Saw you in the Ojo
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Saw you in the Ojo
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PUBLISHER
Richard Tingen
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Alejandro Grattan-Domínguez Tel: (01376) 765 3676, 765 2877 Fax: (01376) 765 3528 Associate Publisher David Tingen Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Sandra Hernandez Special Events Editor Sandy Olson Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editor Mark Sconce Theater Critic Michael Warren Art Critic Rob Mohr Roving Correspondent Dr. Lorin Swinehart Sales Managers Omar Medina Bruce Fraser 2I¿FH 6HFUHWDU\ Rocio Madrigal ADVERTISING OFFICE Av. Hidalgo # 223, Chapala Mon. thru Fri. 9am - 5pm Sat. 9am - 1pm Tel. 01 (376) 765 2877, 765 3676 Fax 01 (376) 765 3528 Send all correspondence, subscriptions or advertising to: El Ojo del Lago http://www.chapala.com ojodellago@prodigy.net.mx Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: (376) 765 3676, Fax 765 3528 PRINTING: El Debate El Ojo del Lago aparece los primeros cinco días de cada mes. (Distributed over WKH ¿UVW ¿YH GD\V RI HDFK PRQWK) &HUWL¿FDGR GH /LFLWXG GH 7tWXOR &HUWL¿FDGR GH /LFLWXG GH &RQWHQLGR
Index...
FEATURE ARTICLES
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Janice Valverde, a newcomer to Lakeside, recently witnessed a wedding in Ajijic that shattered many of her preconceptions about life in our beloved little corner of Mexico.
8 Shutterstock
16 HUMOR %HUQLH 6XWWOH ¿QGV VRPHWKLQJ WR grin about even while caught in the grip of one of the most insidious addictions known to mankind.
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Editor’s Page
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Imprints
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Uncommon Sense
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Front Row Center
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Hearts at Work
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Child of Month
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Lakeside Living
Jim Rambo, inspired by the use of torture by US government agents against alleged terrorists, has devised a cunning plan to use such “enhanced interrogation techniques” here at Lakeside.
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Profiling Tepehua
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Bridge by Lake
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Ghosts Among Us
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Anyone Train Dog
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Welcome to Mexico
32 ROMANCE
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Mel Goldberg spins a rather romantic variation of the old theme about the “road not taken but still remembered.”
46 ECOLOGY Dr. Lorin Swinehart writes about the late, great Chico Mendez, who has been called the “Gandhi of the Brazilian rain forest.”
52 DEVIOUS DESIGNS
John Ward, one of Lakeside’s most gifted humorists, does a take-off on the notorious reputation Scandinavians have for terminal gloominess.
Reserva al Título de Derechos de Autor 04-2011-103110024300-102 Control 14301. Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Gobernación (EXP. 1/432 “88”/5651 de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva 171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de 1994. Distribución: Hidalgo 223 Chapala, Jalisco, México. All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions expressed E\ WKH DXWKRUV GR QRW QHFHVVDULO\ UHÀHFW WKH views of the Publisher or the Editor, nor are we responsible for the claims made by our advertisers. We welcome letters, which should include name, address and telephone number.
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COVER STORY
COVER STORY
z DIRECTORY z
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
LAKESIDE LIVING
VOLUME 31 NUMBER 8
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Saw you in the Ojo
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Editor’s Page %\ $OHMDQGUR *UDWWDQ 'RPLQJXH] For more editorials, visit: http://thedarksideofthedream.com
A Wonderful Writer Once In Our Midst (II)
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im Tuck’s second book is John Reed and Pancho Villa, and in my opinion, an even better book than his story of the Cristeros. For this book has in its starring cast two of the most spellbinding men of the 20th century. They were also a couple of its most quixotic, and both died mourning the death of revolutions they had given their lives for. Hence, theirs is the stuff of Greek tragedy, and in the Tuck’s artful hands, the story reads like one. I have tried to analyze exactly what it is that gives this book its unique power. Certainly meticulous research has laid a strong foundation, and a graceful, often elegant style, has built on that base an imposing structure. But there is more here than simply the craft of an accomplished wordsmith, and sturdier stuff to this literary edifice than just the standard brick and
mortar which intensive research has brought to the book. Jim Tuck’s secret, I suspect, lies in his approach to the material. Not content to only let historical events and the key players speak for themselves, he resembles not only a biographer but a highly intuitive detective. Time and again, he pursues various subtle and elusive clues in both the background and psychological makeup of Reed and Villa, trying to understand why they did what they did, and then reacted to what they had done in such honorable but life-threatening and career-destroying ways. Such sleuthing methods have led Tuck to concentrate on a pair of elements which are the prime ingredients in all compelling
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
The Late Jim Tuck characters who have led a larger than life existence: conflict, complications and contradictions. John Reed, the social dilettante and literary gadfly who found something akin to religion in the Russian Revolution, (see the Warren Beatty movie, Reds, based on Reed’s life), then died deeply disillusioned when he discovered that there was no Worker’s Paradise in the USSR; Pancho Villa, the bandit and former meat butcher, who found fame and respectability in a popular cause, and then was murdered by fellow revolutionaries when he found it impossible to make peace with some of the very people he had put in power. That both these quixotic and fascinating men once met in person must have been an event which most historians can never hope to adequately reconstruct, but that Jim Tuck has here given us such marvelous insights into their powerful personalities is much more than most readers could ever hope to find in a single volume. (Ed. Note: Jim was for many years one of the Ojo’s very best writers, and these two masterful books are more than ample proof of his wizardry with words. Both books are now out of print but have on occasion been found at the LCS Library. Over the course of too brief a life, Jim wrote five books and some five hundred articles which were published by various magazines in the United States.) Alejandro GrattanDominguez
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%\ -DQLFH 9DOYHUGH A Vignette of Life in Ajijic
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shiny white SUV was parked right across the narrow cobble-stone street from the old San Andrés parish in Ajijic, Mexico. The vehicle, the black wrought iron gate that opens to the church yard, and the massive double doors of the church were in perfect alignment, awaiting the bride and groom. What an ideal evening it was for a wedding—a calm, warm, bright Saturday in the village situated on Lake Chapala. The air shimmered with the same ethereal something that makes Lake Chapala such an extraordinary sight as it shines under the sun all day and under the moon at night. I wasn’t a wedding guest. I had no idea who the bride was, or the groom, or their families. I was a curious tourist. As I’d wandered from the plaza that evening with a strawberry ice cream, my plan was to visit the old stone and stucco church. I had read that the oldest part of it dated from the 1600s, with additions and changes through the intervening 500 years. Its bell tower had caught my attention from afar, since I had a clear view of it from my hotel balcony, about eight steep blocks above the plaza and church. With the lake and surrounding mountains as its backdrop, the tower was an impressive sight, especially at night, when it appeared to be a four-tiered wedding cake, topped with a cross illuminated with blue lights. Wherever I was in Ajijic, I could hear the clang clang of the bells—not a melodic chime, and clearly not a recording of Big Ben that I have heard from other bells in other places. A poor village does not have the finest bells. Still, it was a pleasant clang, and I looked forward to the bells sounding out Ave Maria at noon, and again at 7:00 p.m. Hoping the church would be open, I walked around the corner from the plaza, happy to finally be close enough to go inside and have a look. Finding a local wedding was even better. I passed through the iron gates, into the churchyard, and joined an impromptu gathering of other voyeurs, both gringos and Mexicans, who were observing
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from just inside the gate. Entering just a moment after me was a procession of four young women in long gowns. They passed us and then, balancing on ridiculously high platform shoes; they made their way up a set of concrete steps in the middle of the large churchyard. The foursome came within a few yards of the open church doors, but didn’t enter. Each had long hair that tumbled in stylish loose curls to her shoulders. Each clutched a small evening bag. They formed a row with their backs to us—actually a sort of rainbow. One wore royal blue, one wore emerald green, another was in bright coral, and another in black velvet. I couldn’t help but notice that none of them wore slips under their gowns. Our little group of voyeurs (or anyone else, for that matter) could see their legs and derrieres silhouetted through their diaphanous skirts. Why had they stopped just short of the doors? Were they waiting for someone to escort them to their seats? A burst of music answered that question. Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. It was obviously the recessional, not an entrance hymn. Aha, I thought, these young ladies had timed their arrival so that they didn’t have to sit through the Mass, but could blend in with the crowd on its way to the reception. Clever girls. Was that the strategy of the rest of people clustered around the door? The ones smoking cigarettes? The ones chatting with friends? The final note of Ode to Joy sounded. A photographer and her helper, armed with loads of equipment, darted out of the church to set up a tripod
at the top step of the stairs, maybe 30 feet from the door and about 50 feet or so from our vantage point. No sooner had they set things in place but the bride and groom emerged. Laughter and clapping reverberated through the churchyard. Voices echoed from the church. The couple paused with happy just-married grins on their young faces. Then, to my surprise, the bride walked hurriedly right past the photographers and started down the steps. Her groom was a step or two behind her. He had just caught up with her, when instead of pausing for a photo she took his hand and not very graciously hurried him toward the gate. Her groom followed without questions or objection. Still, he looked bewildered and his grin had faded. With her breasts bouncing against the stiff bodice of her strapless white gown, wearing a mischievous smile, her hair tossing from side to side as she practically ran through the gate, the bride dashed past our little group and was out of the churchyard in no time. Once her groom caught up with her on the sidewalk, he agilely bent down without missing a step to lift up her voluminous skirt so it would not drag on the sidewalk. Unlike the big white SUV that had been waiting, the sidewalk had not been cleaned at all for this special occasion. The bride looked quickly to the left, then to the right. I surmised that the new señora was looking for the SUV. Shouldn’t it be sitting in its parking space across from the gate? But it was gone. Why had the driver left that perfect parking space? Why did he head up the one-way street to the corner, only to get stuck behind a battered pick-up truck the color of frijoles refritos? When the bride spied the vehicle near the corner, she tore up the sidewalk towards it. Her groom tried his best to keep up, but he had to hustle. Two unkempt brown dogs crossed her path, but she was undeterred. By now, her maid of honor in a strapless blue
gown was chasing her, yelling, laughing and shaking her head in disbelief. She was almost tripping over her own long gown, calling to her friend, “Qué estás haciendo. Adónde vas?” Runaway bride did not turn around, did not answer her bridesmaid, paid no attention to her husband, and did not stop until she had opened the back seat of the SUV and dragged her skirts and her new spouse in with her. She opened the rear window. Giddy and smiling, she motioned frantically to her bridesmaid, calling out, “Rapido. Rapido.” Giggling but still looking mystified, the young lady in blue got into the front seat. The driver stepped on the gas, and they were off. “Wow, what was that all about?” I asked myself. Why the hurry? Did she want to get to the reception ahead of her guests? Did she need a drink before anyone else arrived? Did she want to visit an elder who couldn’t attend the wedding? Was she just anxious to start her married life, or at least the honeymoon? Who knows? I do know what she did is not typical of Mexican brides or brides anywhere. But I also know this young lady displayed a certain Mexican spirit that this gringo can only appreciate but never duplicate. All I can say is, Viva México! Y buena suerte to the new couple.
