Debra Gould:  

June 25, 2016 A year has passed and I never have the time to make it to one of the reunions. Last year was ridiculously hectic, I produced 6 Multi Cultural Conferences and Recruiting events plus the Latino Expo. The 2016 Latino Expo marked the 26th in the Northeast since 2000. It's value and mission have provided an entire generation with quality resources and information. After serving four years on the State of CT's Medicaid Oversite Council, I said good-bye. It was really valuable for me and for the council to have someone from outside the health industry there to raise questions and introduce new technology they needed. My Mom was the Executive Managing Editor of the Public Health Reports. Our dinner table was a constant education masked in simple conversations. She was the first to publish the results from Ralph Nader's discovery of asbestos in hair dryers and she was the first to tell the story from the CDC about 2 women who had crystals on the lungs which ended up discovering the danger of fluorocarbons in aerosols. Now as an adult it has been my turn to contribute my experience and expertise for public health. It is funny how close the apple falls from the tree. My best friend YouTube continues to be a shining light. This year it taught me how to save $125.00. Instead of buying a new plastic window for the washing machine, I gathered all the broken pieces and soldered them together only to have my son break the center of the window. I pulled out my handy $8.00 soldering iron and fixed it again. I also took apart 2 carburetors: one on the new Honda lawnmower and one on the Stihl weedwacker. I feel like Dorothy, "I ain't scared" I will try and fix everything these days. The first year of college flew by for my younger son. He really blossomed as they say. After reading his poetry at an open mic night, he was approached by a writer for the newspaper and invited to join. He ended up publishing 20 articles on all kinds of subjects and people. He also taught himself how to play the bass and will be in the school's blues band next fall (which will earn him 1 credit). He's also got a paid gig as a news writer for the school's TV station. He's happy and that makes me happy. My older son continues to live the dream. He just finished working the Governor's Ball EDC festival in NY. He then flew to LA, picked up the equipment and drove it to Las Vegas for a 5 day EDC festival. He'll be in San Diego working ComicCon and then back to NYC to work another festival. Concurrently he and his roommate are writing a really funny TV program and will go into production when he gets back to Brooklyn. I wish everyone a safe, happy and healthy summer. Good times for all. Sincerely, Deby May 23, 2015 The pieces are all falling into place. My older son is enjoying his B...Expand for more