Little did he know that his journey would make him into a household name, catapulting him into rock star status in every scientific journal and landing him on every talk show from morning to midnight. But a small patch of a red fern cropped up in Nelsen Mandela Bay and he wanted to be part of conserving the once-lost plant, in hopes of guaranteeing its existence once again on this earth.

He had already travelled to Australia for another discovery and another in New York, causing his peers to deem him the Lazarus finder and keeper of once lost species. The thrill of the corn buttercups’ reappearance in Shropshire, England’s lush countryside, where it was last seen 20 years ago, was the most exciting thing to him. To be a discoverer of lost plants and animals is like finding maps and clues to the lost covenant.

“Do not forget your trusty health insurance when you’re trekking the globe like Raiders of the Lost Ark,” said Matt Lockhard, the Independent California Health Insurance Agent and long-time friend of Harvey’s.

Harvey knew that extra health insurance would do him good on top of what the college gives him, particularly travelling as much as he did to the nooks and crannies of this globe and to every glorious nature preserve.

But Harvey was not casted into the limelight like he once dreamed of, but worked quietly under the auspices of the other celebrated scientists and conservationists. He would periodically report to Matt Lockhard, the Independent California Health Insurance Agent, about his travels and his scientific studies.

“I don’t know about you, Harvey,” Matt said, “but I think all you do is dream of lost plants and animals! Don’t you think that’s odd?”

Harvey, who is also known to a light-hearted joker from time to time, gave it right back to Matt, “Well, just as much as you live and breathe health insurance policies, I suppose, Matt!”

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.


Out of the blue, she received a letter from a long-time friend who lives out in Texas. When she was young and single, Eloise loved to go dancing and sing at karaoke night – her only claim to fame and venue for self-expression. And her girlfriend, Teresa, was her hanging out buddy. And, boy, could Eloise turn a crowd with great stage presence and engaging performances.

She could also more than carry a tune. She studied the likes of heavy-duty songstresses such as Anita Baker, Toni Braxton and Aretha Franklin. When she sang the R-E-S-P-E-C-T song, the crowd jumped to their feet and started dancing and hooperin’ and hollerin’. She felt on top of the world in her little watering hole in her small town where practically everybody knew her name.

But hard times fell. Jobs were scarce and she could barely pay for her essentials and rent. It is no wonder that it affected her spirit. She did not feel much like dancing and singing anymore. No matter if Joe Day from the auto shop was willing to pay her way all night. But she was able to maintain her health insurance, thank goodness for her California Independent Health Insurance Rep., Matt Lockhard. Bless his heart. He made sure she was well covered for what she needed in these trying times.

So when the letter from Teresa came in from Texas, she reluctantly and unenthusiastically opened the darn thing to discover one national lottery ticket and a small note that said, “Now sing for your supper tonight and make this lottery ticket pay off for you.”

“Well, it is Friday night,” Eloise said out loud to herself, “and I’m tired of looking at these dingy walls.”

She called Joe Day and they turned the night out. Eloise gave the best performance of her life and everybody told her so. Pretty soon, Eloise didn’t wake up with aching joints, but with a slight pep to her step. Her speaking voice became more sure and bold like when she sang.

Best yet, Eloise never checked her lottery ticket until she discovered it in the abyss of her purse one day. She took a gander, and went to local corner store to find that her long-time friend, Teresa, was right.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

It seemed like a disaster in the beginning. The chiropractor who treated her said there was no treatment that could help her with excruciating joint pain. Thanks to her Long Beach independent health insurance agent, Matt Lockhard – who conveyed to her the significance of her health insurance coverage that enabled her to see a myriad of specialists to try and get to the root cause of her pain – Tina Masakit saw all types of doctors in all types of specialties and underwent all kinds of tests and X-rays, but none could quite put her back together again.

“What you may need,” said one doctor, “is to go treat yourself on a scenic, peaceful and spiritual retreat.” This was a doctor who prescribed to holistic remedies.

