Melody Leonardo, the eldest daughter, made it all the way to Fresno to try out for the celebrated long-running trivia show with the host, Alicia Tribeca. She was a sure shoe-in to make it on the show, surpassing her peers after each level, for she was fed trivia questions when she was in her mother’s womb.

Her mother was a waitress at the local coffee shop and her father sold appliances at the mall, so she did not come from an upstanding intellectual household. However, her parents huddled in front of the TV every night to catch the trivia show at 7 p.m., competing with each other for the right answers as if they were on the show themselves. Her mother would bring books and cheat sheets to work and hide them in her apron and would study the answers on her break, and her father would do the same.

This shared obsession was what kept their marriage exciting. When the two children came, the more, the merrier. It became their family identity and they wore their crest proudly.

One day, as her mother was pouring a cup of coffee for Matt Lockhard, an independent California insurance agent, she helped him with a difficult crossword clue that boggled him for hours and was stunned to hear the lofty, unexpected knowledge come out of a waitress at a tiny coffee shop.

“How did you know that?” Matt asked her.

“What? Just because I wear this uniform doesn’t make me stupid,” she answered with a smile.

“Just between you and me, I received my master’s in linguistics from Harvard but addiction took over my life, so that’s why I am here. But don’t tell anyone, OK?” she said in jest as she teasingly nudged him with her elbow and the coffee pot in the other hand.

“Besides, my Melody is going to be on Alicia Tribeca’s game show tryouts tomorrow!” she said proudly and loud enough for the whole diner to hear. Everyone applauded.

But when the time came, Melody was beat out by some uppity surfer kid.

“How did that happen?” Melody asked her parents. “I studied every waking minute!”

“It is the luck of the draw, sweetie,” her father said, “and in real life, that is the way it is. You can’t possibly know all the answers no matter how much you try. But what matters, is that you love to learn just like us. You’re one of us, Melody. Melody Leonardo, Da Vinci, Da Great!”

The Leonardos all huddled together as Melody silently wept and laughed.

To learn more please visit: http://www.mattsinsurance4ca.com

Delaney’s husband, Patrick Smalley, was a used car salesman for over 20 years. More than half of those years were spent serving the customers of the greater Los Angeles area. So when he had come home from working ridiculous hours all he wanted to do was veg out with his favorite Chicago teams – in every sport under the sun. He would yell and throw the couch pillows at the TV.

Finally, Delaney had enough of this maddening behavior and told Patrick to wise up or get out after many years of marriage.

“What do you mean, wise up?” Patrick asked.

“It means do something useful with your brain!” Delaney said.

“I bust my butt all day with the most difficult clients and you want me to read an encyclopedia?”

“That’s right! I want you to get a clue. Not just read stupid comments your buddies post on your fishing forums or news forums or all those sports forums, either!”

“That’s it, I’m calling Matt!” Patrick warned.

“Go ahead; at least Matt has more sense than you!”

Matt Lockhard had been the friend of the family since their early days out in California. Matt is now an Independent California Health Insurance agent and had been providing the Smalley’s with top-notch health insurance coverage since he started.

“At least Matt protects my health, and you don’t.” Delaney continued.

It was not before long that Patrick decided that he outgrew his profession and decided to be the sales manager for a green company that helped people build efficient and safe organic gardens in their backyard with prefab green-friendly gardening plans and kits.

He would continue to catch a game every now and then, but does not get his blood pressure worked up over a failed play. Patrick did not read the encyclopedia, but joined his wife in a literary book club. After she had read a review of a book, she would read it and then Patrick would read it after her.

Their dinner conversations were filled with music, art, literature and laughter; and of course their dinner would consist of organic food from their very own garden. Not only was Delaney delighted in her new husband, but Patrick was pleased of himself, for once in his life.

To learn more please visit: http://www.mattsinsurance4ca.com

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.

Now overlooking Los Angeles in his luxury high-rise penthouse, he just cannot believe how he made it this far, literally. Some series of odd events happened when he just turned 21 after celebrating his birthday. A tourist named Alan McNabb from one of the luxury liners visited the island and happened to bump into him at the one and only pub in the settlement. Alan told Sean about his shampoo company out in California and offered Sean a job. Many years later, Sean found himself owning and running the company after the old man bequeathed it him.

Now in his late 30s, battling homesickness was becoming harder and harder. He wanted to take a hiatus and visit his old little island but he did not want to go alone, so he asked his friend Matt Lockhard, a California independent health insurance agent, to come and accompany him. But this time, instead of taking freight ships to the island, he planned to take his yacht.

