Fifty Cups of Coffee #50: Lina Jayme
Date: January 1, 2025
Location: Zoom
How we know each other
Lina is my mom!
What Lina is doing now
Lina is the President of Pacific Marine & Energy Insurance. Unlike my dad, who is happily retired, my mom is still very happily working, running her own business.
Three questions
During these Fifty Cups of Coffee chats, I ask each person the same three questions. The reasoning behind each is as follows:
Question 1 – Social media makes it easy for other people to think that they know us, when truthfully, we all only see a small sliver of someone’s life and who they really are. This is the interviewee’s chance to share something that is important to them that, for whatever reason, other people may not know.
Question 2 – We all have fears, no matter who are are or where we are in life. This helps connect us and show we are all more alike than we are different.
Question 3 – I believe the answer to this question helps show each person’s true values, passions, and their why in life.
There are no right or wrong answers to any of these. I’m including each person’s answers in first person. Their answers have been edited from my notes for length and clarity, but these are their words.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about you?
“I wish more people would know that I pray for them because I care a lot. Every time I hear of someone in the family that is sick, I pray for them to be well. If friends are having surgeries, I make novena* for them. I light a candle in church for them because I want them to know that I do care and they are in my thoughts and prayers. And it works! And I’m so glad that that is something I can help them. And it’s spiritual.”
* A novena is a 9-day Catholic prayer to a specific saint with a special intention.
What is your deepest fear?
“My first fear is that I’m claustrophobic. I am scared to be in a tight place in a place where I am alone and it’s dark. I had an experience where I got stuck in an elevator at Portland State University, and it was like 15 minutes before I take my exam and I was alone. So from then on, it gives me fear to be in a tight place or in something that is enclosed.”
“And then the other one – I always fear losing someone in the family because of my experiences with people I have lost. My beloved brother, my beloved grandmother, my mom, and the people that I love and even losing friends is hard for me.”
If you had unlimited funds, what would you do with your life?
“I have plans. If I had unlimited funds, I would have no debts right now. The house would be paid off. The cars would be paid off. I’d have college funds for all the grandchildren and children of families that cannot afford to send their children to college. But I would like to make life just simple. I’d still live in this house. This house is just perfect for both of us. But I’d like to travel more. Your dad wants to live in Hawaii. I’d like to have a condominium in Hawaii, plus one in Spain, one in Italy, one in London. Your dad is saying ‘Wow.’ Yeah, we probably will be traveling a lot.”
Lessons Learned
Here are a few takeaways from our conversation:
- Religion can be a good thing. Sometimes, because we don’t live in the same house anymore, I forget just how religious my parents are. I’m agnostic and the rest of my family are either agnostic or atheist, and I personally believe that organized religion is the root cause of much of the hate, evil, greed, war, and destruction in this world. However, I see how devoted my parents are to their religion, and how they have been able to harness religion for mostly good. And I’m reminded that there are some very good people out there, like my parents, who are religious.
- Losing people you love is never easy. I’ve watched my mom lose a lot of people who were important to her throughout her life, and it breaks my heart to see her go through that pain over and over again. I know that this is the circle of life, and it’s all inevitable, but that never makes it easier. The deep grief my mom feels when they are gone is from the deep love and care she feels for everyone in her life.
- Maybe my love of travel comes from my parents? I never thought of my parents as big travelers, since we mostly just did road trips, fishing trips, and camping trips around the West Coast when I was a kid. But I realize now that those were the types of trips that we could afford to do – and they did everything they could to make sure my brother and I got out of our little town to experience life through these trips. And to watch them traveling now makes my heart so happy. They go on trips with friends to Italy, Alaska, Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas. Their eyes light up and their whole faces sparkle with pure joy when they talk about their trips. I love it so much for them, and I hope they continue to travel for as long as they can together.
Thanks for taking the time to chat, Mom!
Learn more about Lina
You can learn more about my mom’s company by visiting the Pacific Marine & Energy Resources website.
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