RGV Life

Prelude No. 1 Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1959) Tango en Skie Roland Dyens (1955- ) Recuerdos de la Alhambra -Capricho Arabe Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) Sons de Carilhoes Joao Pernambuco (1883-1947) Leyenda Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) Recital at UTPA Duration:25 minutes, 47 seconds MP3 File

Six Lute Pieces of the Reinaissance by Anon. 1. Preludio 2. Bianco Fiore 3. Danza 4. Gagliarda 5. Canzone 6. Saltarello Variations on a theme by Mozart Fernando Sor (1788-1839) Rumores de la Caleta Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) Study in A Major -Danza Mora -Recuerdos de la Alambra Francisco Tarrega (1855-1909) Recital at UTPA Duration:29 minutes, 41 seconds MP3 File Part 1, MP3 File Part 2

Henry Mancini Saxophone Quintet UTPA Recital MP3 File

Lenny Niehaus Saxophone Quintent MP3 File

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791. Arr. by Manuel Arambula Saxophone Quintet 1. Andante: "Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja" (Papageno) 2. Largo: "Dies Bildnis is bezaubernd schon" (Tamino) 3. Largo: "Ozritte nicht, mein lieber Sohn!" (Konigin der Nacht) 4. Andante: Marsch der Priester 5. Allegro: "Der Holle Rache kocht in Meinem Herzen" (Konigin der Nacht) 6. Andante: "Ein Madchen oder Weibchen" (Papageno) UTPA Recital MP3 File

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791. arr by William O'Neil 1. Largo: allegro moderato 2. Larghetto 3. Rondo: allegretto featuring Dr. John Raimo, Piano Manuel Arambula, Guest Conductor first performance of the Clarinet Choir version UTPA Recital MP3 File

Saxophone Quintet George Gershwin 1898-1937 1. Allegro ben ritmico e deciso 2. Andante con moto e poco rubato Don Besig. Arr. by Manuel Arambula Flying Free UTPA Recital MP3 File

Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 1. Allegro molto 2. Largo 3. Allegro Cassandra Sanchez and Dr. Malcolm J. Coleman, Flutes. Dr. John Raimo, Piano UTPA Music Recital MP3 File

I'm not going to discourage hispanics from not walking on May 1st. They ought to do what they think is right for them. I do want to address the groups encouraging them to do it, however. Shame on all of you. You don't care for these mojados. You know very well that many of them will get fired over this. This is just like the entire fiasco in Mission, TX over the contaminated land. "Activists" are out working their tails off to sue chemical companies and the train company. Rather than work to raise money and move these people out, they leave them there to die pending litigation. What a bunch of jerks. Same goes for latino groups. A bunch of talk, but when it comes to doing something meaningful and useful, you turn to Washington. Leave Washington out of it. They don't know their left from their right. If you REALLY wanted to do something useful for these immigrants, you'd raise money and help them become legal residents. Why don't you do that? It's becau...

There are some things that you have to learn the hard way, unfortunately. When you do, these life lessons stay with you forever. One such lesson I learned while I was a student at UT-Austin . I was up late drinking and got the munchies. It seemed like a good idea to go from my apartment, across from St. David's Hospital on Red River, down to the 7-11 on the corner of MLK and Guadalupe for burritos on my bike. If you've been on Red River by the campus, you know that there is a really steep descent by the parking lots. Well, I decided to ride down on the street and then jump onto the sidewalk on the ascent to stay out of traffic. It was late, mind you, so I did not feel like getting run over, having done it once before, and being left there for dead. So, as I see a corner coming up at high speed on my bike, I missed it by a little and wiped out. The sidewalk around there is not smooth concrete. It's the embedded rock type. Ow! So, instead of buying burritos at the 7-11, I lim...

I just read a really sad story about an Afghan girl . She was married off at the age of 4. She is now 11 and has endured merciless beatings and abuse by her father-in-law and her husband's family. Reading this makes me sad for her. On the other hand, reading about her belief in the kindness of others despite the abuse, it brings me some joy. She had hope that crawling away with a broken arm or leg would lead to a better life; and it did. There is a saying somewhere about a person who was sad about not having shoes until he met a person who had no feet. The point being, you should not feel bad for yourself because there is always somebody worse off. I was actually sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I've been holed up for a couple of days, not leaving home if I could help it. Some of it stems from being jobless, some of it from having an uncertain future, and some of it accepting my fate for the next couple years as a menial worker. I watched Fun with Dick and Jane last nigh...

