delta living magazine - oct-dec 2014

1 October – December 2014 www.deltalivingmagazine.com

DELTA L IV INGDELTA L IV INGDELTA L IV INGDELTA L IV INGDELTA L IV INGSaxtress of

Smooth JazzJeanette Harris

30

12

20

18

Chunky Girl Comics

Marisa Garcia

Delta TravelsMendocino

Robin WilliamsUnder Our Skin

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2014

3 www.deltalivingmagazine.com October – December 2014

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in this issue…

Delta Living Magazine Photo and Writing Contest Winners Pages 26-27

Joy Love-Williams, born October 24, 1965, in Danbury, CT. � e Lord Jesus called Joy home on Tuesday, August 5, 2014.

Joy Love, as she was known by her many, many friends, received her primary education at Danbury High School, Danbury, CT.

She started singing in church at New Hope Baptist Church tot’s choir.

Joy moved to Oakland, CA, in 1986, where she started her career in the � nancial industry at Charles Schwab. She later went to work for Bank of the West. As a singer, she recorded her � rst single, “Eb-ony Angel,” with Bay Area label RayTown Records. She later sung with several Bay Area bands, Napata and � e Chocolate Kisses, Masterpiece, Too Smooth and Big City, to name just a few, before joining some friends to start Cobalt Blue.

Joy loved to adore, think, talk and remember the good times shared with her: daughter, Catherine Joy Williams (Kit Kat, as she called her); mother, Mattie Love Richardson (Raymond L.); broth-ers, Anthony (AV) Vines and Marshall (Mello) Vines; aunt, Essie Love; uncles, T.C. Love, B.C. Love, Henry Love, Sr. (Patricia), Wil-liam Love (Rachelle), and Terry Love; and a host of nieces, neph-ews, cousins and friends who admired and loved her.

� e name signi� ed who she was ... a kind, loving and giving per-son ... a “JOY.”

Joy Love Williams “I Will Say Of � e Lord, He Is My Refuge And My Fortress; My God; In Him Will I Trust”

October 24, 1965 - August 05, 2014

08 - Working Hard to Find Work10 - Delta Kidz Korner14 - Funny Side Up: The Probability of

Mechanical Success 16 - Delta Silver Linings: An Active Brain 17 - Words from Bubba

22 - Bottle Shock Open 24 - Working Girl Fashion26 - Delta Writing & Photo Contest Winners 28 - Delta Wellness - Calling all Control Freaks 32 - High School Seniors Prep for College 33 - Delta Comedy Night

Photo by Brett Corrie


delta living letter from the editor

Delta Living Magazine is pub-lished quarterly on recycled pa-per. Copyright© 2012 by Charleen Earley. Single copy price $4 in U.S.A. on 100% recycled paper.

$15 for annual subscription. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A. E-zine version available. Contact [email protected], 925.383.3072 or visit www.deltalivingmagazine.com.

All rights reserved. No part of any issue of Delta Living Magazine, be it editorial content, photographs or adver-tising design, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopy, or any other format, without the prior permission of the publisher. All facts, opinions and statements appearing within this publication are those of the writers and editors themselves and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, views or endorsements by the publisher of Delta Living Magazine. Accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. Due to uncertain nature of U.S. Postal Service and third party freight services, Delta Living Magazine does not guaran-tee delivery of said publication by any specific date.

PUBLISHERCharleen Earley - [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERConrad Borba - [email protected]

EDITOR IN CHIEFMaria Tavares - [email protected]

WRITERSMaria Tavares • Doris Hobbs

Dr. Eileen Norton • Vinny DiNicolaWalter Ruehlig • William “Bubba” Paris Charleen Earley • Cha-Cha • Ana Hurt

Don Gracey • David L. Katz, MD

PHOTOGRAPHERSMaria Tavares

Charleen Earley • Walter Ruehlig

COPY EDITORSJohn Hartmann • Maria TavaresTammy Borba • Walter RuehligRita Caruso • Leigh Shughrou

DISTRIBUTIONBarbara Ellison-Smith

Walter RuehligMarshal Stockman

CONTACT USP.O. Box 395

Knightsen, CA 94548www.DeltaLivingMagazine.com

[email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS$4 each issue or $15 annual

(4 issues a year)Mail check to:P.O. Box 395

Knightsen, CA 94548Make check payable to:Delta Living Magazine

This issue has a lot of re-ally great stories and I can’t wait for you all to read them! I had the greatest time in-terviewing and photograph-ing our cover girl, Jeanette Harris (pg 30). She makes me want to pick up a saxo-phone; you’ll see why. I’m also proud of the number of writing and photo entrants in our contest! Check out the winners on pages 26 and

27. My inner girly girl tells me not to forget to men-tion the fashion article by Doris Hobbs (pg 24). Doris had a great idea for a feature on the high and low price points for affordable office wear, which means I got to shop! (Sorry honey, I prom-ise it won’t put us in debt.) Thank you for your contin-ued readership. You all are appreciated!

Maria Tavares

I did it. I started “big school” ... my

masters degree in Mass Communication/Jour-nalism at San Jose State University. And let me just tell you, it’s not as easy-peasy as I thought it would be. Tons of reading, writing and web-site-coding (don’t ask). Still, I’m happy to get started on this chapter of my life - while my son finishes his last two years of “big school”

for his BA degree in Civil Engineering at U.C. Davis. And since we’re on the subject of “learn-ing,” check out Vinny DiNicola’s article (16) on aging brains of our senior citizens and our intern Ana Hurt’s article (32) on high school seniors prepping for the “big school.” If the big school is not your thing, you’ll find great job-interviewing tips from Walter Ruehlig on page 8. There’s something in this issue for everyone. Enjoy!

letter from the publisher

Charleen Earley

This October 2014 issue is dedicated to two amazing people - a local gal

Joy Love Williams and a semi-local (Marin County) actor/comedian Robin Williams. Both unrelated to each other, but both who left us too early in life. Joy needed a lung and was featured in our April 2014 issue by our Editor Maria Tavares. I spoke with her a few times by phone; she was always

kind and optimistic. With Robin, while I’ve never spoken to him personally, I’ve always admired his work, which was that of a ge-nius. I took photos of him 15 years ago, standing just feet away from him, when I was a newbie-comic. I was honored to see him perform at Comedy Day in SF. Joy and Robin - you will be greatly missed.

Love, Charleen Earley


contributors…Conrad Borba - Graphic Designer

Conrad Borba is a graphic and web designer, who spent much time in his youth drawing and creat-ing, with his earliest memories of working on a computer as a kindergartner. He studied graphic and web design at Modesto Junior College and the Institute of Technology of Modesto. With over 10 years experience in graphic design and six years as a freelancer, Borba stays abreast indus-try standards in order to provide his clients with fresh and new ideas. Reach him at [email protected].

Ana Hurt - WriterAna Hurt is a senior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, CA. She is the co-editor in chief of the Heritage Ledger and plans to major in Com-munications/Journalism at the University of Oregon. Ana runs track and cross country for her high school and is currently preparing for the Portland Half Marathon. In the future, she hopes to run a full marathon . Contact Ana at [email protected].

Don Gracey - WriterDon Gracey’s career is in the commercial construction industry, traveling throughout the U.S. He has written articles for trade magazines. Forced to retire, he travels searching architecture, theology, art and music for his spiritual path. Along with his service dog Sidney, he is following his dream of writing. He resides in Brent-wood, Calif. Reach him at 925.231.5038 or [email protected].

Walter Ruehlig - WriterWalter Ruehlig graduated cum laude with a de-gree in English from the State University of New York at Albany and career counsels adults with disabilities. He’s the former President of the An-tioch School Board, founded the Antioch Music Foundation, and is the 2012 Antioch Citizen of the Year-Lifetime Achievement award recipient. He regularly contributes to three local newspa-pers. Email him at [email protected].

