Kat Monteiro

The View From My Offi ce

With Kat Monteiro

Here we are heading towards the end of summer. Like all people around the world, I was hoping that this dreadful Covid-19 pandemic would be over by now. But no, it keeps going on like the energizer bunny. I listen to the news telling us of new outbreaks, hotspots, variants, vaccines, boosters, and so many more deaths. It really makes me feel so worried and sad. I feel mostly for the children who are growing up with all of this commo on and confusion, missing school and all their friends. My hope is that everyone will remember that we are all in this together. Many of us have diff erent views and opinions on vaccines and mask wearing, but please be kind to others regardless. Have pa ence when you are at a restaurant, the store, post-offi ce, fast-food establishments, the parts or service departments of your local dealership - we are all shorthanded and cannot fi nd people to hire. The government says we have high unemployment, but there is nowhere you can go without seeing help wanted signs posted. So this I do not understand. All I really want is for people to support each other and to be kind. We will get to the other side of this, it’s just taking longer than expected, so hang in there! All that being said I wanted to use my space here in the MMG Magazine to pay tribute to our dear friend Mike Cervantes who lost his life to Covid-19 this past April. My heart goes out to his wife, my friend, Leslie. Mike le us way too soon. Rick, Mike, Leslie and I became fast friends. From the moment we met I just wanted to be in their company. Leslie reminded me of a me when we were si ng out in some mee ng room hallway waiting for the guys to break for lunch, (which they never did by the way). I had the girls with me and they were so li le. We bonded that day and it turned into a life me friendship, even though we didn’t get to see each other much a er Mike le for Sonic. We s ll stayed friends thanks to social media! It was always a pleasure to be around Mike. He was always so kind, and his laugh would make a gloomy day shine. It was contagious. He would have a whole room wrapped around him laughing and happy. He was a true gi to this world. He will be missed by every person who ever had the pleasure of mee ng him.

Please be safe. We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Florida in October!