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What’s Next For The Keystone Pipeline? %\ 0DULWD 1RRQ
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fter six years of dithering, the Keystone pipeline project has finally cleared both the Senate and the House with strong bipartisan support—mere percentage points away from a veto-proof majority. Now it goes to the White House where President Obama has vowed to veto it. (Ed. Note: As we go to press, President Obama has already vetoed the measure.) The Keystone pipeline should have never been an issue in Congress. Because it crosses an international border, the pipeline requires State Department approval. With millions of miles of pipeline already traversing the country and dozens already crossing the U.S.-Canada border the Keystone pipeline should never have made news, except that Obama’s envi-
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ronmental base has made it the literal line in the sand. Within the President’s base, only two groups feel strongly about the Keystone pipeline—the unions want it, the environmentalists don’t. Each has pressured him to take its side. I’ve likened the conflict to the classic cartoon image of a devil on one shoulder prodding an activity saying, “Oh it will be fun, everyone is doing it,” vs. the angel on the other warning, “Be careful, you’ll get into trouble.” Trying to appease both sides, the president resisted taking a stand. Instead of a firm answer, he has avoided a decision that would ultimately anger one side or the other. First, the problem arose of the pipeline crossing over the aquifer—so it was re-routed. Next, it was held up in the Nebraska Supreme Court—
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
but, that received a favorable resolution. Waiting for the State Department’s fifth Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) provided another delay. When the EIS finally came out, it declared the project would have minimal environmental impact and that it would produce the least amount of greenhouse gasses of any other alternative transportation method. Now Obama says Congress needs to let the State Department’s approval process play out—though no one knows when that might occur. The labor unions, which want some of the 42,000 jobs the State Department’s projects will materialize, grow increasingly impatient. In 2012, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) broke ranks from a long-standing relationship with green groups over the Keystone pipeline and pulled out of the Blue/Green Alliance. LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan said of his fellow union leadership: “We’re repulsed by some of our supposed brothers and sisters lining up with job killers like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council to destroy the lives of working men and women.” Since then, the AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; James P. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; and Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades
Unions has joined O’Sullivan in pushing approval. Once the bill is vetoed, it goes back to Congress where it must be “reconsidered”—which means it can be voted on again or can go back to committee where some adjustments may be made that will make it more attractive to members, who didn’t vote on it the first time around. Because the Senate and the House have both voted, which Democrats voted against the bill is also well known— many of those Democrats represent heavily unionized districts. To override the presidential veto, 5 more votes are needed in the Senate (Marco Rubio wasn’t present during the January 29 vote and would be assumed to be a “yes” vote, meaning only 4 Democrats need to be swayed.); in the House, about 12. With some arm twisting from the unions, those additional votes shouldn’t be all that difficult to come by and the Keystone XL pipeline can finally move forward—providing Americans with thousands of goodpaying jobs and increased energy security. Meanwhile, President Obama will have made his position perfectly clear. Marita Noon
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Dolores Hidalgo’s Many Faces
and his head was impaled on a spike upon the ramparts of the Alhondigas in Guanajuato, where his army achieved its first major victory. It would take ten more years for Mexico to free itself from the Spanish crown, but every year on September 16, the Grito is re-enacted in the city’s historic central plaza – the zócalo - as in thousands of cities across Mexico. But Dolores Hidalgo’s role in Mexico’s War of Independence is only one of the good reasons that
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hat has to be the largest Mexican flag in all of Mexico waves over Dolores Hidalgo. It’s visible from the mountain road long before the city appears, and it’s a beacon which flies there for good reason. The town – to which the name of Mexican patriot Father Miguel Hidalgo is now affixed – is where Hidalgo uttered the Grito – his famous cry for Mexican independence – on September 16, 1810. Within a year, his rebellion’s early successes were reversed
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Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and statue of Father Hidalgo, 'RORUHV +LGDOJR ]yFDOR
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Ice cream made to order, Dolores Hidalgo
Street food, Dolores Hidalgo
the city has been named one of Mexico’s “Pueblos Mágicos” – Magical Towns. The center of Dolores Hidalgo is the zócalo, and it’s dominated by a statue of Father Hidalgo and by his historic church, the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. As I walk the plaza, I check out a church facade done in the ornate Spanish Baroque “Churrigueresque” style and bearing intricately carved figures. History buffs will enjoy the nearby Museo de la Independencia, in which are displayed artifacts of the war of independence. Until I visited Dolores Hidalgo, I thought that Michoacán was the epicenter of Mexican ice cream, but a walk around the zócalo – where homemade
ice cream is sold daily from the many push carts – quickly convinced me otherwise. Nowhere but at the State Fair of Texas annual Fried Food Contest – known for its improbable ingredients –  have I tasted so many quirky (yet all very tasty) flavors. On my visit, featured flavors ranged from the traditional fruits and nuts and chocolate to the truly exotic and even bizarre. But who wants vanilla, chocolate or strawberry when you can have mango or papaya? Perhaps avocado or corn? Fried pork skins, chile, or mole? Shrimp or octopus? Or maybe cerveza, tequila, or pulque? Vendors are constantly competing to come up with the next new &KLOL LFH FUHDP =yFDOR 'RORUHV +LGDOJR flavor, so it’s an experience constantly re-invented. Today, Dolores Hidalgo is widely renowned for its ceramics, the production of which directly or indirectly employs more than half of the city’s workers. It was Father Hidalgo who introduced Talavera pottery techniques from Puebla to the people of Dolores Hidalgo. Since 1997, only ceramics from Puebla can be designated as “talavera,â€? but the Puebla techniques are still practiced here, as they have been for three centuries. While Dolores Hidalgo is one of the main producers of majolica glazed tiles, its workshops produce a staggering array of ceramics including dinnerware, vases, pots and jars, mosaics, bathtubs, Ceramics workshop. Dolores Hidalgo bathroom sinks, and soap dishes, and even light switch covers and bird baths. There are plenty of shops selling ceramics on the side streets just off the zĂłcalo, but it’s far more interesting to visit one of the workshops that line the approach to town. There visitors can walk among the artisans as they work, which is a real treat, since everything is made and decorated by hand. Ceramics workshop. Dolores Hidalgo
Because Dolores Hidalgo is not a major international tourist destination, it retains much of its colonial charm and all of its Mexican authenticity. No visit to Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, or Queretaro is complete without including this side trip. Also in the state of Guanajuato and just down the road from Dolores Hidalgo is a mystical world heritage site that’s the subject of my next post.
Antonio RamblĂŠs
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UUNCOMMON NCOM MM MON CCOMMON OM MM MON SSENSE ENSE %\ %LOO )UD\HU ELOOIUD\HU#JPDLO FRP In God We Trust?
