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sunfloweradoring · 4 years

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the one where five become four

masterlist

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that has been following my writing recently, it’s absolutely insane to think nearly 300 people have read a couple of them! It means the world to me, so thank you <3 K xxx

word count: 2.7k

The boys had been on tour for a matter of months now; I couldn’t actually remember the last time I physically saw Harry. However, what got me through the lonely nights and long hours we couldn’t speak to each other was the knowledge I had - knowing he was doing what he loved and enjoyed above all else. There was only a few weeks of tour to go before they would all be home and with the people who loved them.

Everyone seemed just that little bit extra excited at this tour break because Zayn was to be getting married in this interlude. Perrie had kindly asked me to be a part of the wedding party, meaning me (along with many others of her close friends) had been beavering away back home, rigorously planning away from the wedding that seemed to be speeding towards us faster than we could process.

It made me so happy to see her so looking forward to the marriage - it was evident how she felt about him; and I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like for my own wedding. This year would be mine and Harry’s fifth together, and it only encouraged the small flame of excitement within me. Of course we’d spoken about marriage and the future we could have together, but he was yet to pop the question. I knew that it was definitely something I could do myself, but there was something in me that really wanted it to be Harry that asked me to be his wife - for the rest of our lives.

I didn’t mind though, I was beyond happy where we were in our relationship currently. I felt so lucky to be a part of his hectic life and I loved to hear all the tour stories each time we got to sneak in a phone call or text.

He really was the love of my life.

I couldn’t contain the smile that was threatening to come across my lips as I dialled Harry’s number and patiently listened to the dialling tone.

“Hello, love.” Harry’s gravely tone greeted me. Almost instantly, a frown took over my features as I pulled the phone away from my ear to quickly inspect the time. I’d been careful to leave my call late enough in the day to avoid waking him; yet his voice sounded like I’d done just that.

“Hiya, baby.” I gently responded. “Did I wake you up? I thought it was the afternoon or something there?” I questioned, leaning my body back against the pillows of our bed, my right hand absentmindedly stroking over his side of the bed as I spoke. There was a brief amount of shuffling on the other side of the phone before he spoke again.

“Y-yeah, it’s like three or something.” He replied. Now I was a little concerned. It really wasn’t like Harry at all to be so blunt on our phone calls - especially after so many weeks apart. Perhaps he was just feeling the distance particularly hard today, or recording hadn’t quite gone as smoothly as hoped.

“You alright, Haz?” I was careful to keep my voice soft and smooth to prevent him from detecting my concern.

“One sec,” Harry quickly replied before I heard his voice again, this time, though, at a distance from the phone. “Mate, I’m on the phone,” There was a muffled response from whoever ‘mate’ was. “No, I don’t wanna keep talking about it. We’re all in the same boat, here, I think we’ve talked about it enough for one day, don’t you think?” There was a brief moment of silence before: “You still there?” I hummed in response, now completely confused as to what was taking place on his side of the the phone.

“Baby...” My voice was met with a loud huff.

“Zayn’s thinking of taking a break.” He suddenly said. “He said he’s feeling too pressured and wants to go home for a week before coming back and continuing the tour.” Whatever I was expecting to be wrong, it certainly wasn’t anything like that.

“What?”

“He said we’ve been doing this almost nonstop for years and that he needs time to go home and breathe.”

“Oh my god.” I muttered, hand pushing the hair from my face. “Have you guys been talking about it all day? Is that what you just said?”

“Yeah; he just announced it at breakfast this morning and then just kinda shut himself in his room. He missed all the recording we were meant to be doing today. I don’t even know if he’s gonna come to the show tonight.”

“What are the others saying about it?”

“Liam and Niall seem to having some sort of existential crisis about it. But honestly I’ve never seen Louis so angry before in my life.” As he spoke his words seemed to become more and more strained.

“And you?” I spoke after he finished.

“What about me?”

“How do you feel about it?” His sniffles told me all I really needed to know but he did speak up after a minute.

“God I feel so conflicted.” His tone was a mixture of frustration, sadness and pure disappointment. I didn’t speak, allowing him time to continue. “This is like... the best thing that’s ever happened to me; this opportunity to go around doing things I love in different parts of the world, meeting fans, you know? And yeah, of course I understand the pressure he’s going on about; we’ve been putting out an album basically every year since X-Factor, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel like a chore - it’s something I want to do. It’s something we all want to do!” Pause. “Well, I thought we all wanted to do it.” He added quietly. I really felt at a loss for words. I’d never heard Harry sound so manic before and I worried what would come of this new situation.

“Are you coming home?” I asked.

“N-no. Well, at least, I don’t think we are. I think it’s just him.” Another silence came over the phone. I really didn’t know what to say to him that would make it any better. “Baby...” Harry trailed off.

“Yeah?”

“Can you come? I just... I just really need you here right now.” I could hear him feverishly fighting back tears.

“Do you want me to come?”

“Yeah...” It almost sounded like a child, desperately calling for the comfort of his mother.

“Of course I can, my love. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

----------------

I managed to get a late night flight out that same day, getting me in the next day, early morning for his timezone. The hours on the plane seemed to pass at a snail’s pace; I couldn’t contact Harry; I couldn’t see if there was any news about anything for that period of time - only fuelling my anxiety at the situation.

Finally, though, the plane landed and I was able to get into the airport, through immigration and retrieve my bag without too much delay. My knee nervously bounced against the floor of the car the entire ride towards the hotel. Harry had already notified the reception that I was to be arriving, so they gave me a key to the room without trouble. I almost ran to the lift, pressing the button about four times; as if it somehow sped up the process.

I scanned the numbers on the walls next to the doors as I made my way down the corridor; I was pretty sure that this entire floor was dedicated to the boys and their extensive team, but I wasn’t about to waste time knocking on a million different doors. As I came closer to the end of the corridor I could hear shouting from inside room 803. I quickly glanced down at my phone, open on the text Harry had sent me with the information for the hotel.

‘Mine is 803, they should give you a key but I’ll leave it open for you xxx’

I huffed out a breath, pulling my small suitcase to a stop as I reached out for the door-handle. Before I could pull it, however, the door swung open and a red faced Niall was stood in front of me.

Since 2011 Niall had become one of my best friends. A part from Harry (obviously) he was the one I was closest to in the band. We shared many things and I’d often been the one he called for advice on girls, or even held him (in a purely platonic way, of course) as he cried about his most recent heartbreak. He’d also been my shoulder to cry on in the times Harry and I experienced a particularly tough fight and was always willing to help both of us out in any way he could. His surprise to be met with me was evident in the way he spoke my name.

“Hey.” He cleared his throat, rubbing his palm roughly against his face. “I guess you’ve heard, then?” He asked, stepping to the side to allow me to enter the room, seeming to have forgotten about his departure of the space.

“Yeah.” I nodded in sympathy, reaching out to rub a soothing hand up and down his arm.

“I just can’t fucking believe he could do this.” Harry came into my view as Niall spoke, his eyes red rimmed.

“He’s just stressed, I’m sure he’ll come round. Just let him go home for a few days and cool off.” I suggested, walking towards Harry to pull him into a hug.

“Let him go home?” Niall repeated.

“She doesn’t know, Niall. She’s just got here.” Harry speaks, voice croaky.

“Don’t know what?” I asked, keeping my arms around Harry’s middle as I pulled away enough to look up at him.

“He’s gone.”

“Gone?” I spoke Niall’s words again, looking between the two men in the room in utter confusion. “What do you mean he’s gone?” Harry pulled away, taking my hand to lead me towards the sofa in the room as Niall pushed the door closed and followed us. Harry and I sat, legs touching, on the sofa as Niall sunk down into the chair opposite.

“Well you know that I said he just made the announcement at breakfast yesterday?” Harry asked, leaning back in the cushions, arm slung over the back of the furniture behind me. I nodded, urging him to continue. “He just stayed in his room pretty much all of yesterday; he spoke to Lou before the rest of us left for the show, he didn’t come, even though he said he would.”

“He was gone by the time we got back.” Niall finished.

“Oh my god.” I breathed, my head falling into my hands. “Well what the hell does that mean?”

“We don’t know.” Harry replied. Both men looked in a right state; I wouldn’t be surprised if they told me neither of them had a wink of sleep last night. Both of their hair, usually pretty immaculate, was now roughly sticking out every which way as if they’d been pulling and pushing at it in frustration.

“Has any of his family said anything?” I asked. “Perrie?”

They shook their heads in reply, looking down sorrowfully. Suddenly the door was pushed open and one of their body guards walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt,” He started, shooting me an acknowledging nod. “There’s been some... developments.”

“What developments?” Niall asked.

“I think you should just come into Liam’s room, there’s a meeting.” He said, refusing to say anything and standing to the side of the door, watching the three of us.

“I’ll stay here.” I offered, watching Harry and Niall get up.

“No, come.” Harry said, holding his hand out. I took it, following him as he pulled me towards him, his hand at the small of my back as we were led by Niall out of the room. Collectively we muttered a ‘thanks’ to the man holding the door open as we went to the room three doors down.

“One sec,” I said, feeling my phone vibrate in my back pocket. “I’ll meet you in there.” I slipped it out, giving them an encouraging smile and nod before answering it - not looking at who the caller was. “Hello?” I was answered by someone crying out my name. “Perrie?” Harry stopped, reaching out and grabbing Niall’s arm to stop him continuing into the room as they both spun around to watch me.

“It’s Z-Zayn.” She continued to cry.

“What’s happened? Has he made it home?” I asked, exchanging a worried look with Harry. As I spoke, Louis, Liam and their tour manager emerged from the room, all standing and watching me.

“What’s going on?” Liam whispered. Niall quickly explained.

“He just texted me. He said he’s back in London, but he said that was it. He wasn’t going back. The band is over for him. And so are we!” She hiccuped between each sentence, her explanation laced with sobs. My heart seemed to come to a juddering holt at her words.

“The band’s over? What do you mean? You’re over?”

“He’s called off the wedding!”

----------------

I sat in Liam’s room next to Harry as their tour manager explained the situation. “So he’s quit?” Louis asked after what felt like an eternity of silence between the seven of us. It was evident in his ton and body language it was taking every fibre in his body not to rage.

“What the fuck?” Niall cried, face falling into his palms. His shoulders were shaking, showing us that his tears were falling. Liam moved to sit on the arm of his chair, pulling him into a hug, but it was clear he himself was fighting tears.

“And he’s broken up with Perrie?” Liam confirmed, looking between me and their manager. We both nodded.

I was absolutely stunned. I didn’t know what was going on. The last twenty four hours and been a rollercoaster, a whirlwind, going from one thing to the next in what felt like a flash.

“Christ... I can’t believe this.” Louis said. It hadn’t gone unnoticed to me that Harry remained silent. I turned my head to look at him; he seemed to be in a sense of shock. I gently squeezed the hand that was in mine.

“Haz...” I prodded quietly, my other hand rubbing up and down his thigh gently.

“Can we go?” He croaked, averting eye contact.

“Um... I think we’ll be right back.” I spoke up, standing and waiting for Harry to follow. The other seemed to have an unspoken understanding; all feeling this sense of numbness and loss. We made our way back to Harry’s room in silence. I pushed the door shut behind us, watching cautiously as Harry went straight to the bed and almost fell onto it, his gaze staring up at the ceiling. I slowly approached him, laying beside him without a word. Both of his hands were sort of cupped around his mouth, eyes welling with tears.

“Come here, baby.” I whispered, pulling his body into mine as he let out a choked sob. His head rested on my chest as I wrapped him in my arms. Soon more sobs escaped his mouth, morphing into an almost continuous cry as his body shook. “Shhh, my love, it’s okay. You’re gonna be okay. Just let it out.” I spoke gently into his hair as I kissed the back of his head. With each passing moment my heart was breaking more and more. Never had I seen him like this and it saddened me to no end.

About half an hour had gone passed where he had uttered no words or sounds. “Thank you,” His voice was hoarse and muffled into my jumper.

“What for, my darling?”

“For coming, for being here. For just... being you.” He whimpered. I sniffled, a couple of my own tears falling from my eyes.

“Of course.” I replied, squeezing him gently. “Of course.”

Neither of us knew what was going to follow this day; would the band continue? Would this be the end of the road for all of them? All I did know was that as long as Harry and I were together, we could weather any storm thrown our way, because we loved each other, supported each other, unconditionally.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #one direction #one direction imagines

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cmlopezofficial · 4 years

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Look! It’s CLEO LOPEZ. They have been living in NORTH Kingsboro for FIVE MONTHS. They say the 30 year old can be SPITEFUL but also GENEROUS, but I just think SHE/HER looks a lot like ANA DE ARMAS.

Meet my little Slytherin who loves the sea, Cleo! She’s gonna be fun lmao.

Born in Havana, Cuba to a Cuban father and a Spanish, Cleo’s family eventually immigrated to Hilo, Hawai’i when she was three years old. They were able to become citizens of the United States by the time she was six years old.

Growing up in Hilo while also visiting family in Havana, Cleo’s whole life had basically been connected with the sea. Growing up on the island, she would basically wake up early in the morning to be able to meet up with her friends to go swimming and surfing before school, and then just to head back to the water right after the bell rang. For the longest time, she had considered becoming a marine biologist.