And that she did! She found the idea of doing yoga at the crack of dawn very frightening because she knew that a simple movement could send her to tears. But she started early morning meditating, first to gain confidence and strength. Then she submerged herself in the healing waters of the hot mineral spring the day after. Tina floated for hours on end, practically forgetting where she was. For a time, she felt like a real person without physical limitation, so she signed up for the next yoga session.

Tina was fluid as water, although not yet a professional, but still amazed at how far she came. The next month, she packed up her house to move closer to the springs where she would be able to be a part of the retreat on a more regular basis.

“Guess what, Matt?” she said on the phone. “I know what my problem was after all!”

“And what was that?” Matt asked.

“I was not connected to the source. Now I am, and for that I can hike, swim and even dance! But don’t you worry, I will keep my coverage!” she laughed.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

My parents loved to play bridge – the card game. That was their passion and their existence for living. I say that lovingly, of course. But it is true that my mom was the star of the family. Most weekends comprised of going to local bridge games, then chapter tournaments, to national tournaments, in which my mother reined supreme several times. Our house was filled with her ribbons and trophies.

I knew when it was almost time to go to a tourney because my mom and dad would sit up all hours of the night, with their best pals, Laddie and Millie, not playing, but competing. Of course, my dad, even though he had practiced with the best (my mom) still was only average, paling in comparison to the actual “pros”. Sometimes we wondered if it was a contact sport, when we witnessed players at the nail-biting tournaments coming to blows.

“Thank God we all have good health insurance coverage from Matt Lockhard from Long Beach in case someone gets mad at me for beating them,” my mom said. And that was a likely possibility, because she did often win.

But their all-nighters on the weekdays when we used to live in California were a sure indication that we would be travelling somewhere and staying a weekend at the select hotel, across the state or even cross-country. My brother and I were psyched. That meant we could almost do our own thing, within reason, of course. We would play hide-and-seek in strange, open rooms and play tricks on the staff sometimes.

I heard in history that playing cards were actually invented in China, using paper. But I think my mom perfected the sport of bridge. Her friends were sad to find her offspring did not gain the same passion. Unlike our dad, we did not even have a remote interest. However, I still go to the tournaments from time to time, even after my parents have long been passed, and support the old group members. I have watched them get older and my own children grow up and go to college.

Today, sitting at the enclosed porch overlooking the lake, I held my mother’s deck of cards in my hands. I can almost hear them all laughing as they dealt the next round.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

They had secretly planned their trip and told their husbands that they were going to do a “girls’ weekend, too”. The husbands shrugged it off thinking that they were going to do typical girl stuff like shoe shopping or go to a spa. They were too busy planning for their big weekend to even wonder or even care. They were going to go with their mutual buddy, Matt Lockhard, a California independent health insurance agent.

Julia and Nadine were so tired of playing second fiddle to their husbands’ hobbies that they wanted to set off on an adventure, in a more subtle and quieter reckless abandon than the Thelma and Louise movie.

“Let’s go fishing, too!” Nadine said.

“What?” Julia exclaimed. “And be boring like them?”

“Our fishing trip is different, because we are going ice fishing. That’s tougher and cooler than fishing at the ‘Florida Keys!’ ” Nadine illustrated with finger quotes. “Plus, what would they say if we caught some pretty big fish? We would have big fish stories of our own!”

So they set off way up north to a lodge that sponsored ice-fishing groups. They braved the cold and sat out there on the ice like real troopers, but did not catch one fish. But what they did enjoy the most was sitting in front of the fireplace with the guys, eating venison stew and washing it down with some whiskey.

Both couples met up at Nadine’s house after their weekend getaway. The husbands howled over their blunders and all the mackerels and groupers that they caught. Finally the husbands asked Nadine and Julia what “spa” they went to as the conversation of their fishing trip finally ended in dead silence.