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resident Barack Obama was heavily criticized by conservatives earlier this year when he made a rather obvious observation at the National Prayer Breakfast. In light of the heinous violence perpetrated by Islamic Jihadists, he had the audacity to point out that Christians have also resorted to the indiscriminate killing of innocents when they slaughtered thousands of Muslims during the Crusades. Indeed, religion has often provided the impetus for war and killing. Many terrorist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, have used Christianity as a pretext for killing. Obama was trying to give the violence being perpetrated by ISIS in some context. People have been using religious belief as a pretext for
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killing for centuries. Today’s violence in the Middle East and North Africa, although particularly barbaric, is not a new phenomenon. The reaction of American conservatives to his statements, however, is particularly revealing. Because Republican politicians are playing to a base that is overwhelmingly religious, they felt compelled to defend their Christian faith from its own history. In fact, religion, particularly evangelical Christianity, is seeping into the political arena with disturbing regularity. New York Times columnist Frank Bruni has noted that in May of 2011, in the midst of a Presidential campaign, then Texas Governor Rick
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Perry suggested that government is incapable of confronting the many problems faced in the world. “I think it’s time for us to just hand it over to God, and say, ‘God, you’re going to have to fix this.’” He gathered 30,000 people for a “call to prayer for a nation in crisis” and promoted the event from the Governor’s office, using his official letterhead. President George W. Bush famously responded to the question about whether he consulted his father for advice that he got his advice from “a higher authority.” Mike Huckabee, another presidential hopeful, recently asserted on television that the United States seems to be forgetting that it is “a God-centered nation that understands that our laws do not come from Man, they come from God.” Conservative politicians regularly doubt Darwin’s theory of evolution, and worse, they try to forbid the teaching of Evolution in schools. They use religion as a basis for their positions on women’s reproductive health, capital punishment, opposition to same-sex marriage, welfare reform and other issues. Pandering to Christianity has not been limited to Republicans. Virtually no politician dares run for office as an avowed
agnostic, let alone atheist. Barack Obama had to defend his “strong Christian faith” in a famous speech during the 2008 campaign. Presidents always attend national prayer breakfasts and conspicuously attend church services. Many of the founding fathers were uncomfortable enough with religion themselves to claim to be deists, who believe that God may have created the earth but disavowed any interest in otherwise interfering with our affairs. They saw the danger of religion creeping into public affairs and prominently forbade such activity, they thought, with the First Amendment, prohibiting the establishment of a state religion and establishing a separation between church and state. Most of us would agree that everyone should have the opportunity to practice whatever religion they choose without interference from their government. But this presupposes that their faith is deeply personal and that citizens in a free society should never have another’s faith thrust upon them. This is, in essence, what many conservative politicians in the United States are trying to do. When public events are opened with a Christian prayer, the Jews, Muslims, and atheists in the crowd are being subjected to a type of state religion. When Alabama politicians tried to install a monument to the Ten Commandments at the state capitol, they were trying to force a Judeo-Christian religious practice on the people of Alabama. Here in Mexico, there is a stronger wall between Church and the State. The Church is not allowed to own property, participate in politics, or be involved in public education. I have not read about any Mexican politician invoking his or her Christian faith to defend a political position. I think this is one area, at least, where the US could learn a useful lesson from its southern neighbor!
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of an an enial of addiction on iss not a step ste st ep ep towards recovery. After Afte ftter er many years and accumuccum cc um mu lating cost I finally h had ad d tto o admit I was hooked. Yes, d. Ye es, I was hooked on television. evi visi siion on. I guess it all started with ted dw ith it h radio, then records, ds pro ds, pro-ard stuff. ff ff. gressing into the hard V with h I was using Cable TV waatching 65 channels. I was watching ceaaselessly shows I didn’t like ceaselessly i l b interrupted by commercials butt h hoping that there would be a better show next Thursday. I had to go cold turkey - cut it off completely, but did I have substitutes to ease me through? Like a reforming smoker chomping Nicoderm, I tried flicking and clicking my new Roku and Chromecast devices. Will this work? What if I get the shakes or a cold sweat? Can I do it? Drugs and Liquor are easy to quit. Just stop buying them. Not so with cable TV. Cable has built in physical and emotional barriers to quitting. If one fails either, TV Just keeps coming. I call the cable company. They answer after four minutes of disclaimers and caveats, and then present a panoply of options: order additional products (Channels), billing questions, technical assistance - nothing about stopping their service. Am I the first to ever try this? I try, “Order additional products.” I am warned that my conversation will be recorded and they tell me that my call is valuable to the cable company
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be b efo o before I am asssaau saulted with eight min in minutes promoting even more in ing pro products (Channelss at a bargain ne nels) p pr ricc - temporarprice iliily. llyy. y. M My blood pressure is rising at an sure alar al a min n rate. alarming TThen I hear a consultative vo vo voice saying it is incredible for is t just j t quit. it If I would stay he will me to give me a new promotion just made available that will cost less than I am now paying. “Sorry, it’s still not worth the price I would pay.” “How about 84 channels, 105 channels?” “No thanks, I just want to keep the Internet without TV.” “Your Internet will increase when not bundled with TV. But if you take our Mega channel plan you will pay less for both than you do now - temporarily.” My knees weaken. My palms are sweating. For a frugal person it is hard to deny their mathematical logic. But No! Dammit. I’m no TV junkie. “Cut it off. No TV! “Well, I’ll have to clear it with my manager.” Then it is done. I feel relaxed; my breathing is easier. No longer TV dependent and $1,000 richer at the end of the year… I look up and say, “Free at last, free at last, Great God Almighty, I’m free at last!”
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e looked beneath the dock for a canoe, kayak or any water-worthy craft, ready for an emergency escape, but found none. Panic of the coming darkness welled up within me. The boat’s captain pulled the cord and the sound of the 12-foot panga’s outboard motor bounced off the waves as it sped from the dock. The departed, our daytime caretakers, waved ‘adios’ to the stranded, us. My legs wobbled, as I grabbed my husband’s hand and squeaked out my fear, “My God, what if they don’t come back in the morning?” The comforting hum of the generator had fallen silent. Silhouetted in the shadows of the dimming light, six wild-
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caned cabins with guava branch roofs sat perched atop pylons over the Caribbean. Only one balcony door stood ajar, swimsuits draped on the railing, flapping in the warm breeze. The other five bungalows, bare and vacant, reminded us that being marooned on a deserted isle didn’t happen by accident. We researched it, planned it and paid a considerable sum for it, but the excitement I felt during daylight slipped into anxiety as blackness crept around us. The staff, Marco our waiter, Ceci our cook and Ishmael, the skipper, had left for the night. They returned to their homes on Corazón de Jesus, one of 365 Kuna Yala islands scattered along
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Panama’s San Blas Archipelago. We had selected Kwadule, the 36 year-old tract of sand and palm, an infant within the scope of island formation, for our type ‘A’ personality cleansing. We retreated to our cabin, brightened by the glow of oil lamps that Ceci had already lit, and settled into rockers on the terrace that hovered over the rhythmic sea, to reflect. Sparkling stars in the night sky provided the backdrop for our discussion. Recalling Daniel Defoe’s description of Crusoe’s days of desperation, I started with, “Which one of us came up with this crazy idea, anyhow? I know we wanted ‘marooned’ and we ached for ‘deserted’, but now that we’re here, what’s there to do but count sunrises and sunsets?” Going from our usual ‘hit the ground running, grab public transportation, and soak up the local culture’ to total isolation without distractions felt strange, unnatural, even scary. “Well, we have two choices,” Ernie said. “Either we embrace Kwadule’s lure or go mad.” “I didn’t realize that turning off the generator and leaving us alone in the dark would be part of the equation,” I said. “Carol, I think that fits the definition of marooned and deserted.” We reviewed scenes from our morning arrival to ease the tension. Despite the pre-dawn hour, the Paitilla Municipal Airport in Panama City had bustled. We waited with four Kuna women for the daily 30-minute air-taxi, a six passenger Cessna that flew across the Isthmus to the islands. The indigenous ladies wore traditional, hand-sewn mola blouses, brightly colored skirts, gold nose rings and bands of orange beads tightly binding their forearms and calves. Recollections of how our eyes bulged as the plane landed on a perilous, narrow sandbar and came to a screeching stop just shy of dumping us into the sea, brought needed laughter. Ishmael waited in his motor boat to whisk us away to our ‘personal’ island. After loading the allotted twenty pounds of luggage and snorkeling gear, we felt the pump of adrenalin as we skimmed across the turquoise Caribbean. First sight of Kwadule, the cabins, Kuna crafted hammocks strung between palms and the crystalline beach beckoned us to leave the stresses of hectic lives behind. But excesses of ambition and impatience do not dissolve quickly. Urges exploded to explore the island. We raced to our cabin, shoes and watches fell away, bathing suits donned, gear grabbed. The island measured an area smaller than our two acre lot in the US. Within twenty minutes we had surveyed every inch; another fifteen to collect shells on the
beach and a full hour to snorkel around the circumference of this patch of sand. Now what? One look at Ceci’s shocked expression when we popped into the tiny hut designated for meals had revealed that our Crusoe conversion needed work. Thankful that Marco had already dived for our food, two crabs and two warm-water lobsters, she quickly prepared ‘comida’ for this energy-driven duo. A couple of hares had arrived on the island, but anything faster than a tortoise didn’t belong here. Who knew the art of relaxation could be so difficult? After that first night’s fitful sleep, I heard the sweet sound of a sputtering outboard motor and screamed a relieved welcome to the returning staff. Ishmael sensed our restlessness. He offered to take us to El Tigre Island, the central hub of Kuna Indian commercial affairs, where women hand sew molas, wildly-colored layered materials, that they sell to viable markets. As El Capitan tied the boat to the El Tigre dock, the village mayor greeted us. The Kunas’ grasp of capitalism became obvious when the chief spouted off the list of island regulations: $10US to snap village landscape photos, $25US to use a video camera, close-up individual shots cost $1US each. Pay up or relinquish your camera and no bargaining on the price of molas. After a brief trudge through the sandy streets, we quickly tired of the ‘hard-sell’ business of El Tigre. I longed for the solitude of Kwadule and begged Ishmael to take us ‘home.’ Signs of the tortoise emerged from the hare. The staff’s departure that evening proved less traumatic, almost welcomed. Ceci had prepared the national Kuna dish, Tulle Massy for us, using freshly caught red snapper that Marco had speared that afternoon and coconuts just fallen. Feeling completely satisfied with full bellies, Ernie and I lingered alone after dinner, played dominoes by lantern and sipped bottles of Panamanian beer. We didn’t even miss the generator. By day three, we surrendered to slow-motion. We lolled in hammocks, lounged on beach chairs parked in the shallows of the sea, and allowed incoming tides to swamp over us. I even tossed my book in the sand. Licking fingers of warm butter dripping from bowls of succulent she-crab replaced frenzied burdens. The Crusoe Conversion complete, a new panic erupted on the day we had to leave Kwadule. Where did I put that “Type A” personality? Carol L. Bowman
Saw you in the Ojo 19
THE NEW SCIENCE OF STRESS— Self-Evolvement Series %\ $QQD (OHQD %HUOLQ CPC, Experience of Life Researcher
A