Eventually, pricing in Hawai’i became too unbearable for the Lopez family and they eventually moved in-land. They made their new home in Nashville, Tennessee when she was thirteen years old. Going from living the ‘aloha’ life of Hilo to the ‘yeehaw with a dash of racism and homophobia’ life of Nashville was... unexpected. And for the longest time, she hated it. For years, she’d been planning on moving back to Hilo for college, to go back home.

That is... until she turned sixteen. Allister Jackson came into her life and she fell hard and fast for him. He truly carried that Southern charm people hear about and was a truly good person. Her parents adored the young man and approved of their relationship. As the years went by, they graduated high school, Cleo went to the University of Tennessee in Nashville while Allister bartended and also worked on getting ready to eventually take over his family’s business, things had seemed to be going pretty good for them. And any day now, it had seemed as if a marriage proposal was on the rise for the young and happy couple. They were in love and Cleo could envision her whole life with him. Of them getting married, starting a family, and living happily ever after.

That is... until Allister suddenly broke up with her. She had been caught off guard completely, unaware of his depression and the rut he had been in. Confused, angry, but most of all hurt, Cleo couldn’t stand to stay in Nashville. Quickly making a rash decision, she soon transferred to UCLA to continue working on her dual majors in Business and Marine Biology. Far away from the city that the man she thought was the love of her life resided in.

It wasn’t until she had moved and became situated in Los Angeles when she became fully aware of just how dramatic her action had been. The major thing that made her realize that? Well... she was pregnant, with hers and Allister’s daughter. And for awhile there, Cleo had no idea what to do. She had just moved to a city where she didn’t know anyone, she hasn’t talked to her ex-boyfriend/baby daddy since the day he broke up with her, and now what? What was she suppose to do? Call him, tell him where she was, and that she was pregnant? She had no idea how he would react. Would he move out to California to help her raise their child and give their relationship a second chance? Would he move out to California to help her raise their child yet keep their new relationship with one another strictly within co-parenting? Or would he want absolutely nothing to do with her and their daughter?

However... the young woman was still rather hurt about the whole breakup. And with the intentions of never going to Nashville ever again, she decided not to tell him about the baby. Hell, the only people who even knows that he’s the father are her and her parents. Otherwise, she has passed her child off as a product of a one night stand. And in late August, she eventually gave birth to Cordelia Lopez.

Being both a single young mother and a college student in Los Angeles is... not an easy thing. Working multiple odd jobs at a few seafood restaurants and theaters, the young woman eventually came up with an idea. Not long after she graduated from college at the age of 22, she started up a small dinner and a show seafood restaurant in Santa Monica. At first, business was slow. But eventually, business began to pick up. Amphitrite’s Cove became a hot spot for both locals and tourists alike.

It wasn’t long until they had to find a new and bigger location, expand the menu, and create more acts. Soon, two more locations in Los Angeles happened. And then eventually, more locations popped up in Southern California. By the time Cleo was twenty-eight, locations up and down the West Coast, along with a location in Seward, Alaska and her old hometown of Hilo, Hawai’i popped up. She’d also had been working on locations in Denver, Colorado, St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennesse. And then five months ago, she began to work on a new location in the East Coast: Kingsboro of New York City, New York.

The adjustment of leaving Los Angeles for New York hadn’t been too easy, especially for nine year old Cordelia. But along with working hard on her little empire of Amphitrite’s Cove, she has also been working hard on being a perfect mother for her daughter. She always says that the little girl is her greatest achievement and her most wonderful treasure. However... what Cleo Lopez has failed to realize over the past five months... is that a certain ex-boyfriend of hers also resides in her new home.

But until now, Cleo’s main priorities are raising Cordelia and expanding her empire, working on adding more locations across the East Coast and eventually more within the Heartland of America. And within a few years time, potentially adding international locations. Who’s to say what the future may hold, but Cleo’s little empire is becoming bigger and bigger. And nothing’s going to stand in her way or ruin the life she has built for herself and her daughter.

#kingsboro.intro #(🌊 headcanons.)

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one-true-houselight · 5 years

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youtube

It’s me, doing stand up!

I cut out the spelling of my name for privacy reasons. Also, the bit that’s cut off the the end is just me saying that I never went skiing again, and that now I just do safe things, like trying to enter the adult job market.

Transcript under the cut, and if you are so inclined, my Ko-Fi is in my bio. Thanks!

Hello everyone, I am Erika, and tonight I will be performing All Star by Smash Mouth.

I’m kidding, no one would want to hear that. I cannot sing.

(from the crowd: I would!)

(laughter) You don’t want to hear me sing, I promise you.

Alright! Hi! In actuality, I am Erika (last name, pronounced ko-kek), and you’re like ‘ooh, we get a last name now, a mystery, and you’re like it’s an interesting last name too!’ That’s probably because you’ve never seen it spelled out. Let me walk you through my last name (ko-kek), alright, are you ready for this, are you ready: [redacted spelling]. Yeah! Four Ks! That’s a lot of Ks, and they’re in a real strange order. If you- if you noticed, uh, it’s the same set of four letters twice, it’s [redacted spelling] but you may have also noticed that’s not how it’s pronounced! Cuz you know, that would make sense. This is apparently from, like, changes in immigration, that you know happen, which, this is according to my uncle. But my grandfather, who lived in the Netherlands in the 40s (yeah, those 40s), pronounces it like Ko-Kek, so I’m inclined to believe him.

Now, having a weird last name in school is always kind of a crazy existence, though I will say, most of the time when people are like ‘oh, that’s a weird last name’, it’s because people are racist, or at the very least are being like ‘oh, I’m gonna put Western Expectations on things that shouldn’t have them’, but as you see, my last name, is Dutch, as I mentioned, and Dutch white people, which I am one of, have done some incredibly awful things, so I don’t feel bad mocking it. So we continue on. So, this, so with my last name in roll call, we could change my last name to [silence] and it would sound the same. Let me, let me walk you through…Let me walk you through a roll call, so like the teacher’s up here, and they’re like ‘Alright, let’s see…we have Ferris Beuller? Oh you showed up, very good, alright. Harry Potter? Oh, you didn’t die, that’s fantastic. And then, Erika…[long silence]. And I’m just over here like ‘oh yeah that’s me, hi.’ Now sometimes, I like to speed it up, and rather than say here or present or anything, I’ll just say my last name (Ko-kek) to like, speed up the conversation so it’s not like, uh, Erika, long pause, here, oh, how do you pronounce that?, Ko-kek, it just speeds up the process. So, I’ll go, they’ll go Erika… and I’ll say (Ko-kek). The problem is they’ll get confused sometimes. They’ll look at me and they’ll go ‘Oh, is that here in Dutch?’ No. But you did your best.

And not only does my last name have enough Ks to stop a substitute teacher dead in their tracks, my first name? Erika? Also with a K. My sibling is Kat with a K, my mother is Karolyn with a K, though that’s not her fault, she kind of like, came into it and was like ‘oh, I guess this works out’. And my father…is Doug. But, but, he has a middle name that’s very strange and has a K in it so it all works out, it’s fine. So, if you’re ever like reading something, and you’re looking at it and you’re like ‘huh, there should be a K in this word’, it probably wasn’t a typo, my family just needed to name another child and just like, stole it.

So, I do have to say I’m Erika with a K a lot, because most people will assume it’s with a C. Or, more recently, two Ks. Which is kind of fun, but it’s also at the same time like ‘I’m drowning in Ks, please don’t give me more!’ But no, so I say Erika with a K a lot, which means I realized something really really cool. That rhymes with Erika with a They! These are the puns the queer community was built upon.

I do use they/them pronouns, and I even wear a little tag for it, it’s right here, it’s very nice. Um, and, it’s just kind of weird sometimes, because people will sometimes not use my pronouns, which kinda makes me sad. But I’ve realized something. I was just assuming they were reading the tag and just being rude about it. But recently, I’ve realized that they’re just not reading the tag. The way I’ve realized this is I’ll be like, walking through Target, and someone will be, like, looking around, and they’ll see me and they’ll see the tag and go ‘A ha! A worker!’ And they’ll be like ‘Do you know where the towels are?’ And this is very strange for me, mostly because I know where the towels are. So I’ll go ‘Ok, they’re over there in that corner, but I don’t work here, please.’ And, and they’re like ‘Oh, I just assumed you did because of your name tag.’ Now there’s a couple of problems with that. My ‘name tag’, as they put it, doesn’t have a name on it, which means they clearly didn’t read it. The other big problem with it is that most stores or places of business have a sense of decorum, or at least consistency in their design. My tag, on the other hand, while I love it very much, how do I put this, it doesn’t look good. It looks like if an eight year old magpie with attention issues made it at summer camp. This is basically how the making of my tag went: I’m was just sitting there and I’m like ‘Alright, I’m gonna put five shiny things on it. Wonderful, wonderful, this random piece of gaff tape? That has to go on, that’s, like, that’s key to the whole pronoun tag process. Now, for the words. And I start writing, I’m like ‘they/them and-’ oh my god. What if I could fit more shiny things on it? I’m still writing, I don’t know what I’m writing at this point, it doesn’t look good. Oh, I could put more shiny things on it, maybe I could like, steal a rock and somehow affix that to it…And then I look down and I’m like ‘oh, I finished the words, guess I’m gonna just put it on my shirt!’ And it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine. So, a lot of people don’t read the tag, but a lot of people do, and I have a lot of wonderful friends and family who support me very much.

Though, being openly trans can be, can get a little confusing sometimes. Sometimes I’ll tell stories about being in the Girl Scouts, and be like ‘Ha, that’s funny for obvious reasons!’ and people will be like, ‘oh, it’s the girl thing!’, and I’ll be like ‘no!’. Because the Girl Scouts are actually super cool about trans girls and non binary kids, which we appreciate very much, especially because it gives us a very good reason to buy Girl Scout cookies, beyond just buying something to fill the hole in your heart.

Crowd: support the gays!

Exactly! But no, the weird part about it for me is the scout part. Let me tell you a story. So one time when I was sixteen years old, I was a camp counselor for a bunch of small children, and we went to a playground one time. So I’m wandering around, like you do, like making sure the children don’t like, die, and I see two girls sitting under a tree, and they’re doing the whole, like, ‘rub two sticks together to start a fire’ thing. So I go ‘I’m gonna wander over and see how they’re doing’, and I’m like ‘How’re you doing, kids?’ And they look at me and they’re like ‘Erika? Why do you rub two sticks together to start a fire?’ and I’m like ‘Well, that’s a very interesting question, so you see, there’s a fire triangle, and the fire triangle has heat, fuel, and oxygen, and you have to have all three because fire is just adding oxygen-‘ And I just go on this like, five minute tangent about, like, talking about the science of fire, and you’re probably sitting there thinking like. Erika, explaining how fire works is like, the most scout thing you can do, and normally I would agree with you. Except. I talked for five minutes about the ins and outs of fire science, and neglected to mention fire safety. So I realize this, and I’m like ‘oh no, I’m going to start a wildfire by proxy’, so I just start yelling fire safety tips with absolutely no context. So I’m like, ‘You need a bucket of sand!’, I didn’t tell them why they needed the sand, I just said you needed one, and I’m like ‘build a circle of rocks on the ground!’, and they’re just gonna do that and go ‘I can build fires for the rest of my life, perfect!’ And then I’m sitting there, so like, another counselor is walking behind me like ‘two minutes left’, I’m like ‘Oh no, I have two minutes to like, save my entire town’, and I’m like ‘You should probably have an adult present’, and then I realize I probably should have mentioned that first, and I was like, ‘alright, just imagine I said adult present first, and just, and then put everything else, remember everything else, but remember adult first, it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine.’ So, luckily, my town has not had any reports of wildfires. But suffice it to say, I am not exactly scout material.

I am going to finish out the night by telling you a story from my scouting days. I was about eight years old, and we went on a ski trip. Now, let me tell you a little thing about eight year old Erika. You may have noticed that up here as a 20 year old, I’m a little bit lanky, my limbs do weird things as I run about the stage like an excited golden retriever. But see, I’m like, at a controllable lanky now. When I was eight, I was just gangly. My limbs just changed like, lengths every day, sometimes by multiple feet. So I’d be like, walking along, and I’d like just, kick a doorway, or like I’d be sitting and raising my hand, you know how like, you sometimes hit your hand on your desk, and you did it like, once a month? I did it twice a day. And people would be like, ‘Erika why do you keep hitting your hand on the desk?’ and I’m like ‘Cause my hand wasn’t there before! It was over here, I don’t know what’s happening!’ It was like I was living in a world of cartoon physics that I didn’t have control over. So I’m just like, ‘I guess I’m walking and my arms over here now, great!’ So my scouting troop looked at this, and was like ‘you know I think would be a great idea to do to this tiny, eight year old, whatever this is? We’re gonna stick a piece of wood, long, skinny, really slippery piece of wood on each of their feet, and then we’re gonna push them down a mountain.’ So, uh, you can probably tell where this story is going.

