Seen here below is the house where I lived for more than 50 years, but then sold it to move to West Virginia where I live now with my son, turning the page to start a whole new life, beginning all over again now in my 80's.

The following photos of my DC house were sent by daughter Steph's childhood friend, Monica, our neighbor still living right now in Washington, DC. She said, "So many great memories of time spent there over the decades. Glad Steph asked me to go by and take these for you guys. And I'm so glad now (probably didn’t appreciate it at the time) about all the photos that you took of us, Mama Joe, while we were all growing up then."

Yes, being a single mother of 4 kids and a Cuban foster son was not easy at times, especially when I wasn't getting any child support after my (late) ex-husband and his new wife had emptied all our bank accounts, not leaving even a single penny. But we survived as a family and we enjoyed our life together, even after my ex-husband's abrupt departure and his flight to Las Vegas for a quicky divorce and marriage the same day to his second wife. We delivered phone books (which then existed) from a wagon for some ready cash. It's a rather complicated and unusual story. My husband of 22 years was totally blind and very smart, and had become quite successful with my constant help; he even won a MacArthur Award, so read all about it in my books.

The following photos of my 1895 DC house show why I really miss it. Can a house even have a personality?

Here I was eating in the kitchen of my beloved DC house before selling it last year.

I sent my daughter's friend this long message about the photos she had sent of my former DC home:

Monica, thank you for the photos and for saving them for us. I've put some on my blog. Seeing these photos has brought tears to my eyes. If it can be said that we can love a house, I really did love that house, built in 1895 with its many pocket doors, 4 working fireplaces, 3 floors. and a skylight above--a house where I'd lived for more than 50 years and raised my own family there. Houses like that are no longer made. I had planned to spend my last days there, but, as daughter Steph had pointed out, the repairs, upkeep, utilities, and taxes were just more than I could still afford when I was no longer working.

I did work part-time as a Spanish interpreter until my early 80's, as I am bilingual in Spanish, but few Spanish speakers live out here now in West Virginia. (I've even been told by native speakers that I don't have a gringo accent when speaking Spanish.) Up until June 2024, I made annual humanitarian trips to Honduras, my former Peace Corps country, always taking a new wheelchair there to donate.

I am now age 88, having bought a much smaller, one-story brand-new house here in rural West Va. with no fireplaces whatsoever, with 2 bathrooms, and 2 or 3 bedrooms, depending on how the rooms are identified. Now son Jon and I live quite comfortably here together with our dog Willow. But we live out in the country and I do miss my DC neighbors and the convenience of public transporation and the close proximity of the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the musuems, and the displays on the mall, all with walking distance (though now I do walk rather slowly). I also really miss my neighbors--I don't know any neighbors around here and the closest ones have barking dogs always outside, so I don't dare go knock on their front door nor have they ever come over here. (Our own dog mostly stays inside.)

I have lost my son and Cuban foster son and hope to never lose another younger famiky member before my own death. I am now age 88. I do thank you for all the memories and hope the current owners of my historic DC house will come to cherish it as much as I did. Gracias, Barbara

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Our children are the future; they are priceless. I've learned that myself from the kids I still have as well as those I have lost. People without children don't know what they are missing. There would be no people at all without children. Without enough children being born, houses and whole towns in Asia have been left left completely empty. We even have a few empty abandoned houses right here in Berkeley Springs, but now one looks like it's being refurbished, so someone new must be moving in.

Fertility rate drops to new record low: CDC

CNN, The US fertility rate has been trending down for decades

The 2025 rate was 9% lower than it was in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic and about 20% lower than it was 20 years ago. So we do need those immigrants that Trump and his lackeys have been so busily deporting.

A total fertility rate of about 2.1 children per woman is required to keep a population stable. The US ferility rate is now only 1.6. The DC mother below has posted her photo with her 6 children, including twin girls, before they all attended Easter Sunday services together. She is an outlyer in terms of her number of offspring.