University of of iv. v. Wisconsin (Univ. ad diso so on of WI) at Madison 01 12 study conducted in 20 2012 and by Keller, Litzelman, and tio on nWisk examines the relationan ntts’ ship between participants’ ep pstress levels, the percepctts tion that stress affects ltth and nd d their health, and health mortality outcomes in a nationple l off U U.S. S ally representative sample adults. The study shows that participants’ amount of stress and the perception that it affects their health interacted with each other. Those that reported a lot of stress who also believed that stress negatively impact-
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ed their health had a 43% increased risk of premature death. Again, individuals who reported a large amount of stress and believed that it had a bad effect on their health had a huge increase of
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
premature death over those with similar levels of stress that believed their stress didn’t affect them. Take just a moment to reflect on this new finding of how belief about stress affects health and well being. This evidence is contrary to decades of previous stress studies, and is part of the new science of stress. My research and writing about the human experience of life based on decades of previous studies has gone through an upheaval. I’m not alone, Kelly McGonigal PhD, a leader in the growing field of “science-help”, has been thrown for a loop too. She is a Health Psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University that has been teaching that stress is bad for you for more than ten years, about the same amount of time I have been researching stress and its effects. We both had to change our paradigm about stress upon learning the compelling results from this U of WI study. As it turns out, we were both unwittingly encouraging people to believe that stress is harmful to their health based on the findings of previous studies. Kelly McGonigal’s enlightening Ted Talk about stress has important information that can save people’s lives by changing their beliefs and perceptions about stress and its effects on their health and well being. This is the web address for her talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_ mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_ your_friend#t-74060 I urge all of our readers to invest eighteen minutes to learn about the new science of stress by watching this easy to understand and absorb talk. That being said, it is important to point out that there are different kinds of stress. The kind of stress that was the focus of the U of WI study appears to fit in the category of acute stress, which raises the heartbeat and breathing enough so
that people are aware of it. This kind of bodily stress response is normal and healthy. The category of stress that concerns me the most is chronic stress, that people may not be aware of or may barely be aware of as something that is not right going on within them. This kind of stress can certainly be caused by factors on the outside of us such as ongoing noise that grinds on our nerves constantly. However the more insidious type of chronic stress is the kind that comes from our own subconscious minds as a result of habitual judging and emotional distress. These do more to negatively impact the way we experience our own lives than practically anything else. Chronic stress tends to keep us in a state of hypervigilance, which keeps our fight or flight response turned on, which keeps our sympathetic nervous system activated, which suppresses our parasympathetic nervous system and keeps it from doing its rest, digest, and repair job, which leads to immune system issues and the deficiency and toxicity that leads to most human disorders and diseases. It is possible for this domino reaction to be so subtle as to be imperceptible. So how do we save ourselves from ourselves? As with every good thing we do throughout our lives, we do it one conscious act at a time, because it is worth it to us. The most effective way to activate the subconscious mind and get answers from it is to ask it questions. What kind of experience of life will make me content, fulfilled, satisfied? What changes can I make to accommodate this life upgrade? Are these destiny goals worth the investment in time, effort, and resources needed for me to achieve this personal growth? It’s your subconscious mind’s nature to keep everything it has received throughout your life stored safely within you. To make the most of this vast potential just keep asking yourself questions about what you need. The answers sometimes come in unexpected ways that your intuition will recognize as true for you. They appear when your subconscious mind is ready to push them into your awareness, so be patient. To make the most of your very finite existence know yourself deeply. As always, self knowledge is the best knowledge. Anna Elena Berlin
Saw you in the Ojo 21
FRONT ROW CENTER %\ 0LFKDHO :DUUHQ I, Claudia By Kristen Thomson Directed by Lynn Phelan
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his is the first performance that I have attended at the new Bravo! Theater on Rio Bravo, at the same location as the well-known Naked Stage. It’s a small intimate theater, where the audience sits close and can really feel the action on stage. As a dramatic event at the new theater, Lynn Phelan and Jayme Littlejohn present us with an amazing onewoman show, originally written and performed in Toronto by Canadian actress Kristen Thomson. “Claudia” is a tween-ager (nearly 13 years old) whose parents have recently divorced, and she’s going through all the angst and anger of that precarious emotional situation. Jayme Littlejohn is entirely convincing as young Claudia, with body language that expresses her confusion. The cleverly constructed set is the boiler room of Claudia’s school, where she hides her secret cache of socks and other precious items – her goldfish and her strange science projects. Other characters include the janitor “Drachman,” her father’s girlfriend “Leslie” and (briefly) her grandfather. With the use of masks, Jayme plays all four parts. It’s quite a performance, with the separate characters appearing on stage as if we had four actors in the cast. I’ve known before that Jayme is a talented actress, and here she puts on a show of extraordinary power and variety.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
The play itself is interesting, but static in terms of plot development. Nothing much happens and the only discovery in the story is that Claudia finds out that her father was meeting Leslie long before her parents separated. We get to know the main character Claudia, and to some extent the girlfriend Leslie who is revealed to be fragile and needy under her bimbo exterior. The play ends with a beautiful story told by the janitor Drachman, and overall it’s a wonderful vehicle for a great one-woman performance. The masks and set design were very well done by Rob Stupple. And I congratulate Lynn Phelan as the director on effective staging and emotional variety. This was a good play for the Bravo!, which provides a welcome additional venue for actors and directors in this small town. The final play of the LLT season is The Dixie Swim Club, which is directed by Barbara Clippinger. I look forward to seeing this amusing and poignant play, which opens on March 27 and runs through April 5. Michael Warren
Saw you in the Ojo 23
Installing A Husband
D
ear Tech Support, po p ort rt,, Last year I upgradupgrad up grrad a ed from Boyfriend yfri yf y friien end d 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly y under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5..0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do? Signed, Desperate. DEAR DESPERATE, First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html, try to download Tears 6.2, and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If those applications work as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. However, remember, over-
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
use of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta. Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources). In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0-program. This is an unsupported application and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7. Good Luck! Tech Support
Saw you in the Ojo 25
Hearts at Work $ &ROXPQ E\ -LP 7LSWRQ “Metamorphosis�
I
n our time, few people, even educated ones, read short stories, because the old human need for stories is now satisfied by what we used to quaintly call “moving pictures�—abbreviated now to “movies.� Most people might be hard pressed to even remember ten short stories they have read over the years. But, the form still has its devotees and some of those might be able to list dozens of short stories in the same way that even the common person on the street can list dozens of movies. Stories that have left a lasting impression on me include W. Somerset Maugham’s tale “Rain,� set in a very wet South Seas paradise; Ernest Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,� which covers the last two days in the life of a wealthy American on safari with his predatory wife; and Guy de Maupassant’s sad story about a lovely young lady born into a family of clerks but who longs to live in the fabulous world of the rich. Several of our authors at Lakeside have written stories that stay with you. Here are two examples: Alejandro Grattan has crafted a powerful story, “The Gunfight at the El Paso Corral,� about some retired “bad men� living out their final days in poverty and poor health in El Paso, Texas in 1906; and Robert Bruce Drynan in “Quatsch� tells a moving story about a young American soldier stationed in Germany some years after the World War II who falls in love with the daughter of a former German soldier. For many people, the one story they remember is Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,� and this year—2015—marks the 100th anniversary of the initial publication (in German, with the title “Die Verwandlung�). It is a strange and haunting account of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman and a very ordinary man, who wakes up one morning to discover he has been transformed into a giant cockroach. His initial worry is that he did not hear his alarm and now will be late for work. Over the weeks that follow, confined to his tiny and eventually cluttered room, he begins to experience almost insufferable loneliness. Kafka’s “Metamorphosis� helped to usher in the increasing ter-
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
)UDQ] .DIND
ror that lurked just below the surface of the modern mind, caused by the realization that life has no meaning, that all is absurd, and that ridiculous things will happen to us for no apparent reason—and we will have no control over them. There have been many short film versions of this story as well as stage adaptations and at least one opera and one musical. And of course there undoubtedly have been numerous literary take-offs. Bruce Holland Rogers was a featured presenter at The Lake Chapala Writers Conference two years ago. His award-winning story “Don Ysidro,â€? set in a little village in Mexico, was published in El Ojo del Lago. Rogers found Kafka’s “Metamorphosisâ€? compelling enough to compose his own version. The Kafka story begins: “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.â€? The Rogers story, “A Story for Discussion,â€? begins this way, “When the author awoke from troubled dreams one morning, he found that he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous abstraction.â€? He could find “no sign of the body that he’d gone to sleep in.â€? This is included in Roger’s collection, The Keyhole Opera (2005). Kafka’s character woke up as a giant cockroach. Rogers character “the author,â€? woke up as an “enormous abstraction.â€? As you wake up tomorrow morning, imagine that a strange transformation has taken place during the night. What will you wake up as‌.? Jim Tipton
Saw you in the Ojo 27
CHILD
of the month
%\ %DUE &RURO
M
eet Ismael Uriel and his infectious smile. Ismael was born August 2002 and has been with Niños Incapacitados for twelve years. Shortly after birth Ismael was diagnosed with West Syndrome which is an uncommon to rare epileptic disorder in infants, named after an English Physician. The spasms consist of a sudden jerk followed by stiffening. Often the arms are flung out as the knees are pulled up and the body bends forward (jackknife seizures). Often times the head can be thrown back as the body and legs stiffen in a straight-out position. Each seizure lasts only a second or
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Ismael Uriel two but usually occur close together in a series. West Syndrome is age related, generally occurring between the third and twelve month, generally
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
manifesting around the fifth month. Statistically, boys are more affected than girls. Compared with other forms of epilepsy, treatment of West Syndrome is relatively difficult and the results of therapy often dissatisfying. Statistically, 5 out of every 100 children with West Syndrome do not survive beyond five years of age; in some cases due to the cause of the syndrome, in others for reasons related to their medication. The outlook is brighter for those who were developing normally before the spasms started. A large portion (up to 90%) of children will suffer severe physical and cognitive impairments even when treatment for the attacks is successful. This is not because of the epileptic fits, but rather because of the causes behind them. Severe frequent attacks can damage the brain. For the first three years of his young life, Ismael would undergo numerous tests and studies including several MRI’s. The results of these tests confirmed neuro development disorder combined with the epilepsy. He was prescribed a cocktail of medicines to include steroid therapy and anti-convulsives, combined with medications to help prevent inflammation for his respiratory problems.
