an hour, but other than that everything worked out just fine. With Hawaii being 5 hours behind Central time in the mainland, the kids were exhausted by the time we got to our "hotel". We made our way to our first home away from home. We got the kids in bed by 9:00 pm local time …just three and a half hours shy of being up and traveling for 24 hours straight. Make a Wish provided a WONDERFUL townhouse for us. The kids had their own room and bathroom. Mom and dad had a master bedroom with master bath, and the main floor was equipped with a full kitchen, dining area, powder room, and living room. All this plus the convenience of maid service! Demetria had the first adventure of the trip. She opened the cup holder in our rental car (minivan), and found a dead cockroach. Then… (queue the psycho shower music)…she saw a live cockroach on the passenger floor of the minivan! At the same time the kids saw a few more in the back…Daddy to the rescue! I quickly dispatched the creepy crawlies but I was unable to assuage the fear and anxiety that was now gripping the family. They felt like there were bugs doing the "La cucaracha" all over their bodies. Mom has created a new to-do list in Hawaii for me and the first item is to get my butt to Wal-Mart and get some cockroach traps!

World Neighbor Goes to Hawaii for Thalia’s Wish Trip

OK...I am going to post some personal BLOGS that I have already posted to my daughter's "CarePage"...Her name is Thalia, she is 6 years old and she has Leukemia. We recently went on her Make a Wish trip to Hawaii with the family and we had a GREAT time. here ya go....















Thalia has her monthly visit to the hospital next week. This is visit number two on her three month cycle. On the third month she gets a break with no spinal tap procedures at the hospital. Naturally we like those third months the best! She is still on her cycle of home chemo and other medications and mommy is ensuring that she is 100% compliant to the routine with zero variance. She will continue on this "maintenance" cycle until August 2009. We are coming up on one year since Thalia was diagnosed (April 27) and she is doing very well. Her hair is continuing to grow in. She has a cute little 'do and has given up her headscarves entirely (I will be posting new pictures in the photo gallery soon). She has been eating a ton for the past few months but has recently tapered off to a level more consistent with her sister. I think she was trying to catch up for all those months that she was wasting away during her hard-core chemo phases. She looks healthier and is getting more active and strong with her swimming and gymnastics.





Between May 3 and May 11 Thalia gets to live her wish. She has asked the Make a Wish foundation to go be a veterinarian to a golden zebra. This golden striped zebra with blue eyes is due to a condition called "amelanosis" and not to being an albino. This is a rare birth defect and there have only been a few golden zebras documented in captivity. There have undoubtedly been golden zebras born in the wild, but since they stick out like a sore thumb they more than likely become lion food rather quickly. The zebra's name is Zoe and she lives in Hawaii. When Thalia requested this wish and I found out that the zebra was in Hawaii, I thought "wow this kid is truly a genius…what a great idea!" ;-) Thalia's original wish to go to the Power Rangers TV series shoot, didn't pan out so we are going with the golden zebra wish. The Power Rangers show was done shooting by the time Thalia was in maintenance and ready to go. Thalia and Thera have both been talking about being veterinarians for a long while now, so I think she/they will get great joy out of this wish. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and video of this once in a lifetime event.

Masked Old Men Cutting a Rug in Patzcuaro

One of the tradition of the P’urhépecha is to perform a folkloric dance while made up like wrinkled old white men. When the conquistadors came to town, this was one of the ways that the P’urhépecha expressed their frustration. They thought (think) that it was very funny how the white people aged. Their hair turned gray, they got all wrinkly and saggy and they stooped over. This dance is typically performed by young men as it is a very athletic and aggressive routine. They wear a serape and a wooden carved mask carved and painted to resemble ancient old white men. The young men protect their faces with cloth so the mask won’t scratch and tear their face off.

I happened upon a great demonstration of this dance in the main square of Patzcuaro. There was a band playing traditional music while six dancers with wooden sandals danced on a sheet of plywood. This amounted to an early version of tap dancing as the wooden shoes crashed and stomped against the plywood. The vision of the old men stomping about so aggressively was a paradoxical treat. They were drawing a large crowd and we all enjoyed the show.

Dance on over to WORLD NEIGHBOR now!!

P’urhépecha Artisans and Cardio

I stumbled across a little courtyard that housed five or six artisans in a collective. One of the artisans had scores of masks and Catrinas (the day of the dead skeletons). Her prices were excellent and her quality was beyond compare. I started loading up with her works much to her surprise and delight. She wrote up the hundred or so items that I gathered together and started the process of packing them for their long journey home. I made sure to grab her contact information since I wanted to establish a long-term business relationship with her.