When reading RGV Life, you are seriously in danger of getting bent out of shape. The intent of this blog is to share the experience of living in the Rio Grande Valley with people who do not live here. A secondary purpose is to give the author(s) a place to comment on or criticize local government and politicians. Failing miserably at both, RGV Life has a backup purpose: proving how stupid one CAN get. RGV Life proudly proclaims our success at the last goal. Shaine Mata, that would be me, is totally unqualfied, according to critics, to form any opinion on any topic, ever. That is the level of consideration you should give the content contained herein. Shaine is moronic, offensive, sophomoric, ... adjectives fail me. Shaine has been known to be spectacularly wrong in order not to half-ass the effort. Shaine even goes so far as changing his mind when the facts require it. Reading my posts is like watching with fascination at something that just keeps getting worse. The author assumes no r...

There is a Senator who has an idea to lower gas taxes who is being ignored by the media. It took me forever to find a link to this guy, even after watching him on Your World with Neil Cavuto. No media bias, my $$$. Anyway, his idea is to shift the taxation of gasoline from the federal government to the states. This would eliminate the inefficiency of sending money to Washington and having them send the money back. His idea is this. The federal government used the gas tax, which is a little over 18 cents per gallon, to build the Interstate highway system. The highways are complete and only need maintenance. By taking out the federal tax, states can raise their gas tax and save taxpayers money by eliminating federal administration costs. Currently, our gas taxes are roughly 20 cents federal and 20 cents state. So, on the $2.72 price at the pump, about 40 cents is taxes. Let's say that taking out the federal portion and giving it to the state results in some efficiency. Even a 10 cen...

This is the tail end of Business Law class at UTPA. We had a couple guest speakers. You can visit SpinRGV.com for audio of Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra and a San Juan Police Officer . MP3 File

I got this comment on The Rep's blog. I don't want to hijack the blog on this issue. Shaine...you still don't get it. Tax revenue is collected from many sources. The abolishment of the manifiesto tax refund is just one way to raise tax revenue. The Texas Legislature decides how to raise and spend this tax revenue. I do not expect to fund public education only from tax revenue collected from abolishing the manifiesto tax refund. At the same time, a simple increase in cigarette tax or used auto sales tax or a different franchise tax, alone, will not solve the issue. You get it. Bonds are totally different. The voters decide if a bond is approved and the school districts decide how to spend it. Now, if I did not persuade you with my research on the issue and the excellent report from the comptroller's office, then I don't know what it will take to convince you that from a policy perspective, it is a great idea!Your analogies are totally off base and your commentaries a...

It was one of the first days of Summer. School had been out for a few days in La Joya and already it was pretty boring at home. Chano wasn't having any luck keeping busy. The small black and white TV was showing soap operas and it would be a while before the 3 o'clock cartoons started. He was looking forward to another episode of GI Joe and He-Man. He stepped up on the 5 gallon bucket to reach the TV and turn it off. His mom was taking a nap in her bedroom. He looked out the back door to see if maybe Johnny was home. He saw the Valdez station wagon in the driveway, so he put on his shoes to go play with his neighbor. Chano walked out of the house and headed to Johnny's. He walked into their back yard and went around the front of the house. Johnny was inside playing with his little sister, the sound of her giggles could be heard through the window. Mr. Valdez was outside working on the station wagon. Chano looked down on the floor and picked up some beer bottlecaps. There w...

Hi Hector, I didn't want to hijack the rep's blog for a side discussion. I'll also add this to RGV Life for public comment. Here is what you wrote: What would this do to Mexico's economy if the majority of wealthy Mexican nationals were faced with the decision to either spend money in their own country or ours during peak holiday seasons? Would this improve Mexico's economy? I'd like to know, please respond either here or email me.. I don't have hard facts to which to point, it's just my best guess from talking to many of my Mexican customers. The average Mexican doesn't shop for taxable goods. They will go to the flea markets in Hidalgo, here in Mission, or other places. They are looking for goods for resale. So, they don't bother with manifiestos because they don't pay taxes on the stuff anyway. These shoppers don't typically come here and stay at a hotel and fill their suburbans with goods during peak holiday seasons. Those who do come...

