Would you buy gum from this girl? I suspect the answer is yes. Because my wife doesn’t speak Spanish, when we visit Mexico she habitually nudges me to ask vendors how much items cost–even when I’ve equipped her with two simple words: Cuanto cuesta? But when it comes to these kids, she neither nudges nor …
Yesterday I had breakfast at Wimbledon. There are fewer things better than championship tennis on a beautiful Sunday morning. Attendees indulge in a favorite at the All England Club: fresh strawberries, granulated sugar, and whipped cream! Delectable! Of course, my annual Breakfast at Wimbledon has never been anywhere near Center Court. In fact, I’ve always …
My brother, Joseph Chacon, lives on the island of Pico in the Azores. Earlier today he posted a picture I had neither seen nor expected: a photo of his biological father, Joseph Cano, and our mother, Irene Chacon. He began with these words: I just wanted to say something that’s on my mind. He then …
When the Beatles landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport in 1964, the frenzy was just getting started. I cannot fully fathom the immense impact of the British Invasion. But one doesn’t have to be a student of history to recognize the effects of Beatlemania. It even drove fans–who once admired The King–to hold …
Earlier today I walked my nine-year-old to school, and I saw something that warmed my heart: students raising the State and US flags. Friends I know well will assert that I am candid in my discussions. I do not shy away from most topics–including religion and politics, and I do not shy away from my …
My nine-year-old recently told me that her teacher has the year 2040 mounted on the wall in the classroom as a reminder that one of them CAN be President someday. My fifth grade classroom had no future year on the wall. We did have photos of each President above our chalkboard. I sat at the …
Before I hit double-digits, the hottest ticket in town was the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. At the time, I expected that the summer fair experience would last a lifetime. Alas, only the memories survived. Gone are the long lines of couples, teens, and hair-bears, waiting to take black and white portraits. Gone are the oversized …
I met Maya Angelou in a small overcrowded kitchen a little over 19 years ago. At the time, she was familiar to me only in name–as the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I hadn’t read it. A friend whom I was visiting, handed me an anthology of her poems, and said, …
I am proof that I neither had to be a prince nor charming to marry a princess. I needed only to love in the spirit of “happily ever after.” On several occasions my wife has heard me say that fairy tale marriages are possible. I say this because I believe it! For us, for you, …
If you have at least one ounce of cool inside, you’ve done it. The Obamas made it part of the media cycle for a few days back in June 2008. Even the Dalai Lama has been on the receiving end of one. The first time I noticed it was in the early ‘90s when a …