I had to make a few trips to get all my goodies back to my hotel room. I worked up a good sweat while I traipsed up and down the hilly and cobbled streets or Patzcuaro. A few of the locals got a good chuckle out of me huffing and puffing and covered with sweat. I still was not completely acclimated to the climate and I was hurting! What a great trip…I get to stock up on inventory and burn down my love handles at the same time - Sweet! Tomorrow was the day to catch my bus back to Mexico City so I had to finish up my purchasing, packing, and shipment preparation.

Work it out on over to WORLD NEIGHBOR!

World Neighbor Phone Home

I grew tired of spending $1.50 a minute using my mobile to call home. I sought out a call center in the main square in Patzcuaro. There were a few to choose from and they only charged .15 cents a minute so I was all over that. I gave my home number to the highly made up girl behind the counter and she punched it in. She told me “cinco” as she applied yet another layer of mascara onto her pitch black eyelashes. I ran over to booth five and closed the glass door behind me. My wife, Demetria, answered and we were in business. While it was kind of a pain in the ass to walk four blocks to make a phone call but at least I was saving some scratch. As long as I remembered to bring my anti-bacterial wipes to remove the scunge off the receiver I was good to go.

I told Demetria all about the awe-inspiring voice of the girl from the previous night. I also regaled her with my margarita soaked tales of newly found friends. She in turn told me some wonderful stories of mac and cheese, hot dogs, and soccer practice. OK…I get it…I will tone down the fact that I have been eating some of the most delicious food in a long while. I will relax with my bragging about cigar smoking, tequila drinking and comfortable bed sleepin’. But seriously, I can’t wait until tomorrow when I will get that delectable cup o’ flan from the little corner restaurante.

Get Thee to World Neighbor NOW!!!

Beautiful Voices Over Dinner

My first night in Patzcuaro I stopped by at the restaurant "Cha Cha Cha". Carlos recommended the place and it was owned by an American ex-pat who was very friendly. I grabbed a table in the courtyard and ordered up my first margarita. The weather was perfect and the courtyard was adorned with lush tropical plants. Just before my dinner arrived a lady at the neighboring table struck up a conversation with me. She and her friend were also ex-pats that recently purchased homes in Patzcuaro. Her name was Elizabeth and she was very nice and outgoing. We talked a bit about our backgrounds and I explained all about World Neighbor. I passed out some free swag to her (pen, magnet, business card, etc.). She was excited by the idea of a fellow world traveler and we ruminated on our favorite destinations. Elizabeth introduced me to her friend Jay who exported art from the area. He has turned out to be an invaluable connection to the World Neighbor network. Hey Elizabeth! Hey Jay!

When my dinner arrived a family consisting of a mother, father and daughter were getting set up to serenade the crowd. The father was the guitar player while the mother and daughter provided the vocal talents. The father also kicked in with a well placed harmony every so often. The mother held court first and she had a great voice. She had a sweet sound and was very pleasant to listen to.

Then the daughter stepped up and belted one out… ¡Mierda! what a voice! It was powerful and soulful and it belied her young age. I was so impressed that asked if I could video a tune. They were happy to oblige. The daughter was a bit timid at first while I was taping, but she delivered a inspiring version of "Santa Rosa" that I was glad to capture. I will be posting the video soon...check it out!!!

How much Copper would a Coppersmith Smith, if a Coppersmith Could Smith Copper?

My guide and interpreter was a very resourceful guy with lots of great inside information and contacts. He know a guy that was a coppersmith who could help me ship my goods back to the states. The copper smith at the shop also put on a great show of "smithing" for me to videotape. I can't wait to edit all the footage down and share it with my World Neighbor Friends. All my adventures will be posted to YouTube, so stop on by and check it out!!

We strolled into the back of the Coppersmith's shop to witness the transformation of raw copper into beautiful works of art. The area around Santa Anna del Cobre used to be a copper mining area. As those mines have dried up, the artisans now use scrap copper to create their masterworks. They are also blessed with an abundance of (pine/cedar?) that burns a bit hotter than other woods and allows for the correct copper forging temperature. The guys back in the shop were stoking up the fire to commence with the demonstration. They started with a little chunk of copper about 6X6 inches and 3 inches thick. They heated that up until it was red hot and brought it over to the anvil. Four guys with sledgehammers then took turns pounding it into shape. A fifth guy held the copper in place with a long par of tongs while the beating was underway. These guys would be champion bell ringers at the carnival with their precision swipes at the raw copper. This process would continue until the copper was stretched into a thin sheet.