So, we get to the mountain, and I have my skis, we had to like, wait in a really long line, and I’m like, ‘oh, I’m so excited to go skiing’. So I’m walking around and I’m like, ‘alright, this is very exciting’, I see there’s a ski lesson about to start, and I’m like ‘I should probably do that because I want to make sure I know what’s going on’, so if you’ve never been skiing before, here’s what a skiing lesson is. You have a large group of people that want to learn how to ski, and you have a very excited person ready to tell you about skiing. So, you all go with them, you walk sideways up the mountain because you know, whatever. And the person, the very enthusiastic person, tells you a lot of really good skiing tips, and I, an eight year old with undiagnosed ADHD, sat there, and uh, kind of cycled between looking at the person, watching their mouth move, and having my audio processing like, on the ski lift, OR, I would be watching them, and a skier would go by, and I would watch the skier and be like, ‘oh, maybe I can pick up some tips from the skier’, absolutely ignoring the person that’s just giving me the tips for free. So I did not pick up a lot of good ski tips, but I did pick up one, and this is, this is, I will always remember this. He was like ‘alright, if you’re going down the mountain, and you want to slow down or stop, you make a triangle with your skis.’ And so I was like ‘alright, I’ve got it. I make a triangle with my skis to go slow, great, fantastic.’ So then, I’m like, ‘alright. I know everything there is to know about skiing. It is time to get started.’

So the first time I fell a lot, which, you know, of course you fall a lot, it’s you first time, and like, who knows what skiing is. The second time I also fell a lot and you know, I’m still getting the hang of it. Third time, also fell a lot, but you know, it’s fine. I’m just going to like, skip to the end, because I fell most of the times. It was less of me skiing down the mountain, and more of me just falling over and over again until I reached the bottom. But then, the last run of the day, I’m like ‘alright, I’m gonna do this’, I get about three quarters of the way down the mountain and I haven’t fallen once. And I’m just sitting there like ‘oh my god, I’m the skiing master. Oh my god, I’m gonna go to the Olympics. It’s gonna be great.’ So I am, I’m going down the mountain and, if don’t know if you know this about physics, because I wasn’t stopping and starting by just falling down constantly, I actually picked up a little bit of speed, which was really nice. But at this point, I was going a little bit faster than I intended to go, and I was like, ‘Huh. I kind of want to slow down now’, so I go into the little card catalogue that is my mind and I’m like ‘a ha! Triangle equals slow! Perfect!’ So I, I look down at my skis because I want to make sure I’m doing it right, and I’m like ‘alright, ready, here we go. Triangle.’ And nothing happened. Now the problem with this is, is that I was eight, and didn’t have critical thinking skills. So I looked at this situation, and I said, ‘huh. This triangle is not working. But it’s the only thing I know about skiing, and since I am a skiing master and know everything, this can be the only solution.’ So I double down on the triangle.

Now here’s the thing. I tell this story a lot, and one time I was telling it and I got to this part, and my friend looked at me and said the following: ‘You were doing the wrong kind of triangle!’ Which is a baffling thing to have yelled at you. So I was sitting there like ‘what are you ta- Was I doing an isosceles? Should I have been doing a scalene? Like, did you want me to yell the pythagorean theorem at it? I don’t know what you’re telling me!’ So she could not explain it, so we moved on. So then I told this story again, and another set of friends was like ‘Erika. She meant you had to do a triangle like this.’ And I was like, ‘oh, because that would actually stop the, oooooh.’ So now, twelve years after this story happened, I now know how to ski. So that’s cool, but back to me being eight years old.

At this point, I am going even faster than before, somehow, going much faster than any eight year old pile of limbs should ever be going, and I go ‘this is bad, I can no longer, uh, control which direction I’m going’, which is bad because I’m heading right for a circle of snowboarders. And so I’m I’m, I’m like, trying to turn and I can’t and I’m like ‘oh no’, so I just kind of look up at them, because I am approaching them at quite a speed, and I just start screaming, ‘HEY! YOU GOTTA MOVE! I CAN’T STEER!’ So they look up at just this banshee shriek from up the mountain, and they go, ‘huh. we should move,’ and they do, as well as they can, because they only have one piece of wood instead of the two that I was privileged to have. But they manage to make it out of the way, and I don’t hit anyone, and I continue down the mountain.

At this point, I literally, like, sit down on my skis and dig my hands into the snow in an attempt to stop myself, which works slightly better than the triangle, which isn’t saying much. So at this point, I have basically reached the bottom of the mountain, and I have reached, and at the bottom of the mountain there was a straight-away, and at the end of the straight-away there was a barrier of snow. Now the barrier of snow was about one, one and a half feet. The straight-away…I’m not really good with distances, but it was at least two feet, we’ll go with that. So I reach the straight-away, and I look up for this at least two foot distance. And I see this barrier of snow and I’m like ‘Ah. Here’s where my journey will come to an end.’

So I’m heading down this straight-away, I’m slowly slowing down, but I’m still going at quite a speed, and I’m like, ‘oh, it’ll be a little bit of an impact, but it’ll be fine.’ So here’s what happens. Here’s the barrier of snow, here’s me, here I go. Wheeeeee. And I hit the barrier of snow. And I go up and I go over it into the super secret special hill that they don’t show anyone, because it’s covered in bushes, and rocks, and leads to the parking lot.

So, at this point, I am now somersaulting down the hill, you know, fun times, and I’m grabbing bushes, I am desperately trying to like, not die, and at this point, I decide, I’m like ‘you know what would be a good, you know what would be good at this time? A flashback of my life.’ So my life flashes before my eyes, and it finishes I’m like ‘huh. That didn’t last as long as I thought it would.’ So I’m tumbling, and I’m just like ‘I’m gonna die! It’s fine!’ So I reach the bottom, and I kind of sit there and I take stock of everything, and I look around and I’m like, ‘Hey. I’m alive. I just wasted a life flashback, do you know how expensive that it?’ So I’m sitting there, and then I realize something. I realize that in my current state I cannot move because all of my limbs that change size all the time are tangled together. And I can’t get out of my limbs because my arm is so that like, I would have to hook it around my foot, but my foot is currently eight feet long because there’s a ski attached to it. So I’m-You know those like, Cracker Barrel things, the like, little metal puzzles that you play with for five minutes then give up because you want to play the peg game? I looked like one of those.

So I go into my mental autopsy, which you know, all eight year olds with anxiety have, and I go ‘we’re gonna just change the cause of death to…starvation.’ Which was very very silly, of course, because I would of died of thirst before I died of starvation. So I’m laying there, waiting for my eventual fate, and I look up into the parking lot I landed next to, and I see two guys walking towards me. And I go ‘huh. Interesting,’ and I go back to my mental autopsy, and I recross out starvation, and write ‘murdered in the snow, while tangled in my own limbs.’ So I’m just like, ‘there’s nothing I can do’, so I just kind of look at them, and they’re looking at me.

Luckily for me though, they were just coming over to help, because from their perspective, they had just seen a screaming ball of just, extremities, shoot over the barrier, tumble down a mountain, and then just lie there motionless for a while. So they walk over, and they’re very nice, they help me out of my skis, and they’re like ‘Do you, do you need to go into the lodge?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.’ So I, so they walk me into the lodge and we find my mother who’s there, hello, hi mom, and, and she’s like ‘what happened?’ And I’m like ‘I don’t know.’

#mine #comedy #standup #standup comedy #skiing #pronouns #non binary #names #stories #LMAO IT ME #also you can literally play this video at .75 and it sounds normal #ooops

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havekiddoswilltravel · 6 years

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#notwithoutmychild An American Traveling Family’s Take on the Zero Tolerance Policy

Let’s attempt to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes...

Photo credit: Rebecca Wilhite Photography

When our first born was 15 months old, my family traveled to the Dominican Republic on an extended family vacation with my parents and sister. At that time, children could travel with both parents with an official raised seal United States birth certificate and didn’t need a passport. As a first time parent, I was naive enough to trust this process and off we went. We entered the Dominican Republic with no problems, a bienvenidos and a smile. We spent 7 nights enjoying the picturesque waters and beaches of the island, while also visiting family and friends. To our surprise, at the end of our trip as were going through customs and immigration in Santo Domingo, we (my husband, baby girl and I) were separated from my parents and sister and brought into the back room. After several minutes of complete silence, agents looking at our passports, plane tickets and her birth certificate while whispering to each other in Spanish, we were called to the desk. It turns out that the custom agent whom check us into the country stamped the adult’s passports and inadvertently didn’t stamp our daughter’s birth certificate. Thus, there was no record of her entering the island and we basically looked like child traffickers. Here we were, young law abiding American Citizen parents stuck in limbo in the holding area with no idea how to get out of this predicament.

Our story had a happy ending for many reasons

First, I am a Dominican born United States citizen and was traveling with a U.S. born U. S. citizen husband who also happened to be an M. D. Why does this matter you may ask? I’m fluent in Spanish and could understand all of the speculations being made by the officers. I could also advocate for our family fluently in their native language without needed U.S. embassy involvement. Dominicans are known to value and respect education and titles. Having my husband be a doctor may have actually helped them believe me and added credibility to our side of the story. Having licensiado and doctor in front of your name goes a long way in Latin American culture.

Secondly, I am obsessive with documenting our children's lives and had a lot more time to do so with just one child. As a result, I was able to produce pictures on my phone and camera from her birth, first year of life and our family vacation on the island. I even had pictures of her on the plane and as we entered the customs area a week prior. Phew! By the grace of God, we dodged that bullet, but the scars have stayed with me.

Lastly, as a Dominican American who’s traveled in and out of both countries extensively, I had an insider’s view of both cultures. I was able to navigate and use that to our advantage and this resulted in us leaving many other people behind in that holding room and not even missing our flight. Others are not so lucky.

The lack of empathy and dehumanization of immigrants is troubling and hurtful. Our family’s immigration story is the epitome of the American Dream, on the surface at least. My mother is a college educated Dominican whom actually taught English in the Dominican Republic prior to our family immigrating to the United States in the early 80′s. This did not protect us from the trauma and pain associated with any immigrant story. My parent’s decision to move to the United States was made in order to provide their children with educational opportunities. What started off as an idealistic and financially tasking undertaking, turned out to be one of the most traumatic experiences of our family’s lives. It has shaped my passion for social justice and the disenfranchised.

My father traveled to the United States first (once our papers were granted) in order to secure a job and set up a place for us to live prior to my mother traveling with the three kids. My mother unexpectedly got a call that my father had been detained and held while attempting to enter the United States. She had to immediately leave her teaching job, home and three children behind in order to clear my father. Why? My mother had been sponsored by her eldest sister and she had in turn sponsored my father and us. She was not aware that because her name was the primary on my father’s residence card (green card), he couldn’t legally enter the United States for the first time without her. I was the youngest of their three kids at that time and though only four years old, I remember the confusion, sadness and pain associated with that experience. It’s for this reason that I cannot stomach watching videos and images of children being separated from their parents. What if this was your story? What if what you’re leaving was that difficult that you were willing to risk death to leave it? How do we decide whose life has value and whose children to protect?

In order to protect my extended family’s privacy, I will leave out the details of much of the pain and trials that we’ve experienced in our adventures in the United States. All of us are now Naturalized United States Citizens. My father passed his immigration test at the age of 70. My parent’s “American Dream” became a reality, as all three of their children have college or masters degrees, however that “dream” came at a cost. My passion around #notwithoutmychildren comes from a place of deep personal pain associated with immigration and time away from my parents as a result.

My personal life experiences as well of those of my extended family and friends still make me slightly distrustful of the “system” that is suppose to protect us. I treat our family’s passport like treasures. I never let them expire and don’t leave the country by air, land or sea without them. I also when solo traveling with my children, travel with a letter from my husband stating that he’s aware that I’m leaving the country. I’d rather be safe (slightly paranoid) than sorry, when it comes to spending one night of my life away from my children.

Where do we go from here?

Are you struggling with understanding, processing and responding to what’s going on with families? These are resources that I’ve used with my family to discuss and attempt to understand how we got here and where we stand on this issue. Also, I challenge you to turn off the news and attempt to interact with real people in real life on this issue. Do you know any immigrants of color? Have you broken bread with them? Have you heard their story from their own mouths? If you don’t know any immigrants of color, I’m willing to share some of mine. Here’s my cousin Lorena’s story. Read it, process it and take a step forward in better understanding people’s experiences. This blog post has been in draft form for over two weeks. Why? This stuff is painful. It brings up old hurts and creates triggers like no other experiences in my entire life. I’m letting you into a very personal part of my history in hopes that hearts will be moved and we can move toward empathy and love. Choose love.

Additional resources:

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This is a great resource that can be used to discuss the current events with our children in a manner that protects them and their sensitive hearts. We don't watch the news and I personally can't stomach watching the videos or images on this issue. My focus has to be on raising our children to be different, and looking for ways to advocate for those with no voice.

One of the challenges that I believe many of us have in regards to engaging on this topic is lack of understanding of our country’s history. Dr. Kira Banks did a great job putting together a video outlining our history and sharing ways to help us makes better understand what is going on.

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I will continue to update this blog post with additional resources that I’m using to make sense of what’s going around us.

History doesn’t have to repeat itself...

What are you doing to have your voice heard in this matter?

Let’s start by sharing our stories.

Pin it for later:

THE BEST WAY TO HELP IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES WHO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED/DETAINED

”Immigration advocates have noted one sure-fire way to help people separated from their children: Posting their bail. This is one of the fastest ways to reunite immigrants with their family,” said Pilar Weiss, project director at the National Bail Fund Network said.

This is true for undocumented people who have been detained by ICE across the whole Country, including in my home state of CT.