State Representative Aaron Peña stopped by the KURV studios in Edinburg to talk with Davis Rankin about some of the battles going on in Austin over school finance reform. As you may be aware, some bills have passed out of the House of Reps and is on the way to the conference committee where it will be changed from its current incarnation. The battle is far from over. There are multiple nuances, according to Peña, beyond the Sharp-Perry plan. Over the last two days, an uprising has come out of the Houston area by radio show host Dan Patrick, who is also headed for the Texas Senate. He is one of the conservative Republicans opposed to raising taxes. Suffice it to say that negotiations are still going on. There are also struggles within the Democratic Part in Texas, with 3 different groups trying to steer the party in different directions. So, there is more going on in Austin than just the debates over school finance, there are battles going on within the parties. The more meaningful sp...

It's s0 funny, my luck, sometimes. My wife went out and got a 95 Ford Windstar at Spikes Ford in Mission. It was in pretty good shape. The only annoying defect we knew about was that the front windows did not open. This is fine, we just use the A/C. In time, it developed another defect. The door ajar sensor keeps sensing the door ajar. It happened within about a month. It was intermittent at first and progressively got more permanent. Now, it occasionally doesn't sense a door ajar (it doesn't say which one). Lately, the Windstar has been developing a rough idle. I did a quick web search and checked a Hayes manual, it could be a vacuum leak or clogged fuel injectors. After more searching, it turns out that the 95 model also has a well known defect that could cause similar problems. If it's the injectors, the additive I put in will fix the problem. If it's vacuum hoses, I'll have to learn how to check that. If it's the defect, I'm looking at a $900+ repa...

I had a phone call today for an interview with the Boys and Girls Club in McAllen . I had turned in an application during a job fair at UTPA . I'll be going in this week. It's somehow exciting; moreso than the HEB interviews last week.

This morning, Davis Rankin interviewed State Rep. Aaron Peña on KURV , 710 AM radio. I jotted down some notes and tried to keep up. Here is what I got regarding the quest for school finance reform. The Rep says that Dan Patrick is leading the charge for Republican grass roots effort against the margin tax. The claim is that the Perry-Sharpe margin tax is bad for business. Currently many businesses in Texas are not taxed because they are not corporations. Meaning that they operate as LLC, LLP, and other passive income type organizatios. The proposals are basically meant to expand the tax base to include those types of businesses. Obviously, large corporations are all behind the proposals. There are bomb throwers on both sides of the aisle. Reps on the left and right are trying to break up the coalition that is trying to push this legislation through. Any criticism about raising taxes while having a budget surplus can be fended off by pointing out that this is the Governor's plan. Fo...

Commenting on RGV blogs and the headlines of the week. Doing some blog promos for the rest of you. MP3 File

I recently received an email from Scott Henson over at Grits for Breakfast with a summary of incidents of corruption along the border. I've been aware of the latest in which five brothers , one a police officer and another a former officer, were arrested with other men in connection with a drug smuggling operation. Reports indicate that they provided logistics in crossing the border. So, with the available information, they basically got drugs on the Mexican side, crossed them over the river, and then handed the drugs off to other operators on this side. So far, no information has come out indicating that the police officer and his brother, who was also an officer, used their jobs to help the operation. But, information is scarce at this point. Officials have been tight-lipped about the particulars. I'm jaded. It's not unexpected. This sort thing does affect public perception of local police because you always wonder if the officer writing you a ticket has a side business. ...

After leaving the wedding reception for my cousin last night, my sister, my wife, and I decided to go out for a drink somewhere. My wife and I just hit our 30s and my sister is still in her 20s. We tried to think of somewhere to go. There are clubs like XS, Club Mint, and others that are popular, but it's mostly kids. A bunch of 18 to 24 year olds trying to look cooler than each other. Guys trying to look more badass than the other guys and the girls trying to wear as little clothing as possible. You have to be trendy and look like you've got money, even if you don't. That's cool when you're younger and have no sense. After a certain age, conversation starts to become important.   So we discussed some options. City Breeze is cool, but it hurts, physically, to buy a drink there. They nail you pretty good for a beer; don't even mention a mixed drink. Good thing there at City Breeze is that you can be outside and don't have to shout so loud to chat. None ...