Carlos took me over to where another set of guys were forming and tempering the copper sheets into pots and sink basins with a series of specially shaped anvils. This was hard and sweaty work, but the works that filled the front showroom were a testament to the great work that these artisans produced. Juan Jose was the owner of this shop and he was also a valuable contact for me since he agreed to ship my multiple purchases back to the States for me at a discounted price. He knew all the ins and outs of getting the best deal in shipping to the border and then from there to my doorstep. I was extremely happy to have met this guy….and once again Carlos came through with another extremely valuable contact.

Clowning Around In the Main Square

Carlos suggested several good places to eat in Morelia for dinner. He especially liked one restaurant that was close to my hotel. I walked through Morelia's main square and happened upon some clowns doing loud skits of physical comedy. They had drawn a large crowd so I stopped to watch and videotape their act.

Well, once again I stuck out like a sore thumb. The tall, pale, white guy with no hair was a perfect target for some clowning. They called out to me and brought me over to where they were performing in the middle of the crowd. They spoke a little English and asked me where I was from. I said "Chicago". Almost immediately they both shouted out "Chicago si! – bang, bang Italiano!". I said "no, no". Then they guessed "Francias?, Germano? (as the other clown put his finger under his nose and goose stepped around ala' Heil Hitler). I said "no, no, I'm Irish". "Oh Irish!" one clown shouted. "So you like the cerveza". "Si mucho" I stated loudly with a big smile much to the crowd's delight.

His next question was "You like Mexican women?". I said, "No I am married" and pointed to my wedding ring. Both clowns shrugged as if to say "so what" and asked again "So…you like Mexican women?" One clown asked if he could videotape me. I gave him my camera and he started laughing and running away. I played along since this was actually pretty fun. He came back and his partner started playing a few more games with the camera. They finally let me off the hook and shook my hand to big applause from the crowd. When I reviewed the tape later I found out to my dismay that I only got the part where the clown grabbed my camera and ran. They must have accidentally pressed the "stop" button when they were doing the rest of their gags. Oh well, it was still a riot …and a good memory.

World Neighbor Home

As the day wore on Carlos, my guide/interpreter, and I were becoming fast friends. We laughed about a few stories. We showed each other pictures of our kids. We shared some lunch together. Then Carlos told me a Mexican Joke:


There was a Mexican man catching crabs on the border of Mexico and America. He had two large steel pots, one with a lid and a rock on it and one without a lid. An American man from across the river was watching as the Mexican man caught crabs and put them in one pot or the other. Finally, the American's curiosity was piqued. He called out to the Mexican man, "Why are you putting some crabs in one pot with a lid and some in the other pot without the lid?." The Mexican man explained that the pot with the lid was for American crabs and the pot with no lid was for Mexican crabs. He explained further that the American crabs would climb on top of one another until one crab could grab the rim of the pot and all of them could escape by forming a "crab ladder". The Mexican crabs, on the other hand, would pull down any crab silly enough to try and climb up – so no lid was necessary.

















He said this joke was a good anecdote to describe Mexican society in general….painted by many years of war and strife. The Mexican was more individualistic and would pull someone else down so as not to have them be more successful that they were.







World Neighbor's Fun Stop

World Neighbor, Carlos and the Crafts

Carlos was a very knowledgeable guide. He told me about the local flora and fauna as well as the local politics. He was happy to have a chance to practice his English. He spoke English very well but it was about a month since he last had some practice. The Monarch butterfly mating season is a popular tourist attraction in the area and the season was now over. This meant there were less English speaking tourists to practice with.








Carlos my Guide, Interpreter and Good Guy...

Carlos told me that while international tourism was generally picking up, this area was still largely a place for national visitors. In Morelia, I did find myself being the only pale skinned gringo walking around most of the time. This made me somewhat of a novelty but everyone was very nice. Unlike Cancun, which is almost nothing but tourists in the resort areas, Morelia is populated with mostly native Mexicans. It is a very relaxed place with no vendors yelling out "Hey Honeymooners!" trying to sell you their imported Chinese crap. On the contrary, Morelia and the surrounding areas are all about century old crafts, artisans and their traditions. As with most big city areas these cultural treasures are becoming scarcer. But the outlying P'urhépecha Indian areas are still managing to keep the traditions alive.









World Neighbor's Wonderful, Award Winning World*












* OK....so I gave myself an award and a pat on the back...

World Neighbor Hangs with the Artisans

I am waiting for my guide Carlos. He is going to take me out to the small villages outside of Morelia and Patzcuaro. I took a nice morning stroll after a hearty Mexican breakfast that was heavy on the cheese and light on the heart health. I took some time to admire the religious art that is pervasive throughout the hotel.