“Spa?” Julia asked. “Who said anything about going to a spa? More like a spa weekend ice fishing in Canada!” Julia and Nadine roared.

“We froze our butts off and did not catch one fish!” Nadine passed out the hilarious photos they took of each other to the group.

At that moment, a newsbreak came on TV that caught their attention.

“Two brave California women apprehended a man on an airplane who was threatening to do harm to the passengers last night,” said the news anchor.

Then the TV showed pictures of Nadine and Julia and the nabbed man. The husbands looked on with shock and disbelief.

“Oh yeah,” said Nadine, “but we did manage to catch a criminal!”

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

She and everyone that knows her can agree that she is so far from perfect. If a sign points to go one direction, she would go the other. This is not just pure rebellion, but total ignorance for not looking up at her surroundings, never noticing the way long weeds bend toward the breeze.

But this year is different. Her 2011 Zodiac yearly astrology forecast says she is bound for a bizarre year. Instead of fretting over the future, she called Matt Lockhard, a California independent health insurance agent that she just took out health insurance from, for his predictions. “I predict you will be protected in case you fall ill, or break a bone, or get trampled by Harry Potter fanatics, because you are insured now,” Matt said.

This year she will acknowledge all her imperfections and she will have a New Year’s Un-Resolution as she wrote her top 10 list:

1)       I will decide not to try to be on time for anything

2)      I will continue to mispronounce “documentary” as “Doc-you-men-TARY”

3)      I will continue to eat carbs

4)      I will weigh myself morning, noon or night, and accept the fact that I will always weigh less in the morning

5)      I will never publish my great American novel and I will never win a Pulitzer prize

6)      I am finally resolved that I will never win Powerball

7)      That luck will continue to not happen to unlucky people

8)      And that the power of The Secret is a farce

9)      I will starve myself until I pass out to see if I can weigh less than 140 lbs. in my lifetime

10)  I will continue to contribute to the total destruction of earth by participating in mass consumption, mass pollution and mass annihilation

And so she kept this list in her journal so that she could keep referring to it just in case she ever felt like she was even closely perfect or somewhat significant for a minute second.

Hillary also decided to blog her list with others on the Internet. To Hillary’s surprise, it grew into a massive movement. This movement finally prompted her to pen her novel and win the Pulitzer Prize, which resulted the power of The Secret to kick in, and she became a very lucky person to where she won the Powerball not just once, but twice!

She was able to afford a gourmet health-food chef and a personal trainer and she finally weighed below 140. With all that has happened to her, she finally felt good and so assured of herself that she set up organizations that helped address the world’s limited resources by investing heavily in alternative energy. She went on to establishing other organizations to help aid over-consumption and pollution, along with humanitarian organizations that helped the needy and the oppressed.

“With my un-resolution story, I impart you the greatness it bestowed upon my life,” she said to Matt, the independent California health insurance agent. “Thanks for keeping me covered throughout it all!”

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

He showered, shaved and got dressed for work as he normally does, but this time, instead of rushing blindly into the rush hour traffic, he floated over it. All the traffic lights were green; the traffic flowed like streams of contiguous energy, uninterrupted. The elevator door opened and closed as soon as he stepped up to it with no crowds to slither into and slather out of.

Juan Pablo stopped abruptly at the entranceway to his office to find a nicely wrapped package on his executive desk. He approached the scene cautiously while he put down his coffee and briefcase. A note on it said, “On your birthday, give this to your wife. Sincerely, Matt Lockhard,” which made him burst into laughter.

Was this a joke? Is this a silly gift from Matt Lockhard, the independent California health insurance agent? One of Matt’s typical jokes, but what about this wife thing, he thought? He knows I’m not married. I don’t even have a girlfriend! With that thought, he rushed to open the package and within he found a small card with a gold key. “Dear John Paul, you have been such a dear friend through all these years, I wanted to give you a lucky key for your birthday. Use this key when you want to open an opportunity of a lifetime. Remember, this is more than a symbol; it’s your health and life insurance. Matt”.