Last night I had the honor of seeing my cousin Alexandra married. She and her older sister, Aidee, are daughters of my uncle, Guadalupe Humberto Silva, who died when Alexandra was months old in an auto accident in Montana. My aunt, Emma, and my uncle met in Reynosa and lived as migrants while they were married. That is why they were in Montana.   My mother was crying as she saw Alexandra in her wedding dress. My uncle was my mother's baby brother. She wished that he were here to see his beautiful daughter on this day.   The reception was nice. There was a DJ and mariachis for music. There was family from both sides of the border in attendance. The reception hall catered with brisket, potato salad, spanish rice, dinner roll, and iced tea.   I could go into more detail about what a wedding is like here in the RGV for the majority of residents here. Believe it or not, most people here don't have multi-thousand dollar budgets for their weddings. For most of us, a...

Starr County is known to give out ridiculous awards in civil suits. If you are going up against deep pockets, you want to somehow fall under the jurisdiction of one of their courts. Juries are likely to find against the deep pockets whether or not they had anything to do with the wrong and give out a huge award.   In the $1 Billion Vioxx case, the jury found against Merck and awarded $32 million in damages. The award breaks down into $25 million for punitive damages and $7 million for actual damages. However, since we have a cap on punitive damages at $750,000, Merck won't have to sweat most of the $32 million. This is a long ways off from the $1 Billion the family was seeking. Combined, the award is 0.775% of what they sought. It's a loss, but not a major loss. Of course, there will be appeals, which could overturn the decision or send it back for retrial. What will definitely be changed is the punitive damages award. The appeals court will reduce that to the maximum all...

I know you all think I'm kidding when I write that we are not in the U.S.A., and that this is the Republic of Texmico. I have proof of my assertion that the United States starts at Falfurrias. Have you noticed that the Minutman (minutemen?) group that is out helping the Border Patrol find illegal aliens is working out in the farms around the checkpoints? Well, have you? If the true border were in the Rio Grande Valley, these guys would be hanging out on the Rio Grande and not at ranches north of here. This is why we don't get any respect from Austin or Washington. They don't consider us part of the country. Texas was a buffer for Mexico to keep out the gringos from the silver mines in the Mexican interior. It kept them out of the silver mines, but they took Texas. As part of the U.S.A., the RGV is basically a buffer to keep out mojados. It slows them down, but the mojados run the place. The valley is like Puerto Rico. We're a commonwealth. We can vote, we get benefits, ...

In my Biz Law class on Tuesday, we touched on a topic that has stuck in my mind. I think we were talking about torts and we got off topic and started talking abouth the "loquitos" in our towns. One story was about a man in Edinburg who would just call people from payphones and tell them all kinds of things. He even maaged to get through to the White House to threaten the President. The Secret Service called the chief of police, who just happened to be nearby and could see the guy calling. He explained that the guy is not all there. They thought he was kidding, how could he be standing there watching the guy do it? He assured them that he was not joking. Sometimes, the PD would arrest him and dump him over in Pharr. In Mcallen, there is a man who goes through people's trash and takes out aluminum cans. People have complained about him. You know, there are people here who are poor, believe it or not. If you have a decent life, why are you complaining about a guy looking thr...

I rode to McAllen from home today to get my bike serviced at Bicycle World . I've put a few hundred miles on it and it really needed a new chain and to have the gears adjusted. I also picked up a lock and some Teflon lube. I was looking for screws for the headset and other parts to replace the rusty ones on my bike, but Bicycle World does't carry them. Fortunately, Thor (yes, that's his name), a bike mechanic there, recommended a bolt and screw shop on 23rd that can fill the order. Apparently, each vendor uses different threads and the store has no interest in stocking all the varieties. If you're new to biking, you can buy a whole bike for a few hundred dollars. What distinguishes good bikes from what are called POS bikes, is that you can buy and replace every single component on a good bike from one of many different brands that all cost a geat deal. What you end up doing is replacing a good part with a really good part. So, as far as savings go, it's worthwhile t...

