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Sonoma Valley Sun Articles
 ProfilesJoyful Generosity supports a grand career 6-24-10Today’s featured volunteer has built a lifetime on Joyful Generosity. And he lives with sweet satisfaction for having made some big differences in the world. Let’s take a romp through this lifetime looking for clues to that satisfac... read more… Volunteer Now Sonoma Valley 4-29-10Volunteers are integral to the vibrancy of our wonderful Sonoma, and volunteerism has been the backbone of this nation since its earliest days. Actually, one might wonder whether this country could have lasted without the willing provision of s... read more… Learning to work with your body instead of forcing painful change 4-22-10Ralph Scott is a knowledgeable, caring, highly intuitive and professional healer who helps clients get past pain without inducing more pain in the healing process.At age seven, he knew for certain that one day he’d be helping people get o... read more… She started early on a lifetime dedicated to the common good 11-13-09A particular joy in the last half of my long life has been meeting and developing nifty connections with lots and lots of utterly fabulous folks. That has certainly continued as I live in Northern California and in our incomparable city of Sono... read more… Violence comes from thinking you need a bigger share 11-06-09This headline is but one quote from a stunning speech offered here in Sonoma on Oct. 20, 2009. Vandana Shiva, gracefully robed in her traditional Indian sari, held the large audience in the Veterans Memorial Building spellbound with her vast wi... read more… Wild Kingdom indeed – in the United States of America! 8-21-09Many of you will remember Stan Brock, often called “the original crocodile hunter.” The popular 1960s television series about wildlife conservation “Wild Kingdom” featured this handsome, talented discovery as guide and sidekic... read more… How do you measure success? 7-31-09So often it’s purported a good start is necessary for success in life. With failure, we might hear, “Yes, but look how the person was neglected in childhood.”A friend of mine was just two when her father took the family savings and ... read more… Every scream represents an unmet need 7-03-09With the self-deprecating humor of a talented comedienne, Cindi Vian peppered her PowerPoint presentation with remarks that regaled her audience and at the same time established a direct connection among them regarding her very serious topic.I was on... read more… Patrick Garcia has fascinating stories to tell 6-12-09If you’re a “frequent flyer,” perhaps you’ve enjoyed his company, as Patrick Garcia drives you to San Francisco in a Sonoma Airporter. I’ve enjoyed his friendly demeanor, excellent driving skills and caring customer serv... read more… Oh, to be a kid again – I’d sure want to go to this kind of camp! 6-05-09I was one of those really lucky kids who got to go to summer camp for a week or two some of the summers of my childhood, and I loved it. I’m astounded and delighted to learn that Camp Tannadoonah is still going strong on lovely Birch Lake in so... read more… Nature knows how to cure if we just give it a chance 5-15-09If you read last week’s report about my friend Barbara Long who was given just three to ten days to live because virulent cancer was consuming her, you’ll be interested to know more about the nutritional and natural approach that knocked ... read more… Feel joy and love while being edified and inspired 5-01-09Some of you were swept away by the delightful Margaret Trost when she appeared in Burlingame Hall last October. Her story, documented in her deeply inspiring, quick-read book, “On That Day Everybody Ate; One Woman’s Story of Hope and Poss... read more… Inspirational story of a Bay area woman 3-13-09The first moment she met the young widow from California, the wizened and wrinkled elderly women gestured toward her open door, saying in English, “Welcome home.” And, although it was only her second time in this country after a two... read more… Celebrating Sonoma’s 2009 Alcaldesa, Elizabeth Kemp 3-06-09For many years Sonoma residents didn’t see much of Elizabeth Kemp unless they were lucky enough to have a child or two swathed in the loving embrace of her day care center. Oh, folks might have caught a quick glimpse of her delivering to a chur... read more… Want abundance in your life? Become a giver of gifts 9-25-08Your career is soaring, you wed a fabulous actor, the world is your oyster! Then, two weeks after the honeymoon, you quite suddenly are not able to make your hands function. You can’t operate your computer. You can’t pick up a glass of wa... read more… The surprise and delight of serendipity 4-17-08At some garage sale or another, I was attracted to two albums of cassette tapes I bought, took home and forgot completely. Months later, I interviewed Kenny Johnson. A life of crime, alcohol, drugs, imprisonment until suddenly a spiritual teacher ... read more… This Sacred Space offers freedom for good 3-27-08It was not, as they say, an auspicious beginning. Kenny Johnson spent his formative years in the schools of Kansas City, Mo., but his “training,” he says, he got at Juvenile Hall. There he learned to steal. In a home where alcohol u... read more… Long-held traditions in the toilet? 8-30-07There are those of us who wring our hands and moan and groan about the disastrous use and misuse of the precious resource known as H2O, agua, water. And then there’s Lucie Levine. It’s quite obvious to this Sonoma woman that long-term ... read more… Celebrating Disty Thompson, extraordinary Lamaze and parenting teacher 5-17-07In the days of my childbearing, there were no resources available to the general public about what was happening, what to do, what to expect. Experience taught me many things so that by the time I delivered my third child, I had devised my own techni... read more… The birth of a playwright here in Sonoma 5-10-07It was obvious to all of us in the writers’ group that Todd had talent, but I don’t think any of us, including Todd, could have foretold his future success as a playwright. Short stories were the focus for Todd Evans back in the early &ls... read more… For Lucie Levine, it’s all about Permaculture 3-08-07Did you happen to read some book before you reached the age of majority that influenced your entire lifetime? For Sonoman Lucie Levine it was a self-help volume written by Australian Maurice G. Kains titled “Five Acres and Independence.” ... read more… Influence of Gray Panthers founder still felt 2-15-07For the late Maggie Kuhn, the founder of the Gray Panthers, social activism began with sociology courses in college.“Sociology, for me, related the community to the individual, and showed us a way to act responsibly in groups.” Visiting j... read more… One-time Sonoma immigrant now local Catholic priest 12-07-06In 1989, when Carlos attended a retreat for Hispanics at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, he didn’t in his wildest imagination suspect one day he would serve that parish as a priest. At the time he was just one more struggling immigrant, workin... read more… Inspired learnings from Anastasia Encarnacion 11-09-06How many elementary school kids in the world of 2006 actually know where food comes from – other than the supermarket? Thanks to the efforts of volunteer parents, especially Anastasia Encarnacion, students of Prestwood School have had the oppor... read more… Peace-loving priest arrested 200 times 3-23-06Why would a seemingly rational sane person, normally upright and law-abiding, purposely take actions that will almost certainly bring about a prison sentence? And more so, why choose to do this some 200 times? A Catholic priest familiar to peace a... read more… Ten Extraordinary Peacemakers 12-22-05This was a tough assignment, to choose just ten. But here they are, in random order. Hearing him speak in San Rafael, I felt honored to be in his presence. Here was a doctor who treats AIDS patients back to robust health! In Haiti! In the land of ... read more… |
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