The family enrolled him in Fundacion Teleton (a government funded therapy program in Guadalajara) where he would begin aggressive therapies. Ismael had been doing fairly well on his anti-convulsive medication, however in mid 2014 he started having some serious problems. He was losing weight prompting doctors to prescribe pediasure. His kidneys were not functioning normally so has been undergoing more tests. Sadly he is now wearing diapers. To date, we have reimbursed the family approximately $180,000 pesos for his therapies, medications, consults, bloodwork, special tests, Botox treatments that he receives twice yearly, prescription glasses, food supplements and more recently, a customized wheelchair and diapers. The family is very grateful to Niños Incapacitados for all the help they receive. As Director of the Jocotopec Clinic, thank you for the opportunity of presenting some of our children to you. If you would like to learn more about Niños Incapacitados, please visit our website at www.programaninos.org or call Rich Petersen (376765-5511) or Barb Corol (376-7665452).
Saw you in the Ojo 29
Dear Sir: Reference to Lorin Swineheart’s article, October 2014 issue, pertaining to wolves and the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Just south of Olympia, Washington is a similar place called Wolf Haven. A while back we attended something they termed a ‘howl-in.’ After dusk, and night fell, a large campfire was lit and perhaps several dozen of us sat in a circle around it. The firelight and dancing shadows enveloped us all as our guide spoke truths and legends of wolves. That particular night the moon was full, making the whole experience sort of eery, influenced by the passed-on tales of European ancestors and their misplaced misgivings of the wolf. Hitler’s U-boat ‘wolf-packs’ further advanced the fears of the ‘unknown’ danger linked to anything, wolf. Well, after our bonfire introduction we were led down nocturnal paths through the fenced off compounds of various species of wolves free roaming in their respective domains. Our guide
had us all stop. We all were silent as he told us to, and on the count of three, howl in unison, and then wait. Shortly, we heard a distant, lone wolf pick up our human howl and his was telegraphed on down the line by apparent scores of others in the darkened forest, their howls reverberating through and off the trees. It was easy to see how such every sounds in the night could play havoc upon the fear of people with no enlightenment. Arctic wolves looked so splendid, illuminated in the bright moonlight. Timber wolves were grand! The red wolf, the gray and others all taught us something about the lupus world. The more the human family structure has declined (USA) the more impressive a wolf society is magnified. Their social structure is something to admire. The same can be said of how a herd of elephants help raise their young together. To conclude this brief comment, I appreciated what Dr. Swineheart had to say of wolves. Joaquin Hawkins xochhp@gmail.com
Love Is Love
A poet wrote that love is gold while others say it’s blind but all I know is what I hold when you, my love, are kind. Though words are whirling in my mind words can be bought and sold and gold’s a metal that was mined and made in bricks, so hard and cold – no, love is love, my love, as we grow old, then when you’re sitting by the fire where dying embers of desire flicker like stories often told, I’ll come and find you, touch your hand say words that only you will understand. Michael Warren
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Saw you in the Ojo 31
The Ex EH HUJ UJ UJ %\ 0HO *ROGEHUJ
I
had no idea what prompted her to call me after twenty years. I didn’t know she had the number at the college, although I had been teaching here in Flagstaff for thirteen years. The department receptionist only said, “You’ve got a call waiting from some woman who won’t tell me her name.” At first I didn’t recognize the voice that said laughingly, “This is your past calling.” Then the words became a puzzle whose pieces fell into place. It was Nancy. No mistake about it. It was a serious understatement to say that she had been my girlfriend. She was my soul mate, my other half. We lived and traveled together for more than five years. Even now, whenever I take a road trip, she travels with me in the back of my mind. We spent many hours in a car reading poetry and stories to each other. Since we split up, I have had other experiences, other female friends, but I always said we were only seeing each other. No one rose to the title of girl friend until I got married five years ago. She said she had never moved out of the house in Chicago until a year ago when she found the courage to move west to Phoenix. We ended our relationship because when I moved to Arizona to take this teaching job, she chose not to come with me. Her clinical depression kept her rooted in that house in Chicago. I always imagined she had found someone else after I left. As she told me bits and pieces of her life, my pulse accelerated. My
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
breath br b reath th quickened. I sti stillll iimagback in iin ined n her as she was b ba 1990. I wanted to ask, “Why are you calling me?” but I bit my tongue. I wanted to ask how she found the courage to move so far west and I asked if she had ever married. She said yes, but he died a year ago. I told her I was married, happily to a wonderful and fiercely independent woman. “That’s your third marriage, isn’t it? Or were there more?” “No, just three. I think I got it right this time. How is your daughter? She must be about thirty-five by now.” There was a pause and the line went silent. I wondered if she had hung up. I held my breath, like when you are in the air hurtling toward the water from a high dive, waiting for the impact. I wanted to say something intelligent but all I could come up with was, “How did you find my number? What made you call me?” She told me she never forgot me in all the years. She never forgot that I was the one who sat by her side when she had the surgery to replace a faulty valve in her heart. She knew I had moved to Arizona to teach at a small community college in Flagstaff and it was a simple thing to locate me. She had moved to Prescott to be near her recently divorced daughter and grandson and she thought it was a good time to find me. I gave her my email and said I could get hers when she contacted me. After she ended the call, I felt happy and sad at the same time. I walked to the parking lot, trudged through the snow, and looked at my breath as it disappeared in the air. I thought about Frost’s poem, “Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood,” and I couldn’t help wondering how my life would have been different if we had walked the same Mel Goldberg path.
Saw you in the Ojo 33
CALCUTTA—1977 %\ /L] /DUUDEHH
Homeless. Footloose. I met him quite by chance. I taught him to ride a bike, My bike, Shiny, new – white, with many gears. Wobbly, insecure, a big child, Smiling his toothless grin, Laughing his achievement. He disappeared with my new bike. Long after, he returned, The bike now black and worn. Ragged seat too high for me And another seat attached behind. Taxi! He yelled with gummy grin, And off he flew with passenger clung on. Then to my surprise Chained to a fence, I saw my bike unscarred. I woke laughing from the dream. My cycling lesson, a planted seed, Had sprouted a taxi driver with two wheels And a pocket full of change. By Gabrielle Blair
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
(
T
hree weeks and hundreds of miles from Bombay to the Bengal Bay side of In-
dia.) I had been dined in opulence at the home of a wealthy rug merchant in Delhi after I had deposited a month’s pay in the till at his shop. (The rugs, made in Pakistan as I recall, are still on my floors, good as new.) I had toured Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Benares and spent the coldest night of my life at an ashram in the mountains of God- knows-where. I think atop Mt. Katmandu—without blankets. A few more days and I’ll be hanging out on the deck overlooking Lake Champlain, my eyes glued on an armada of small sailboats racing across Malletts Bay. I’ve stepped out the front door of my downtown hotel to explore what I couldn’t see upon my arrival late the night before. Within seconds I’m thinking I should have left Calcutta twenty minutes after I arrived and spared myself the indelible imprint of my first impres-
sion. I say “No thanks” to the tour guide who shows me his credentials and set out alone, open to whatever is outside the hotel door because I can’t change it. Camouflaged by a collage of impoverished laborers, an ancient trolley strains its way beneath the mob that dangles from its door-less doors and windowless windows to a place they call home. I expect a more silent Calcutta in its wake but the street rumbles with vehicles that had been discarded and dismantled in the dark ages; horns screeching, mufflers dragging, engines popping mini explosions. The anguished, unintelligible babble of the masses chugs on, day after hopeless day whether I step back into the lobby of the hotel or open myself up to its anguish. I stroll on until dusk, taking in what I don’t want to see. Liz Larrabee
Saw you in the Ojo 35
Sandy Olson
Phone: 331-283-8529 Email: sandyzihua@hotmail.com
PAST EVENTS 5$,1 5$,1 *2 $:$<ÂŤ. â&#x20AC;Śbut it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. However, the perplexing March storm (whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up with all this rain?) didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop art lovers from attending and purchasing some great art at the opening reception. The $MLMLF 6RFLHW\ RI WKH $UWVâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;also known as ASAâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;held its 33rd annual judged show at the Ajijic Cultural Center last month. (DFK FDWHJRU\ LQ WKH VKRZ KDG D ÂżUVW VHFRQG DQG third place award. There will also be the every popular Best of Show award and the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice award of their favorite piece entered in the entire show. Membership in ASA has grown steadily and there are now 165 members. The group meets at 10 am the Artist Phoebe Monroe on her ÂżUVW 0RQGD\ RI HDFK PRQWK DW /D %RGHJD 5HVWDXUDQW way to the ASA Art Show Artist members create a wide range of media: wall art, jewelry, pottery, fabric art, sculpture, photography, and other types of art. New members interested in art are encouraged to join the Society. ASA also sponsors the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Program at the Lake Chapala Society, through donating funds for materials, providing volunteers who teach them every Saturday morning. The group does sponsor the more gifted. Says -RKQ 0F:LOOLDPV, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of the Mexican professional artists in Ajijic today attended these classes as children. Usually there are at least 50 kids who show up and have a great time.â&#x20AC;? /29( :$6 ,1 7+( $,5 /$67 0217+ Last month The Lake Chapala Painting Guild opened their latest exhibition, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Love is in the Air,â&#x20AC;? at the Ajijic Cultural Center.
