BURP. . .BELCH. . . Thanksgiving Mexico 2009

BEFORE. . .
 

AFTER. . .

AWESOME

THANKSGIVING 2009

THANKS, LARRY!

  

Leave Town At All Cost Nov 2009

Last night I flipped my calendar to Dec to see what day of the week Christmas falls on this year, and this is what it says on Dec 1:

NOTE TO SELF:

LEAVE TOWN NOW

LEAVE AT ALL COST

DO NOT COME BACK UNTIL THE END OF JANUARY 

NO ELECTRICITY

LIKE LIVING IN BAGHDAD 

DOG HID UNDER THE BED AND PEED  

Oh yeah.  Groan.  I remember now.  
From Dec 1st to about Jan 20th it will suck to be me. 

Here in Jocotepec rows of buses will arrive packed with pilgrims from the mountains and far away rural villages.  There will be peregrinaciónes (pilgrimages) with the devout 'walking' for blocks on their knees. . .family members scurrying ahead laying down folded blankets for padding.  Very impressive to watch, but it makes my knees ache. 

There will be booths and puestos with every kind of food imaginable and portable trampolines, 'shooting' galleries, elaborate rides, and games for the kids.  There will be parades and marches and kids with drums.  A lot of them.  Horns too!  Often before dawn.  Announcing the arrival of the parade will be barrages of cohetes (bottle rockets) to ward off any evil spirits lurking in the heavens above.  Morning.  Noon.  And night.  They make my adobe walls shudder.

Lets go back to those puestos and rides and stuff.  Some of these folks can afford to pay the 20 or so pesos CFE charges per day to hook up their electricity, others will simply 'robo la luz' or steal it.  When they are all set up and ready for power, they simply toss hot wires with giant metal hooks on the end of them over the live wires at the poles.  Voila, let there be light!  This is pretty impressive too.

HOWEVER, sometimes an explosion occurs and a transformer bites the dust.  Which results in a complete blackout for the entire neighborhood.  Which can last for days, if it happens on a weekend!   I do not find this amusing.  

About the time my neighborhood extravaganza is winding down, the entire town of Joco starts up and runs through pre-Christmas, then Christmas, then Año Nuevo, and finally a couple of weeks of celebration honoring El Señor del Monte (Christ of the Mountain) into mid January.  

It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't let the whole el centro, including every square foot of the plaza, be taken over by a warren of out-of-towners and their puestos (temporary shops) constructed of tubing and black plastic and selling everything from Chinese plastic kitchen junk to Michoacán candies and beautiful woven rebozos (shawls), clothing, and jewelry.

Everything else in life comes to a crashing stop.  God help you if you need a dentist or a mechanic during this time.  Traffic must negotiate around and around in an often futile effort to get either into or out of town.  Remember, I said this starts in Dec and goes full-tilt-boogie until mid-January!

On the day of the Señor del Monte fiesta, there is a huge peregrinación winding all through town.  Most of the crowd will be carrying flaming tall fat candles that you can buy from roving vendors for 50 to 100 pesos.  Floats, Indians from the south shore in traditional garb doing traditional dance, drummers and horn tooters, more pilgrims on their knees, prayer via megaphone, and then they take this beautiful statue of Jesus down from above the altar in the church and place it on a float guided by a number of very honorable and distinguished men of the village.  Here is what El Señor looks like as it leaves the church: 

El Señor del Monte

I love to attend this very moving event and it always leaves me with goose bumps.  Here is the pilgrimage and procession that leads El Señor around town: 

Procession   

Then I go home to my pitch-black house and root around in the cooler, where I'm storing all the food from the now room-temp fridge, for something to eat in the dark and pray the CFE gods will grant a repairman to fix the transformer tomorrow.

¡Viva Mexico!

Here They Come Again! Nov 2009

Who says snowbirds aren't fun?

 Who says all they do is

clog up the roads and rent all the casas?

Who says they buy all the English magazines and

newspapers before the lazy expats

can get their sorry butts up off the couch?

Who says they're boring

and all they want to talk about is golf, kids

and bathroom tiles?

Who says they're skinflints always

looking for a bargain?

Who says they are dull and conservative

and afraid of their own shadows?

NOT MY SNOWBIRDS!

Happy Birthday, Sonia!

 

He Gives Great Head! Nov 2009

Yay!  Finally!  