Today was a good day for bike riding. There was a nice breeze that kept the temperature outside tolerable, even at midday. I was able to do 14 miles. I bought a computer for my bike, so now I don't have to guess how far I ride. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't a strain. I doubt I'll feel any soreness. I did, after all, ride about 6 miles last week. Those of you who engage in a sport know that it doesn't take too long to get reconditioned. Today's route was from my apartment to Quick Wok , to Mission City Hall , to Mission CISD , to Mission Library , and then just puttering around town. I even stopped by Hollywood Video to pay late fees. I have some pictures on flickr . Later, I'll be posting what will be on the MCISD ballot for May on MissionTexas.net . I found out that the City of Mission is not having any elections this May.

My wife and I are preparing to watch The Davinci Code. She bought the book and has read it. Now it's my turn to read the book. We like reading a book before watching a movie. We have discussed some of the history mentioned in the book as she graduated with a Bachelor's in History from UTPA . Some of the classes she took involved the bible. One thing that bothers her is that people are making a big deal about the book as if it were some authoritative book on the life of Jesus Christ. It's a work of fiction that borrows some historical evidence and twists it. Nobody got upset when Indiana Jones actually found the Holy Grail or when Constantine unearthed the Spear of Destiny. They didn't deserve any protest because they are works of fiction. Similarly, Dan Brown's book is a work of fiction. Some of the facts that he does borrow is that historians do seem to think that Mary Magdalen was the wife of Jesus. The reason for this is that she was his "companion", w...

Too late seems to be the theme of my life at the moment. I found out too late that I was scheduled for an interview for a tech job at Hidalgo County. I found out too late that I had a court date at the Mission Municipal Court . I'm getting notices for cool events AFTER they have passed. Consequently, I am living with the results. I'm jobless, I will have a warrant out for my arrest, and I'm missing the cool stuff. The jobless thing, I can deal with. I'm still getting requests for handywork. It's not tech-related, but at least there is challenge and variety. The hours are flexible and it pays OK. The court thing, I may end up with a warrant out for my arrest in Mission due to failure to appear in court. Back in June last year, I think they got some grant from DPS or some program that had Mission PD out in force giving out citations for traffic violations. I got one too for driving 52 in a 30. The thing is, he clocked me long before I arrived at the posted speed limit...

I didn't record this, but ran into it.

Short clip of Valley Symphony orchestra practicing. Not a complete piece. This is the last.

Short clip of Valley Symphony orchestra practicing. Not a complete piece. Following are more of the same.

Short clip of Valley Symphony orchestra practicing. Not a complete piece. Following are more of the same.

Short clip of Valley Symphony orchestra practicing. Not a complete piece. Following are more of the same.

Short clip of Valley Symphony orchestra practicing. Not a complete piece. Following are more of the same.

I was able to visit the elections office last week and gather some information. For elections run by the county, you can request a copy of campaign finance reports with a written request. You will pay 10 cents per copy. You may also purchase a list of candidates in an election run by the county. This eliminates city and school district elections. For the May election, Hidalgo County has been contracted to run elections for Mission, Sharyland, and McAllen school districts and the City of San Juan. Other available information from the County Elections Office are lists of contributors. You can request lists of registered voters, which include certificate number, name, and address. No other personal information will be included. You can also buy a CD of voter history in various formats. They can provide you with printed reports, but with several hundred pages each, you are better off paying $17.95 for the CD. The elections office also provides maps of the counties with delineated precincts...

This morning, I had an interview with Human Resources at HEB . I ran into them at the job fair at UTPA . I have a follow-up interview tomorrow morning, so I was doing some reading up on the industry. Invariably the question always comes, "Why do you want to work at XYZ, Corporation?" I thought I'd prepare for that.   There is some difficulty in coming up with something more substantial than "because you are hiring and I need a job". I've been researching the industry. One of the benefits of going to school at UTPA is that there is plenty of information lying around waiting for you.   I can't compare HEB to other grocery stores directly because HEB is a privately held company. All I can assume is that they follow the industry norms for grocery stores. This would mean that HEB has roughly a 30% Gross Margin, 6.5% Operating Margin, and a 2% Profit Margin as compared to national retailers such as Kroger, Safeway, and Albertson's. One thing to be...