All the members were present that day for a photo. They are Anita Lee, Carol Ann 2ZHUV &\QWKLD 'XERLV (IUHQ *RQ]DOH] *HUDOGLQH &ODVVHQ ,QDN *LH\V]WRU /RLV 6FKURII 0DULDQ 'HFNHU 0DU\DQQ /LQKDUW 1DQF\ *UD\ 6RQLD 0RFQLN 6WHYH $FKV 9$51 :LQQLH +XQW and Isabel LeBlanc. 7+( 758&. +$6 $55,9(' /DNHVLGH UHWLUHG ÂżUHÂżJKWHU 'RXJ 6FULPJHRXU LV UHVSRQVLEOH IRU WKH DPDVVLQJ RI ORDGV RI JHQWO\ XVHG ÂżUHÂżJKWLQJ HTXLSPHQW DQG JHWWLQJ LW GRZQ KHUH IURP &DQDGD +H HQOLVWHG WKH &UX] 5RMD WKH 6KULQHUV DQG 0DVRQV and the American and Canadian Legions into a group called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lakeside Fire and Red Cross Assistance Group.â&#x20AC;? The goods were held in an eventos hall at the Hotel Perico on the libramiento for a week, then were sorted and cataORJXHG DQG GLVWULEXWHG WR HLJKW GLIIHUHQW ÂżUH KRXVHV PRUH WR come) around the lake. 7KHUH ZDV HQRXJK JHDU IRU ÂżUHÂżJKWHUV LQFOXGLQJ boots, jackets, helmets, air tanks, EMT uniforms, and more. In Dougâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a ton of stuff. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just overwhelmed at this dream.â&#x20AC;? Lakeside owes Doug Scrimgeour and The Lakeside Fire and Red Cross Assistance Group many thanks for this impressive volunteer effort. A TOUR DE FORCE Doug Scrimgeour in Caâ&#x20AC;&#x153;I, Claudia,â&#x20AC;? performed at the Bravo Theatre last
nadian Turnout Gear
month, was a tour de force for -D\PH /LWWOHMRKQ DV WKH characters of Claudia, Drachman, Leslie and Douglas. 7KH VKRZ ZDV GLUHFWHG E\ /\QQ 3KHODQ DQG 5RE 6WXSSOH created masks and the stage design. The show evoked a lot of response from audiences. One person said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have so many questions...I want to know what happens to each of these characters after the play ends.â&#x20AC;? Another commented on how much it resonated with his life, both as a child and currently. Check out The Bravo! Theatre for future listings. The address is Rio Bravo #10B. It is directly across from The Naked Stage in the old Sol y Luna Complex. The space will also be the permanent home of My, My, How Nice! Productions, and will be available for other theatrical, music, fundraiser and lecture events. DEMOCRATS ABROAD Democrats Abroad, Lake Chapala Chapter, has had their bi-annual election and selected a board of directors. The new slate is excited to lead the organization for the next two years and will assist all US citizens living abroad to register and obtain their ballots during upcoming election cycles. In the photo, starting with front row, left to right: /\QQ &OHHN, Member-at-Large; 3DWULFLD +\ODQG, Secretary; Lorene Fields, Member-at-Large. Back row: Sandra Loridans, Member-at-Large; /DUU\ Pihl, Chair; Dee Dee Camhi, ViceChair; David Fields, Treasurer, and 6KHU\OO 6RGHUGDKO, Memberat-Large. Not present were Henri Loridans, Parliamentarian and Tim :KLWLQJ, Member-at-Large. Contact information for Democrats Abroad: Larry Pihl, larry.pihl@ gmail.com, cell 331-704-6475, home 376-766-3274 or Dee Dee Camhi, rdcamhi@gmail.com, cell 331-295-5795, home 376-766-3274. ),9( 81)25*(77$%/( :20(1 Lakeside Little Theatre most recent production was â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Dixie Swim Club.â&#x20AC;? April 5. ,WÂśV D FRPHG\ DERXW ÂżYH XQIRUJHWWDEOH ZRPHQ ,W ZDV GLUHFWHG E\ Barbara Clippinger. :+$7 $ 75($7 )25 :5,7(56 7KH th $QQXDO /DNH &KDSDOD :ULWHUVÂś Conference was held last month at Danza del Sol and was a huge success. There were 69 writers present, including prestigious speakers such as Roberta Rich, best-selling author of The Midwife of Venice, Diane Hicks-Morrow, a Canadian Poet Laureate, Dennis Stovall, winner of the prestigious 2015 Rittenhouse Lifetime Achievement Award, /LQGD -R\ 0\HUV, president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, as well as our Lakeside resident Rachel McMillan, with her popular Dan Connor mystery series, and respected New York editor Sandi Gelles-Cole. NCA BUILDS MORE SUCCESS /RV 1LQRV GH &KDSDOD \ $MLMLF LV D QRQ SURÂżW FKDULWDEOH RUJDQL]DWLRQ ,WV PLVVLRQ LV WR DVVLVW TXDOLÂżHG QHHG\ /DNHVLGH VWXGHQWV WR DFKLHYH WKHLU PD[LPXP VFKRODVWLF SRWHQWLDO NCA sponsored students must maintain a scholastic average of 80 percent or better to
The new Board members are Nancy Allan, Treasurer; Lori Skoda, Director at Large; Bill Friend, President; Nicole Belinne, Director at Large; Shannon Blair, Director of Events; Amy Friend, Secretary; Susan Johnson, Director at Large; Tim Whiting, M.D., Vice-President; and Doug Friend, Director Webmaster continued on page 38
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Saw you in the Ojo 37
Guitarist Juan Castaùón
remain within the program. NCA looks forward to building on its success in the coming year. You may access further details at: www.lakesideninos.org. E-mail chapala@lakesideninos.org JAZZ AND NO COVER CHARGE -XDQ &DVWDxyQ DQG WKH %OXH 9HOYHW -D]] 4XDUWHW ZLOO EH SOD\LQJ DW VHYHUDO YHQXHV LQ $SULO 7KH schedule: $SULO DW S P $GHOLWDÂśV %DU 6DQ $QWRQLR 7OD\DFDSDQ $SULO DQG DW S P 2FDPSR
Snack Bar $SULO DW S.m., DW (O %DU &R $MLMLF &DUUHWHUD 2ULHQWH $SULO DQG DW S P /DJR &DIH )LQG WKH %OXH 9HOYHW -D]] 4XDUWHW RQ )DFHERRN DV EOXH YHOYHW MD]] WULR LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PUT FOOD ON THAT TABLE Villa Infantil Orphanage is in need of volunteers who can purchase, prepare, and provide a nutritious and appealing lunch for the 30 children who make Villa Infantil Orphanage their loving home. Their â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lunch Bunchâ&#x20AC;? coordinator can tailor your volunteer experience to suit your needs. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great opportunity to learn more about the orphanage, practice your Spanish while
the little ones practice their English, and you will be heartily thanked for your efforts by 30 of the most endearing smiles youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ever see. For more information on the volunteer lunch program and how you might help, contact Connie Ondola at (376) 765-3839. Also, to learn more about Villa Infantil (its mission, location and vision) please visit www.friendsofvillainfantil.org. %5$92 25 ,6 ,7 %5$9$"
Last month at Open Circle Lakeside resident and ORQJ WLPH %XGGKLVW WHDFKHU .DULQ 0LOHV JDYH D WDON RQ WKH VXEMHFW RI GHPHQWLD D SUREOHP RI JURZLQJ FRQFHUQ WR RXU DJLQJ SRSXODWLRQ .DULQ ZDV UHFHQWO\ GLDJQRVHG with vascular dementia herself. .DULQ KDV VWDUWHG D JURXS IRU WKRVH ZKR DUH struggling with memory loss, or caring for a loved one who is. For more information or directions, contact Amara at 7652629, or email at amutemabb@gmail.com. HAZARDOUS INTERSECTION! POETRY AND Karin Miles JAZZ! Booze, schmooze and all that jazz! The Not Yet Dead 3RHWV 6RFLHW\ UHDG SRHWU\ DQG WKHUH ZDV DOVR MD]] Ă&#x20AC;XWH from Mike Liesenbach and two for one drinks at Maria Isabel Restaurant. This was a very enjoyable evening and we hope for another event like this one. Poets included %LOO )UD\HU 0HO *ROGEHUJ -LP 7LSWRQ 0DUJDUHW 9DQ (YHU\ 0LFKDHO :DUUHQ DQG -XG\ '\NVtra-Brown
Margaret Van Every
COMING EVENTS
BIZARRE YET BANAL The April reading at The Naked Stage is Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directed by -LP /OR\G Show dates are April 24, 25, and 26. A critic says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mixture of the bizarre and the banal, a slice of lives that could never have been led, a richly textured mixture of confessions, obsessions, and surprises.â&#x20AC;? The title refers to the legendary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rebel Without a Causeâ&#x20AC;?. In Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, an all-female fan club called the Disciples of -DPHV 'HDQ PHHWV DW D .UHVVPRQW ÂżYH DQG GLPH EUDQFK LQ 0F&DUWK\ 7H[DV 7KH JURXS reunites in 1975 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