Maria Tavares - Editor/Photographer/WriterWhen she is not busy behind the lens or chas-ing after her toddler, she enjoys reading � ction, getting hooked on T.V. shows on Net� ix, boat-ing, swimming and socializing. She also visits her parents in Elk Grove, Ca. as often as she can. Maria also loves baseball, chocolate and a good bottle of wine. See her work at FiestaFlix-Photography.shutter� y.com. Read her blog, “Life Through the Lens” at FiestaFlix.blogspot.com.

Dr. Eileen Norton ~ WriterDr. Eileen Norton (PSY19240) is a Clinical Psychol-ogist in private practice in Brentwood, CA. She is one of only 7,000 people around the world trained in a truly innovative technique that allows for the most ef� cient resolution of issues—beyond any-thing else encountered. Her interest in Spiritual Psychology spans 24 years and includes healing for body, mind, heart and soul. Reach her at [email protected] or 925.354.7526.

Doris Hobbs ~ Fashion WriterInspired by an era gone by, Doris brings her clas-sic and timeless sense of style to the pages of Delta Living Magazine. “The Working Girl feature is for the average woman seeking to re� ne her appearance with a vintage � air,” says the Bay Area fashion blogger and writer. In addition to Delta Living Magazine, she writes for both Simon Malls as a featured Style Setter and her personal blog at www.richinlovefashion.com.

Charleen Earely ~ Publisher / OwnerCharleen Earley is a mom, comedienne, free-lance writer, humor columnist, speaker, wedding planner and now graduate student at San Jose State University. She’s studying Mass Com-munications/Journalism and hopes to one day teach at the community college level. Known as “Charlie” to most, she’s also founder and pub-lisher of Delta Living Magazine. Reach her at [email protected].

Del ta L iv ing Magazine Vis ionDelta Living Magazine is an artery of hyper local and regional features, which shares information

to promote improved lives to our families. It speci� cally focuses on inspiring, motivating, educating and entertaining our community to reach a bit higher in creating their ideal lives.


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By Walter [email protected]

Getting a job can be tougher than the work itself. Self-promotion is, after all,

part art, part practiced science. Admittedly, some of us naturally feel more comfortable than oth-ers interviewing. No matter where we are on the pendulum, we can move the comfort zone needle, slowly yet steadily, by working at the pro-cess. Follow these tips and you can distance the competition and get the part.

Study the character you are auditioning for. Knowledge is power. Get a job description from Human Resources. Google the company for a profile. See if they have a Mission Statement. Check www.glassdoor.com for reviews on their workplace environment. Go on www.oneton-line.org for occupational descriptions.

Call the company beforehand to see who will be interviewing you. If it’s a pronunciation humdinger write it down phonetically. Bring a ‘cheat sheet’ with the name and two or three key points about yourself that you’ll kick yourself for if you forget to mention. Write at least one intel-ligent question, not about dental plans, but about the job particulars. One good one is, “What ex-actly are you looking for in an ideal applicant?”

Remember that you don’t have the part when you walk in. You have nothing to lose, so enjoy the moment as best you can. Fretting gets you nowhere, so start the day with your favorite music or morning java. Visualize a successful interview experience. Gaze at the blue sky, smell a rose.

Don’t walk in looking like it’s a trip to the dentist’s chair. Throw back those shoulders and smile. You’re auditioning to spend more wak-ing hours with them than probably their spouse does. People may forget what you said, but not how you make them feel.

Play professional. Bring a pen and notepad. Maybe chew gum on the way there to loosen your jaw and freshen your breath. A clean hand-kerchief can be used to dry your sweaty palms before you are called.

People remember accessories, be it a tasteful tie, tie clip, scarf, hat, shoes or pen. In fact, the most noted piece of clothing are shoes, curiously the heels. You want to show you’ve been look-ing for work, but not that you’re unaware of run down heels.

Look organized by bringing a leather, or simulated leather, three ring binder and ask if you can follow along with your resume. It’ll

conveniently be across from the good old cheat sheet. Don’t forget extra copies of your resume, listed references, performance reviews or letters of recommendation, certificates, perhaps work samples or pictures.

Don’t smother them with certificates. They don’t need copies. Maybe say, “I don’t want to smother you in certificates, but I brought them along.” Then just quickly flip through them.

Rehearse your talking points and work on answers to commonly asked questions.

Examples: Why did you leave your last job? “It was a good two years and I was valued by my supervisors, but the company drastically down-sized some 20 of us.”

Where do you want to be in five years (other than Hawaii under a palm tree)? “I hope to be here and to have grown as a valued employee. I value stability and loyalty.”

What’s your biggest weakness (other than chocolate)? “Handwriting. I should have been a doctor.” Or, “I could kick myself for not learning Spanish.” Or, “I could use some work in delegat-ing. I guess I’m from the old school where if you want a job done well, do it yourself. I am, though, working on this habit to take unneces-sary stress off of me.”

Money? Be safe and steer clear of discussing it at the first interview. It’s only quicksand. If asked expectations, you could say, “Money’s important to me like everyone else, but at this point in my career, I’m more focused on opportunity.” Or shrug and say, “I don’t know your company’s pay scale. What is your salary range for people with five years experience (or for entry level)?”

Close the script with a flourish. “I’d like to thank you for explaining the position and com-pany dynamic so clearly. I’m excited about the possibility of working for you. I believe I could thrive in this culture and be a real asset to your organization. What’s the next step? Or, “When

do you expect to be making a hiring decision?” And, “Should I follow up if I don’t hear from you by then?”

Consider bringing a blank thank you note with you to write afterwards in the reception room. The interviewer will think you’re the cat’s meow for being that prepared. Or e-mail and, for a double whammy, mail a hard copy when you get home.

Go out to the car and before you leave, divide a paper with a line down the middle, separating positives and negatives. Debrief yourself. Learn from mistakes.

If you don’t hear back, call them and say, “Hi, this is John Doe, the fellow from Costco (insert memory trigger) who interviewed with you last Tuesday for the customer service position. You asked me to call back. Have you made a deci-sion yet?”

If they have, then ask, “Could you possibly share with me if you hired from within or with-out?” If, in fact, they promoted from within, ask if you could interview for the vacant position.

If they haven’t yet made a decision, you could say, “If it would be of any help to you, I’d be more than happy to come back in and answer any further clarifying questions.”

Two parting tips:1. Practice. Go over your answers in front of

a friend or even alone. Say it enough and you won’t choke on the words.

2. Momentarily shelve the churchly wisdom that “the meek shall inherit the earth.” They will, but they will be unemployed when they do. When it comes to work, the operative is “Ask and you shall receive!”

Walter is a certified career counselor who has given job-seeking workshops to over 8,000 East County residents.

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By Maria [email protected]

The older I get, the faster the holidays and the end of the

year show up. Does anyone else no-tice this? Does it stir a small amount of panic? Every year, my personal countdown starts when I start think-ing of, and shopping for, Halloween costumes. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and then we start all over again.

I mentally plan ahead, roughly, which sides of the family get which days and for how long for my small family of three to visit with them and spread holiday cheer. (At least, the cheer is the ideal.) Thinking about this ahead of time means I'm not rushing to hastily divide our time the day-of, or negotiating about it days beforehand. Yes, it starts to stress me out, but the advantage is

that it would be one less thing on a long list of to-do’s.

How do we slow down the speed of time? How can I get the maximum amount of happy out of each holiday for my soon-to-be three-year-old? The fi rst year of holidays with her, were a lot like a blur. She wasn’t as active a player in family traditions and story-telling as she has been the previous year and even more so this year and every year from now on, I'm assuming.

I found the key to enjoying the last bit of the year is fi nding your way of slowing down. Take a moment to stand back and watch your kids and family in action. Snap that mental picture that you'll think of every time you reference that Thanksgiv-ing when your four-year-old spelled her name aloud (and correctly!) at dinner, or your 20-year-old sur-prised everyone with an appearance

at New Year’s Eve when he said he couldn't make it.

