ThePower

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Noemi showed me the power of courage

There are over 60 people I could nominate but Mimi stands out. Mimi is going on 94 years now. Since 1966 this wonderful woman has been there to support whatever I do from serving coffee at the Saturday park concerts to helping start Kaboom with Ilona at the Fairplex. She has volunteered at the fair since the 90’s. She went every day to help at the Fairplex farm. She feeds the homeless at the church still to this day. I am bed-bound and she visits me on a regular basis, feeding me flan. Her background is amazing. Her twin was killed in Argentina guarding Juan Peron. She performed around the world in a circus, riding elephants and skating on a platform 500 feet high without a safety net. Then she was blown up in a silver stream trailer when she left performing to raise her son. She cared for him and his friends until he died. She advocated for good health care. Today she continues to inspire her many friends. Always a smile and a word of encouragement. She embodies the spirit of our Pomona and she is my hero. She helped me start a thrift shop for the prevention of child abuse. Any fundraising I did she saw that it ran smoothly. When I said we are getting older, she put her hands on her hips and said “oh excuse meeeee” as she drove off in her car barely seeing over the wheel — by the way she never got one traffic ticket. Inspired — oh yes — by this remarkable woman, unsung hero, and faithful friend.