Pride Saturday, March 26, 2016
Page 9
Couple find a home, community in Scottsbluff IRENE NORTH Staff Reporter inorth@starherald.com
When Vernon and Claudia Simon moved to Scottsbluff, they never thought it would be the place where their dreams could come true. For Vernon, his business, Caribbean Fusion, that he opened several months ago, is doing very well. Every day someone new comes in to purchase items from his menu. He’s enjoyed modest success and has begun offering delivery services. When Claudia signed up with a nursing agency, they told her about opportunities in Nebraska. She immediately thought it might be in Omaha. So Claudia and Vernon went to Google Earth to find out more about Scottsbluff. “When we saw the place, there were hardly any buildings,” Claudia said. “I thought, ‘Where are they sending us?’” Her fears were heightened when she flew in from Denver on a plane she hadn’t seen since the 1970s. “I had never been in a plane with one row of seats on each side,” she said. Despite the physical location and old planes, the Simons were attracted to the area because of demographics and the quietness. “The main thing that got us here was the crime demographics were low, which made it great for raising children,” he said. It took a lot of getting used to, but they decided to give it a shot. Nearly five years later, they have learned more about the valley and are happy they decided to move to Scottsbluff. “I’ve met some really wonderful people in the community,” Claudia said. Vernon credits some of those same people as being responsible for encouraging him to open his restaurant. “We’ve been treated very well here,” he said. One of the things Vernon especially likes about Scottsbluff is the quietness, lack of sirens and lack of excess drama you normally hear of in bigger cities. Vernon hopes to eventually
Vernon Simon
be able to expand his menu at Caribbean Fusion, but it’s difficult obtaining the fresh ingredients needed. It would be difficult to put more Caribbean foods on the menu at Caribbean Fusion because spices and herbs, which are a key ingredient and make or break a Caribbean meal, are expensive to ship to Nebraska. Many of those ingredients, such as lemongrass and eucalyptus grow wild in Antigua and are also easily obtained at the local market on Saturday mornings. “It would be great to have a tropical greenhouse here,” Claudia said. “We could grow everything from the Caribbean.” Claudia likes living in Scottsbluff, but she sometimes misses the beach, sailing and going into her yard to pick anything she wants to eat right from the tree. “I also miss having a seven-day a week farmers’ market that I can go to at 4 a.m.,” she said. One thing Vernon misses from Antigua is Sunday morning breakfast, which leads into a discussion of what other items he would like to serve his customers. “You have boiled eggs, salt fish, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, plantains, spinach, sometimes okra, chocolate tea or bush tea and Antiguan-style bread,” he said. “It’s a big meal.” Though you can obtain those items in America, they are not quite the same. Plantains are a different size than are available in the U.S., and most often have just been
Claudia Simon
plucked from a garden, not transported thousands of miles to a grocery store. “Breakfast usually includes avocados,” Claudia said. “They are 2 1/2 times the size of the ones here.” If Vernon could get green bananas and dasheen in Scottsbluff, he wouldn’t put rice on his menus. “Breadfruit would be served with a meal on Saturday,” he said. “Even the cassava, it’s not like what we have here.” In addition to the food, Claudia also misses not having family close by. “I get homesick, especially when I think about the food,” she said. Vernon agrees, commenting that on a typical Friday night he would have seafood, maybe a grilled tuna or salmon that was just caught, and fried rice. “I miss that,” he said. Claudia is a self-described foodie. She enjoys visiting different places and restaurants to try their food. The best steak she has had is at the Log Cabin in Gering. She said it’s because they know how to season their meat. “In the Caribbean, we do not add salt to our meal after it’s cooked,” she said. “We add
hot sauce.” Claudia and Vernon met in Antigua through a mutual friend after they agreed to a blind date. Vernon and Claudia both hung out at the same bar, but they had never met. They will be celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary in April. “We’ve been through thick and thin and we’re still here,” Vernon said. When Vernon told his parents he was opening Caribbean Fusion, his father was a bit tentative because Vernon would have to give up his day job to do it. “I thought if I’m going to dedicate my time to do it, I have to sacrifice something,” he said. His mother was on board right away. His father is planning a trip to Scottsbluff to see how his son is managing to run things by himself. “I hope I’ll get additional recipes when he comes,” Vernon said. Those recipes may be hard to come by. The recipes are more taste than exact measurements. Vernon said people ask for his recipes, but he can’t actually tell you how much of each item is in it.