Start traditions with your little ones. This year we’re going to make our countdown to Christmas with paper rings like I used to do with my parents. Maybe even give her her own advent calendar since she’s obsessed with “cocoa.” And we’ll try our family day trip again to Santa Cruz, CA to cut down a tree (last year was a bust – the tree farm we visited was already closed due to a shortage in mature trees. I blame the lack of snow).

And at Thanksgiving, she will get her turn at the table to share what she is most thankful for. I can't wait to hear that! Maybe an elf will move in temporarily and make silly mischief like the one at her cousins’ house.

Even if the start of the New Year happens upon us in the blink of an eye, make sure the littlest ones in the family enjoy them the most. They'll be passing these traditions on and telling stories about your infamous Christmas sweaters, award-winning pies, and so on.

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Story and photos by Charleen [email protected]

She’s the average girl next door, your neighbor, a mom

of two young kids, and a govern-ment employee, but between the pages of Chunky Girl Comics, Marisa Garcia is an entirely dif-ferent woman – she’s a SUPER-HERO!

Creator of her own comic book series, Marisa Garcia of Stockton is

on a mission to change the way women of all ages negatively view their body image. A “chunky” girl since she was a kid, she decided to use her love of comic books and her gift for prose to make a dif-ference.

“I always wanted to be a super-hero, and started writing this char-acter Rosie – who was me. Writ-ing has always been an outlet for me; my therapy. In 2012, I started going to comic conventions and would see all the typical superhe-

She Found Her Superhero WithinChunky Girl Comics: Real Superheroes for Real Women

roes with small waists. Not realis-tic. I felt it was time to try out my character and had booths at small conventions to test the waters,” says Marisa.

Since then, the 32-year-old has sold over 700 comic books, has a Facebook fan page and followers who score her autograph and pho-tos at major comic conventions – most recently at the August 9-10, StocktonCon.

Chunky Girl Comics features four voluptuous superheroes, Rosie, Sage, Sweet Pea and Candy – all characters whose mission is to break down unrealistic body im-ages.

“Rosie is an independent, level-headed superhero, and the friend everyone asks advice from. She has friends in all age-ranges, all nationalities, she’s a chameleon; she works a boring day job and doesn’t like to be confined to an

office. On the weekends, she tries to keep her friends out of trouble,” says Marisa.

Just like herself, Rosie has self-esteem issues.

“She comes across as over-con-fident, which is a front. She does have jealousy over some of her friends because of the small clothes they wear or the attention they get for being thinner, but it’s more of an envious-jealousy, not a mean-spirited one,” added Marisa.

Marisa says Rosie’s message to the world is about acceptance.

“Acceptance in all walks of life, not just physical, but whether you’re gay or straight, black or white, nerd or not, interracial rela-tions – we shouldn’t be judged on those things that make us unique,” says Marisa, a divorced African American with two kids ages seven and 10 with their Hispanic father. “We should celebrate our flaws and

From bullying victim to becoming a bully herself and now a superhero, Marisa Garcia talks at rallies and school assemblies about self-discovery and finding her own superhero within.

(L) Violet Ruthless of Sacramento, CA, is super hero character Sweet Pea in Marisa Garcia’s (R) comic book, Chunky Girl Comics.


strengths, because all of this makes us who we are. And we all have is-sues; whether we are fat or skinny, rich or poor – we should celebrate and not mask who we are.”

Marisa had no idea her Chunky Girl Comic book series would take her into other venues, such as motivational speaking.

Bullied in school as a kid, and because of it, becoming a bully herself, Marisa shares her story of finding the superhero within at rallies and assemblies – help-ing young girls to have a positive body image and build their self-confidence.

“My own daughter is 10 and worries about her body weight,” says Marisa. “I recently lost 50 pounds, because I want to be healthy. I was a comfy size 22, but

now I’m just as comfy as a size 14. Body image is something I strug-gled with growing up, and now I’ve grown older and have become comfortable in my own skin. I see so many who aren’t, and it breaks my heart.”

There’s always a hater in the crowd. When Marisa encounters negative feedback from readers, she used to take it personal, but now has kind words to offer.

“When you have naysayers, it means you’re doing something right!” reasons Marisa. “Most of the negative comments are from women, but I’m doing this ‘for’ women! We can be big, happy, sexy and curvy. It’s about motiva-tion; it’s not about thick or skinny. It’s about whatever body type you have – embrace it!”

[email protected]/findyoursuperherowithin

Marisa Garcia loves her diehard fan Andrew Mariani's shirt. "I like the curvy girls and the comic books are great!" said Mariani of Kansas.

(L-R) Chunky Girl Comics' creator Marisa Garcia visits with one of her regular fans Eric Lundelius of Stockton at the StocktonCon in Stockton on August 9, 2014 and his daughters Kaitlyn (14) and Courtnie (8).


Funn side puy

By Charleen [email protected]

I’ve been searching for a solid eight months for an amazing, non-breakable

mechanical pencil, ever since my enrollment check for my horrible statistics class cleared. Every day I ask myself, why couldn’t that check have bounced?

And while this column has nothing to do with a class I loathe, this being my fi fth and hopefully fi nal stab at attempt-ing to complete such an evil course, it does provide a me-dium (not to be confused with median) upon which my search for unsnappable (new word) lead prescribes.

Forget about off ering me the number 2 pencils of yes-teryear. They go dull before I have a chance to write my last name on my stupid homework paper. Who needs dull, when I can have sharp, crisp, clear and esthetically-written math equations (wrong as they may be) scribbled on the front and back of my 8.5” x 11” papers?

Dull only adds to my inepti-tude in math, while crisp seems to shout, “she may not have the right answers, but gosh darn it, look how beautiful she wrote it!”

The problem though, and yes, it’s another one of those jaded word-problems, is that I snap off the tips of those lead sticks every other second. I clumsily go through the three,

two-inch strands that comes with each pencil purchase in about two hours, let’s say each class. The dollars are adding up.

Maybe it’s the pressure of passing this hid-eous class that’s giving me a heavy hand. Or maybe it’s not me, and it’s the quality, or lack thereof of the product. All this just makes me question the percentage of students who love statistics and barely break a lead verses those who abhor statistics and break them relent-lessly? I feel a poll coming on.

So I tried Pentel’s version (pink), no good. Next was Offi ce Depot’s brand (blue), nope. Then I decided to throw money to the wind and spend an extra fi ve cents in order to give Pilot’s Dr. Grip a whirl, also sold at Offi ce Depot (plug). Voila!

Hello success; hello no-achy-breaky-led. Hello one less pressure in fi nding P (-1< x <1) using a continuous uniform distribution with parameters of µ = 0 and ∂ = 1, where the minimum is -√3 and the maximum is √3.

It also meant I didn’t have to break out my bor-rowed TI-84 Plus Silver Edition calculator. I mean, who would buy such a con-traption that has 50 buttons on it? Call it a computer already and move on.

Finally, here I stand (or sit), halfway through the semester, proudly sport-ing a solid C+ in this con-temptible, yet-required-for-obtaining-my-BA-degree course. Now armored with a nearly-unbreakable writ-ing instrument (fi rst in-vented in 1791), if I pass this wicked course, I will owe it all to Dr. Grip – the savior of my elementary probabil-ity and statistic woes.

Charleen Earley is a co-medienne, freelance writer, hu-mor columnist, grad student at San Jose State University, and Publisher of Delta Liv-ing Magazine. Reach her at [email protected].

