Due to his hard work, Joshua, our 18 year old, has been and will be the talk of town for many years to come.

After receiving their teacher and principal Lipman's permission Joshua and his friend, Eric, were given permission to fulfill some community service credits by creating a replica of Adolfo Camarillo High School's mascot, the Scorpion.

Some of you have seen Joshua's welding art works around our home, so you can just imagine the precision, dedication, and the devotion that this young man showed in the 100 hours he spent on the design and creation of this sculpture.  The Scorpion is about 8 ½ foot tall and the materials were donated by our neighbor who owns Southern California Gold Products.  On the day of the graduation ceremony the giant blue steel scorpion was unveiled and the tears of pride and joy covered our faces.

A week later the massive mascot was bolted on the giant letter "A" on the hill sides in front of Adolfo Camarillo High School on Mission Oaks Boulevard.  Also, on June 30, the Camarillo Acorn, published an article on Joshua and

And now Joshua our son whose mark would be around town for years to come is thinking about transferring to San Francisco to finish his education where he can achieve his goal of automotive design. Our little boy is a grown man now and I guess our time for the boy needing his parents is up.  He is a man, and he needs us as a man needs his parents.  But, no matter how old he is or he becomes, I am still planning on being there for him and if I can't smell my rose as closely as I once could I am going to be thankful and grateful for a whiff.  Meanwhile, I am holding tight to the younger ones and smelling my little rose buds closer, realizing how fast their brother became a flower.

My Son is to the right.