1DNHG 6WDJH LV ORFDWHG DW $ 5LR %UDYR 7KH ER[ RIÂżFH RSHQV DW DQG WKH VKRZ starts at 4:00 p.m. The email address for reservations: nakedstagereservations@gmail. com. Reservations guarantee a seat until 3:50, after which seats will be sold to those waiting without reservations. 9,9$ 086,&$ 635,1* 6($621 :,1'6 83 9LYD 0XVLFD ZLOO RUJDQL]H D EXV WR WKLV ÂżQDO FRQFHUW RI WKH -DOLVFR 3KLOKDUPRQLF 2UFKHVtra. The price has been reduced to 250 pesos (350 pesos for non-members).As always, there will be a stop for dinner in a restaurant area in the Zona Rosa. The bus leaves at 10:00 a.m. 6XQGD\ $SULO )UHQFK 9LUWXRVLW\ Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Indy: Symphony on a French Mountain Air; 5DYHO 'DSKQLV &KORH FRPSOHWH 7KHUH ZLOO EH RQH ÂżQDO 9LYD EXV WULS WR *XDGDODMDUD for the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD 6DWXUGD\ $SULO 'RXEOH %LOO &DYDOOHULD 5XVWLFDQD by Mascagni and Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. Tenor Marcelo Ă lvarez rises to the challenge of playing the leading roles in operaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most enduring tragic double bill. Bus departs at 10:00. Get your tickets at LCS Thursdays and Fridays 10 to noon; or to make alternate payment arrangements contact Marshall Krantz (766-2834, mak1939@gmail.com) or Ingrid Goodridge (766-2194, philomenamex@hotmail.com). The buses depart from the carretera, just east of Farmacia Guadalajara in Ajijic. 648($.< :+((/ 5($',1*6 La Rueda (The Wheel), a coffee gallery in San Juan Cosala, stages monthly readings in English. They are KHOG RQ WKH ÂżUVW :HGQHVGD\ RI HDFK PRQWK DW The next reading will be on Wednesday, May 6. Readers in the last two months were Bonnie PhilOLSV $QWRQLR 5DPEOHV /DUU\ .ROF]DN %LOO )UD\HU %HFN\ 0F*XLJDQ 7RP +DOO\ 0DUJDUHW 9DQ (YHU\ 'LOLD 5REHUW 'U\QDQ 0HO *ROGEHUJ -XG\ '\NVWUD %URZQ DQG -HUHP\ 0RQURH Singer-songwriters are welcome if they write their own music and lyrics. Writers who want to read, or those needing further information, can contact Judy DykstraBrown. Email her at jubob2@hotmail.com. XOCHITL-MICHI-CIUALLI Work is well under way for this summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;V ÂżUVW HYHU LLT/LCS Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summer Theatre Camp. The camp is a collaborative project between the Lakeside Little Theatre and the /DNH &KDSDOD 6RFLHW\ and will be a performance by children enacting the ancient local legend of Queen Xochitl- Michi-Ciualli. Well known local Jeremy Monroe artist and alumnus of the original Neill James Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Program, $QWRQLR /RSH] 9HJD, has transformed the legend into a script and will be the Artistic Director of the production. Assisting Antonio will be 7KRP :HHNV -HQQLIHU Stan-
Antonio Lopez Vega and Friends OH\ and .DWKOHHQ 1HDO, Production Manager at LLT. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the participating children and their families, and is aimed at nurturing children who have shown an interest in art and taking it beyond the visual arts into the performing arts. Performances will be held for the families of the children at Lakeside Little Theatre on August 1 and 2. While no public performances will be given, volunteers who have worked on the project will be given a preview of the performance on July 31. Other Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Theatre projects sponsored by Lakeside Little Theatre will be forthcoming in the next year. Anyone wishing to volunteer may contact Kathleen Neal at kathleenandjuan@gmail.com or Jennifer Stanley at jenthom.enroute@gmail.com
Saw you in the Ojo 39
Garden Variety Birds %\ 'DOH ,QJUH\
T
here I was comfortably ensconced in my chair that Wednesday on the covered patio overlooking the beautifully manicured tropical garden of our casita. Beyond the bougainvillea and hibiscus hedges the Sierra Madre Mountains loomed in the distance and Lake Chapala spread out across my field of vision from east to west. I had just witnessed the drama of a Bewick’s wren grasping a butterfly in its beak down by the pool before I climbed the short flight of stairs to the patio, binoculars around my neck and coffee mug in hand. By this time of day, just before noon, the mist had dissipated and
40
the air felt warmer than earlier in the morning when I had made my first visit to the garden. The hummingbirds, orioles, goldfinches and sparrows were still active, taking turns visiting the fountain for a drink and darting in and out of the hedges. All of a sudden a golden-fronted woodpecker landed on the fountain and posed for a few seconds. Where was my camera? In the casita, of course. A variety of tropical plants, cacti, poinsettia, dracaena, philodendron, coleus, snake plants, sword plants and bird of paradise were meticulously planted in the garden in front of the hedge with roses, sweet wil-
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
liam, geranium, and marigold interspersed throughout. The flowers attract a myriad of pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and wasps, as well as warblers, from the common Wilson’s, yellow-rumped and Nashville warblers which I am used to seeing at home in Southern Ontario, to the never before seen Lucy’s and Virginia’s warblers (at least by me). And all the while the northern rough-winged swallows soar overhead catching flying insects. Occasionally the male vermilion flycatcher alights in the palm tree at the far corner of the yard pausing in his constant search for food. Like all flycatchers, he darts out without warning, snatches his prey and returns to perch and wait for another opportunity. On Monday I had joined the Lake Chapala Birders for an outing to the marsh boardwalk in Jocotepec and was thrilled to see both American Bittern and King Rail, along with a good variety of diving ducks, herons, Northern Jacana, moorhen, whitefaced ibis and American Coot; however this garden in our rented casita had provided more birding pleasure than just about anywhere else we have vacationed over the last dozen years or so. My friend Ron and his wife Maggie had kindly arranged this comfortable two-week rental for my wife, Nina and me, and enthusiastically showed us the sights in Ajijic and Chapala, all the while espousing the advantages of living in this “second best climate” in the world. No surprise to me that the weather in Lake Chapala is a major attraction for thousands of winter weary Canadians and Americans. On Saturday I joined a group of hikers for an invigorating trek into the hills north of Ajijic where I marvelled at the beauty of nature. Even during this very dry time of the year, January, wildflowers and shrubs were blooming. I tried to imagine these bone-dry ravines teeming with rushing water in the rainy season when the hills
are transformed into various shades of vibrant green. Alas, not much opportunity for birding this day though, since my companions are hikers, not birders. I did venture afield twice more, once to Cristiania Park in Chapala while my friend Ron was busy knocking tennis balls around the court, and then another time to join the birding group on an excursion to Tapalpa, which yielded several more lifers (birds seen for the first time), the brown-backed solitaire, acorn woodpecker, buff-breasted flycatcher, and ruffles-capped warbler among them. The final morning of our brief stay in Mexico arrived all too soon; however, I was determined to spend a couple of hours by the garden before heading to the airport. A male Nashville Warbler made a visit to the fountain before flying off. He was replaced by a yellow-rumped warbler, and then in turn hooded oriole, Scott’s Oriole, lesser goldfinches and grackles. The ubiquitous house sparrows that roost and build their nests in the underside of the patio roof seem to tolerate most casual visitors but these noisy grackles, a dozen or so, were clearly not welcome. And neither was the American Kestrel that landed on the upper branch of the palm tree by the pool. This little falcon, a hunter of mice and small birds, must strike terror into the hearts of the resident sparrows and finches. The garden was dead silent until the Kestrel flew off toward the western hills a few minutes later, having decided there was no easy prey here. And then it was time to drive to the airport. As I glanced skyward before loading the suitcases into the car, the swallows were soaring over the casas of Vista Alegre. Would some of these same winter visitors to Mexico manage to find their way back to Canada in the spring? I couldn’t help but wish then that I too could spend my winter months in the idyllic climate of Lake Chapala.