The probability of mechanical success, statistically-speaking

DELTA LAUGHS

15 www.deltalivingmagazine.com October – December 2014 15

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DELTA SILVER LININGS

By Vinny [email protected]

When my brother and I were growing up, we went everywhere with our

parents. Sometimes Dad would say, “Let’s go for a ride in the car,” like many families did when gas was around 30 cents a gallon! Usual-ly we stopped to visit with family friends. One couple, Dominick and Ida, were well in their 80’s. Every time we visited, Ida wouldn’t rec-ognize us and would say to Dominick, “Who are these people?”

After a while, she would settle in and share stories of things that happened many years in the past with a very keen memory, but not so with short-term memory. Looking back, I would guess she had dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Many people have a fallacy that dementia is a normal part of aging. It is not. The preva-lence of some form of dementia at age 65 is only 5-7%, though the risk does increase sta-tistically as we age.

While not a normal part of aging, some cognitive changes do occur as we grow older. On tests of general mental ability, seniors gen-erally score lower than younger adults. How-ever, when given extra time to complete tests, discrepancies in performance between seniors and younger adults disappear.

Seniors can process information about as well as – or depending on the activity, better than – younger adults. Declines in vision and hearing are normal and a senior who cannot hear or see, cannot store or recall information accurately. It’s important to use glasses and hearing aids to maximize comprehension and

retention of information.There are treatable dementias and some

research indicates intellectual activity, such as reading, learning new information and prob-lem-solving, may slow progression or decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

People with and without dementia should be encouraged to engage in as much intellec-tually-stimulating activity as possible.

It’s wise to see a doctor if you or a loved one have questions about cognitive abilities. To view the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease and for more information visit, www.alz.org.

Vinny DiNicola is a Certified Senior Advi-sor®, a senior advocate and owner of HomeLife Senior Care in Brentwood. For referral services or more information: [email protected] or 925.550.6743

An Active Brain Can Decrease the Risk of Dementia


By William “Bubba” Pariswww.bubbaparis.org

Last month as I was shopping in Wal-Mart, I noticed that there were a lot of parents shop-

ping with their children for the things they would need for the start of the school year. It was amazing looking at them as they scurried through the many aisles and departments, searching for those back-to-school essentials. There were families in just about every department from the clothing department to the electronic department. As they shopped in a store that has roughly 270,000 diff erent items, they were so focused on shopping that they missed out on a lesson that could change a person’s life forever.

It is in the nature of a consumer to walk through the world and consume. They believe everything needed to make life comfortable has always existed. They believe there have always been computers in the electronic department, red cotton shirts in the clothing department and pencils and paper in the offi ce supply department. They think books, course

materials and innovations have existed from the be-ginning of time, never questioning their ori-gin. They enjoy the abundant bounty of innovation, missing the empowering and ensuring force that lies in the things they take for granted. They miss out on the beauty of a creative mind, and the proof that the thing inside of them that moves their spirit, has a place in this world.

The creator, on the other hand, walks through the same Wal-Mart, but marvels at the creative pro-cess that must have occurred in order to produce the things that they are about to buy. The consumer buys the red cotton shirt, whereas the creator is amazed by the fact that someone saw a cotton plant, and in their mind they saw a process to create a cotton shirt. Someone else was able to produce the color red, and envisioned a process that allows it to stay permanent-ly stained on a cotton fabric. The creator understands that the reason there are 270,000 diff erent items to buy in Wal-Mart is because someone just like them had the ability to create them naturally inside them

from the day they were born. They appreciate the fact that they are able to touch these items that were once only in the mind of the person who created them. This gives them the con-fi dence that it’s possible to create the creation that lives within them.

Albert Einstein once said, “The supreme art of the teacher is to awaken the joy of self-expression and knowledge.” From now on, when you go shopping with your children, teach them to recognize and appreciate the creative process that must have occurred in or-der to produce the items they are about to buy.

Help them see how diverse people are in their think-ing and creativity. Help them see how a multitude of people saw the exact same world in a variety of dif-ferent ways. When they wear their clothes to school or use their electronic devices, help them understand that they have the same creative forces lying dormant in themselves. Help them to realize a cellular phone is the undeniable proof that the most abstract thinking that lies dormant in them has a place in this world. Teach them to see the world through the eyes of a creator and not a consumer.

Words from Bubba …Consumer or Creator

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materials and innovations have existed from the be-ginning of time, never questioning their ori-

from the day they were born. They appreciate the fact that they are able to touch these items that were once only in the mind of the person who created them. This gives them the con-fi dence that it’s possible to create the creation that lives within them.

art of the teacher is to awaken the joy of self-expression and knowledge.” From now on, when you go shopping with your children, teach them to recognize and appreciate the creative process that must have occurred in or-der to produce the items they are about to buy.

Words from Bubba …

“You are not born to do something; you are born with something to do.”


By Don [email protected]

We are faced with a quandary dur-ing a slow economic recovery,

shouldering many of life’s everyday burdens. The business entrepreneur, the corporate juggler, or the retiree, are faced with every-day decisions. In addition we are faced with the need for physical and spiritual revamp-ing. Discovering the perfect environment for restoring, mending, or transforming the soul, can become a quandary in itself.

Anthony De Mello teaches about the discovery of self, the awakening of our soul. The “Way To Love” is awakened by our diff erent experiences. The introduction of new individuals into our lives. Self search and examination of our disconnects from self and world. Such an opportunity can be provided in discovering a mecca of escape.

Mendocino, CA was settled in 1850 as a

lumber community, fi rst named after Henry Meggs (Meggsville). Much of the lumber used to build Virginia City, NV, and the re-building of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, was from this area. Shipped down the coast to San Francisco for milling, then traveled by wagons over the Sierras to Virginia City.

Transformed from a thriving lumber community to its present day “mecca,” this village has maintained the 1800 theme with the original structures and homes. The sky-line is accented with water towers. Many of them have been remodeled into bungalows, cottages and used by many bed and break-fasts as rooms.

Strolling the streets off ers the visitor ac-cess to specialty shops, art, coff ee shops and restaurants of quality cuisine, emphasized by the view of the Pacifi c Ocean. Standing along the bluff s, gazing out to sea you may by chance see migrating whales spouting - October through February - south and February through July - north.

North of Mendocino is Fort Bragg. This town was established as a military fort prior to the Civil War (1857). The military was responsible for maintaining order on the

Pomo Indian Reservation located along the Noyo River.

The reservation was closed and the area opened for settlement in 1866. Lumber mills sprang up at the mouth of various riv-ers in 1869. The lumber industry became self-suffi cient, no longer having to ship logs to San Francisco for milling. The last of the mills (Georgia Pacifi c) closed in 2002.

Truly this entire area off ers anyone seek-ing inner exploration, a mecca of reaching solidarity within ourselves.

Areas of interest:• Glass Beach - Once the city dump, now

a State Park. The name came from the great amount of glass that, over time, has become smooth from the sanding action of the salt water waves.

• Hiking - Trails along the headlands. WARNING hiking in some areas of the forest can be dangerous. Inquire with rang-ers and locals for recommendations of safe trails.

• Botanical Gardens located in Fort Bragg on Highway 1.

• Point Cabrillo - Lighthouse• The Ft. Bragg - Willits Skunk Train

Mendocino Village as seen from Hwy 1

Small Town Escape along the Pacifi c Shoreline

Mendocino: A Real Mecca

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20

By David L. Katz, MD, MPH

I was shocked and deeply saddened when my daugh-ter, who happened to be checking her phone about

something else and stumbled onto a tweet, announced at the dinner table last night that Robin Williams had died of an apparent suicide. My wife and I and the three of our children home at the time all pretty much gasped audibly in unison, and then for a moment after, you could have heard a pin drop.

For a bit after that, we talked about our shock and sor-row. And then after that, we talked about all the joy Robin Williams had brought us over the years. For our kids, that came via his more recent and/or indelible performances, from Aladdin to Mrs. Doubtfi re, Good Will Hunting to August Rush. For my wife and me, it was that along with memories stretching back decades to the early, frenetic, and already clearly brilliant Robin Williams of Mork & Mindy days.