World Neighbor's Funtastic Emporium

Carlos showed up right on time and we sped off to the artisan towns. Our first stop was a small town that specialized in woodcarving and furniture. We met with several shop owners as I searched for the perfect pieces to import back for my World Neighbor friends. I bought quite a bit at two stores. The shop owners were very nice and packed up my goods thoroughly with bubble wrap, newspaper, toilet paper and whatever else was available. Carlos took our pictures and we were on to the next town. Our next stop was to Santa Anna del Cobre, the home of the master copper smiths.

World Neighbor in Magnificent Morelia

After my long journey, I arrived in Morelia and settled in to my hotel the Posada de la Soledad. I ate a very tasty dinner at my hotel and relaxed in the perfect atmosphere created by the lush courtyard. After dinner I walked down to the center of town towards the grand Morelia cathedral. The downtown area was just coming to life. There were couples of all ages taking strolls hand in hand. Many young couples were busy showing their love publicly as they locked lips while sitting on the benches in the main square.

A mariachi band was just starting to assemble. There was also a pack of clowns getting ready to entertain (terrorize) the many kids running amok. I just sat by one of the fountains smoking a fine Cohiba, people watching and drinking it all in. Life is good!

World Neighbor Giggle Happy Fun Land

World Neighbor and the Autobus

I made it to the bus station, grabbed myself some agua and hit the Baño. The bus to Morelia is very comfortable and they even gave me a little carry on dinner box with water. I took my guidebooks recommendation and took the ETN bus line "directo". I'm glad that I did. Aside from a few quizzical looks as I butchered my minimal Espanol with my best American accent, everyone was very helpful and nice.

World Neighbor's Edu-tainment Extravaganza

World Neighbor Speaks Spanish…¡Mierda!

Although I know very little Spanish, I am muddling my way through the day in Mexico fairly well. I have to train my ear to "hear" Spanish. You can really pick up quite a bit through context and similarity of words with a common Latin base. You just have to listen and pay attention. Something that could benefit us all…

The driving lanes through Mexico city seem very slim. Just enough room for one car and a sliverof air between you and the car next to you. I am eternally grateful that I opted NOT to drive. I would have been run off the road. I could see me completely lost with my white knuckled death grip on the wheel…¡Mierda!

World Neighbor Makes it to Mexico

I just landed in Mexico City. I had to pull out my best pidgin Spanish to get myself from the international terminal over to terminal one and then out to an authorized taxi. The taxi is taking me to the bus stop and the bus will take me on a 4-hour ride to Morelia. Who says I don’t suffer for my art!

So far, so good except for the fact that my taxi driver got his license from the Dale Earnhardt school of traffic management. We are in the process of zipping in and out of lanes with road signs and pavement markings only utilized as a mere suggestion. I called up my wife Demetria via my $1.50 per minute Sprint cell phone roaming service (Get me to an Internet café and some cheaper prices!! I let her know I was safe and sound…although I did not mention that my taxi driver was doing his best to trade paint with a classic Volkswagen bug driving next to us.

Visit the World Neighbor Edu-tainment Site!

World Neighbor Visits Our Neighbor to the South

I will be leaving on a buying trip to Mexico April 9th. I am looking forward to this trip outside of Mexico City. I will be going Northwest of Mexico City out into the countryside. I plan on bringing back some treasures including pottery, tile, copper works, straw crafts, woven garments, and ceramics. The one thing that I have learned is that even the most wonderful, unique paintings and prints are difficult to sell unless you have a gallery for folks to get up close and personal with the piece. Since I run a web-based business I haven’t had much luck with the paintings and prints. Therefore, I will focus on the substantial cultural crafts and ethnographic arts that have been very successful. As always I will work with the indigenous community and practice fair trade to ensure that we share the prosperity around the globe.

Tibet and the Monks

The Chinese government has really cracked down on Tibet to try and regain some semblance of "order". The Tibetan monks recently poured their feelings out to the foreign journalists behind closed doors. The journalists were provided with a Chinese sanctioned and guarded tour of the Tibetan region. The vision that the Chinese government was peddling to the foreign media was one of order and calm. The monks on the other hand paint a picture of violence, being jailed in their own temples, and many of the protesters being injured or killed.

The last thing the Chinese government wants is for the Olympics to be marred by these protests. This is a major chance for China to show their stuff on the world stage. Unfortunately, by continuing down the path of authoritarian rule and persecution, they are further staining their reputation. We can only hope that the Chinese government will see fit to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama to bring peace to the region…and establish a longer diplomatic relationship to ultimately allow for some freedom.