“I just know what flavor I want to get and I just get it,” he said. Claudia is a nurse at Regional West Medical Center. She is also a certified midwife. “For something I resented when I started nursing, Midwifery became the epitome of nursing that has given me the greatest pleasure to date,” she said. “Delivering babies is one thing, but the whole perinatal experience with the family, through speaking and education really jolted the satisfaction experience to an indescribable level.” God, family, writing, reading, speaking, travel and a really good laugh are also on the same level as nursing for Claudia. Though Claudia has spent much of her life in the medical field, she has also worked as a teacher, customs officer and sports consultant. She owned her own anti-aging skin care business in Antigua and has always wanted to be a businesswoman, writer and speaker. “Keeping still is for the dead,” she said. She admires people like Richard Branson and Warren Buffet. “Try it. Do it. If it works, keep at it,” she said. “If it doesn’t, that one was not for you. Try something else. Most importantly, keep doing.” Vernon fully supports Claudia in her endeavors. “I back her 100 percent,” he said. “She backs me in so many things, too.” Last year, she published her first novel and plans a book launch of her second book in June. “If you are going to write you have to put it out there and see what happens,” he said. Vernon was amazed when she finally finished her book
and let him read it. Claudia had told Vernon she likes to write, but he had never seen anything. She would write, read it, then throw it away and burn it. “The only thing I could do when I read a couple snippets, I thought ‘Is this the same woman I married?’” he said. “But that’s her gift.” Claudia also loves to speak and enjoys motivational speaking. She loves getting out of her comfort zone and pushing boundaries. She eventually would like to be a consultant. She has also registered for a master’s degree in health law, which she hopes will lead her into consulting and gain greater experience in nursing advocacy. “I want my writing and speaking to take me to other places, to see the world and touch the heart, lives and health of others,” she said. “That’s my dream.” Vernon would be right there with her, except if there’s an ocean nearby. Then he’d be fishing and experiencing new things — food, nature, people. The Simons feel all the hard work they have put into accomplishing their dreams is starting to pay off. Juggling family life can be tough, but at the end of the day, they are relying on faith, family and each other to make it. “Some days I come home dog tired, but the tiredness won’t compare to where I want to be,” he said. Neither are quite ready to give up their life in Scottsbluff. They are both open to travel and new experiences, but feel like this is home. Every step they make brings them closer to what they want to accomplish. “These are just the stepping stones to get there,” Vernon said.
rYears of Experi u ence et O L Take
Care of Your
O
nce in a Li fetime
Matthew Bruner, MD; Ernest Bussinger, MD; David Holdt, MD; Dorisa Polk, MD; Kate Painter, MD; Wendy Reeves, MD Tiann Colwell, WHNP-BC; Trinity Fuss, PA-C; Jade Malcolm, APRN-NP; Mary Tompkins, APRN-NP, CNM; Julie Welsh, APRN-NP
It’s more than health care. It’s a relationship built through generations.
Over 35 years ago the Women’s Center began with a vision to provide women with a lifetime of complete care. In addition to standard specialty care in obstetrics and gynecology, we offer: • • • •
Contraceptive management Evaluation and management of infertility Menopausal management Ultrasonography
• High risk obstetrics • Minimally invasive gynecology • Endoscopic and laser gynecological surgery
Let us provide the exceptional care you deserve. Call today for an appointment. Women’s Center 3911 Avenue B l Scottsbluff, NE 69361 308.635.3033 l PhysiciansClinic.net