Someone who can cut curly hair!

I'd given up.  

Then along came James Don.  

And I got the best haircut since I've been in Mexico.

I have the kind of hair that inspired a woman behind me at a 

hula competition once to mutter to her friend when I got up. . .

Good, there goes the bush head.

My mother was confounded by my hair.  She had it thinned, 

trimmed, sheared, braided and plaited.  Braids seemed my destiny.

Then the 60's came along!!!!   

It was cool to look like Bob Dylan. 
When I didn't want to look like Bob Dylan, 
I ironed it.  So I could look like Cher.
Right.

GIMME A HEAD WITH HAIR, LONG BEAUTIFUL HAIR

SHINING, GLEAMING, STREAMING, WAXEN, FLAXEN

GIVE ME DOWN TO THERE, HAIR

SHOULDER LENGTH, LONGER HAIR

HERE BABY, THERE MAMA, EVERYWHERE DADDY DADDY!

Lyrics from Hair

  

 That was then,  this is now.  

James Don, a southern gentleman and hair artist, built a

salon in the back of Marina's Hotel Suites.  It's attractive and comfortable,

friendly and affordable.

Stop by and visit and see for yourself.

The salon is located in Marina's Hotel and Suites

on the Carretera #40 in El Chante

before coming into Jocotepec from the east

and on the lake side of the highway.

Plenty of parking.

Phone:  387 763 1933

Email:  jamesdonsalon@gmail.com

 

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm. . . Nov 2009

Dude!  How'd You Get There?

I Love Cruz Roja! Nov 2009

 Damn!  I've been sick.  Eight days and nights of diarrhea, I know, sorry, too much information. . .but you need to understand the implications. 

Two different docs, three different treatment modalities.  Finally!  Third time is the charm, cured by the Red Cross!  And this is not the first time either.  Cruz Roja rocks.

I woke up the 8th morning sick again and scared.  I knew I'd lost too much fluid and needed replacement as well as probably some IV antibiotics.  Question was. . .where to get it!

There are not many clinics here at Lake Chapala where I have confidence in the medicine that is practiced there.  I've had some BAD experiences.  So, I started calling around. 

Cruz Roja said "Come in, you need care!"  Sparks, my new neighbor, drove me into Chapala, the doc met us in the parking lot, and we had our consultation then and there.  They helped me to a bed and started working on me.  Nena started an IV.  Meanwhile, they took vitals and the doctor got a more lengthy report as well as asking pertinent questions regarding allergies to meds and lifestyle use.  He took a blood sugar and then infused an antibiotic into my IV bag that was already loaded with vitamins and minerals. 

I used to work (volunteer) at this clinic and it was so nice to see everyone again, got lots of hugs and many very concerned "How do you feel?" questions with caring hand squeezes.

Three hours, an elderly man with a broken hip, a little boy with a fractured foot, and woman with chest pain later, they infused an antiparasitic into my IV.

Then a nasty open femur fracture arrived - motorcyclist versus car, the bikes always lose.  By this time 8 hours had passed and I was feeling pretty good.  My IV had run out and I was good to go.  But not without strict doctor's orders for diet follow-up and prescriptions.  All in all, I was there for 8 hours, had IVs and meds, vitamins and minerals, excellent - and genuine - care and the total tab for my Tune-Up was. . .  ba dump bump. . .325 pesos or about $24 US. 

I've spent many years practicing medicine in ambulances, working in Emergency Rooms, Urgent Care Clinics, and other venues and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the treatment plan that was given to me is the same that would be used in any ER in California.  It was good, timely, appropriate, and well executed.

Did I say I love the Red Cross?  They are a jewel and we're SO lucky to have them here at the lake.  There are 3 docs working rotating schedules.  Two of them are Dr. Armandos and the third is a woman I have not met yet.  Dr. Armando Aran (the doctor that treated me) and Dr. Armando Zepeda both are trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and there is a 12 lead EKG at CR in Chapala.  Dr. Aran works at Hospital Puerto de Hierro in Zapopan on his days off from CR.

Dr. Aran asked if I would return as a volunteer and I agreed.  I will meet with him next week to look at scheduling. 

For more information or to donate to this noble organization, please see:

Cruz Roja Lakeside, the local site.

Cruz Roja Mexicana, the national site.