FEBRUARY IN MIAMI IS A LOAD FULL OF FUN

IT'S THE MONTH EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR.  THE LINEUP BEGINS WITH THE OPENING OF CARNAVAL MIAMI AT THE MILE - fun for the entire family - NEXT - BOAT LOVERS COME AND SHOPT AT THE BEST BOAT SHOW IN THE WORLD AT THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW. THAT SAME WEEKEND FEAST YOUR EYES AT THE RENOWNED COCONUT GROVE ART FESTIVAL. BUT WAIT, DON'T LEAVE YET!! THE SOUTH BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL FOLLOWS -BACK TO BACK WEEKEND FESTS.  DON'T MISS THE RACHEL RAY BURGER BASH. Check it all out @ 100 THINGS TO DO IN MIAMI BEFORE YOU DIE - go to our Activities and Festivals by Season section on pages 137-139

PLANNING A VISIT TO MIAMI IN FEBRUARY? Check out our Festivals and Activities by Season - Pgs. 137-139:

February is hot! and most exciting. It brings the Miami South Beach Food and Wine Festival - some of the top food and wine experts in the world come to the city to offer tastings, gourmet dinners, seminars and cooking demonstrations. In the Art scene: Coconut Grove Art Festival has been recognized as one of the most prestigious outdoor art festivals in the country. Over 350 Internationally renowned artists. What better month to hop down to our beaches and indulge! 

Hope you can join us on Nov. 23rd @ 4:30 pm

http://www.miamibookfair.com/events/maruchi_mendez_and_roxanne_vargas_on_em1.aspx

THE TEARS OF A CLOWN - A Tribute to Robin Williams

I write with sorrow and a heavy heart. I grieve today for a beautiful man that quietly and tragically took his life yesterday.  Robin Williams.  His death has hit me hard.  One in ten Americans suffer from severe depression.  One in five suffer from mild depression. As the mother and sister of victims of chronic depression I want to scream out loud. I want to reach high and far, and I want to lay down low.  Robin Williams - an irreplaceable treasure, an irreplaceable soul.

All the laughter he brought into our lives  while he cried in private, now resonates to remind us of the fragility of the mentally ill, and of their pain.  They are without a voice and forgotten by society. A stigma, a shameful secret - and life goes on while they suffer…

They suffer in silence, yet make us laugh.  They suffer and don’t complain. Until the day that they can endure no more, and they take destiny into their hands and pass sentence on their tortured lives.

“Mork calling Orso” – Now it’s “Earth calling Robin.”  Can you hear us?  Where are you now, our beloved clown that bore the pain for so many years?  That disease, Robin that you (Mork) spoke of:  “apathy, lack of pride and greed.”  Did it take you to your end? How can we ever know?

“Oh Popeye, can you hear me? Oh Thank you!” - Olive Oyl (Rosario)

He reminded us that through our pain, came the resolve of making others happy and  making sure that no one else endured that pain.  Thank you, Robin. Goodbye Mork, goodbye, Sean Maguire.

“ You - only you - will have stars that can laugh”  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Some of his most memorable roles:

Popeye – The sailor man that was stronger than life

Mork and Mindy – The Alien

Dead Poets Society – The professor

Aladdin – The Genie

Moscow on the Hudson – The Russian Musician

Good Morning Vietnam – DJ and activist

Awakenings - Dr. Malcolm Sawyer

The Fisher King – A Homeless Man

Mrs. Doubtfire – a  nanny to his own children

The Bird Cage – Armand- the drag queen

Good Will Hunting –  MY FAVORITE - as Sean Maguire – Therapist

One Hour Photo – a creepy photo developer

The Crazy Ones – ad agency executive

... and many more

OUR YOUNG ATHLETES ARE AT RISK WITH FOOTBALL SEASON STARTING

I have this blog which my publisher has encouraged me to open and use in order to promote my books. I passionately love to write, but I'm not much for trivialities and light fare.  I also like to measure my words. But tonight I want to change my tune.  Another High School athlete collapsed today during practice in Missouri. High School football season is starting and so is the intensive training of our young athletes. Luckily, he is still alive, thanks to the coaches administering CPR (apparently there were no AED's nearby), but in critical condition.  I'm black and blue from calling out all those that are responsible for the implementation of the cardiac testing for our young athletes.  It sickens me that it's all about MONEY.

I ASK: HOW MUCH IS A LIFE WORTH??

I've met with schools, school districts,  politicians, American Heart Association, High School Athletic Associations, parents, physicians, students, community associations and it all boils down to MONEY.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?  How many lives does it take to realize that this can be prevented with proper testing? Negotiated rates now make this test affordable for all.  AN EKG CAN COST AS LITTLE AS $15.  What is wrong with the parents?? Does it need to strike home for all these entities to realize that we have a national crisis in our hands?? SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH (SCD) IS THE #1 KILLER OF STUDENT ATHLETES. MORE THAN CAR ACCIDENTS, SUICIDE, OVERDOSE, ETC....

DO YOU KNOW THAT EVERY INMATE IN FLORIDA GETS AN EKG EVERY YEAR AND THAT WE, THE TAX PAYERS PAY FOR IT???  OUR STUDENT ATHLETES DON'T GET ONE.

When my son Toti died from Sudden Cardiac Death due to undetected cardiomyopathy, I set out to fix the problem and make sure that no other parent should have to endure what I did. I tried to pass a bill for mandatory cardiac testing for our student athletes.  But I was an Eagle without wings in a world where there are vested interests and life=$$ and death is a side effect of a master plan that has to do with $$.  The bill failed.  This year, I tried again to pass the same Bill for the testing of our student athletes. They were: Senate Bill #284 and House Bill #533 - it passed in several House committees, but the Senate's Education Committee didn't even want to hear it!! The system is backwards.  You don't suggest to parents that they should test their children before engaging in competitive sports.  You PASS a law and make it MANDATORY and THEN the parents will have to test their sons/daughters (just as they have to make sure they are vaccinated) and you will see how the money appears, the parents will spend less in sports gear and the schools and athletic associations will make sure that there are funds for those that have no means to perform the $15 DOLLAR MEDICAL EXAM. Now with the new Healthcare Reform a/k/a the OBAMACARE everyone has insurance so that should not be a problem.  Right? So what is it going to be?  Our students health and lives? Or all the reasons why there is no need.  We keep risking it and our children are paying. I'm trying again next year, and I will keep trying until it passes. I want to thank you for reading this angry barrage which is unlikely of me. All the dead young athletes want to thank you also.