Here are two organizations that can help:

National group

Connecticut Group: http://www.ctbailfund.org/

About Ruth: I’m a wife and mami of 4 active and globe-trotting kiddos. I’ve always loved a good adventure and truly believe that it’s possible to travel with kids. Join me, as I share our adventures and inspire you to get out of the house with your kiddos. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, a road trip or a trip of a lifetime to an exotic destination, I’ll share insights, trip reports and information that will inspire you. Check back often to stay up to date on things to do with kids at your next travel destination.

#notwithoutmykids #immigration #parenting #drkirabanks #zerotolerance #familiesbelongtogether #immigrationstories #empathy #teachingkids #knowourhistory #notwithoutmychild #nosinmishijos #compassion #justice #drkira #homeschoolresources #DismantleTheImmigrantIncarcerationMachine #bethebridge #bloggervibes

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

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Farm Workers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs

Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images

Farm workers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19 — which puts them and the food system at risk

This story originally appeared on Civil Eats.

Late last week, Yazmin Alvarado set out for the strawberry fields near Oxnard, California anxious and afraid of catching the novel coronavirus. Part of a crew of more than 100, she knew she was at high risk.

Members of her crew work and take breaks next to each other. They lack access to soap, water, and gloves, give each other rides to the fields in overloaded cars, and many share apartments with multiple families. As a ponchadora —the person who inspects fruit quality and records each harvested box — Alvarado has constant physical contact with others.

What’s more, she and her co-workers don’t qualify for sick pay, most lack health insurance, and they desperately need the paychecks, so they don’t have the option to stay home, she told Civil Eats. And yet, Alvarado’s employer, a large California berry company, hasn’t offered any training about COVID-19, nor taken any measures to protect the crew, said the 26-year-old worker. To top it off, the government and state health departments are offering little to no information in Spanish.

“We don’t have enough information. And we’re afraid to speak out… [we] don’t want to lose any hours,” said Alvarado, whose paycheck supports her 5-year-old twin girls and unemployed husband. But the fear of contracting the virus is pervasive.

“What if someone gets sick with the virus and still comes to work,” she asks.

While California has ordered all of its residents to shelter in place to stop the virus’ spread, Alvarado’s crew and more than 800,000 other agricultural laborers in the state are exempt. Many continue working, with few or no protections, to power California’s $54 billion agriculture sector and supply the nation’s empty supermarket shelves. And while no farmworkers have been confirmed to be carrying the virus, many agricultural areas have seen confirmed cases.

While most Americans stay at home, farmworkers continue to work, designated as “essential workers” by the Department of Homeland Security. But advocates and organizers are sounding the alarm: Agricultural workers are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. Nearly half lack legal work authorization and residency status, making them ineligible for essential benefits that could help them stay home when sick.

And yet the value of the agricultural labor force, which has long lived in the shadows, is also becoming much clearer to Americans than it’s ever been. While there is no evidence of COVID-19 spreading through food or food packaging, if (or perhaps when) it spreads among farmworkers, farmers say workforce gaps in the chain could exacerbate pre-existing labor shortages and lead to disruptions in the food supply.

Although consumers and government officials have now deemed immigrant workers “essential,” few resources have been dedicated to help them stave off the virus. The workers say they are confused, anxious, and unsure of how COVID-19 will impact their health, employment, and livelihoods. And with many schools suddenly shuttered, some farmworker families are also facing an impossible choice: continue to work or quit and take care of the children.

“Some farmworkers are panicking,” said Elvira Carvajal, lead community organizer in Florida for Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “There are no safety measures, there are no benefits. Families can’t afford to pay for childcare. They’re leaving [children] alone at home or taking them to the fields and leaving them in their cars. This is very dangerous.”

Risks at work and at home

Across the U.S., about 2.5 million farmworkers, most of whom are Latinx, toil on American farms. In addition, a growing number of foreign guest workers, most hailing from Mexico, are brought to the U.S. every year under the H-2A visa program. More than 250,000 were certified nationwide in 2019, though the State Department last week decided to suspend visa processing at the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Mexico, so that only returning guest workers will be allowed to come into the U.S., potentially leaving some growers short.

In some parts of the country, these workers are already busy harvesting produce—whether it’s strawberries in Southern California, citrus, asparagus, and kale in the San Joaquin Valley, or tomato, eggplant, and guavas in Florida. Others are pruning and thinning trees, training vines, transplanting, or weeding. Harvesting typically ramps up later in spring, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into fields and packing houses.

Some work shoulder-to-shoulder, while others are spread out in the fields, depending on the speed and the crops. Working outside may minimize the risk, experts say, but that’s not the case for packing houses and canneries, since the virus is spread by respiratory droplets and can survive on surfaces for up to three days. Those who work alone on machines seem to be the least exposed.

And while the average age for field workers is just 38 years old — and older adults and people with serious underlying medical conditions seem to be at the highest risk for severe symptoms from COVID-19 — if young farmworkers get infected (with or without symptoms) they can become vectors for the virus.

Advocates say it’s the conditions outside of work that place farmworkers in most danger. Many workers carpool to work — with four to six workers sharing a single car — or are bused to work on packed buses. And their crowded living conditions pose perhaps the biggest challenge, said Norma Ahedo, community health worker coordinator for the Salinas-based Center For Community Advocacy.

Earlier this month, Ahedo said, she did a health check at an apartment in Salinas where four farmworker families — including seven children — were living in three small bedrooms and the living room. It’s typical for an entire family to live in a room, she said. It’s also not uncommon to see two families sharing a single room with a divider down the middle, she said.

“These are small spaces, very closed in, with few windows and many people living on top of each other,” Ahedo said. “And if someone does get sick, where will they go?” (Medical experts recommend that people sick with coronavirus use a separate bedroom and bathroom, or even just maintain the safe distance of six feet.)

H-2A guest workers also live in shared grower-provided communal housing camps or cheap motels where they can easily spread the virus to each other. When a few guest workers got the mumps in Washington state last spring, the entire labor camp had to be quarantined.

Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

Celery harvesters work in close proximity on a farm in California

High anxiety, food insecurity, lack of childcare

In addition to the threat of physical illness, advocates say the virus is causing huge emotional stress in the farmworker community. Ahedo said she’s worried for the families who have to shelter in place for long periods in overcrowded living conditions.

“This is causing high anxiety in both adults and children,” she said.

Though some workers may not fully grasp their risks or know how to prevent the spread, many are very worried about how the virus will affect their jobs and livelihoods. Already, some farmers who have lost markets due to restaurants, farmers’ market, and schools closing, have reduced working hours.

Farmworkers’ financial instability is compounded by the fact that many have family members who work in other low-wage, hourly jobs hard-hit by coronavirus closures, especially in the food service industry, said Daniel Gonzales, executive director of the Center For Community Advocacy. “It’s a time of great insecurity and much anguish and anxiety for these families,” he added.

Food scarcity is also looming as several rural communities in California and Washington are reporting a lack of basic necessities, said Mily Treviño-Sauceda, executive director of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “They’ve told me, ‘We have nowhere to get food. The corner markets and dollar stores have empty shelves (and they aren’t restocking).’ This is creating anxiety and despair.”

An open letter to growers: Help protect your workers

Last week, the United Farm Workers (UFW) sent an open letter to agricultural employers and organizations urging them to take “proactive steps to ensure the safety of farm workers, protect buyers and safeguard consumers.”

The need for action is dire because most non-union farmworkers do not have health care coverage or other benefits, said Armando Elenes, the UFW’s secretary treasurer. The California Farm Bureau Federation says it’s working with ag employers to “adjust on-farm practices to account for social distancing and other measures” to assure the safety of their employees.

But a poll the UFW just completed on its Spanish-language social media platforms showed more than 90 percent of the farmworkers who responded had not been advised by their employers on best practices to resist the virus. And a UFW Facebook Live event last week attracted 18,000 views, with hundreds of farmworkers commenting that their employers had provided no information at all.

The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes.

Language is a major barrier to accessing information about the virus and its prevention, said Elenes. Many workers speak only Spanish, while some primarily speak Indigenous languages such as Triqui and Mixteco. And since they’re not getting information from their employers, workers turn to social media, which is ripe with conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus.

The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes, said Elenes. Three states—California, Oregon, and Washington — currently offer farmworkers a limited number of sick-pay hours, he added. Despite these laws, many growers and labor contractors require doctors’ notes from workers, making it difficult for workers to access the benefit, he said. And some flat out refuse to give workers sick pay.

“If they stop working because they’re feeling ill, they no longer have a job. The growers do not guarantee their positions,” said Treviño-Sauceda. Some, she added, may also avoid doctors because they fear questions about immigration status or the Trump administration’s new public charge rule, which bars people who use certain benefits, including Medicaid, from converting their temporary immigration status into a green card.

The UFW’s open letter advocates extending state-required sick pay to 40 hours or more and removing the caps on accruing sick pay, eliminating the 90-day waiting period for newly employed farmworkers to be eligible for sick pay, and placing workers who are infected or whose family members are infected with COVID-19 on paid administrative leave for the duration of their illnesses.

The letter also asks growers to provide basic information and training to workers, such as encouraging them to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces.

Training offered to some, others are on their own

Some farmers are starting to provide training and are instituting additional safety measures. Last week at Del Bosque Farms on the west side of Fresno in California’s San Joaquin Valley, grower Joe Del Bosque and his wife held a tailgate meeting in Spanish for about 60 workers in his asparagus harvest crew to discuss coronavirus prevention and food safety measures. The grower said his company received resources from AgSafe, a nonprofit in Modesto that provides health and safety training.

Del Bosque, who farms about 2,200 acres of mostly organic produce — including several kinds of melons and asparagus — said his employees are his greatest concern. His business, after all, depends on them showing up.

“We’re an essential industry, at this time and always, so we need to make sure our workers are comfortable knowing they can come to work and still be protected,” he said.

Del Bosque’s company offers clean restrooms with fully equipped hand-washing stations. It advises workers to regularly scrub their hands with soap, to sneeze into their elbows, and to stay home when ill — measures that have been part of the company’s food safety program since before the pandemic. In addition, Del Bosque said he has instituted new social distancing measures and a rule about not touching other workers.

“We understand how diseases can be transmitted not just from one worker to another, but also through the produce,” he said. “We simply want to reinforce what we’ve already been doing for many years.”

Del Bosque said rows of asparagus are spaced 5 feet apart, but the workers harvest at their individual speeds and can maintain the required 6-foot social distancing guideline in the fields. In June, when the melon harvest begins, he may have to add more distancing measures, especially for the packers.

Del Bosque can’t prevent his workers from car-pooling because many have no other way to get to work. He can’t tell them to live with fewer people either. And while the company asks workers to stay home when sick — farmworkers in California can acquire between three and eight sick pay days per year, depending on the hours they work — sick leave doesn’t kick in for three months, so some new members of the crew aren’t protected.

Del Bosque said he offers Obamacare-level free health insurance to both his seasonal farmworkers and year-round crew after 30 days. Some also qualify for MediCal, California’s version of Medicaid, which is available to legal residents or U.S. citizens.

According to workers and their advocates however, other employers aren’t nearly as diligent.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) told Civil Eats it continues to respond to complaints and serious injuries and illnesses of field agricultural operations during the pandemic. Inspectors verify compliance with the field sanitation requirements and personal protective equipment, if applicable, said spokesman Frank Polizzi. He encouraged workers to call in complaints and said Cal/OSHA plans to post guidance for agricultural employers and workers on preventing the spread of COVID-19, in English this week and soon after in Spanish.

On Friday, after Monterey County issued a shelter-in-place order with sweeping exemptions for agriculture, officials in the region issued a farmworker protection advisory that was applauded by the area’s agricultural industry. And in North Carolina, another state with many guest workers and migrant workers, the health department has also issued guidelines for ag employers.

Few other counties or states have followed suit, but many workers have begun taking their own protective actions.

Alvarado, the Oxnard farmworker, said she and the others cover their faces with bandanas when they cough and buy their own gloves. After work, she changes in the car so as not to bring her clothes into the house. To learn more about COVID, she tunes in to Spanish-speaking radio stations. Last week, when she came down with a dry cough, she immediately went to the emergency room, where she was told it probably wasn’t the virus.

“I hope they can find a solution that would let farmworkers with coronavirus symptoms stay at home without losing the day’s salary or our jobs,” she said.

Education in the time of social distancing

Organizations that work directly with farmworkers have also been working on education campaigns. But the organizations are struggling with how to reach the workers because most immigrant farmworkers prefer face-to-face conversations to online ones, and some are illiterate or lack access to the internet.

For now, UFW, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, and the Center For Community Advocacy have all been turning to social media, including Facebook Live and apps such as Skype and Zoom. They’re also working with local legislators and doctors to provide more information in Spanish.

Radio Bilingue, a national Spanish-language radio network headquartered in Fresno, has been running information spots in Spanish, English, and Mixteco about coronavirus protection, COVID-19 symptoms, and what to do when a person falls ill, said broadcasting director Maria Eraña. The network has also dedicated its flagship talk show program, Linea Abierta, to discussing the pandemic, as well as producing regular updates for its public affairs talk shows and newscasts.

“Our main message,” said Eraña, “is that it’s not the time to panic. It’s time for prevention. And it’s not the time to be afraid of going to the doctor.”

• Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs [Civil Eats]

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2Jihwg4 https://ift.tt/2WLZlHE

Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images

Farm workers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19 — which puts them and the food system at risk

This story originally appeared on Civil Eats.

“What if someone gets sick with the virus and still comes to work,” she asks.

Risks at work and at home

Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

Celery harvesters work in close proximity on a farm in California

High anxiety, food insecurity, lack of childcare

“This is causing high anxiety in both adults and children,” she said.

An open letter to growers: Help protect your workers

The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes.

The letter also asks growers to provide basic information and training to workers, such as encouraging them to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces.

Training offered to some, others are on their own

“We’re an essential industry, at this time and always, so we need to make sure our workers are comfortable knowing they can come to work and still be protected,” he said.

According to workers and their advocates however, other employers aren’t nearly as diligent.

Few other counties or states have followed suit, but many workers have begun taking their own protective actions.

“I hope they can find a solution that would let farmworkers with coronavirus symptoms stay at home without losing the day’s salary or our jobs,” she said.

Education in the time of social distancing

“Our main message,” said Eraña, “is that it’s not the time to panic. It’s time for prevention. And it’s not the time to be afraid of going to the doctor.”

• Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs [Civil Eats]

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2Jihwg4 via Blogger https://ift.tt/3ansI6P

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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my-ships-will-never-be-sank · 5 years

Text

Talk Less - Chapter 4 - I will never be satisfied

link to masterpost

summary: Angelica looses herself in the past

“It was glorious Peggy- absolutely amazing, he was so flustered he could hardly give the stupid lecture. And then Alex stands up and goes ‘Are you sure you don’t want to get someone more competent to give the lecture- Sir ’ and then started on this rant about why he was wasting not only his own time but everyone in the room. I honestly thought Arnolds was going to pass out - I have never seem someone resemble a tomato so much in my life…”

“You still telling this story Angie?” Alex sat down beside her and reached over to grab one of the coffees sitting in the tray, double checking it was his order so he didn’t end up with one of Lafayette’s milky lattes or worse - tea.

“I will never stop telling it - it was one of the best days of my life, i honestly thought he’d drop there”

Alex frowned at her. “Really? I don’t think I was that hard on him. At least until he…” He trailed off.

Angelica pulled her friend into a small hug. Alex tensed and Angelica found that she was worried again. He had been much jumpier lately - anytime anyone appeared behind him out of nowhere - and the fact that a professor was verbally abusing him didn’t help. Some people might think Alex had overreacted but anyone who knew him, knew how touchy he was over the word ‘Bastard’. She wasn’t aware of how bad his life had been before he docked in America. He had only told them the basics over the years.

She still remembered how she still met Alex. She had been walking through downtown when this short guy who was way to energetic for that hour. He had been arguing with this guy about something - she had been too far away to hear the details, it was then she saw Lafayette near holding back Aaron Burr and then saw John and Hercules encouraging whatever it was Alex was saying. His opponent (who was some guy from her Law class's she faintly recognized as Seabury, also known as Adams nephew) was slowly becoming more and more flustered and when it was obvious that Alex was winning whatever debate or argument they were having.

"Yaas Alex" She heard John scream and she smiled to herself - then she could see Laf and Hercules start chanting. "HAM-IL-TON. HAM-IL-TON" she couldn't help but laugh quietly. Obviously this 'Alexander Hamilton' had made quite the impression on Lafayette and Co.

Then, she had heard Seabury call out one last insult.

“Hamilton? Ohi've heard about you. You're the bastard immigrant the Washington's took pity on and picked up from -”

Next thing she knew she running to help the boys stop a massacre.

Alex had told them later it had been a mix of what he had said before Angelica had shown up - but most importantly the ‘bastard’ part. He'd had grown up with the whispers of it on the island and he word had haunted him throughout his childhood.

She had looked at her watch and decided that she wasn’t going to make the lecture on time so she might as well stick around with the group for a while longer.

“Oh my! Mon amour, Heracles, is that Angelica Schuyler I see before me? I think i may faint- why would such a person of such high etiquette be hanging around with us lowly peasants? Oh Herc! Hold me! I think I may faint” Falling against his boyfriend Herc had to dive to catch him.

“Jesus christ Laf! Give some warning”

Angelica couldn’t stop laughing. She had grown up friends with Lafayette, he had been more or less brought under their protection, the son of her mother’s late friend. Somehow along those days of finding themselves, of accepting their sexualities her father had come to the conclusion they were dating and had informed him that he would never be good enough for any of his daughters, before Laf had calmly informed him he had no interest in anyone’s daughters and that he should be more worried about his sons. Thank god he had stopped after adding that it was unlikely she would have been interested in him anyway.

Since he moved out of the Schuyler family home, if she didn’t see Lafayette for a least week he resorted to pretending he didn’t know her and the joke got old after the 10th time.. He was a little brother to her. She reached into her bag, pulled out her bag of donuts and wordlessly handed one out to him.

Lafayette was up immediately, donuts in hand and arms around Angelica. “It has been too long mon ami”

The small man had then stepped forward and introduced himself. “Alexander Hamilton, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Angelica Schuyler” The intelligence in his eyes made her momentarily question if was indeed gay, because dayum….

Suddenly his arm was grabbed and Alexander was spun around until he was facing... Burr? Why the hell was Burr here? She groaned. Of all the fucking people in the whole blasted city of New York.

“Do you have any idea how stupid of an idea that was Alex? What if someone else had come along? You can’t just attack someone if you don’t agree with their beliefs.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not why he -” Burr cut off John with a glare. And she scoffed. Still an asshole then- good to know.

Burr turned his glare to her. She had never been a big fan of his. They had been in the same year in high school, competed for student president (she had won), worked for valedictorian (she had also won) and so weren’t exactly friendly. She had overshadowed him again and again throughout their schooling. The only reason she had never let herself loose to tell him what she really thought of him was the fact her best friend had been dating him.

She had been against it. She had heard a rumor about how Aaron had hit his ex. She had tried to warn Theodosia but she had laughed it off.. “Don’t be silly Angie! He is a gentleman.”

Then the week after graduation, the start of summer, May 12th, before a year free of work - a year her and her best friends were going to travel Europe - she had been woken up just after dawn to her phone blaring. Theo was crying. Her first thoughts were that the rumors were right. Aaron had hit her and Angelica was going to murder him.

“Slow down Theo, what’s wrong - what happened?”

“I'm pregnant”

Angelica remembered freezing and feeling a little bit of her heart crack behind the shields she had built. “Theo! Your only 18 - what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know!! I want to keep it, but i can’t do it by myself! What of Aaron doesn’t want it? What if my parents try to make me….. What is they kick me out?”

“You can always stay here with me and the girls - you will never be alone Theo.”

Three days later she had been engaged and living in Aarons apartment.

The trip was cancelled. Angelica and Eliza got part-time jobs at the Laurens’ cafe.

February 13th she was the first in hospital. She was going to become a godmother. Two hours later the most adorable child she had ever seen was lying asleep. Theodosia jr.

Summer came and Angelica was wrapped in babysitting and wedding preparations for her best friend.

Maid of honor.

Write a speech.

Then the day of.

A beautiful day. A November morning.

She remembered praying that something would happen - the priest to be sick - a candle to fall- a fire to spread, for something to catch, anything to stop Theo from making this mistake. Angelica knew it was a mistake. How could someone as kind as Theo love Burr?

Why should she marry Burr when Angelica had loved her longer?

Then the call. She didn’t remember much of that day - only what Lafayette had told her later.

How her face had drained of all its colour. How he had barely got to her before she dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Hercules had picked up the phone. It was some Police officer that Angelica was a friend of - Hercules got him to repeat the news.

The accident.

The spinning out of control.

Off the side of the bridge.

How Theo had died holding onto her daughter.

The driver it seemed had escaped but no one could find him.

John and Lafayette were with Angelica so it was up to Hercules to pass the information to Aaron.

Hercules started the long walk up the aisle and Aaron had smiled to see his best man.

“Is she here? Wheres little Theo?”

“I’m so sorry Aaron”

Confusion. Fear. Denial.

“That’s not funny Herc. where is she? Where is my wife?”

Then Aaron’s phone rang.

And everything went to shit.

***************************************************************************************************

Looking at Alex now she started to feel the old fears creep back in.

What exactly happened under that apartment roof?

What was Burr playing at because there was no way he could have recovered in 2 years. A fiancee and a child.

Angelica hadn't had either. she'd had a best friend she was in love with and a godchild who hadn't lived long enough to see Christmas. She still woke up most nights with nightmares. All she could see was her friends face closed, hair floating above her, holding her child as tight as she can. Then her eyes open and there she is, staring at Angelica with pale eyes. “You could have stopped this” she seems to taunt. “If you had opened your mouth you could have convinced me stay with you”

She sometimes still woke up from these nightmares crying. She had long since learned to quiet her sobs.

And here he was dating Alex? The mere thought of him harming the energetic overly boisterous young man beside her sent Angelica into a rage she hadn't felt in a long time.

Something didn’t add up. She wasn’t going to let this drop till she found out every one of Burrs’ dirty little secrets.

Until she was satisfied with what she found she would not stop.

#talk less #part 4 #chapter 4 #my writing #jamilton and lams #hamilton #hamilton fanfic

0 notes

instantdeerlover · 4 years

Text

Farm Workers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs added to Google Docs

Farm Workers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs

Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images

Farm workers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19 — which puts them and the food system at risk

This story originally appeared on Civil Eats.

“What if someone gets sick with the virus and still comes to work,” she asks.

Risks at work and at home

Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images Celery harvesters work in close proximity on a farm in California High anxiety, food insecurity, lack of childcare

“This is causing high anxiety in both adults and children,” she said.

An open letter to growers: Help protect your workers

The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes.

The letter also asks growers to provide basic information and training to workers, such as encouraging them to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces.

Training offered to some, others are on their own

“We’re an essential industry, at this time and always, so we need to make sure our workers are comfortable knowing they can come to work and still be protected,” he said.

According to workers and their advocates however, other employers aren’t nearly as diligent.

Few other counties or states have followed suit, but many workers have begun taking their own protective actions.

“I hope they can find a solution that would let farmworkers with coronavirus symptoms stay at home without losing the day’s salary or our jobs,” she said.

Education in the time of social distancing

“Our main message,” said Eraña, “is that it’s not the time to panic. It’s time for prevention. And it’s not the time to be afraid of going to the doctor.”

• Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs [Civil Eats]

via Eater - All https://www.eater.com/2020/3/26/21194074/coronavirus-risk-farm-workers-farmers

Created March 26, 2020 at 08:22PM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

0 notes

generouslyteenagealpaca-blog · 6 years

Text

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I know it is pointless since being an unregistered car it would not be covered during an accident on the road, but will the insurance company approve 3rd party insurance on a car that is unregistered?

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freecarinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

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I'm 17 and am getting a Renault Clio 1.2 as my first car. Is there any good insurers or ways of reducing the insurance at my age? Preferably not with a box though! Thanks

How much is car insurance for a 17 year old male in maryland????????!!!?!?!?! PLEASE ANSWER!!!?

I got my license today lol....I need car insurance because I have an internship starting on the 29th...does anyone know a cheap but good/decent insurance policy??????PLEASE HELP!!!

Is their a mazda 6 with low insurance in florida?

what year? model?

Car accident with no insurance?

I'm 19, and the car I was driving was constantly breaking down. When it was completely broken for two months, I stopped paying my insurance and instead saved back money to get the car fixed. My insurance canceled during that time. When I got it fixed on Friday, I was planning on renewing my insurance Tuesday, a day I had off work. Unfortunately, Saturday morning I got into a car accident. I was turning out of my apartment entrance to get to a middle lane where I could then get onto another road, and somehow didn't see a car close enough to hit me. He t boned me in the drivers side. Somehow neither of us got hurt. My car is pretty much done and his car, while not as bad as mine, did get some split open damage. The ticket says the damage is worth 3,000. Since I had no insurance at the time, how will this get payed??? I have a court date on the 9th to discuss the fact of my no insurance...I'll have coverage by then of course, but I'd like to know what I should expect...""

Car Insurance pricing question?

I'm trying to understand how the insurance for each of our cars gets chosen. We have a 2007 gmc yukon XL (biggest of the 3), a 97 mercury grand marquis LS, and a 2001 gmc Sierra (pickup). Of these 3, the grand marquis is the most expensive, then sierra, and the cheapest insurance belongs to the yukon. Just trying to figure out how this works...""

Good prices for car insurance

Can anyone suggest a car insurance company with good rates? I just had to add my daughter (16 and just got license) and my insurance went through the roof, even with the good student discount. I am currently with Mercury and I live in California. Thanks""

Adding a new driver to insurance.?

In Ontario, if a new driver was added to insurance on a 03 dodge caravan how much would it be about?""

How much is car insurance typically for a 19 year old in Burlington/Montpelier Vermont?

This would be on an independent coverage, not part of parents plan. It would be a Jetta (if that matters at all).""

Question for uk drivers: How much does disqualification effect car insurance?

Was convicted 5 months ago for permitting use of a vehicle without third party insurance and driving with not in accordance with a licence . Got 4 month disqualification but managed to keep driving licence just need to re-apply for it back from d.v.l.a. Does being disqualified greatly effect insurance? will it affect insurance the same as say drink driving?

How hard is it to have a baby without insurance?