I did not know Robin Williams personally, and have no unique claim to the grief so many of us share at his untimely death. I had heard, as had we all, about his inter-mittent struggles with addiction and recourse to therapy over the years. I had hoped, as I suspect we all had, that the demons in question had been slain. Allowing myself to believe what I hoped to be true, his death did indeed come as a shock.

No doubt even as I write this, mental health experts are on the morning shows, joining in carefully crafted memorial montages, and off ering tips about the signs of, and treatments for, depression. I hope that does some good, although Robin Williams’ family likely knew a bit about both, and yet it came to this. Either way, I will leave that to them, and instead contribute something from per-sonal observation- and the music of Smokey Robinson.

As a clinician for the past 25 years, I have gone through the distinctive choreography of clinical care thousands and thousands of times: meet a stranger; exchange greet-ings; enter an exam room; close the door; and dive into their every intimacy.

The Spider Man movie adage - with great power comes great responsibility- comes to mind whenever I think about it. We might add great privilege into the mix. The physician’s privilege, power and responsibility are to have access to those private truths most of us keep under the cover of public veneers most of the time. Physicians are invited in under the skin.

The results are stunning. Innumerable times, I stood in the hall of a clinic and greeted a composed, well-dressed, apparently successful, emotionally stable adult- likely the envy of their peers. And then behind the closed door of the exam room, that person would come undone, and tell of sexual assault in childhood by a family member; drug use by a child; beatings by a spouse; struggles with ad-diction. This is not true of everyone, obviously. But even after all these years, I am little less than amazed at how common it is.

Under Our Skin

Photo by Charleen EarleyOctober – December 2014 www.deltalivingmagazine.com


"He was just such a kind soul," said

Bay Area Comedian Johnny Steele (R). "Everyone knows about his comedy and acting talent.

There's not much I can add there. But folks should know that he was an in-

credibly giving and courteous man. That's what I'll

miss most."

More importantly, I can guar-antee you that unless these people are your most intimate friends, you have absolutely no idea who they are. Unless, that is, you are among them.

These people are everywhere, and some of us are them; some of them are us. Those of us who aren’t them- and I note that I am not, having lived a truly privileged life surrounded by good and lov-ing people- are certainly interact-ing with ‘them’ every day. We just don’t know it.

But they could easily be the person we argue with over not much of anything. They could be the person at whom we hurl insults through cyberspace. They could be the person we give the finger (or “flip the bird” as my kids say) while driving.

In general, it’s just very easy to presume that the person annoy-

ing us in any given moment is fair game for our various vituperations. But maybe that annoying driver is wiping tears from his face. Or try-ing to see clearly through her swol-len eye. It’s true more often than any of us would like to acknowl-edge. I know, because they tell me.

Robin Williams was a clown, a brilliant clown. Yet all the while he was making us laugh, he was pre-sumably wrestling with depression and its attendant demons. All of us, whom he made laugh, share in this moment of poignant grief, collec-tively inclined, I suspect, to think

of Smokey Robinson’s words: ain’t nothing sadder than the tears of a clown.

Maybe a heightened awareness of the insidious dangers of depres-sion will result, and make some good of this tragedy. But there is another opportunity here for us all.

Mr. Williams was a far better actor than most of us, so his ve-neer was more elaborate. But all the world’s a stage, and we all- players, too. Such veneers abound. Perhaps we could keep it in mind, and give one another the benefit of prevailing doubt. Under our skin, and past the surface where the show goes on- there is a lot that is routinely unseen. The scars of shared adversities, a parade of triumphs and disasters, and the deep bonds of our common hu-manity, reside there.

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP is a specialist in In-ternal Medicine and Preventive Med-icine/Public Health. He graduated medical school in 1988, and in one setting or another, has been providing clinical care continuously since.

Photo courtesy of Johnny Steele

http://twitter.com/DrDavidKatzhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-David-L-Katz/114690721876253

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-l-katz-md-mph/7/866/479/

Phot

o by

Cha

rlee

n Ea

rley


Story and photos by Charleen [email protected]

It might’ve looked like battle of the grapes on the out-

side, but on the inside, 291 home winemakers from all over the United States received more than just awards – they garnered crucial feedback about their homemade wine from 32 industry experts.

Judged by commercial wine-makers, book authors, restau-rateurs, sommeliers, and retired teachers, August 1 marked the in-augural Bottle Shock Open com-petition for amateur winemakers, held at the Lodi Grape Festival, Jackson Hall.

Winners were announced a week later with Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable Mention, Home Wine Club of the Year, Best of Class and Show, Winemaker of

the Year, Estate Grown Grapes and more.

Word to the wise (home wine-maker) – entering competitions is great education.

“We are trying to help home winemakers make better wines through the copious notes of each of the judges,” said G.M. “Pooch” Pucilowski, one of the event orga-nizers through the Lodi Amateur Vintners Association (LAVA). “I can name about eight home wine-makers who are now commercial wine makers.”

While the taste of wine is en-tirely subjective, where one judge might love a wine that another judge absolutely hates, a fi nal con-sensus is reached through collec-tive reasoning among each of the eight panels of four judges.

“The hardest thing to do is give a “gold medal” because there are four egos per table!” said Pooch.

Passion in a BottleInaugural Home Winemakers Competition


Photos by Charleen Earley

“Some of what judges are looking for are color, smell, tannins; does it have enough cabernet to be a cab?”

Industrial engineer, Hope Al-exander, fl ew in from Chicago, Il-linois just to judge the wines. With a degree from UC Davis, and a land-owner, Alexander judges a lot of commercial wine competitions – this was her fi rst time judging home winemakers.

“So far, the quality I’ve tasted is delightful,” said Alexander. “With tasting, you don’t drink the wine. You smell, open it up, taste, and then spit it out. I’m looking for color, clarity, aroma, balance, tex-ture and fl avor. If the taste goes all the way to the back of your mouth, that’s considered a long fi nish.”

Greg Burns, owner of Jes-sie’s Grove Vineyards & Winery in Lodi, is a 20-year commercial winemaker and has judged both commercial and homemakers’ wines for over 15 years.

“I love judging home wine-makers, non-commercial vint-ners,” said Burns. “It’s fun to see how the passion of each winemak-

er expresses itself. Being a grower and winemaker, a lot of my com-ments are about timing of when they pick the grapes, or the chem-istry of how they made the wine. Some of my comments are help-ful and constructive, and some are congratulatory. One comment I’ve made so far was, ‘do you want a job as a commercial winemaker!’”

A geologist by day, Todd Haf-ner of Stockton, works for an en-vironmental consulting fi rm in Modesto, and brings his love of wines and the earth to the judging table. He feels wine compliments food, not something to drink by itself.

“The soils infl uence the fl avors of the grapes, just like other factors such as climate, heat and rainfall. It’s a tenuous connection there that involves the earth,” said Hafner. “I have found some ‘golds’ so far in this judging. I try to communicate (to the winemaker) characteristics that I’m experiencing in the wine and indicate whether it’s compli-mentary or defi cient and how that can be corrected in the future. My best compliment so far was, ‘tasty, I want to drink it!’ and ‘not too ripe

or over-oaked.’ I don’t like heavy use of oak or pick a bridge that’s over ripe.”

Paul Marsh is sommelier at Mile Wine Company on Miracle Mile in Stockton, who has tasted wines from every corner of the earth, some dating back to 1847. Also a grower and former restau-rateur of The Fire House in Sac-ramento, Marsh’s palate has been exposed to many diff erent aspects of wine.

“You can tell some people took great care; somebody spent an insane amount of time on some of these wines and babying it so it doesn’t come through as a fawn instead of a race horse,” said

Marsh. “It’s a privilege to be able to see passion put into a bottle, na-ked for everyone to see!”