“That, Matt!” he thought. “Always giving me some puzzle”. But he placed the key in his pocket anyway, just in case.

The business day drew to a close and the late afternoon was drawing its shade over the city. Juan Pablo rubbed the key in his suit pocket as he was walking down the city block, and then up appeared a woman jogging, who just rounded the corner as he was. They both looked at each other so intently that the woman stopped jogging and stood before Juan Pablo for a moment. In a daze, without thinking, Juan Pablo reached into his suit pocket and gave it to the woman. She didn’t even look down to see what it was, still staring on at Juan Pablo. Then in a flash she turned around and began to jog again away from Juan Pablo, as if nothing ever happened.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Agnes,” a man’s voice said while placing a gold necklace with a gold key pendant over Agnes’s neck. “Thank God,” Agnes said to the man, “that your number was engraved on the back of this key. I wouldn’t have ever known your name, or see you again.”

“Yeah, that Matt is such a soothsayer, I tell ya!”

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

But one day, she came into work and her boss point-blank berated her in front of her co-workers because she was one-second late coming into the door. He fired her on the spot. Milagros was stunned, bewildered and scared and was at a total loss, so she called California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard for some advice.

For once in her life this was something that was unexpected, even as good at predicting things and taking precautionary measures as she has been known to do, she found herself in a bind: unemployed and uninsured all at once!

The fall leaves were just turning their magnificent colors and the air was getting cooler as each day passed – ghouls, scarecrows, and pumpkin patches were cropping up everywhere; soon Christmas decorations. What in the world will she do now? Does she want to go back to a nine-to-five clocking in the hours, overworked and under-appreciated, or does she want to finally pursue her dream of being a Cantonese translator, take that trip to China, a place she so long wanted to go?

California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard reassured her at least she was covered in case of accidents and illnesses, so she set forth to forge her future, taking classes, freelancing here and there to pay her bills and what-not.

Matt Lockard contacted her after a year or so and found out that Milagros landed herself in rural California maintaining an apiary as well, with a fiancé and some land.

“We just came back from China,” Milagros told Matt. “I will e-mail you the pictures of us at the Great Wall!”

After California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard hung up the phone with Milagros, he smiled and thought to himself that dreams do come true.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

But one day, along came Matt Lockard, the future California Health Insurance agent – a dapper man in his youth – who unknowingly stole the hearts of Melissa and Margie in high school. The sisters swooned and vied for his attention but Matt had his heart elsewhere. So lo and behold, the sisters grew up and did not speak to each other after their big fight over Matt Lockard. Melissa moved to Connecticut after getting out of the Army and Margie stayed in California, got married, raised a daughter and ended being a stay-at-home mom.

When Margie’s husband hurt his back from carrying a large package and couldn’t work his postal service job, Margie Carr decided to contact Matt Lockard because she heard through the grapevine that he became a superstar California Health Insurance agent.

Matt, who was elated to hear from his high school classmate, helped Margie with her predicament. Thanksgiving was right around the corner and Margie wanted so much to thank Matt, the California Health Insurance agent, for all that he did for her family by inviting him and his family over for Thanksgiving dinner.

Matt kindly and humbly accepted.

On Thanksgiving day, Margie answered the door to find Matt, his family, and a surprise that Matt brought along with him: her long, lost sister Melissa.

“Well, I decided to look up another classmate of mine, and I believe she actually belongs to you,” said Matt, the ever dapper California Health Insurance agent.

Melissa and Margie burst into tears and hugged one another.

“I can’t believe we fought over this guy!” Margie said, as she playfully and softly punched Matt’s shoulder.

“I brought you something, sis,” Melissa said after they all settled and found a place to sit in the Margie’s living room. “I got this when I was stationed in Korea and kept it just in case one day, you know, you’d come around.”