The Road To Democracy

Most people living in the United States are caught up in the presidential election year. Our current bungling president’s approval ratings are at an all time low. I suppose I will be politically correct and not endorse a particular candidate or party…but we are certainly in desperate need for a change in leadership and policy.

On the Democratic side the fight rages on between Obama and Clinton. They are starting to pull out all the stops with the mud-slinging. My perception is that Clinton is fiercer on that front. She seems to throw down a slam on Obama every chance she gets. Obama tends to be more reserved, but he won’t take the Clinton comments lying down, so he throws a nice jab back. This side of the election equation will continue to be

Mr. McCain finally is getting his day in the sun for the Republicans although probably 8 years too late. I’m not sure if we are ready for a president that needs to go to the senior special at Denny’s at 4:00 in the afternoon. But seriously, I’m sure this election season will still hold a number of surprises as it progresses to the general election in November. As long as the candidates can hold themselves together and not pull a Spitzer! As we have been starting the World Neighbor business in the middle of a recession we have only an upward trajectory to look forward to as the economy recovers! That is my optimistic view anyway….

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World Neighbor's Next Trip to Mexico

I changed my next trip from Nicaragua to Mexico. My daughter has Leukemia so I need to able to come back quickly. Mexico City has multiple direct flights from Chicago while there are no direct flight from Chicago to Nicaragua and they are less frequent. I plan on heading out to the Patzcuaro area a few hours outside of Mexico City where there are a number of indigenous craftspeople that I am going to work with. I am leaving in April and I am extremely excited to be going. There are coppersmiths, reed weavers, textile weavers and pottery makers. I hope to be able to purchase a good number of items for the World Neighbor Store.

I also have some new items that just arrived from Egypt as well as some other items coming from Greece. I will be placing those up in the store over the next few weeks. I am happy that our inventory is expanding to different corners of the world. I am in contact with a number of Vietnamese vendors that I hope to set up a relationship with over the next year or so.

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Bin Laden Blathers On

World Neighbor denounces all those that spew hatred and perpetrate violent acts against anyone. "Osama Bin Laden" released another taped recording recently in reaction to a Danish newspaper publishing a cartoon of Muhammad. Islamic law prohibits the image of Muhammad so Bin Laden whipped out the normal set of terrorist threats. I am all for free speech since it is the underpinning of allowing true freedom to exist for people. At the same time I understand religious and cultural difference and our need to be sensitive to these issues. I think Muslims have every right to be angry and upset over this violation of their religious beliefs. How do I reconcile this centrist view? I’m not exactly sure…it is never an easy task, but if we are ever to be successful at building bridges between cultures we must know empathy.

One non-violent solution would be for Muslims to boycott all things Danish. I have even read about some bakeries in Egypt that have renamed the "danish" rolls to "muslim" rolls. Will this take money out of the pockets of the Danish? No. But it is a nice humorous way for Muslims to tell them how pissed off they are.

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Tibetan Troubles

I have been reading about the crackdown by the Chinese government on the protestors in Tibet. I am saddened by the loss of close to 100 demonstrators in the violent actions used to address the protest. I am glad to see that Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting with the Dalai Lama. I was also happy when the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the United States President George Bush met with the Dalai Lama. These meetings lend legitimacy to the work to which the Dalai Lama has been dedicating his life. There are some unsubstantiated rumors that the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao may meet with the Dalai Lama. I personally hope this rumour turns out to be true as it would be a small step in building bridges between these two cultures. When the dialogue is opened as the first step, we can then hope that eventually there will be a peaceful solution found and the Tibetans in exile can return home.

This is what World Neighbor is really all about – building bridges between cultures.
We work with a group of exiled Tibetans who are living in Nepal and creating wonderful Tibetan spiritual items (meditation singing bowls, bells, chimes, prayer wheels, ritual daggers and more). Please come by and pick up some great quality Tibetan goods and support these artisans. The more World Neighbor sells the more we will buy from these accomplished artisans. Who knows, maybe one day they will be able to return to a free Tibet. We sincerely wish them the best of luck!
http://www.phayul.com/
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World Neighbor Walks on the Wild Side in the Big Easy

Demetria (my wife) and I went to New Orleans one month before Katrina hit. It was kind of eerie that the local news stations were talking about hurricane preparedness and the designated escape routes while we were there. Little did anyone know that a month later those plans would be needed and how woefully inadequate they would turn out to be.