My husband and I are both employed and make decent pay, but neither of our employers offer insurance. We were wondering what options there are for non-insured couples who make too much to qualify for,say, WIC or other government programs.""

I need cheap but good car insurance what do you recommend?

""Planning on buying a newer car, wondering how much my insurance will go up or if it will at all?""

Right now I have a Ford mustang, and i'm paying about $800 every 6 months, i'm planning on getting a 2006 Grand Prix so since it's not a sports cr but it's newer will my insurance rate stay the same? Will it go up? Or am I lucky and will it go down?""

Can i drive my parent's car without insurance having my name on the policy?

Can i drive a parent's car without insurance? like they have their car insured and in 17 and i just got my license so can i used their car with their permission? my dad says that i would have to be added to the policy and they would have to pay extra for it..... but i remember my dad letting my uncle and a few other ppl drive the car like not all the time but a few times ? so if they could why cant i?! I LIVE IN CA

What Insurance Saves You the Most Money?

By your experience. Any insurance company All-State, State Farm, Progressive etc... and how much your auto/life insurance costs and how much you saved.""

I want to start trying for another baby by August, but I don't have medical insurance....?

My husband makes too much for me to get on Medicaid. I want to get a good insurance. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to do.

Can anyone recommend a website that will give free quotes for multiple car insurance companies?

I'm trying to find a website that will give different quotes for comprehensive car insurance in Australia. Can anyone recommend one?

Any cheap car insurance in uk?

i have full uk licence and 2 years no claim bonus age 30 to 40 how can i buy the cheap car insurance.please

Do you have health insurance?

if so, how much is it per month? how old are you? what kind of deductible do you have? Also Feel free to answer if you do not have insurance and do you support Obamacare?""

Settling with the insurance company?

My sister was fatily injured by a drunk driver in georgia.His insurance company has agreed to pay $25000 bodily injury liability and her insurance company will pay $25000 underinsured motorist for a total of $50,000.Should his insurance company medical pymts coverage pay anything like the funeral expenses.Also if her family agrees to this from the insurance company will that clear him of a civil suit""

""What are the cheapest Insurance companies for young drivers typically aged 17, 18 and 19?""

I have just passed my driving test well its been almost 8 months now and everywhere I look car insurance is too expensive, have done a lot of research and really need a car as keep getting rejected for jobs on the basis of I don't own a car/ have my own transportation as companies do not want to pay for transport in these economical times, been looking at vauxhall corsa 1.2 litre or less, Ford Fiesta 1.2 litre petrol, peagout 207 renaault clio as well. If anyone can provide me with useful tips to reduce or get the 'cheapest' insurance can be third party only for young drivers I would apprecaite it. Also any tricks or hints which can be used for extra haggling as well when confirming quotes on the phone would help. My current budget is betwen 500 - 3000 for a car and would ideally want insurance at under 2000. The cheapest quote I got was for a citroen c1 at 1950 third party only but found the car was in excess of 3000 on autotrader, Are there any cars which are low insurance group i.e. groups 1 and 2, cheap to insure, cheap road tax and cheap running costs. I have mates who have got insurance quotes at 900 and do not understand how they have got it that low. Sure enough post code has an affect but they drive vauxhall corsa in fully comprehensive at them prices.""

For my car insurance I have full coverage. Have a $500 deductible to fix a broken window. Is that normal?

A rock hit my window while I was driving and i have a $500 deductible to fix it. I wanted to see was that really high or normal? I have full coverage. I just want to see how this insurance compares to others. $500 deductible just seemed a bit high. Thanks!

Car insurance question?

My car got hit... the bumper is almost falling off. It is not my fault and the other person's insurance is covering it and they are sending me a check to cover the cost of it being fixed. Here's the thing... my car is a POS. I doubt it's even worth $1000. Do I have to get my car fixed with the money? Or can I use it how I want (such to help get a new car with)? I know the ethical thing to do would be to get it fixed, but it may actually be totaled (still drivable but the cost of getting it fixed may be more than it's worth). I was thinking about telling the insurance company, but I don't want to risk losing the $ to get it fixed... I've heard of other people getting in accidents, then getting the check and just not getting the car fixed. Anyone know?""

How can I get medical insurance while unemployed?

Recently hospitalized and need further lifesaving testing, but hospital will not touch me unless I have insurance or insurance pending.""

I got an unbelievably low quote from Response Wordwide Auto Insurance.Should I switch from StateFarm?

Their quote is about 1/2 that of all others

Farmers Insurance problem when changed from CA to OR?

Hi, I've had insurance in CA for 2 years and moved to Oregon recently. I had my insurance tranferred with an useless Farmers Agent in OR. The thing is I already paid my 6 months premium in CA which is covered me until 06/2009. I paid nearly $450 for until 06/29. I've had quite a few discounts in CA but the jug-head agent in Oregon, not shifted any discounts to Oregon automatically. I got a bill for next 6 months from that agent saying that I have to pay $1000, since I haven't lived in Oregon for long enough. Jeez!!!. It's almost a $600 rise in my insurance that too I haven't had any claims or ticket in my last 5 years. I went to meet him in person but he told that's all he can do it. He didn't look my CA policy/discounts too. Then I told him, I can get $500 insurance anywhere else. But he challenges me if I could get something like that. I haven't approached any other insurers yet. Is it anything like insurance history or something like that maintained nationwide or in Oregon? Does he threaten me based on somre record? Can I get some decent insurance from someother insurers/agents? In CA I've never paid my 6 months permium more than $450. I'm the only driver for my car and the car is 8 years old. I've never claimed from any insurance till date. I neither had any speeding tickets elsewhere. Can I get some insurance for some decent rate If I shop around? My farmers insurance expects to pay the additional premium in a week else my policy with farmers expires. I dont want to meet someother farmers agents. I wanna get out of farmers and go with someone else. Can I get some decent insurance in a week?""

Is it a legal requirement in Texas to have health insurance?

after i graduate high school and when i turn 18 and move out i will not be a full time student there for not covered under my parents insurances in any way... so is it a legal requirement in Texas for me to have health insurance like it is for car insurance? thanks in advance

Why can't small businesses in each state group together to get better and more affordable health insurance?

Who regulates this? The insurance companies? The large companies? It doesn't make sense that this cannot be done.

Top 10 low insurance and tax cars in insurance group 1?

just wanted little info about top 10 cars that are: 1.0 - 1.2 litre engine Insurance group 1 Low road tax

How much is Car Insurance for a 17 year old Boy in NJ?

I recently got my license and my mom added me to her insurance. For 1 month they are charging approximately $400. This seems really outrageous. Car is a 2007 Toyota Camry. I also have above a 3.0 average and supposedly get some kind of discount. What are your opinions on this price?

Too much to pay for car insurance?

I received my renewal notice today from my insurance company. I'm getting tired of paying so much for my insurance, I think its time to start looking around. I heard all the car insurance myths, when you turn 25.. Itll go down when you bundle your house & car insurance it'll go down when you get married it'll go down nope nope nope It has gone down a total of MAYBE $5 a month or $60yr. I'll be 29 in Jan, no accidents in 8yrs no speeding tickets in 5yrs. I drive a '06 4dr car and I'm paying $125/mthn insurance. Is it just me or this way too high to be paying insurance.... I've been with this company for close to 6yrs now.""

30 day insurance policy for newborns?

I am a teen mom and since the baby can't be covered under my parents insurance we are planning to do a legal guardianship, however you cannot get guardianship of an unborn child so we are doing it after he is born. But I was wondering if right after he is born if the hospital bills will be under my parents insurance because I have heard there is a 30 day period in which you need to get the baby's insurance arranged. So during the 30 days would the baby's hospital stay and everything be covered while we get the insurance arranged? Thank you!""

HELP PLEASE. AUTO INSURANCE FOR NEW DRIVER. I NEED A GOOD ANSWER?

how much a year would a 1998 chevrolet camaro base, not z28, be for a new driver. any ideas? and also a 2002 dodge intrepreped es 4 door cost? please.""

What is the average car insurance cost for new drivers in NJ?

17 yr old driver male extra cost cost per year on parents insurance?

Paying for Insurance question?

Okay, is it possible for me to pay for insurance for only a few days rather than a month at a time? If so, how?""

How much does car insurance cost?

I just bought a 2007 toyota corolla and I'm putting the insurance in my moms name. She's gonna list me on her policy, around how much do you think it will cost to register this car? I don't want an exact amount just ideal price. It's a 2007 toyota corolla s""

Not allowed to be insured on my mum's car because i work in a pub?

Hi, im starting work in a pub this weekend and in order to get to work etc my mum phoned her insurance company (more than) and asked how much it would be etc.. and they said im not allowed to be insured because ill be working in a pub and there might be a scuffle or something and the car might be damaged.... WHAT? are they serious?! well they are because they wont insure me!! can they do that? what ways round this are there? they have my details already, so i dont think phoning back and telling them a different occupation will work because they already know ill be in a bar. Can you please help me out here? i really need to be insured on my mums car, i cant afford my own car and i need this job to work out, but it wont unless i get this insurance!!! Thanks (im 22 years old by the way, male)""

I am 16/m and looking for a cheap car insurances?

Im currently living in nyc, I am 16/m and looking for a cheap car insurances. Does anyone know of any?""

Why are insurance quotes on comparison sites so high?

I'm almost 17 and I'm hoping to learn to drive and get a car. I was looking online to see what the insurance might be on some possible cars (ford KA, fiat sciento, nothing too fancy) but the insurance quotes were ridiculously high. The cheapest was around 6000 for third party which is really high because so many of my friends have cars and their insurance ranges from 1800-3000. Why is it so high and will it actually be this amount when I come to buy the insurance?""

What can freelancers do for individual health insurance?

I have my own little freelance job that I do for cash. I'm not married and not a student, so I find myself without any medical or dental coverage. I'm just looking for coverage for gynological care (once per year), maybe a regular check-up (once per year), and prescription coverage if possible. And, if I'm really lucky, I'd like dental to be able to have a cleaning every 6 months. I've tried looking online but I don't know what or where most of the insurance companies are and if they are real or even trustworthy. I am not a registered business nor do I make loads of cash, but I do not want to go on welfare of any sort. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks!""

How many people committed life insurance fraud on 911?

I want to start trying for another baby by August, but I don't have medical insurance....?

My husband makes too much for me to get on Medicaid. I want to get a good insurance. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to do.

Get a insurance quote on 2010 honda civic?

i just want to find out how much do you guys think the insurance would be for a person with the following: 1) NYC license of less than 2 years, age early 20s 2) full insurance coverage since it's new 3) registered somewhere in southern part of Staten Island 4) the car ran 2-3 red lights within the past 1 1/2 year, got camera ticketed the car is covered by AllState, i just want to find out how much is the car's insurance now, i am not the car owner, would it possibly be at 4-5k/year, since the car was ticketed a few times, thanks""

Where can I find car insurance for my situation?

I've been without insurance for almost a year now. I canceled my old policy because I do not drive my car anymore and I'm selling it. So I finally bought a new car, and I am currently looking for insurance. But I haven't had any insurance the past year. Where can I get insurance?""

Car insurance????

I am trying to find cheap car insurance..... Do you know who had the cheapest? I am a 21 year old female and the car is a 1998 Oldsmobile cutlass

""Young motorcycle riders, how much is your insurance?

Im wondering how much insurance will be for a 19 year old for a 08' R1...im thinking about financing one but of course you cant have it without insurance..i would like to know about other riders and their insurances...and which one would be the cheapest for me..

Is there a difference between homeowner's insurance and mortgage insurance?

Costs of insurance for Young people 16?

Could you write how much do/did you pay/paid for your insurance now/before?? Also could you add you car engine etc..

If you rent a budget truck will my insurance company insure it while im driving it?

New Driver Car Insurance?

Hi all, How does a new driver go about getting insured for the purchase of a new car? Having never been insured before, how would I go about legally driving away a car newly purchased? So the scenario is that I have sourced the market and located a car. It is a private sale or from a garage. I have never driven before and therefore never been insured on an vehicle. How do I go about ensuring that when I purchase the car I am legally insured/taxed? When looking online, they need all the details about the car before I can arrange insurance, but I cannot guarantee the details of the car until I have seen it in person, when I expect to make the purchase. Any advice/links would be great. Thanks""

What is a good individual health insurance?

Mine sucks and I work for a hospital! I'm looking for reasonably priced, low copays and deductibles, and great medical care. Please list details. I'm probably not going to find such a fairy tale insurance, right?? I have Healthfirst/Premier.""

First car?? very cheap budget wear and what should i be looking to purchase?

ok im in uk got a budget of around 500 max im 17 so insurance will be bowt 1k third party what ever car i get i need simple ideas on a how to get a small cheap first car if you know anything about insurance then i want it cheap and yes i am short of cash as u may have gatherd also what good sound systems should i look to get once ive paid for everything thats what ill be saving for next....

""Of these cars which has the best reputation for safety, cheap to insure, low maintenance, and high mileage?""

dodge charger jaguar XKR porsche boxster audi A5 cadillac CTS and for people about to say that if you can afford one of them why is being cheap to insure an issue, ive been saving up to buy a used one of these cars as i am still a college student thanks""

Who offers affordable and reliable car insurance?

Money is really tight right now, and my car insurance is around $120 a month with Liberty Mutual. I'm looking at other agencies that offer great service and are less expensive. Is Geico good? Are there any other agencies I should look at? My record isn't too bad. One speeding ticket.""