Robert Levy of Orangevale won Best Winemaker and Best of Show with his French Colombard white varietal. He’s been grow-ing, harvesting and making wine for the last 25 years with his son Robert.

“I planted my vines 31 years ago. It yields 400 – 450 grapes a year and my son and I pick, crush, rack and ferment organi-cally for six months,” said Levy, 69. “It’s something in my genomes; I started doing this in my early 20s. Every year it’s like falling in love again!”

Founding partners of The Bottle Shock Open Home Wine Competition (L-R) John Bischoff, Greg Helland, Gary Daniel, Aaron Kidder, G.M. “Pooch” Pucilowski.

List of winners: http://bottleshockopen.com/awards-results/Lodi Amateur Vintners Association (LAVA)www.lavawine.com

24 October – December 2014 www.deltalivingmagazine.com24

Working Fashion�ir�DELTA FASHION

Deep pockets are not required to possess affordable style and appropri-ate office attire. Doris Hobbs of Rich in Love Fashion explores the high and low of looking your absolute best. From the office to an evening with family, allow her to revise your current style approach.

Conservative is, of course, singularly disappearing.

When I say that, I find myself sighing at the way a fair number of women dress in a current age. I’m referring to the age-old ques-tion (which never seems to get answered) what is appropriate to

wear to the office? While a work-force of women are lead to believe that their appearance isn’t damag-ing, their chances of success are in question. I find in most cases their unflattering, lax approach could be too contented. In an environ-ment known as “the office,” the question of how to dress on either speculum could arise.

I’m a firm believer that you make the rules in your wardrobe decisions, of course using reason-able judgment. In order to cre-ate a strong presence in everyday life, it’s vital to understand how to compliment your wardrobe in a

Investment pieces meet Affordable Chic

way that is both pleasing and cost-efficient. In my opinion, the easiest way is to purchase daywear sepa-rates for a look that’s both classic and subtle without looking over-worked. In the office for instance, separates are perfectly acceptable and are often utilized rather than the traditional suit. For the work-ing mother on the go, choose clas-sic shapes such as polyester wool blend pencil skirt, tailored blouses overlaying them with a knit cardi-gan. Accent this look with a skin-ny belt and garnish with an array of accessories.

For those who seek a well-suited ensemble, the recognized

tailored suit in combination with the reputable sheath dress is an in-vestment piece one should own. I find today’s suit to convey a mes-sage of confidence, displaying a sleek, yet minimalist appearance. The phrase “Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have” comes to mind. I find having a wide range of wardrobe staples is amenable. Despite one’s financial character, one rule stands firm: constantly purchase the classics (blouses, pumps, fitted blazers, a simple sheath dress and of course, well-crafted leather tote! By doing so, these pieces will stand true to modern day wardrobe.

Faux Leather Jacket $ 34.99Styles for Less - Pencil Skirt $14.99

Ross - Blouse $10Charming Charlie - Cuff $13

Charming Charlie - Teal Clutch $7.99 (Teal skinny belt and black pumps

from own closet)

Faux Leather Jacket $34.99Styles for Less - Pant $22.99

Charming Charlie - Cuff $13(Black skinny belt and platform booties

from own closet)

The Limited Sheath Dress $98Banana Republic Knitted Cape $179

Coach Heels $168Necklace - Vintage

The Limited Sheath Dress $98Maggie Barnes Leopard Cape $89

Cole Haan Tote $498 Kate Spade Heels $350

Necklace - Vintage

For more fashion advice and news, be sure to follow Doris on Twitter @do-ris_hobbs. Send your fashion questions to Doris Hobbs at [email protected].

Photos by Maria Tavares and Doris Hobbs


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By Brett CorrieBrentwood, CA

"Why are so many skunks killed by cars? Probably because they nev-er thought anything would ever get that close to them!"

- Unknown

I get out of bed way later than originally intended. I had been pushing for 5:30 AM in order to squeeze in a 6 mile run before head-ing to work, but since I was up late the last two nights, and I'm fighting off a cold, I figured I'd give myself the luxury of sleeping in until 6:00.

My grappling with lack of mo-tivation interfered with my rou-tine and I kept forgetting stuff. Do I have enough poop bags for the dogs? What did I do with my hat? Where the heck are my gloves? Ah! They're stuffed inside my pack. So that's why my water bottle wouldn't fit!

It's pretty chilly out. Pitch dark, drizzly, with a little breeze...per-fect running weather. However it was also perfect weather for those black and white critters known for their fragrance. Skunks love to hang out on the trail right after a rain for some reason.

After making my way to the trail I start my timer, and begin at a brisk pace trying to warm up.

Usually I like I start my run out with a quick prayer of thanks. This morning went sort of like this,

"Heavenly Father, thank you for my waking up this glorious morn-ing, for my great family and help-ing us so that we may live in such a beautiful place to run, and....

*sniff sniff*.....And yes, I even thank you for

skunks. I don't know what pos-

sessed you to create such critters or what purpose they have in life, but I suppose you know what you're do-ing. Amen."

So the dogs and I are trotting along at a pretty good clip. We get about 1 1/2 miles out when Roxy, (our big yellow lab) starts to whine and whimper in her "Oh! Oh! What is that?! I wanna play with it!" routine. Our other dog, Rio, quick-ly follows, and soon both of them are doing the doggie happy dance on the end of their leashes.

We were creeping up on some-thing, and I can barely make out a black shape trotting along trail, (for-tunately away from us). At first I'm thinking, (and hoping) it's a cat, but with growing suspicion I realize...that's not a cat.

Hmm...I had hoped that after realizing

there was a larger animal on the trail the skunk would run off into the creek. No such luck. The lil' stinker kept running right along the trail.

Wanting to keep my distance I slow way down and try to work out my strategy. Surely he'll head for the

bushes or the creek or something. What could he possible find worth eating on the trail? But nope. He just happily waddles down the path as if he is out for his own morn-ing run. The dogs and I follow him for a good 50 yards, and there is no indication that he's ready or willing to let me pass.

Here's where I screwed up. I grew impatient. It was late, I wanted to get my six miles in before going to work, it was starting to rain again, etc, etc. So I started making "psssst!" noises at him, hoping he'd realize that the courteous thing for him to do is let faster traffic pass by.

The skunk stops and turns around.

Oops.I knew he'd stopped and turned

around because I saw the flash of white along his back. Otherwise I'd have run over him. So when I came to a halt we were about 20 feet from each other. Way too close. The dogs are going nuts. If I had choked up on the leashes any more both dogs would have been on my shoulders.

Ignoring the crazed dogs, the

skunk and I engage in a brief stare-down, each waiting to see what the other will do next.

Finally the skunk appears to give in. I swear I hear him give me an indignant hiss and a grunt before turning back around and heading towards the creek.

*whew!* He was gone!I wait a couple of seconds, and

not seeing the skunk any more I figure the trail is clear. So I start running again...only to hit a wall of skunk fume. That grunt and hiss had been a warning shot all over the trail and I had just taken myself and the dogs right into the middle of it.

Not only that, but he's back on the trail! He had not gone down into the creek as I had thought. In the darkness I hadn't seen him double back behind a tree, which he then popped out from behind and was back onto the trail, glaring at me from about 10 or so feet.

The dogs are no longer eager to get at the skunk. They were to occupied milling around in circles, trying to get away from the smell while whining and complaining, "This wasn't in the brochure! I want my money back!"

With tears in my eyes I flip a U-turn and head the other direction with the smell of defeat clinging to my running shoes.

The Skunk - 1Me- 0I think, however, I know now

why God created skunks. God cre-ated skunks to teach us humility.

After back tracking another half mile I found a less occupied trail to run along. I'm guessing I did a little more than 5 miles, but I lost track. Not the 6 miles I wanted, but that's okay. The education made up for the lack of millage.

Why are so many Skunks Killed by Cars?