We spent a good amount of time in the French Quarter and on Bourbon street as well as some of the other area tourist traps. It wasn’t too crowded at that time of year since it was very hot and sticky. We decided to go out and have some extra fun and drinks one night so we started hopping from bar to bar. We saw the multiple tranny shows hawking their night’s entertainment. Demetria and I were curious so we stepped inside one for a laugh. When we walked into the dark bar there were two people sitting at a table smoking and talking, and a few she-males walking around. They all turned to look at us since we were obviously the first customers of the night. Needless to say it wasn’t the most comfortable situation so Demetria and I chickened out and did a 180 out the door. I did stop long enough to take a picture of one of the “ladies”. He/She was very nice about the whole thing saying something to the effect of “ Come back and see us later when you’re ready honey!”.

World Neighbor Does Deutschland

My friends and I hopped on the ferry from Denmark to Germany. We were going to stay for a few nights in East Berlin and we were excited about getting into town to down our first stein of beer. As soon as we got into the city we saw some police cars and a big crowd gathering. We ran into a big “techno-parade” with loud blaring techno and people dressed in lively costumes prancing about. We finally found our way around the spectacle and saw our first glimpse of the Berlin Wall along the river.

We made our way to our hostel in East Berlin in a seedier part of town. It was the right price and we heard that it was a diamond in the rough. When we arrived night was falling and we cautiously made our way inside what appeared to be an abandoned building. Once we got through the courtyard however, we were pleasantly surprised by the reception area. We was a number of backpackers hanging out playing cards, guitars and talking. We scored a room with a toilet and went to settle in. We hunkered down for the night to get ready for our next long day.

(Lovely view from our hotel room)

The next day we headed out to the Brandenburg gate and off to some shopping and eating. I ignorantly order a wiener schnitzel expecting a sausage and instead got a thin slice of veal. I laughed and ordered another weiss beer to wash it down. Just then my married friends decided to have a little lover’s quarrel. He went off to pout and she was just mad and wanted to keep touring. Being the third wheel at this point was not all that much fun. I played the “Three’s Company” routine on them and ran out after him to let him know that she wanted to make up. Once he came back in I put my arms around them, shoved a beer in their faces and shouted “Prost!”. Some other folks in the restaurant followed suit and my friends started to laugh…crisis averted! You have to love a country that serves beer at McDonalds!

World Neighbor Puerto Rico Day 1

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After our adventure and late night on the way in, Demetria and I woke up late and hit Old San Juan. We saw several interesting sites. Aside from the standards like El Morro fort and the beautiful waterfront we spied some cool graffiti art.














I was lovin’ the rice and beans. The rice was a shorter grain and had a much better taste to it than the rice I typically eat at home. The food was great everywhere we went. I went for the spicy stuff. It’s not good unless it makes you sweat. For obvious reasons the seafood was fresh and fantastic. We toured the big El Morro fort and checked out the period weaponry. There were cannons and cannonballs on display. The kids would have loved this stuff.


There was a bunch of people flying kites in the big field in front of the fort. The location was perfect with steady gusty winds. It was a great way to just hang out and gel with the locals. Everyone that we encountered was very nice. I could get used to the island life! We took the bus back and forth to Old San Juan since it was regularly scheduled and convenient. I tried my first Mojito…with my low blood sugar this sucker got me revving! Of course I usually crash as soon as I get spastic from the sugar high so I don’t often partake in sugary drinks. But since rum is the national drink I had to…really it’s like a law that I did not want to break. I was also able to enjoy a few Puerto Rican brews (Medalla) so I balanced the load.

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World Neighbor and the Bountiful Greek Gifts

My wife, Demetria, is Greek so we decided to go to Greece and Italy for our honeymoon. We got off our plane in Athens before transferring to the to another plane to the island of Mykonos. While we were taking the tram to the terminal Demetria got a nice face full of hairy armpit. Demetria is a bit shorter than me so she was perfect nose level with a few folks that were holding onto the overhead straps. She just stood there looking a little defeated and braved it out. I winked and smiled at her ;-)

Later that day night after an Olympic Airways twin prop flight from hell, we slid into our room in Mykonos. The next morning we awoke to the beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea from our hotel window. We enjoyed a continental breakfast on the sunny patio and got ready for our day. We headed down to the marina so that we could take in all the artisans painting and selling their crafts. We came away with a few fantastic paintings depicting scenery on the Greek islands. We also purchased a number of worry beads to give as gifts to our friends. This is the trip that inspired me to find and import ethnographic art and cultural crafts. I always have such a great time searching out the unique one of a kind items and talking with the creators. Demetria and I took our new treasures back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day on the beach. The topless ladies were having a great time but Demetria wasn’t having it. She was quite happy with her great little bikini …as was I !