“Thanks, but no thanks, Sean,” said Matt, declining Sean’s offer. “I heard that the seas are so rough down there that ships and freights sometimes cannot make it into the harbor, and there is always a chance that the volcano will erupt. It will be our luck!”

“So, are you saying that it’s a remote chance that you will go to the remotest island in the world with me, Matt?” Sean asked.

“Yup, you got that right!” Matt exclaimed.

“Hey, but at least you and I have great health insurance now. So live a little and hit the high seas with me!”

Matt and Sean found themselves on the island six months later chasing the infamous Northern Rockhopper Penguins.

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.

Basketball at the base gym was like playing pick-up basketball at the yard – it was sometimes brutal and often ungraceful. There were guys who were totally inept, who swung elbows into faces, flailing about like a hurt chicken, bulldozing some guys over and sometimes injuring them severely.

But Everett knew the game well. He had played organized ball since high school and was MVP and a point guard, team captain, the go-to person, and he despised more than anything all the Frankensteinian frenzy that happened at the base gym. He only played there because he knew the people and it actually was the only good consistent spot to play ball.

Sometimes, as he was sitting at the sidelines waiting for his turn to play, after signing up his name on the roster and saying he got “next”, he would often think about work, and how funny or ridiculous some of his clients were.

One client kept insisting that her cocker spaniel’s treats should be tax deductible because Princess told her it was meals to benefit the employer, meaning her, for her happiness. Another woman who kept getting her child’s social security wrong finally got it right. She said about her continual mishap, “So, what’s the big deal? I was off by one number.”

Everett had been bringing Matt with him for years to play ball at the base gym – Matt Lockhard, the independent California health insurance agent, who checked in with him as he checked the ball in from the side line, “You are still covered, right?” Matt asked Everett.

“Of course! I have the best health insurance agent!” said Everret while defending Matt.

“Good!” Matt said exasperatingly after bypassing Matt and putting up a superb layup in his face.

Then he realized what it was all about after that. All the accounting and perfection really doesn’t amount to much, especially when Matt just scored on you.

To learn more please visit: http://www.mattsinsurance4ca.com

“Stop this madness,” Willimina howled, as she accidentally stepped in a puddle with her new designer heels. Willimina Hayslett just flew into Los Angeles from New York City to visit her clients regarding her new fall line. Although it hardly ever rains in Los Angeles, she managed to find a muddy pool of water to step into. In the northeast, muddy puddles were just synonymous to the unpredictability of spring.

She was polished and dressed impeccably, for she was a walking symbol of ultimate fashion. But she was, on the other hand, never an optimist. Even as a baby she cried every time her mother tried to put her into her favorite fleece sweater. “Look at that thing, it’s hideous, you would cry too if you had to wear it,” she said to her boyfriend, who was looking with her through her old baby photos. She had a series of handsome boyfriends, but not one was ever suited or stylish enough for her.

“No, not the Willimina Hayslett heels!” exclaimed a man who just witnessed the event.

Willimina looked up to look at the most stylish and debonair man she had ever seen.

“How did you know that these were…?”

“Are you kidding me? Willimina Hayslett is my specialty! I have a store on Rodeo and I sell her stuff. You should come and visit since you are also a big fan of her and you can perhaps get a new pair of heels.”

Perhaps he didn’t recognize who she was with her big black shades, or maybe it was because her hair was up. But then again, she remembered that she didn’t care for photographers too much and avoided them all like a plague, so not too many pictures of her circulated, not even at fashion week in New York or Milan.

“Thank you,” said Willimina, “but I have too many of her stuff in my warehouse, too.”

“Would you care to join me at the café here, where I was sipping my coffee before I witnessed the tragedy?”

Willimina didn’t have to go anywhere until the next day, so she obliged. During the course of their encounter, she learned that his name was William Hatsfield and that he was originally from Powers Lake, South Dakota – not the hybrid of luxurious living that she hoped for but he, after all, was certainly a big fan of her work. As she looked down at her waterlogged heels, she wondered if she should tell him?

Then she remembered what Matt Lockhard, the independent California insurance agent said, “Don’t have to tell the whole story all the time in order for them to believe you!”

“I would love to see your store while I’m in California,” she said to William just short of being interrupted by her cell phone. “Excuse me for a moment, William. Hello, mother…yes, yes, I see… How is the weather in Powers Lake?”

At that moment, William forgot about his infatuation with Willimina Hayslett and fell in love with a hometown girl.

To learn more please visit: http://www.mattsinsurance4ca.com

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.