Delta Living Magazine Writing Contest Winner

Thank you to runners up Kimberly Kennedy of Brentwood, CA for “Penelope,” and Bianca Ruehlig of Antioch, CA for “TV De-programming.”

Judges Rick Lemyre (Co-Founder of The Brentwood Press) and Ruth Roberts (Managing Editor of The Press) judged each submission based on originality, creativity, grammar, style, educational, uniqueness, interesting and as cliché-deficient as possible!


Delta Living Magazine Photography Contest Winners

Judges Steve Nosanchuk (Owner of Steve’s Freelance Photography), Jennifer Fink (Owner of Gen-erations Photography) and Ken Perkes (Owner of Perkes Photog-raphy) judged each photo based on impact, creativity, composition, color balance, center of interest, lighting, subject matter, technique, story-telling and framing (using the ‘Rule of Thirds’ concept).

First Place Winner - Blackbird by Koryn Hutchison of Woodbridge, VA

Second Place Winner - Grapes by Craig Luchin of Knightsen, CA

Third Place Winner - Burrowing Owl by Brett Corrie of Brentwood, CA

Hon

orab

le M

entio

ns ..

.

Cowboy in Training by Brooke Bonner of Discovery Bay, CA

Bethel Island Sunset by Dave Lawler of Bethel Island, CACactus Blooms by Jimmy Delgado of Knightsen, CA


By Dr. Eileen [email protected]

What if I told you that I had the secret to absolute, complete, total, 100% control? Yeah, right. I know it’s a bit difficult to believe. But stick with me for a moment and I’ll share it with you.

The need for control or feeling like we’re “in control” is a very hu-man thing. It helps us feel power-ful, as if our very act of being alive is important and meaningful. Sci-ence has already made us aware that we are only a tiny speck in the landscape of the whole cosmos – and part of the human condition is the innate desire to strive to be-come and to control.

Nothing seems to stimulate that need quite like feeling out of control or acted upon. So some-thing happens in our life that we don’t like, or that scares or threat-ens us in some way, and we want control. (Or maybe even feel we NEED control.) We want to have our hands on the steering wheel, brake, joy stick, remote and control console all at the same time. It can be uncomfortable and at the same time, it is totally normal to have this desire.

Where things get dicey is when this desire starts to become domi-nant in our consciousness. Maybe you or someone you know tries to control everything that goes on around them? A person who’s grasping for control will some-times impose their will upon oth-ers, limit themselves and those around them, or simply withdraw into a quaking, shaking mess of overwhelm. And all this is in the name of trying to figure out how to deal with the world and all the unexpected and scary things that can happen to us humans.

One thing I know about my-

self is that if I was Empress of The Universe, I’d surely set things up in a way to work better than what they seem to now. Nice guys/gals would finish first. Everything would always be fair, etc., etc. And I’m thinking you’d have a simi-lar way of making it a marvelous world if you were at the helm of this galaxy.

Unfortunately neither of us has that external control, leav-ing us but one option. Feel out of control or develop an internal locus of control. That fancy phrase means that while we cannot con-trol much of what goes on around us, we always have the choice to take total control over what we do inside of ourselves.

In fact, as human beings we have very little that we can actu-ally control. Now I’m not talk-ing about our ability to influence things, people and situations. Or about us preferring one thing/event/situation over another. We can all lend a bit of influence or make a clear choice – but control? That’s an entirely different game.

When I first started on this psy-chological journey into figuring myself out, I heard some words that reached inside of me and touched something that had been dormant until that moment. The best I can describe it, was as if someone had walked up to me and slapped me hard across the face. That’s the kind of get-your-attention effect this phrase had on me. Here it is; the secret to total control in just nine short words. “How you deal with the issue, is the issue.”

Huh? What was that? Yes, that’s the secret to total control. How I respond or react to a situation or event is more important than the situation or event itself. Because no matter what’s going on “out there,” I always influence my ex-perience by how I see it and what I tell myself it means.

I can consciously choose how I am going to respond or act if the sun doesn’t come up tomorrow. So I recognize it’s normal that I want to be in control of making the sun rise, and if or when it doesn’t, I fo-cus my energy on how I’m going

to deal with that. How am I going to take care of myself, make myself emotionally okay and in this case – get warm without the sunshine?

Taken a bit further; I can’t con-trol someone else’s behavior. I can however, control how I respond to them and whether I stick around for more from them. Shifting into this internal locus of control makes the world a much more manage-able and enjoyable place. So even if I’m just a tiny speck in this big wide and wacky world, I’m in total control. Join me?

Dr. Eileen Norton is a Clinical Psychologist (PSY19240) with a private practice in Brentwood work-ing with adolescents and adults. She specializes in teaching people the skills and tools to create the life they truly want. Her work with anxiety, de-pression, relationship issues and life transitions utilizes her Clinical and Spiritual Psychology background. An aspiring gluten-free baker and zumba fanatic, Eileen spends as much time as she can outdoors and traipsing through foreign lands.

Calling All Control FreaksDELTA WELLNESS

The Secret to Absolute Control


By Maria [email protected]

You hear about performers being “down-to-earth”

people, but what does that really mean?

Jeanette Harris, a saxophonist and lead for the Jeanette Harris Band, who hails from Fresno, CA. is pretty much the definition of what a down-to-earth performer would be. She and her band sell out at most of their shows and re-peatedly asked for encore perfor-mances by these venues, but she doesn’t let fame go to her head.

She is warm and welcoming and takes time to show her appre-ciation for her fans after shows by joining them in the audience to chat and pose for pictures. Jeanette

also takes time to personally reply to her fans on her social media ac-counts – like Facebook, where she has 5,000 followers.

The 35-year-old Saxtress has played venues in London, Japan, Jamaica and all over the U.S and toured with the late Teena Marie in 2010.

It is easy to see why she is in high demand once she gets her feet (and sax) through the door. She has a great presence on and off stage, but the saxophone wasn’t the first instrument.

Her adventure into the in-strumental world began at the piano around six-years-old – and she hated it! Her parents, Floyd (a private contractor for Santa Fe Railroad) and Annette (owned a daycare since Jeanette was born)

Jeanette Harris: Scintillating Saxtress of Smooth Jazz

She Puts the “Saxi” in Saxophonist

Photo by John Sanchez, CD jacket design by Lar YangJeanette Harris’ CD Summer Rain (2012) is a 12-track mix of contemporary jazz, R&B, Latin and a taste of funk, plus a bonus vocal track of Summer Rain.

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wanted Jeanette to play an instru-ment of some sort in church. They bought her private lessons, but alas, the piano just didn’t fit the bill. By fourth grade, Jeanette found some inspiration.

“I used to listen to Grover Washington in the car on the way to school,” says Jeanette. “I saw the sax on the cover and thought ‘Hey, that looks pretty cool!’’”

The saxophone is usually asso-ciated with a jazzy type sound, but not in Jeanette’s early years. Once her parents knew she was serious about sticking with the saxophone, they bought her private lessons (again), in the classical range.

“You don’t hear a lot of the sax in classical music,” says Jeanette, who met her fiancé Michael at a stop in St. Louis, Missouri.

When she entered competi-tions showcasing classical music on her saxophone, she turned a lot of ears and won many awards for her playing style.

It wasn’t until her junior year of high school when she realized she wanted to pursue a career in per-forming arts – especially after at-tending summer camps during her sophomore through senior year at the Berklee College of Music in Los Angeles, CA, with her brother Michael (drummer in her band).

Jeanette graduated from the four-year Berklee program after receiving a scholarship from her hard work at the summer camps.

Along with admiring Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert, an American singer, songwriter, and producer; March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010) for her great personality, Jeanette is grateful she was able to really stand out on her own while performing with the star.

“Teena loved the sax and espe-cially that I was a woman playing it,” says Jeanette, who would also love to share the stage with two other greats: Stevie Wonder and

Sting. “They just have this great sound!”