Car insurance question for military...?

We are in the military so the rules are a little different for us. For example, even though we just moved to TX, we can renew our tags in NC where we just came from... we don't have to change them to TX. We are going to renew our tags in NC which means our car will still be registered in NC... and we still have NC car insurance. If we get in an accident here, will having insurance in NC be a problem? Everything is registered in NC so we want to keep our NC insurance... or do we have to switch to TX?""

Pregnant with No Health Insurance?

I've just discovered I'm pregnant and I have no health insurance. Are there any recommendations on what to do?

How much should my car insurance be a month?

I am 19 and I drive a 2003 Jeep. I've been with Geico for 1.5 years & my policy price has went up two times! When I called to ask why it would go up they explained that it was nothing to do with me or my driving record (seeing how I've never had a wreck or a ticket) but that it depends on the claims from other people. I know this is how some things work, but I don't think I should be pentilized for someone else's claims. Is this how every car insurance works or is it just Geico? I'm going to start calling around to today to get quotes...but I wanted to hear from people other than a sales person.""

What is a good cheap auto insurance?

i have progressive right now and its almost 300 cause i have a new car..are there ne others that are cheaper but have a good policy??? i live in kentucky

Help! I need health insurance by thursday?

I finally went to the doctor for my period( lasting for nearly a month now) Currently self-pay but wanted to know if I can get affordable insurance by my next Doctor visit. I need to get lab work done, which everyone tells me its a lot of money. And I have to visit a Gyno for an ultrasound which when I called I received a price I cant possibly afford right now.What I do know is that I can't afford to miss the appoint ments. I am concerned about my health. So if anyone have any suggestions or answers please let know.""

How much does GEICO car insurance cost per month?

...it a kia the 2011 sportage car

Whats the cheapest car insurance company in ireland for young drivers ?

whats the cheapest car insurance company in ireland for young drivers ?

How much is Property Insurance? How much is Property Taxes?

Doing a paper for School Whats the average amount of property tax, for a statelike california? Say Los Angeles Is there an average on property insurance?""

How much do you pay for you're car insurance 17+ ? & names of insurers!?

Hey, I'd like to know some of you're insurance quotes and where from? Looking around to find some places! Cheers in advance 10points for someone who helps!""

Health insurance question?

Had COBRA insurance, terminating, looking for health insurance. One health insurance has turned me down. Am on SSDI and have a condition that needs outpatient surgery monthly. Anyone have any suggestions?""

Car Insurance Help?

Where can I find Car Insurance with no license needed answer ASAP??

Raising money for individuals with health condition?

I'm just curious about why people ask for donation and fund raising for people with health condition here in Canada. Health care is free that will cover most of the medical ...show more

What R some other ways I can to lower my insurance rate?

I want to start trying for another baby by August, but I don't have medical insurance....?

My husband makes too much for me to get on Medicaid. I want to get a good insurance. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to do.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-need-some-legit-cheap-dental-insuranceplease-help-karin-baker"

0 notes

easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

Quote

Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images Farm workers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19 — which puts them and the food system at risk This story originally appeared on Civil Eats. Late last week, Yazmin Alvarado set out for the strawberry fields near Oxnard, California anxious and afraid of catching the novel coronavirus. Part of a crew of more than 100, she knew she was at high risk. Members of her crew work and take breaks next to each other. They lack access to soap, water, and gloves, give each other rides to the fields in overloaded cars, and many share apartments with multiple families. As a ponchadora —the person who inspects fruit quality and records each harvested box — Alvarado has constant physical contact with others. What’s more, she and her co-workers don’t qualify for sick pay, most lack health insurance, and they desperately need the paychecks, so they don’t have the option to stay home, she told Civil Eats. And yet, Alvarado’s employer, a large California berry company, hasn’t offered any training about COVID-19, nor taken any measures to protect the crew, said the 26-year-old worker. To top it off, the government and state health departments are offering little to no information in Spanish. “We don’t have enough information. And we’re afraid to speak out… [we] don’t want to lose any hours,” said Alvarado, whose paycheck supports her 5-year-old twin girls and unemployed husband. But the fear of contracting the virus is pervasive. “What if someone gets sick with the virus and still comes to work,” she asks. While California has ordered all of its residents to shelter in place to stop the virus’ spread, Alvarado’s crew and more than 800,000 other agricultural laborers in the state are exempt. Many continue working, with few or no protections, to power California’s $54 billion agriculture sector and supply the nation’s empty supermarket shelves. And while no farmworkers have been confirmed to be carrying the virus, many agricultural areas have seen confirmed cases. While most Americans stay at home, farmworkers continue to work, designated as “essential workers” by the Department of Homeland Security. But advocates and organizers are sounding the alarm: Agricultural workers are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. Nearly half lack legal work authorization and residency status, making them ineligible for essential benefits that could help them stay home when sick. And yet the value of the agricultural labor force, which has long lived in the shadows, is also becoming much clearer to Americans than it’s ever been. While there is no evidence of COVID-19 spreading through food or food packaging, if (or perhaps when) it spreads among farmworkers, farmers say workforce gaps in the chain could exacerbate pre-existing labor shortages and lead to disruptions in the food supply. Although consumers and government officials have now deemed immigrant workers “essential,” few resources have been dedicated to help them stave off the virus. The workers say they are confused, anxious, and unsure of how COVID-19 will impact their health, employment, and livelihoods. And with many schools suddenly shuttered, some farmworker families are also facing an impossible choice: continue to work or quit and take care of the children. “Some farmworkers are panicking,” said Elvira Carvajal, lead community organizer in Florida for Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “There are no safety measures, there are no benefits. Families can’t afford to pay for childcare. They’re leaving [children] alone at home or taking them to the fields and leaving them in their cars. This is very dangerous.” Risks at work and at home Across the U.S., about 2.5 million farmworkers, most of whom are Latinx, toil on American farms. In addition, a growing number of foreign guest workers, most hailing from Mexico, are brought to the U.S. every year under the H-2A visa program. More than 250,000 were certified nationwide in 2019, though the State Department last week decided to suspend visa processing at the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Mexico, so that only returning guest workers will be allowed to come into the U.S., potentially leaving some growers short. In some parts of the country, these workers are already busy harvesting produce—whether it’s strawberries in Southern California, citrus, asparagus, and kale in the San Joaquin Valley, or tomato, eggplant, and guavas in Florida. Others are pruning and thinning trees, training vines, transplanting, or weeding. Harvesting typically ramps up later in spring, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into fields and packing houses. Some work shoulder-to-shoulder, while others are spread out in the fields, depending on the speed and the crops. Working outside may minimize the risk, experts say, but that’s not the case for packing houses and canneries, since the virus is spread by respiratory droplets and can survive on surfaces for up to three days. Those who work alone on machines seem to be the least exposed. And while the average age for field workers is just 38 years old — and older adults and people with serious underlying medical conditions seem to be at the highest risk for severe symptoms from COVID-19 — if young farmworkers get infected (with or without symptoms) they can become vectors for the virus. Advocates say it’s the conditions outside of work that place farmworkers in most danger. Many workers carpool to work — with four to six workers sharing a single car — or are bused to work on packed buses. And their crowded living conditions pose perhaps the biggest challenge, said Norma Ahedo, community health worker coordinator for the Salinas-based Center For Community Advocacy. Earlier this month, Ahedo said, she did a health check at an apartment in Salinas where four farmworker families — including seven children — were living in three small bedrooms and the living room. It’s typical for an entire family to live in a room, she said. It’s also not uncommon to see two families sharing a single room with a divider down the middle, she said. “These are small spaces, very closed in, with few windows and many people living on top of each other,” Ahedo said. “And if someone does get sick, where will they go?” (Medical experts recommend that people sick with coronavirus use a separate bedroom and bathroom, or even just maintain the safe distance of six feet.) H-2A guest workers also live in shared grower-provided communal housing camps or cheap motels where they can easily spread the virus to each other. When a few guest workers got the mumps in Washington state last spring, the entire labor camp had to be quarantined. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images Celery harvesters work in close proximity on a farm in California High anxiety, food insecurity, lack of childcare In addition to the threat of physical illness, advocates say the virus is causing huge emotional stress in the farmworker community. Ahedo said she’s worried for the families who have to shelter in place for long periods in overcrowded living conditions. “This is causing high anxiety in both adults and children,” she said. Though some workers may not fully grasp their risks or know how to prevent the spread, many are very worried about how the virus will affect their jobs and livelihoods. Already, some farmers who have lost markets due to restaurants, farmers’ market, and schools closing, have reduced working hours. Farmworkers’ financial instability is compounded by the fact that many have family members who work in other low-wage, hourly jobs hard-hit by coronavirus closures, especially in the food service industry, said Daniel Gonzales, executive director of the Center For Community Advocacy. “It’s a time of great insecurity and much anguish and anxiety for these families,” he added. Food scarcity is also looming as several rural communities in California and Washington are reporting a lack of basic necessities, said Mily Treviño-Sauceda, executive director of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. “They’ve told me, ‘We have nowhere to get food. The corner markets and dollar stores have empty shelves (and they aren’t restocking).’ This is creating anxiety and despair.” An open letter to growers: Help protect your workers Last week, the United Farm Workers (UFW) sent an open letter to agricultural employers and organizations urging them to take “proactive steps to ensure the safety of farm workers, protect buyers and safeguard consumers.” The need for action is dire because most non-union farmworkers do not have health care coverage or other benefits, said Armando Elenes, the UFW’s secretary treasurer. The California Farm Bureau Federation says it’s working with ag employers to “adjust on-farm practices to account for social distancing and other measures” to assure the safety of their employees. But a poll the UFW just completed on its Spanish-language social media platforms showed more than 90 percent of the farmworkers who responded had not been advised by their employers on best practices to resist the virus. And a UFW Facebook Live event last week attracted 18,000 views, with hundreds of farmworkers commenting that their employers had provided no information at all. The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes. Language is a major barrier to accessing information about the virus and its prevention, said Elenes. Many workers speak only Spanish, while some primarily speak Indigenous languages such as Triqui and Mixteco. And since they’re not getting information from their employers, workers turn to social media, which is ripe with conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus. The fact that many farmworkers are undocumented means they can’t file for unemployment and won’t benefit from the aid package Congress passes, said Elenes. Three states—California, Oregon, and Washington — currently offer farmworkers a limited number of sick-pay hours, he added. Despite these laws, many growers and labor contractors require doctors’ notes from workers, making it difficult for workers to access the benefit, he said. And some flat out refuse to give workers sick pay. “If they stop working because they’re feeling ill, they no longer have a job. The growers do not guarantee their positions,” said Treviño-Sauceda. Some, she added, may also avoid doctors because they fear questions about immigration status or the Trump administration’s new public charge rule, which bars people who use certain benefits, including Medicaid, from converting their temporary immigration status into a green card. The UFW’s open letter advocates extending state-required sick pay to 40 hours or more and removing the caps on accruing sick pay, eliminating the 90-day waiting period for newly employed farmworkers to be eligible for sick pay, and placing workers who are infected or whose family members are infected with COVID-19 on paid administrative leave for the duration of their illnesses. The letter also asks growers to provide basic information and training to workers, such as encouraging them to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces. Training offered to some, others are on their own Some farmers are starting to provide training and are instituting additional safety measures. Last week at Del Bosque Farms on the west side of Fresno in California’s San Joaquin Valley, grower Joe Del Bosque and his wife held a tailgate meeting in Spanish for about 60 workers in his asparagus harvest crew to discuss coronavirus prevention and food safety measures. The grower said his company received resources from AgSafe, a nonprofit in Modesto that provides health and safety training. Del Bosque, who farms about 2,200 acres of mostly organic produce — including several kinds of melons and asparagus — said his employees are his greatest concern. His business, after all, depends on them showing up. “We’re an essential industry, at this time and always, so we need to make sure our workers are comfortable knowing they can come to work and still be protected,” he said. Del Bosque’s company offers clean restrooms with fully equipped hand-washing stations. It advises workers to regularly scrub their hands with soap, to sneeze into their elbows, and to stay home when ill — measures that have been part of the company’s food safety program since before the pandemic. In addition, Del Bosque said he has instituted new social distancing measures and a rule about not touching other workers. “We understand how diseases can be transmitted not just from one worker to another, but also through the produce,” he said. “We simply want to reinforce what we’ve already been doing for many years.” Del Bosque said rows of asparagus are spaced 5 feet apart, but the workers harvest at their individual speeds and can maintain the required 6-foot social distancing guideline in the fields. In June, when the melon harvest begins, he may have to add more distancing measures, especially for the packers. Del Bosque can’t prevent his workers from car-pooling because many have no other way to get to work. He can’t tell them to live with fewer people either. And while the company asks workers to stay home when sick — farmworkers in California can acquire between three and eight sick pay days per year, depending on the hours they work — sick leave doesn’t kick in for three months, so some new members of the crew aren’t protected. Del Bosque said he offers Obamacare-level free health insurance to both his seasonal farmworkers and year-round crew after 30 days. Some also qualify for MediCal, California’s version of Medicaid, which is available to legal residents or U.S. citizens. According to workers and their advocates however, other employers aren’t nearly as diligent. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) told Civil Eats it continues to respond to complaints and serious injuries and illnesses of field agricultural operations during the pandemic. Inspectors verify compliance with the field sanitation requirements and personal protective equipment, if applicable, said spokesman Frank Polizzi. He encouraged workers to call in complaints and said Cal/OSHA plans to post guidance for agricultural employers and workers on preventing the spread of COVID-19, in English this week and soon after in Spanish. On Friday, after Monterey County issued a shelter-in-place order with sweeping exemptions for agriculture, officials in the region issued a farmworker protection advisory that was applauded by the area’s agricultural industry. And in North Carolina, another state with many guest workers and migrant workers, the health department has also issued guidelines for ag employers. Few other counties or states have followed suit, but many workers have begun taking their own protective actions. Alvarado, the Oxnard farmworker, said she and the others cover their faces with bandanas when they cough and buy their own gloves. After work, she changes in the car so as not to bring her clothes into the house. To learn more about COVID, she tunes in to Spanish-speaking radio stations. Last week, when she came down with a dry cough, she immediately went to the emergency room, where she was told it probably wasn’t the virus. “I hope they can find a solution that would let farmworkers with coronavirus symptoms stay at home without losing the day’s salary or our jobs,” she said. Education in the time of social distancing Organizations that work directly with farmworkers have also been working on education campaigns. But the organizations are struggling with how to reach the workers because most immigrant farmworkers prefer face-to-face conversations to online ones, and some are illiterate or lack access to the internet. For now, UFW, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, and the Center For Community Advocacy have all been turning to social media, including Facebook Live and apps such as Skype and Zoom. They’re also working with local legislators and doctors to provide more information in Spanish. Radio Bilingue, a national Spanish-language radio network headquartered in Fresno, has been running information spots in Spanish, English, and Mixteco about coronavirus protection, COVID-19 symptoms, and what to do when a person falls ill, said broadcasting director Maria Eraña. The network has also dedicated its flagship talk show program, Linea Abierta, to discussing the pandemic, as well as producing regular updates for its public affairs talk shows and newscasts. “Our main message,” said Eraña, “is that it’s not the time to panic. It’s time for prevention. And it’s not the time to be afraid of going to the doctor.” • Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs [Civil Eats] from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2Jihwg4

