OK, SO EXACTLY "WHY" DID I WRITE QUADALAJARA?

AS I MENTIONED in a previous post, I started writing short stories in the mid-90's of experiences which I wished to preserve. At the time, I confess, I had no idea where it would lead to. In 1998 I met a social worker intern at the San Diego VA Medical Center named Mona Oge. During our bedside visit Mona was surprised to find that I knew so many of the spinal cord injured (SCI) patients who she had already met and interviewed. "How do you know Mr. Ziegler?" Followed by, "How do you know Mr. Lucier? Mr. Clifford?" And the Q&A continued..... Mona's half hour interview turned in to a two hour narrative by me, peppered by her curiosity and questions. I told her about a bunch of us who knew one another from our years spent living in Quadalajara. Other patients were mentioned in the conversation, mostly those living in the Phoenix area, who I knew and some of the collective experiences and network of friends we shared. Upon leaving, Mona said, "You should write a book. There's a screenplay there!" So I guess that's when the seed was planted. When I dusted off my 'writing project' in January 2003, I now knew where it would lead to --- I would collect as much info, including photos, that I could find and focus on preserving this unique place and time from being forever forgotten. It became an obsession of sorts. I now had a passion for doing this. Writing became a fun thing. It was as if the book was writing itself. I solicited info from friends and widows of some of the early Quadalajara settlers. I continued to interview survivors of this fading moment in time, collect info and photos from any source I could find, and dug through old documents discovered in closets and magazine achieves. Some of the final pieces of this puzzle fell into place in early 2005 --- Paraplegia News articles uncovered in January and photos from South-of-the-Border Quadalajara Pioneer Joe Cicero, and Eddie Lucier's long-time caregiver Gabriel Chavez, were obtained in April. A few more 'final' edits and the waiting process would now begin. Again, that would be another story for another day. Thanks Mona! www.QuadMexico.com