Her love for music extends from her musical inspirations; guitarist Norman Brown, pianist and singer Stevie Wonder, Grover Washington, who’s saxophonist sound still “touches my soul, even to this day,” and Dave Coz, a saxo-phonist whom she met in person.

The love doesn’t stop there since Jeanette enjoys listening to R&B, hip hop and rock while driving.

“As long as I’m feelin’ it, I’ll lis-ten to it,” says Jeanette, who feels those genres are best for dancing in her car or driving long distances.

Her parents own a houseboat at Paradise Pointe Marina on the Del-ta in Stockton, CA, where she visits as often as she can. In her down-time, she spends time with her family, takes trips to visit the Delta, cooks, enjoys eating, working out and catching up on some of her fave Netflix series, to include “Or-ange is the New Black,”“Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Summer Rain is Jeanette’s lat-est CD, written and produced by her. Jeanette still plays the piano, despite her struggles with it from her childhood.

Treating each performance like a professional job, Jeanette relaxes before shows and never parties be-fore taking the stage. She appreci-ates her fans immensely.

“They didn’t have to come out,” says Jeanette, who wants to make her audience feel good through her music. “I want them leaving with a great feeling after the show and all the way home.”

She says once she gets on stage is when “it’s time to have some fun.”

She talks about how she lives her life.

“Stay positive, believe in your-self and work hard at your craft,” says Jeanette. “And be honest and true to who you are.”

Visit Jeanette Harris Band at www.jeanetteharrisband.com, Twitter: @Saxified and Facebook: Jeanette Harris Fan Page

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Jeanette Harris tours all over the U.S. selling out venues to entrain audi-ences with the smooth sounds of her sax.


By Ana [email protected]

The new school year has rolled back around again,

bringing with it a new crop of high school seniors, or “future real people.” Our senior year is sup-posedly our greatest, but we are dealing with what seems to be the largest heap of stress that has ever been on us. We have endless de-tails to attend to, crucial decisions to make, and, above all, we are ex-hausted.

What could we possibly be worried about? Our entire fu-ture is in front of us. The thing is, the future doesn’t appear to be patiently waiting for us; it is hurling towards us at an alarming speed. First off, we have to make it through our final year without

fizzing out and failing to graduate. Meanwhile, we are deciding and planning to either graduate and keep working, go to community college (and then possibly transfer to a university), or go straight to a university.

None of these choices feel like they are up to us, while we would like them to be. We have to con-sider what our parents want, what teachers and administrators have told us, and societal expectations for our generation. Taking all of these things into account and planning out our futures can be daunting.

Personally, I will be going the four-year route. With this comes a dizzying array of college-specific requirements, applications, finan-cial aid forms, scholarships and fi-nal decisions. Each college requires

essays, transcripts, and submitted test scores along with applications – and has different deadlines for each. It’s a struggle just to keep or-ganized.

On top of everything, most of us continue holding up our grades and extra-curricular ac-tivities, since we all know and hear how important it is to ap-pear “well-rounded” on an ap-plication. Not to mention failing a required course could keep us from graduating. Most student club leaders and sports team cap-tains are seniors, probably due to our assumed maturity and leader-ship skills. (I can assure you this is a myth – just the other day I actually stuck my tongue out at a driver who cut me off).

One such leader is senior Ka-tie Glennon, president of Heritage

High School’s Gay Straight Alli-ance (GSA). Katie and I started the club at our school last year, and Katie plans to make this year more eventful and exciting for the club members while she is working and applying for college. She hopes to attend a state school and study teaching or nursing next year, but her current worry is the SAT test – Scholastic Assessment Test, which is a standardized test widely used for college admittance in the U.S.

Even with all of this on our plates, we have to remember that we will get through it and become adults whether we like it or not. So, seniors: try your best to stay or-ganized, and feel free to let yourself enjoy the year as much as possible. Not a high school senior? Simply show the seniors in your life a little empathy – we could really use it!

Moving on to Bigger, Better and More Stressful Things: High School Seniors Prepare to Graduate


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By [email protected]

There are just some people who radiate warmth, and

I discovered that several years ago in Valentina “Tina” Torres, own-er and head cook of Jalisco's in Brentwood. Each time our paths cross, it’s like catching up with a dear friend.

It’s the same warmth and friendliness you’ll experience when you visit their restaurants, main one located at 8335 Brent-wood Blvd., and their newest eat-ery, Mi Jalisco’s Taqueria at 2261 Balfour Road, managed by her son Ezequiel Torres Jr.

An added plus is their new Mexican Market Tina opened in 2012, next door to the Brentwood Blvd. location, managed by her son Daniel Torres and his wife.

Tina and her husband Ezequiel Sr., along with their three sons, came to Oakley, CA in 1988 to “visit” her sister-in-law. The fam-ily fell in love with the town and began setting up roots.

Born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico with a wonderful example of what strong family ties meant, Tina is one of 11 children, and was often at her grandmother’s side as she prepared meals. This is where Tina learned the traditional reci-pes from her heritage, entrées she now serves in her own restaurants.

Ezequiel Sr. was employed at the Antioch Public Golf Course,

Food Prepared with Love by Tina Torres

Jalisco’s Mexican RestaurantWhere Warmth, Great Service and Good Food Meet

Photos by Maria Tavares


while Tina often had two to three jobs going at a time. Through their hard work, they made sure their family had all the benefits neces-sary to enjoy a prosperous life in America. Even as the boys grew up, they had side jobs.

Tina and Ezequiel Sr. taught their kids to have strong work ethics from an early age. It’s not surprising that as young adults, the kids all work together in their family business.

The couple has their “team-work” down to where they almost know what the other is thinking. Tina cooks every day, beginning at the break of dawn, creating her most popular recipes, which she says is “everything” to her. Eze-quiel Sr. assists as “runner,” for supplies needed for the restaurant.

The food at both locations is savory, portions are generous and staff is always friendly.

At the restaurant location, they offer five (yes five!) different types of margaritas at their new bar.

Their restaurant features an open-air design, five mission-style arches in the middle of the res-taurant and a seven-foot fountain and mural in the back. Without the cost of airfare, Jalisco’s atmo-sphere gives you the feeling you are dining in Mexico. Immediate-ly, one experiences the beautifully colored artwork, soft music play-

ing and wonderful smells drifting from the kitchen. They also have a 7’ fountain and m

Try their tortilla soup. Your taste buds will go crazy. It’s abso-lutely delicious with large pieces of chicken and vegetables, strips of homemade tortilla chips, topped with cheese and seasoned to per-fection.

Their amazing California Salad includes chicken breast, avocado, tomatoes, olives and jack cheese over crisp lettuce and a radish gar-nish. With their reasonable prices, I went away one happy, contented

customer.With a full breakfast, lunch

and dinner menu, the restaurant is open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. most evenings. They offer a full menu of traditional Mexican dishes, which begins with a com-plimentary dish of fresh salsa (mild – hot), chips and bean dip topped with cheese.

From enchiladas, chili rellenos, and chili verde or Colorado, to seafood and party packs (with 24-hour notice), prices range from $8.99 to $14.99; but save room for desserts, which include flan and

chocoflan. After you’re your dining ex-

perience, walk next door to their “hacienda” (market) to buy from their extensive selection of fresh meats and produce. You will also find restaurant supplies, festive pi-ñatas, flavorful Mexican candy and more.

A significant lesson Tina has learned over the years includes giving.

“If you give, you will receive,” says Tina. “I consider it a privilege to be able to give to the commu-nity that I love so dearly.”

Jalisco’s Mexican Restaurant8335 Brentwood Blvd., Ste. BBrentwood, CA 94513925.240.6105www.jaliscos-mexican-restaurant.com/

Mi Jalisco’s Taqueria 2261 Balfour Road, Ste. CBrentwood, CA 94513925.240.5600

Photos by Maria Tavares


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