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World Neighbor Italian Style - The Venetian Vex

We traveled from Rome up to Venice on a tour bus with an interesting and diverse group of folks. One couple in particular was funny in a sad, tragic kind of way. Their names were Dave and Martha from Connecticut, USA. Dave was a sales executive at some large corporate joint. Martha was, as her name may suggest, a homemaker. I’m guessing they were in their mid 50’s and they were both very nice to chat with initially. We sat with them at dinner and it soon became clear that Mr. Dave was the ruler of the roost. He was very demeaning to his wife (and here we are on our honeymoon!). I remember one exchange that Mr. Dave and Martha had in particular about a dishwasher. Martha offered my new wife Demetria a helpful hint on getting some gunk off of a plate by using the dishwasher. Mr. Dave scolded her and let her know that us newlyweds probably didn’t have the high-end model dishwasher that they had so the suggestion was no good. Wow…slammed his wife and us all in one fell swoop!

I felt sort of sorry for Martha as she would just take Mr. Dave’s venom and move on to more “pleasant” discussion. She was clearly co-dependant and in need of a getting out of this life she had become accustomed to. I found it sad to think about the fact that there are probably so many dysfunctional marriages (and hence the high divorce rates). But at the same time it made me appreciate Demetria even more. Demetria isn’t having any of that nonsense! …On to the gondolas and St. Mark’s square to pay $25 US dollars for a cup of coffee!! (Seriously, do NOT order a cup of coffee in St. Mark’s square because they automatically tack on an “entertainment” fee onto your bill – even if the “entertainment” is on a “break”).

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World Neighbor Italian Adventure - A Close Shave

While we were in Sorrento and making day trips to Capri I needed to get a haircut. We stopped by the local barber shop (candy stripe spinning pole and all). The friendly barber greeted us in Italian and had me step right up. Some neighborhood friends of his were hanging out reading the newspaper and talking. I just opted for the straight shave of the head. The Italian peanut gallery were all interested in the American guy that was about to get his head shaved down. Instead of the barber breaking out the electric shaver he started sharpening his straight razor on the leather belt hanging from the chair. I looked into the mirror and gulped! The barber laughed with the blade up and pointed to it and said something in Italian. I just motioned that it was no problem and he should go for it.

He lathered me up with the old-fashioned mortal and pestle lather and got down to business. His hand was as steady as a surgeon as he drew the sharp blade across my scalp. My new bride, Demetria, was hanging out with the Italian peanut gallery drinking coffee while my new shaving cream ‘fro was being removed by the skilled hands of the barber. The barber completed with some finishing touches and placed a warm towel, scented with lemon no less, on my head. The pièce de résistance was the manly smelling aftershave that the barber applied which made my scalp tingle with pleasure. This was one of the most enjoyable head shavings that I have ever had. The only thing that would have made it even more perfect would be a neck and head message from my gorgeous new bride at the same time! I guess there are some things that don’t get better with technological and process “improvements”….

World Neighbor - St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

My buddy and I took a trip to Ireland over St. Patrick's day. My friend had some relatives that we were going to stay with so we could travel on the cheap. We traveled with his mom so that she could visit her sister and family back home. We were only a short walk from the town's main pub in Gallway. We decided to go hang there with the family and locals for St. Paddy's day. The owner was a cousin of my friend so we were planning on being "locked in" with some of the other regulars after the standard closing time.
We had a blast. I was drinking apple cider. My new Irish friend Joe was telling me that if I drank too much cider I would go mad. It was so good, I just couldn't stop pounding them back. We were all hanging out and singing songs. Our new Irish friends were singing traditional Irish songs and my buddy and I were singing old standards. We were arm in arm swinging back and forth singing/screaming at the top of our lungs. The owner cooked up some bangers (sausages for the uninitiated Americans reading this) and we scarfed those down in quick order.

I had to go to the bathroom and I got up with my cider and went to do my business. They all gave me a hard time because they all leave their beers when they go to the toilet. My buddy joined in on the fun. "Are you sure that's cider boy-o?", "Hey Mary another round of piss for my friend over here", etc… It was pretty funny. I couldn't even get a word in edge wise to explain that everyone in the States took their drinks with them or else the drink would be thrown out (just another example of how the States are much less personal I suppose!). At one point at the height of my stupor I started getting all lovey-dovey and decided that I had to call my girlfriend (at the time). I headed outside to the town's public phone and called her up. She listened to me as I slurred through my speech about how much I missed her and how I couldn't wait to see her again…and she married me anyway!
We finally staggered out of the bar when the birds were singing and the sun was just peaking it's head up over the horizon. We slept the entire next day and got up to hit the town for some dinner. Our livers were screaming at us to take it easy, but we had to have some Guinness for strength after all!

