MyDesert, MyLife
Many times we live our lives not realizing what the person next to us is doing. MyDesert, MyLife is a video series which will give us a chance to meet the different people in our community. The Coachella Valley is a diverse area filled with interesting people, and now you'll hear their stories, learn their history, and gain insight into who they are.
If you would like to see someone profiled in this series you can email suggestions to marilyn.chung@thedesertsun.com.
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Meet the Zumba teacher MyDesert, MyLife is a series by Desert Sun staff photographer Marilyn Chung that offers a chance to meet new folks. The Coachella Valley is filled with interesting people, and now you'll gain insight into their lives.
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MyDesert MyLife: Meet the dance student MyDesert, MyLife is a series by Desert Sun staff photographer Marilyn Chung that offers a chance to meet new folks. The Coachella Valley is filled with interesting people, and now you'll gain insight into their lives.
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Meet the Hollywood photographer Bill Kobrin, 87, photographed celebrities after working as a photographer for The Associated Press in the 1940s. His most recognized photograph is the "skirt blowing scene" of Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch."
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Meet the puppy raiser Patricia Craine, 63, has been preparing puppies for their lives as guide dogs since 1990. Her current puppy is Dusty Noel and is named after the Dusty Wings, a group of current and former flight attendants from all airlines whose current charity is the Guide Dogs of the Desert.
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Nurse donates Locks of Love Fritzi Fajardo, 36, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, talks about donating 12 inches of her hair to the nonprofit organization Locks of Love.
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Meet the surfer Thomas Rice Jr., 82, spent most of his life on the beach before moving to Palm Desert in 1968. Rice surfed along the coast of Southern California and also worked as a lifeguard on those beaches.
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Meet the butler Freddy Aguirre, 74, gave up his drumming career in 1968 to tend to the homes of Frank Sinatra and Danny Schwartz.
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Meet the wedding coach Richard Cadieux, 59, has been a wedding coach for about eight years. He officiates, as well as coordinates, over 100 weddings a year.
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myDesert, myLife: Adopted Viorica 'Vicky' Lung, 48, was born in a small village in Romania. At age five her uncle adopted her, but shortly after her adoptive parents had to flee the country. Lung was not reunited with her adoptive parents until she was 12 when she moved to the United States.
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myDesert, myLife: The hockey player Adam Steven, 17, is the founder of the La Quinta Hockey Club for high school students. He has spent most of his life playing hockey and continues to play at his family's rink, the Ice Garden, in La Quinta.
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myDesert, myLife: The Oboist Jessica Wilkins, 17, a Palm Springs High School oboist, is one of four oboe players accepted as a freshman into the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She started playing the oboe when she was in the 6th grade at Raymond Cree Middle School.
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myDesert, myLife: Blindness Mannie Romero, 40, lost his sight two years ago due to diabetes. After six months of struggling alone with his blindness, he learned about the Braille Institute, which provided classes to teach him life skills to live. Mannie uses his experience to help others realize that there is life after blindness.
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myDesert, myLife: The flight instructor Andy Dutzi, 63, immigrated to the United States from Austria 30 years ago. He teaches aspiring aviators how to fly through his business the Flight School at Palm Springs. His first taste of American life was the Hershey's chocolate bars sent in care packages by American soldiers who his mother helped to safety during the last few years of World War II.
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MyDesert, MyLife: The Animal helper Malinda Bustos, 47, started six years ago as a volunteer dog walker for the Humane Society of the Desert Orphan Pet Oasis. Today she is the president and spends her time helping animals find their “forever homes.”
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MyDesert MyLife: The Gymnast Hailey Murdica, 8, trains 15 hours a week and is the youngest gymnast at Action Gymnastics Sportsplex to be training in level six. To see more episodes in this video series, click here.
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MyDesert MyLife: The Brothers Jason Tate, 31, and Peter Najera, 16, were paired over two years ago through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert. To see more episodes in this video series, click here.
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MyDesert MyLife: The Harpist Marji Vasholz, 80, plays the harp for patients in the special procedure unit and the Tennity Emergency Department at Eisenhower Medical Center as part of the Healing Harps program.
For more in this video series, visit mydesert.com/mylife.
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myDesert, myLife: The Zookeeper Katie Tooker has been a zookeeper at The Living Desert for four years. For the past two years she has been the primary giraffe keeper and witnessed the birth of the newest member of the giraffe family, Maliki.
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myDesert, myLife: The Marine Jayel Aheram, 24, was a photographer before he became a Marine. During his 7 seven-month deployment in the Al-Anbar Province in Iraq, he used his Canon Powershot G6, which he calls “Cat’s Eye,” to find beauty in a desolate situation.
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