Ukraine Deserves Better

I've been a supporter of the Samaritan Ministries of Ukraine (SMU) for more than twenty years now. My minimal contributions have gone towards creating widow homes for the destitute women in the rural Zhytomyr region of Ukraine ... an area where my family once lived. While SMU's founder, Don Miller from Oregon, has sadly passed on, his widow, Nancy, recently posted a request of fellow Americans to stop Trump's skewed efforts at peacemaking. Ukraine deserves better!

Just in case I have American readers of this blog .... here is Nancy Miller's (of SMU) plea:

Please call on the Trump Administration and congressional leaders to do right by Ukraine. Use your voice to make a difference for Ukraine:

Calling tool (https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/) - Call EVERY DAY!

Email Congress campaign (https://www.votervoice.net/RAZOM.../Campaigns/121991/Respond) - Use once. 

Email Congress campaign (https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3568/actions/public...) 

These links will ask for a donation. We are NOT suggesting you donate to them. 

Thank you!

The Chaos of San Pancho

My time is quickly winding down here in laid back, tropical San Pancho. As I sit on my apartment terrace, sipping green tea and pondering the day ahead, I view the busy street one floor below.

Pineapple and watermelon vendors cruise the streets blaring ads for their produce. A garbage truck passes, its dirty rear end somehow less smelly as a yearning crooner serenades its workers through the drudgery of their day. Dogs meander around scooters, ATVs, golf carts, BMWs, tourists and locals. Some canines even hitch rides. 

Free-range kids play tag, free-range roosters crow, and giant, rooted cacti bloom amidst the dust and exhaust fumes. It’s an incredible cacophony of sound, of motion, of smells. 

Every few doors there’s a different beat, another song, another voice adding cadence to the mayhem of the street. Fruit stands, butcher shops, cafes, tequila and chocolate shops co-exist with pharmacies, yoga studios and meditation centres. 

Friendly nods, accompanied by ‘hola’ or ‘buenos dia’ spice up navigation along the cobbled roads. Pfew! It’s a lot for this prairie dweller to absorb. But soon I’ll return to Winnipeg where it’s -26 not +26 and I can chill back into my comfort zone.