Nine years since Hurricane Maria. The event that changed our lives forever.

With the surf contest coming to Arecibo next month, I’m reminded of my days as Surfer Mom. This is a revised and edited version of something I wrote in 2009. Photo from ISA World Surfing Games 2026 Facebook page I loved being a surfer mom. I used to be a karate mom...then a basketball, volleyball and dance mom… but I definitely enjoyed being a surfer mom the most. Sometimes I wish I could be an actual surfer, but taking a tumble as a child scarred me for life. Sand in my s

picture from Marvin Fonesca's book: "Museo al Aire Libre" foto: EFE I just reposted a blog I wrote years ago and here's another one which I think is relevant today. ************************************************************************************** I have always wanted this blog to reflect my feelings about living in Puerto Rico and yet it's been almost a year since I’ve written. I keep my TJ Ranch Facebook page up to date and try to inform people about Puerto Rico in ge

Resistance T Shirt This was a blog I wrote three or four years ago. I think I was mildly optimistic then. I wrote this before I had ever heard of Esencia, the proposed $2 billion luxury resort in Cabo Rojo or plans to develop the central karst region, or Act 82 of 2026 which restricts the ability of citizens and communities to challenge or halt government authorized development in court. In both the United States and Puerto Rico business/money wins. It doesn't seem to matte

I originally published this blog in 2020 but it's summer 2026 now and I wouldn't mind slurping on a limber right now. I grew up in New York and knew piraguas well, but I had never heard of limbers until I moved to Puerto Rico. Like an Italian ice with tropical flavors, the limber was traditionally homemade and sold by mothers and grandmothers throughout the island. Now you can find it commercially made and sold at colmados, gas stations or grocery stores or…...of course, you

Originally posted in 2020, it is now 2026. The Arecibo Book Club celebrated its 59th anniversary in March. Although many members are no longer with us, their memories live on. We are a small group but continue to meet on the last Thursday of the month (except in July and November). So...ladies....if you're in Arecibo, you're welcome to join us. Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States and Roberto Sanchez Vilella was Governor of Puerto Rico. I was fifteen and a high

From the history of TJ Ranch in the blog As Time Goes By, Reflexions tells the story of how I've seen the changes in Puerto Rico over the years. What was Puerto Rico Like Forty Years Ago? During the election season, my favorite journalist, Bianca Graulau, wrote an Instagram story which I can’t quote, but she said that the youth of today doesn't know the Puerto Rico of their parents and grandparents . The children of the last two decades have grown up with austerity measures a