Volume 2: Issue 2; November 2025

Hola,

Do you like FREE? I do. If you think you don't, let me ask you this: Have you ever read something on the internet without paying a fee? Ever buy one, get one free? Ever ask someone to do you a favor? Then you, my dear reader, have partaken in FREE. This got me thinking. From what I've observed throughout my life, nothing is free, even love. This I've come to learn from being a caregiver, where I often put my wants on hold for the ones I love the most. You might disagree and that's fine, since what I just argued could be controversial, hence also not without cost. FREE costs something, whether it's time, space, physical being or even worry. Here's the thing. I believe FREE is an idea that motivates humans. If I think it doesn't have a cost, genuine or not, I might be more inclined to partake or accept it. I might be motivated to help others. I might be open to different ideas. I might take a risk in trying something new. And yes, there's a negative side to FREE, but that's not necessarily my point, at least for today. Sometimes the price of FREE can only be handled one idea at a time. And in Bodega News, I will tell you about the free activity and event I attended to this month. And to show my appreciation for your readership of this newsletter, I'm sharing a FREE Idea List (yes, almost Gratis) about ways you can help the world and yourself. And in this time of celebration, go out there and enjoy some FREE time with your loved-ones; the cost of it is so worth it!

Bodega News:

• It's technically FREE to write, or is it? It cost me hundreds of hours and energy to write Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen. The time it took to write was much longer than I expected, but I'm happy to report that it was all worth it. I'm very proud of Carmen's story and feel that it is an important one, even if it's just fiction. Want to read the book? Click the cover to find out. Be sure to follow me on Amazon and/or leave a Rating/ Review on Goodreads or StoryGraph.

• Book Fair for the 7 Arts Latino Foundation: Thank you to David Martinez and his team for inviting me to do a reading and for generously setting up a table for me to share and sell my books at no cost. I truly appreciated it. It was a joy to meet such a wonderful group of kind, talented people, who volunteer their time to helping their community. I hope to be invited next year.

Maria's FREE LIST 2025

1. Let someone know you're thinking of them by calling them, sending a text, note, or e-mail;
2. Thank someone, who has truly helped you, even if you just met them; and
3. Take a moment to look out your window. Nature has a way of teaching us, even in the harshest weather.

Spanish Word Translation: Gratis (grah-tees)

English literal translation is FREE or without charge

When I was in college, I learned that Gratis comes from Latin. And in that translation, it means "out of kindness" or "with favors". In a world of scammers, liars and thieves, it's nice to know that the intent of FREE was first born out of this concept. I'd like to think that most of us understand Gratis to be born from this perspective and not a malicious one. It makes me feel a lot better about accepting FREE things.

When I was growing up, my family received FREE government cheese. I now understand, but didn't know there was a stigma associated with that. It's unfortunate, but poverty is still seen for the most part as something that someone has brought upon themselves. This is one of the reasons I wrote Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen, to show that people's situations, especially children, are not always as a consequence of choices they make.

So with the holiday season approaching, my wish for all of us is to become FREE thinkers about things we don't understand.

Until next month... Stay tuned Brujas!

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