Trump, 79, Hit With Wellness Check Demands Over ‘Unhinged’ Behavior

Donald Trump seems to be losing it, displaying dementia and senile attention deficit sydrome, as was reported earlier.

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Yahoo News, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has come out swinging following reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is itching to fire him and replace him with a close ally.

Readers already know that I consider Hegseth not only grossly unqualified for his position as a Secretary of War, a man with absolutely no military experience, but also a flagrant war criminal now blaming "the fog of war" for serious mistakes resulting in civilian deaths, not only of Caribbean boaters raising their hands in surrender, but of hundresds of little Iranian girls killed by a US missile. One can only speculate that Trump appointed him and keeps him in his position after his family made a really humongous donation (bribe?).

VP Vance, whose wife is expecting their 4th child, has been eerily quiet, making no public comment after Trump attacked Iran.

Vice President Vance reported trying to phone Trump recently, but couldn't actually reach him.“You know I think this is a bad idea, but if you want to do it, I’ll support you,” he was quoted as telling Trump. On Tuesday, Vance found himself in an awkward position when he bragged about phoning Trump while he was onstage in Budapest, Hungary—only to get an error message from an operator. “I actually had a special guest that asked that I give him a phone call,” Vance told the crowd. “Let’s see. Let’s hope he actually answers, or this is going to be very embarrassing.” And so it was.

Bombing Iran at this juncture is like is like plunging a stick into a hornets' nest. If Kamala had been elected, none of this ever would have happened because she is not stupid.

Hours Before News of Cease-Fire, Pope Leo XIV Issues Strong Rebuke of Trump

2 min read

Mojtaba Khamenei unconscious in Qom, not actually running Iran

I don't necessarily consider Iran's leaders to be "good guys," but they are certainly looking more saavy and compassionate than the trio of Donald Trump, Hegseth, and Netanyahu, all together, comprising a pretty dreadful cabal.

This photo obtained by CBS News shows smoke rising from the site of an Iranian drone attack that killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait on March 1, 2026.

Wash. Post, Israel kills scores in Beirut as U.S. says Lebanon is not part of Iran truce

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Wash. Post, Gilgo Beach suspect pleads guilty, admits killing 8 women over 3 decades

Rex Heuermann pleads guilty, admits to killing 8 women in Gilgo Beach serial case.

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Fortunately, among world leaders, Pope Leo actually seems pretty saavy.

Here Pope Leo blesses a boy dressed as the pope.

NY Times, Hours Before News of Cease-Fire, Pope Leo XIV Issues Strong Rebuke of Trump

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According to the New York Times, the release of Cuban political prisoners has been a priority for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a man I once chatted with in English and Spanish on flight from Florida to DC. However, the Cuban government has released prisoners in the past, only to re-arrest them again later when protests take place.

The Center for a Free Cuba says that this latest prisoner release is an effort by the regime "to appease the zzTrump administration." [This Center has always been a faithful Trump supporter.]

As reported by

Frank Calzon

Center for a Free Cuba

www.cubacenter.org

So then what exactly does zzTrump administration mean? --that Donald Trump is often asleep at the wheel while others are steering the ship of state? As mentioned earlier, Trump does seem to have senior attention deficit disorder, veering hastily from Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, now having forgotten all about Mt. Rushmore, another recent focus. Maybe he will soon forget Iran. The US unprovoked attack on Iran was like plunging a stick into a hornets' nest. Such an assault on Iran would never have been undertaken by Kamala because she is not stupid or impulsive, like that sorry trio of idiots, Trump, Hegseth, and Netanyahu. What are these guys drinking now? Are they even thinking?

JFK and RFK (whom I once met as reported earlier) appeared to be pretty smart, but RFK Jr. seems to be missing a few marbles. What can done about him?

I have mentioned before that I am friolenta, that is, especially sensitive to cold, so now I really welcome warmer weather. Calorenta would describe someone very sensitive to heat, but that is not me.