Margie opened up the present to find two tiny, identical Japanese dolls wearing the same kimonos, with one wearing a gold nametag engraved, “Melissa” on it, and the other “Margie”.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

The next year, he went into his local pharmacy and ran into Matt Lockard, the California health insurance agent, teaming up with the store to promote their flu vaccination program.

“Hello, sir,” Matt greeted Mr. Fluey, “Have you gotten your flu shot yet?”

“Flew, flu, fluey!” Mr. Fluey replied, in the manner of, “Bah humbug!”

“I beg your pardon?” Matt asked.

“The flu shot are for sissies,” Mr. Fluey said. “I survived the Great Depression, Normandy, and Reagan; so certainly, the flu is nothing to me!”

“So you’re a veteran?” Matt asked with interest.

“Yeah, but I don’t go to the VA hospital, either. Don’t want to hang around vets in wheel chairs, talking about war wounds, and I don’t believe in the flu shot neither. I feel if you get something, you get it. That’s it. End of story!” Mr. Fluey said.

Matt Lockard, the California health insurance agent, looked perplexed. “So, what do you do if you get sick?”

“I just weather out the storm.”

“If you don’t believe that the flu shot can prevent you from getting the horrid flu, preventing you from seriously getting ill, and die, what is it that you do believe in, sir?”

“I believe in getting a beer,” Mr. Fluey said, shrugging his shoulders.

Later, Matt Lockard, the California health insurance agent, found himself at the local pub with Mr. Fluey.

“You know,” Matt said turning to Mr. Fluey with his beer mug. “I still get my shot every year, but here’s to your tenacity, fortitude and belief in beer!”

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.

During baseball season and many years walking past the sandlot as a kid, always watching from a distance, he never knew the fascination of baseball. Every boy got it and now every girl in America, too. His father and grandfather, who were both life-long California health insurance agents, talked about it and obsessed about it – but it all sounded like a foreign language to him. Somehow it was supposed to mean something.

But there she was. In her baseball cap, sitting alone in the corner of the bar, watching her team intently and silently rooting for them. Scott felt his heart thump faster and didn’t know why. She looked up and smiled at him briefly, then looked back at the TV.

Scott was just going to grab a beer and leave since this was the only hotel bar around. Being that it was a sports bar, he wasn’t even going to go in, but was glad he did. Scott sat next to her in silence. Finally she asked him who his favorite team was.

“I don’t have one,” he said reluctantly.

A disappointed look went over her face.

Scott went to bathroom and hurriedly called his buddy, Matt Lockard, a California health insurance agent, to help him out. Matt told him what to say to her, play by play.

That was 10 years ago.

Since then she taught him baseball, and he taught her how to play a mean game of Scrabble, memorizing all the tough two-letter words, until she became his biggest contender.

For her birthday, he wanted to surprise her and actually wanted to take her to the game. But he didn’t want to take her to any game, so he planned it just right and got front-row tickets to see their team who made it to the playoffs!

The first hit was a foul ball that was coming their way. Scott, who never played a lick of baseball in all his life, stood up with his baseball mitt and dove like a pro after the ball like he saw those players do so many times.

However, when Scott caught the ball, he stood up for one brief moment to find that he was teetering at the edge of the railing and fell over the balcony with a big thud.

Matt Lockard, the California health insurance, always made sure Scott was up to par with his health insurance and Scott didn’t have to worry about a thing but to heal his broken leg and bruised body.

The cameras caught Scott’s heroic catch and blunder, and all of America saw Scott’s instant replay that even went viral on the Internet, that he became an overnight sensation.

Not bad for a gangly, awkward kid who never knew baseball!

“I think you need to stick to Scrabble,” his wife said.

Matt Lockard – California Health Insurance agency offers health insurance plans for individuals, families, and children. Also available are California Medicare Supplement policies. Go to http://mattsinsurance4ca.com to get an instant health insurance quote.