I normally don't criticize fellow bloggers out of courtesy. There is a certain amount of license that we can take when expressing our opinions about things and I give other bloggers some leeway in doing so. But I just read two posts at Edinburg News: Edinburg News: Mayor Richard Garcia: A Republican in Democratic Clothing and Republican Throws Money in Mayor Richard Garcia's Campaign . The premise of the author's posts are, to put it politely, absurd. What does taking money from a Republican have anything to do with your performance as Mayor? I worked for a Democrat campaign and will probably work another. That doesn't mean I believe in the Democrat ideals. I believed in the candidate. So what if Roy Ibañez supports Richard Garcia's campaign. Perhaps Roy thinks that the Mayor is a better alternative to Joe Ochoa. I'm sure the logic is,"If I MUST give to a Democrat, I'll give to (fill in the blank)". In fact, I'd give Mayor Garcia kudos for his...

Interview with Esteban Anaya during Easter Sunday. Chit chatting about his experiences traveling the U.S. In Spanish. Unedited. He was in his teens and early 20s in the 1960s and traveled the U.S. as a migrant worker. MP3 File

Easter is obviously a Christian Holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Christ from the grave. This miracle is central to the Christian faiths. If you cannot believe that Christ arose from the dead, then you will find it difficult to believe that he was the son of God and that he performed miracles.   In the Rio Grande Valley, the majority of the population is Catholic. Whether we believe the miracle or not, most of us celebrate Easter. When you drive around in the week prior to the Easter Holiday, you will see vendors lining the the main streets with gift baskets, piñatas, and cascarones. The baskets are usually pastel colored with gifts for the children including stuffed animals, candy , toys, and other trinkets. The piñatas are made in bright pinks, blues, yellows, and other quasi-pastel colors. They are in the shapes of rabbits, eggs, chicks, and other commercial symbols of Easter. Cascarones are egg shells that have been emptied, washed, decorated, and filled with con...

I received this email from an RGV Life reader: Estimado Shaine, Stay with it. You're going to find a good job. Anyone who is trying as hard as you are,...... will have success.My name is Thomas Chubco Bear, currently retired in Mexico (Queretaro, Queretaro) and I have a question. For medical reasons, we have to move back stateside and I was wondering if you think the Rio Grande Valley is a good place for retired folk like us? We have been here in Mexico about three years and love the weather and inexpensive living, but think RGV may be a good second choice.Your opinion, please. Thank you so much. Thomas C. Bear, Queretaro, Mexico I'm sorry to hear that health reasons bring you back to the U.S, señor Bear. I think that living in the Rio Grande Valley is a good compromise. The U.S. doesn't actually start for another hour north of here at Falfurrias. However, we do enjoy the quality of life experienced with other parts of the country. Our cost of living is cheaper than other p...

Saturday morning next week, I will be volunteering for a project for the Mujeres Unidas Nueva Vida Housing Program. Some of the work will be laying down sod, resurfacing, repairing the playground, and building/painting picnic benches. Transportation will be provided by the organizers.

Denise asked me to find the article where Al Gore predicts the end of life on Earth due to global warming. So, I found it .   The whole thing started with my assertion that Gore went nutty after losing the election. The context in wich I wrote it was that the current County Judge should not go MIA. He should continue to serve to the best of his ability and keep his head high because he lost by just the slightest margin. If this were a landslide loss, I would understand him feeling rejected. But with slightly less than 50% of the vote, he has a chance to do other things, including taking on Juan Maldonado.   If you recall, after the election, Al Gore lost his seat in Tennessee and went MIA. When Gore reappeared, he was all Grizzly Adams and had dreams of starting a TV network. He also went around doing speaches eviscerating the President for any decision. Every time he showed up on a TV show, he kept making jokes about his loss and how he has moved on, despite no...

What a busy day. I went to the Job Fair at UTPA and met several people. Here is a pic of the University Ballroom when I got there. There weren't that many people yet as it was scheduled for 10 AM and I got there at 9:48. Still, the recruiters were ready to go. I signed up for a raffle and got a bag with a t-shirt and some stuff. I then walked around and met some people. I first chatted with Amy Navarro and Rebecca Romeo of Red Bull Energy Drink. They are looking for people to promote their product. I'll be checking out the website to apply and get more details later. I'm not above embarrassing myself to promote a product, I do it for free everyday anyway. Another notable person I met was Denise Juarez from the McAllen Boys and Girls Club . It seems like such an organized place by her description of the program. I applied there. I'll visit to see what I can offer. For certain, I want to sign up my daughter for the Summer program. I also talked to military recruiters. I c...