http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/03/farm-workers-are-in-coronavirus.html

#EasyFoodNetwork #ComfortFoodRecipes #EasyRecipes #GoodFood #BestComfortFoodRecipes #TastyFoodv

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kansascityhappenings · 7 years

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Melania Trump responds to Ivana Trump calling herself ‘first lady’

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President Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana Trump, called herself “first lady” in an interview Monday ahead of the release of her memoir, “Raising Trump.” Now his current wife, first lady Melania Trump, is firing back, slamming her comments as “attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”

Trump boasted of having the “direct number” to her ex-husband at the White House, telling ABC News she talks to the President about once every 14 days.

“I have the direct number to White House but I don’t really want to call him there because Melania is there and I don’t really want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife, OK? I’m first lady, OK?” she told ABC, laughing.

The current and only first lady fired back via a sharply-worded statement to CNN from her communications director, Stephanie Grisham.

“Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the President. She loves living in Washington, DC, and is honored by her role as first lady of the United States. She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books,” Grisham said, adding, “There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”

The statement is a stunning departure for Melania Trump, who, until Monday, had largely stayed above the fray, isolating herself from negativity and critics.

She has refrained from wading into news-of-day debates and controversy, focusing on son Barron, 11, and working to develop her platform as first lady. When her husband’s ex-wife’s book comes out on Tuesday, she will be traveling to West Virginia, where she will visit with infants affected by opioid addiction.

Though the first lady has previously said she has a “thick skin” and isn’t bothered by criticism, it is clear that Ivana Trump’s comments struck a nerve.

Ivana and Donald couple divorced in 1992 following his tabloid affair with Marla Maples.

Ivana Trump, who is the mother of the President’s three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, does not refer to the President’s second wife, Marla Maples, by name in the new book, which comes out Tuesday, only calling her “showgirl.”

“Donald during the divorce was brutal. He took the divorce as a business deal and he cannot lose, he has to win,” Trump said, adding that they are now “friends.”

Daughter Ivanka Trump has said her parents take a similar “all out” approach to life. Her mother’s comments to ABC reflect a similar — if provocative — tact to the unfiltered rhetoric that made Trump’s candidacy successful.

“My mother is an exuberant woman, filled with a passion for life and adventure that made it hard for her to stay in one place for long,” daughter Ivanka Trump wrote in her 2009 book, “The Trump Card.” “My parents are strikingly similar in that regard. They’ve grown apart, and even when they were together they seemed to be cut in different ways, but they do share an approach to life: all out, all the time.”

Trump also weighed in on a number of hot-button issues during the interview.

She said she had “zero concerns” about Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including as it pertains to her eldest son, Don Jr., who has been called to testify.

“I know that he was not involved at all in any wrongdoing,” she said.

She declined to talk about the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape, saying, “I don’t want to go into it.” Asked whether she ever talked to the President about it, she said, “Not really, no.”

Trump, who was raised in Czechoslovakia, also discussed immigration.

“I’m (an) immigrant myself and Donald is building the wall. I don’t mind immigrants and the wall because you have to protect your borders,” she said.

Pressed on whether she agreed with the President’s policy on ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, she said, “I really don’t know, I would not send (away) probably thousands and thousands of kids which were born here. But it’s very political and very confusing. So I really don’t have an answer on that.”

Trump, who claims “full credit” for raising her three children with the then-businessman in her book, also said her ex-husband was a “loving father” but was not involved in their day-to-day upbringing.

“Donald was on the telephone making the deals,” she said. “He was loving father, don’t get me wrong. And he was a good provider. But he was not a father which would take a stroll and go to Central Park or go play baseball with them. It was only until they were about 18 years old he could communicate with them, because he could talk business with them.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2017/10/09/melania-trump-responds-to-ivana-trump-calling-herself-first-lady/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/melania-trump-responds-to-ivana-trump-calling-herself-first-lady/

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envirotravel · 7 years

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Running Like a Girl: A Weekend Away for the Midnight Run Koh Samui

I know, I know, things are kind of confusing around here right now, timeline-wise! Because yes, I’m in Southeast Asia now, but as I’m pretty much the worst blogger on the planet I’m still writing about last year’s trip. Here’s to catching up on all my content soon! [Insert the deranged laugh of a crazed blogger here.]

After my big early 2016 Thailand trip to Khao Yai, Bangkok, Hua Hin, and Khao Sok, I vowed I wasn’t stepping foot off Koh Tao until it was time to head back to the Americas. Ha ha. That was cute.

I quickly remembered that I had no choice but to leave — my visa restrictions include a mandatory trip to the immigration office on Koh Samui every sixty days. Sure, technically I could get it over with on a quick day trip, but have I ever turned down the opportunity to turn a bureaucratic chore into a fun weekend away?

About a month or so prior to my visa extension, I saw an ad on Facebook for the Midnight Run on Koh Samui. I basically laced up my shoes that exact moment. I’d absolutely adored the Midnight Run I’d done in Bangkok a few years prior, and was pumped for the opportunity to try to outdo myself. But I couldn’t run alone!

I quickly enlisted several of my girlfriends into an island hopping getaway to run a 5K, giggle by the pool, and treat ourselves to a champagne brunch.

The run was in Chaweng, Koh Samui’s commercial epicenter, and so we booked a hotel nearby and took advantage of the central location to kick off the weekend with dinner at Wine Connection and cocktails at Drink Gallery, a bar I’d discovered on my last boozey trip to the island.

I’d arrived early that morning to take care of my visa and register the runners in our group, and so after a day of paperwork I was ready to kick back by the time the girls arrived. That said, we took it pretty easy with just one post-dinner cocktail — we did have 5K to run in less than 24 hours, after all!

And so the next morning, we switched to a more fitness-friendly liquid — fresh juice! As the owner of island favorite Living Juices on Koh Tao, my girl Janine can basically turn anything into a business trip with a little scouting trip to the local competition.

This weekend, we checked out two Koh Samui juiceries, Project: Juice and Juice Queen. The verdict? Put all three on your must-drink list for the Gulf of Thailand!

Juice runs aside, we spend the entire day “mentally preparing for our run,” also known as lounging by the pool, giggling and gossiping, and moving as little as humanly possible.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the greatest digs to do so by.Typically for a group like this I’d rent a villa, but booking fairly last minute in high season, we’d had pretty limited options in proximity to Chaweng. I wanted to treat everyone to something fun though, so I splurged on what looked like one lovely suite with a private pool and two other basic rooms at a hotel I’d never heard of.

Yeah, it turns out there was a reason we’d never heard of it — the photos on the website were pretty misleading and overall the hotel was pretty cold and charmless. Chaweng Noi Pool Villas was overall underwhelming and I wouldn’t ever go back nor recommend it to anyone. That said, we weren’t going to waste a second of our trip turning our noses up — we definitely made the most of it in the moment!

That evening, we anxiously headed into town for the big event. Amy and I had started running together about a month before race time, and it had been quite eye-opening. In all my years in Thailand, the one and only time I’d run outside had been that previous fun run in Bangkok — otherwise, it was treadmill all the way, baby. As much as I prefer running outside under normal circumstances, I just could never imagine tackling hot, hill-covered Koh Tao with my trainers on!

But it’s amazing what having a running buddy can motivate you to do, and soon Amy and I were challenging ourselves to beat our records as we slogged up and down the mountains of Koh Tao at sunset. We hoped that by the time we made it to the blissfully flat race route on Koh Samui, the whole thing would be a breeze.

Isn’t that adorable that we thought that?

Well my friends, there was certainly nothing breezy about it. As we tacked on our race bibs, former marathoner Janine (who had to sit this one out due to a knee injury) gave Amy, Johanna and I a race-night pep talk and sent us into the lineup. Costume-clad runners were abound and the atmosphere was distinctly party-like — not innappropriate for a run though Koh Samui’s most notorious party strip.

And then we were off, following the winding route around Chaweng Lake. Johanna took the lead while Amy and I kept each other’s pace behind her. We’d decided to ambitiously aim for an under 30 minute time, despite the fact that our best practice run had been about 35 minutes. My older sister Margaret, a wellness and running coach (who just started her own business in Rochester!) had assured me that game-day adrenaline leads most runners to beat their training times on race day.

Just as I was starting to crave breaking my run for a few moments of walking, fireworks erupted over the lake, giving me the endorphin rush I needed to keep jogging. The next adrenaline boost came as we entered the heart of Chaweng’s nightlife zone, where partying tourists enthusiastically cheered us on and offered us sips of beer (nah thanks). Much more welcome were the waters sweetly offered by the local hookers and bar girls who also excitedly lined the streets to cheer — an “only in Thailand” moment if I’ve ever experienced one.

While Samui is flat, a huge relief after hilly Koh Tao, I didn’t take into account some of the challenges of running in a more urban environment. Basically, I’m talking sewage smells, guys. Thailand isn’t known for its ground-breaking waste management systems, and a few times along the race route I felt so nauseous from the smell of rotting garbage and, um, other unpleasant things that I thought I might be sick. But I kept on keeping on.

Have I ever been happier to see a finish line? After a brutal final couple hundred meters, I almost collapsed as we stumbled over it in just under 33 minutes. While technically we didn’t reach our ambitious goal, I couldn’t have been happier — we beat our training times, I didn’t break my stride to walk even once, and I ran my fastest race ever! For a girl who used to barely be able to get through a mile, it was a huge accomplishment.

I couldn’t have been more thrilled that the race started and ended outside Reggae Bar, one of my favorite spots in Koh Samui. Still clad in sweaty race gear, we joined hundreds of our fellow runners for drinks and dancing to a Bob Marley cover band until we finally succumbed to the call of the shower and our beds.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Samui Midnight Run. The event was overall well run and organized, and my only suggestion to them would be to please use paper cups for the water stations — all those teeny tiny one-sip plastic water bottles broke our eco-loving hearts!

The next morning, it was finally time to celebrate! Because not only had we just kicked butt in a big race, but it was also Easter Sunday (yeah, I told you I was behind on trip recaps!) And Easter Sunday calls for brunch.

Brunch culture hasn’t really hit Thailand outside a few select neighborhoods in Bangkok, but we were determined to make some magic happen. A trip to Koh Samui requires a serious embracing of chain restaurants, and thus I enthusiastically supported a group trip to The Coffee Club, where we baffled our waitress by ordering a full bottle of champagne along with our assorted juices for DIY mimosas. “You want… to take it away?,” she asked, brows furrowed in confused. Our smiling insistence that we were going to drink it right then and there, at noon on a Sunday, was met with you crazy farang!-style laughter that we returned with a wink.

It was the perfect toast to the perfect girlfriend getaway.

Of course, we had a few more stops. You can’t take a bunch of country Koh Tao girls over to the civilization of Koh Samui without unleashing them on the mall and also a Tesco Lotus or two to stock up on supplies, after all.

Once the retail frenzy was over, blissful as the weekend had been, we happily boarded our ferry back to teeny tiny Koh Tao. And when we arrived, we were greeted by one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d seen in a while. So good I had to stop, put down all my bags, and just soak it all in.

Welcome home, it said.

Running Like a Girl: A Weekend Away for the Midnight Run Koh Samui posted first on http://ift.tt/2k2mjrD

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