Hi Meg:

Reading through the May issue of LareDOS, I was pleased to see Laredo pharmacist Dario Gutierrez' comments about this experience on the American Botanical Council's "Pharmacy from the Rainforest" tour to the Peruvian Amazon and the "lost" Inca mountaintop city of Macchu Picchu. It is very heartening to read his comments and how they have given him "a greater understanding of the value of natural medicine." His experience parallels those of other pharmacists and physicians who have written that they experienced an epiphany of sorts when they were faced with seeing some of the jungle plants from which modern pharmaceutical drugs are made and how the local natives use these and many other plants for medicines and/or food.
By the way, I am pleased he remembered our dear old friend, former pharmacist turned health food store owner Ruth Hartwell (notice he misidentified her as Ruth "Hatch" -- I was surprised your editors missed that one!), who enhanced the health of thousands of people in the Laredo area (and much further south) by obtaining and selling natural foods and herbs in the 1970s and until the 1990s. I can remember the early days in 1975 when I owned my former herb wholesaling company in Austin, receiving calls from Ruth asking me to ship a large carton of Korean Ginseng tea to her overnight via Greyhound Bus. She had an avid customer from the interior of Mexico, who was leaving Laredo the next afternoon. Ruth needed the ginseng immediately or she would have lost the big sale -- and so would I. Ruth helped me get my start in the herb business and I'll always remember her kindness to me and support of my then-fledgling business. She was one of those one-of-a-kind, independent frontier women who helped make South Texas a very special place.

Cordially,
Mark Blumenthal
Founder, Executive Director
American Botanical Council
www.herbalgram.org

Publisher's Note:
Mark,

Ruth Hartwell's maiden name was Hatch. Some of us knew her by that name. Thanks for reading LareDOS!

MEG
www.laredosnews.com

María Eugenia:
In your May edition which I received today, I made the mistake of reading the article by Thom Hartmann -- utter, unadulterated garbage -- this guy is dangerous.
That aside, how are your folks doing? I think about your Dad quite often and always remember the old Joe I knew before -- he was and is a super guy and I am fortunate to say he is my friend.

Best wishes,
George Ballard
Dear Ms. Guerra,
I just recently read the article that was written about your life achievements in the Dallas Morning News. I have to congratulate you, because to me, you represent the model of the person that I wish someday to become. I also wish to take this time to try and persuade you into letting me write some columns in your newspaper regarding the issues that take place in the Mirando City Independent School District. I am personally involved in some of them and I can tell you that it is very frustrating to have to deal with people that wish to not acknowledge the fact that there are many bad thing happening in our school, and that our children are not being taught.
I hope you can consider this, so that I may inform the community of the many irresponsible things people in our school district engage in.
Thank you, and keep on fighting the good fight.

Sincerely,
Martha Sanchez