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World Neighbor – The Blarney, Roof Dancing and More Irish Fun

Our trip to Ireland was a whirlwind. We made a point to go to Blarney castle to kiss the Blarney stone. We climbed the old stone castle and stood in a short line. We made the trip with Phil’s cousin Patty. She was first up. An old Irish gentleman was in place helping the tourists get into position on their backs, stick their heads over the ledge and kiss the Blarney stone upside down. When Patty jumped into position, the Blarney man said “well she sure is an eager lass isn’t she?” Patty just laughed and tapped him on the arm as if to say “oh you dirty old man”. She puckered up and kissed the stone. I was next up and I had put some Chapstick on my dry lips prior to climbing up the castle steps. When I got into position and pecked the old stone the Blarney man said “Oh boy he’s slobbering all over the stone he is”. He made a big production about taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping off the stone. I retreated red faced… but then I heard him repeat the same routine about 15 minutes. The old showman had to keep the crowd entertained!

We took off, made a short stop in Waterford for some crystal and went back “home” to get ready for a fun night. Patty’s husband Sean was DJ’ing at a local pub that evening so my buddy and I went along to help him set up. The three of us shoehorned ourselves into his small car with his two large speakers and DJ equipment. We road off down the country roads to the town and started the process of setting up the equipment. The pub owner told his son to take care of my buddy and me so we ordered up a few pints and settled in. My buddy Phil decided to switch over to the “mad cider” after a few pints. He asked for the pub owner’s son for some ice in his cider. The boy returned and, “plink”, dropped in a cube. Phil looked at him and asked for some more ice. The boy obliged, “plink”, in went another ice cube. Phil started laughing. “Boy-O, bring me a bucket of ice and make sure it is full to the rim”. He popped a couple of punt on the bar and the boy happily obliged.


We were having a great time hanging with all the locals and enjoying the music. There was a line for the WC so Phil got the idea to head out back to take a leak. When he came back he had a devious look in his eye and told me to follow him. We went out back where I saw a little ladder against the side of the bar. We climbed up onto the roof and had a drink. Before too long a few of the locals were up on the roof with us and we all started singing along to the music. We packed it up and went back down just in time for the last song of the night. The lights went up, the National Anthem of Ireland played and everyone sobered up for a few teary eyed moments. It was a pretty inspiring scene.

World Neighbor Deals With Difficult People

So at my day job I work with a guy who is an equal opportunity grouch. He is one of my customers and I am his supplier. Unfortunately he knows a lot about the industry and he works for a company with a culture that values condescension. This makes for a dangerous combination. He berates everyone on my team (and often people in his own company). As you can imagine this makes working a great joy. I’m not sure how people like this tick. I guess we all have to realize that people like this have incredibly low self-esteem and are miserable. Still I would like to haul off and clock this stooge sometimes. …just a little life lesson on a micro level. If we have these issues at a personal level how in the heck are we supposed to work things out between different ideologies, cultures, countries, religions, and politics? Well…call me an optimist but I think we can do better with all our relations. We will always have people that are difficult to deal with and we will just need to learn how to boost their self esteem enough to bring them along. Best o’ luck to you all – I know from first hand experience that it is no easy assignment.

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World Neighbor – Danish Rocket’s Red Glare

I went to visit my friends in Denmark in a suburb of Copenhagen. I visited in early July and my friends took me downtown on July the 4th. We visited Tivoli and rode some great carnival rides, enjoyed some excellent food and listened to some great music. Later that night I got a great surprise when we went down to a big gathering of folks by the harbor. My friend said something to a few folks that were gathered in the middle of a large group. Suddenly they erupted in smiles and laughter and came over to shake my hand and introduce themselves. Then someone handed me a small Danish flag and a small American flag.

I was still not sure what was going on. Although I did notice that the crowd was getting much larger and many people were carrying American flags. I obviously knew it was July 4th but why did people in Denmark care? My friend explained everything with a very simple and obvious history lesson. Since the States helped defeat the Germans and liberate Denmark in WWII the Danish still celebrate and honor July 4th with a great fireworks show and a show of solidarity. I felt very patriotic and I even choked up a bit when the fireworks above started detonating with the sound of the United States national anthem playing in the background. The Danes were waving their American and Danish flags and I learned quite a bit about the Danish people from this one event. This is a great culture that celebrated the good and didn’t forget the bad. People in the States could learn a lot from this view of life.

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