Saw you in the Ojo 41
PROFILING TEPEHUA %\ 0RRQ\HHQ .LQJ President of the Board for Tepehua
PRRQLH #\DKRR FRP
M
ichael Johnston wrote in Forbes 2009: The links between corruption and poverty affect both individuals and business, they run in both directions, poverty invites corruption while corruption deepens poverty. Corruption causes and thrives upon weaknesses in key economic, political and social institutions. The corruption we see here in Mexico may appear petty, but it still helps to keep people poor. Lower officials are paid such low wages that it breeds corruption, especially in that position of power where extortion and bribes can go undetected. Cobus de Swardt, as recently as January 2015, wrote: Research in more than a hundred countries shows that the level of corruption in any given country has a direct correlation with that country’s development. For example: In countries where more than 60% of the people report paying a bribe, almost five times more people live on a dollar a day, than in countries where less than 39% of the population admit to paying a bribe. Cobus also stated “We cannot win the war against poverty without first winning the battle against corruption.” Mexico is considered a newly-industrialized country, an upper middle-income country, and an emerg-
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
ing power. Wikipedia explains that from the late 1990’s onwards, the majority has been part of a growing middle class. This author hasn’t seen that. But Wikipedia goes on to report that from 2004 to 2008 the portion of the population that receive less than half of the median income has risen from 17% to 21% and absolute levels of poverty rose from 35 to 46%—that’s 52 million people. The infant mortality rate in Mexico is still three times higher than average among the OECD nations. Nevertheless, according to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Mexico will have the 5th largest economy in the world. Mexico does not have a healthy middle class. Politicians and pundits talk of the rising middle class, but it’s as little as one fifth of the population, and fifteen people can claim to be billionaires, Carlos Slim being number one. Even America’s middle class is under threat. A report from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and geography, claims Mexico’s elite upper class includes 1,340,000 people, or 1.7% of all the country’s inhabitants. By contrast the lower class includes 66.4 million residents, which is 59.1% of the country’s total population. Those are a lot of numbers, Mexico’s middle class is a struggling force, but one to be recognized. As long as there is a wide income gap between Rural and Urban population, with the underprivileged in the rural area, there will never be a healthy middle class, without which there will never be a healthy society. Just as Tepehua and its poverty is a breath away from the thriving town of Chapala. Forbes states “The Mexican Middle Class cannot do it on its own. It will need help to complete its manifest destiny.” Moonyeen King. President of the Board for Tepehua
Saw you in the Ojo 43
BRIDGE BY THE LAKE %\ .HQ 0DVVRQ
One of the first lessons we all learned at bridge was to plan the play of the hand before calling for a card from dummy. South didn’t do all his planning early enough in this hand played in a team game at the Lake Chapala Duplicate Bridge Club in Riberas and thereby failed in a slam contract he could have made. Holding a strong but slightly unbalanced 20 points North began proceedings with a bid of 1 club and South responded 1 spade. Now North made a “reverse” bid of 2 hearts showing a 4 card suit with longer clubs and 17 to 21points. With diamonds well stopped and an opening hand of his own South jumped to 3 no trump and North, with his extra values, took his partner all the way to slam. The bidding was aggressive but with 32 combined high card points and five card suits in each hand the contract was reasonable. West led the club 3 and South counted his sure tricks – 1 spade, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 1 club for 9 tricks. It looked like West may have underled the club king, and South could see that he would need the club finesse to work to have any chance, so he added 1 more trick to his mental pile. One possibility was to play West for the KJ103 of clubs and let the opening lead come around to his 9 but that was unlikely to succeed as most players with that holding would lead the jack. By the process of elimination declarer determined that spades were the most promising source of the extra tricks he needed. He figured that he could come to his hand, play a spade to the
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
jack and if that held he could cash the ace, get back to his hand and, if the king hasn’t dropped doubleton, play another spade and hope that the suit was divided 3-3 among the opponents and therefore the queen would set up as his 12th trick. Satisfied that he was on the right track South began his quest by calling for the club queen from dummy and was relieved to find that it held the trick. Next he led the heart 2 from the dummy to his ace and played the spade 3 to dummy’s jack and was delighted to have it win the trick – things were going right on plan. He now cashed the spade ace and the king failed to drop but to his horror he discovered he only had one entry left back to his hand where he desperately needed two. Then, too late, he saw the error of his ways: he should have played the heart two to the 10 in his hand to take the spade finesse. Then he would have had one more heart entry to set up a spade winner and finally a diamond entry to cash the slam-making queen! The success of the hand depended on declarer’s early recognition of the fact that he held all five of the top hearts and he could use them in whichever manner suited him. Playing the 2 to the ace was his undoing. My thanks to Stephen Segall for providing me with the material for this valuable lesson in entry preservation. Questions or comments: email: masson.ken@ gmail.com Ken Masson
Saw you in the Ojo 45
CHICO MENDES: Gandhi of the Rain Forest %\ 'U /RULQ 6ZLQHKDUW “Chico is alive in the things that he did, the things that he stood for.”
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n the evening of Thursday, December 22, 1988, Brazilian labor leader and environmental activist Chico Mendes was brutally gunned down before the horrified eyes of his four-year old daughter. Land developer Darly Alves da Silva was later convicted of having hired two men to assassinate him. That year, 19 rural activists were assassinated in Brazil alone. The struggle to protect the world’s ecosystem is often a war in which the best and the brightest sacrifice their lives. Mendes was a rubber tapper. Tappers harvest latex from rubber trees in the rain forest, practicing a form of monoculture less destructive to the ecosystem than coffee or palm oil farming. Mendes grew up in poverty, unable to read or write until he turned 18. Plantation owners prohibited education, preferring a population of docile worker ants, who could be manipulated and intimidated. With maturity, Chico grew ever more saddened and angered by the poverty and injustice suffered by the tappers. Beginning in the 1960’s, under the iron heel of a brutal dictatorship, Brazil launched a program to raze Ama-
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
zonia and convert the land to cattle grazing. Roads were cut through the forest, and settlement was encouraged. After a few years, the soil was exhausted and people lost everything, often settling in crowded tenements. The consequences for the tappers were calamitous. To protect the basic human rights of tappers and indigenous peoples from those intent on destroying the forest and those dependent upon it, the Xapuri Rubber Tappers Union was founded in 1970. Mendes served as president. Mendes and the union initiated a literacy program for tappers and advocated the formation of extractive reserves, areas managed by local communities with the right to harvest forest products guaranteed. They used a series of nonviolent protests called empates, drawing upon the techniques of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, to protect the forest, often forming human barricades to halt
bulldozers. Standing up to powerful landowners, corrupt politicians and heavyhanded police is a risky business. The opposition recruited armed vigilantes to attack union members. Beatings and killings became common. Mendes was brought to Washington by US environmental groups to successfully convince the World Bank not to fund cattle projects in Amazonia but to encourage the extractive reserves. He was presented with the UN Environmental Program Global 500 Roll of Honor Award in 1987 and the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Award in 1988. The interconnectedness of human rights and environmental issues was soon evident to Mendes. He observed, “At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, and then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.” In 1987, rancher Darly Alvas da Silva, already wanted for murder, purchased the land where many tappers were working, with the intention of clear-cutting it for cattle grazing. The union successfully lobbied the government to declare it a reserve, preventing da Silva from logging the area. In revenge, da Silva had Mendes
murdered. Brazil later declared that part of Amazonia the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve and set aside 20 other such areas, totaling 8 million acres. A movie was made about Chico, entitled “The Burning Season”, and Paul McCartney dedicated a song to him, “Flowers in the Dirt.” Da Silva and his cohorts received lengthy prison sentences, but the destruction of the rain forest continues to this day, as does the violence. Between 1988 and 2008, 1,100 activists, priests and judges were killed. In 2005, American-born nun Sister Dorothy Strang was murdered because of her advocacy on behalf of tappers and the rain forest. Given the apparent acquiescence of the U.S. government when confronted by the relatively recent bullish behavior of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his mob of armed crazies, perhaps the story of Chico Mendes and his attackers is a harbinger of our own future, where private armies and hired bullies can break the law and walk away unscathed. Dr. Lorin Swinehart
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THE GHOSTS AMONG US %\ )UHG 0LWWDJ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cognitive Dissonance: When Truth Is Difficultâ&#x20AC;?
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man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.â&#x20AC;? So wrote psychologist Leon Festinger, words that today could refer to climate change denial or belief that President Obama was born in Kenya. But Festinger was writing in the 50s, interested in why people of strong conviction are so resistant to changing their beliefs even in the face of undeniable evidence. He had studied the tendency to maintain consistency, expressed in such ways as by always sitting in the same seat at church. He knew that the introduction of a new piece of knowledge (a cognition) that is inconsistent with a currently held cognition creates a state of â&#x20AC;&#x153;dissonanceâ&#x20AC;? that can be uncomfortable. Festinger learned about a cult that believed the end of the world was coming. Their prophetess was Marian Keech. She claimed to receive messages by telepathy from a planet she called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Clarion.â&#x20AC;? This was at a time when newspapers frequently reported sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. Ms. Keech was associated with a movement that later became Scientology, of which actor
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
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Tom Cruise is a member. Festinger infiltrated Marian Keechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cult, called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seekers.â&#x20AC;? She said the end of the world was coming December 21, 1954. The whole North American continent would split in two and be flooded by the sea. Festinger wanted to observe the reaction of the believers when it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen. The Seekers believed they were going to be rescued by space aliens known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Guardiansâ&#x20AC;? who would come for them in a flying saucer. Members had taken strong measures to prepare for the end. Some had given away property and left jobs and spouse to prepare for the end. The Seekers gathered at Ms. Keechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to await the flying saucer. They had removed bras and fly zippers because the metal could damage the flying saucer in flight. Although worried about the end of the world, two members were less invested and stayed home. Professor Festinger predicted those two would leave the cult when the end did not come. But he said those who had given their homes away and were gathered around Ms. Keech would only increase their faith in her after the world did not end. Festinger predicted that it would be difficult for the cult to change their beliefs because of their financial and emotional investment. At midnight, there was no sign of the spaceship in Ms. Keechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yard and the group became nervous. But they waited. Finally, Ms. Keech became elated. She had just received a message from space that because her followers were people of such faith, God would spare the world. She told her followers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mighty is the word of God and by His word have ye been saved. Not since the beginning of time upon this Earth has there been such a force of Good and light as now floods this room.â&#x20AC;?
Ms. Keech’s prophecy had failed, but not Dr. Festinger’s. The Seekers who stayed home and were less invested recognized the reality that Marian Keech was a fraud. But those around her shifted from despair to exhilaration. They became even more dedicated and began to convert outsiders to the cult, telling them of the miracle. The failure of the flying saucer to arrive was a dissonance in their belief system that was too uncomfortable to accept. The professor had predicted that one option for the believers to reduce their dissonance would be to gain social support. Festinger wrote, “If more and more people can be persuaded that the system of belief is correct, then clearly it must after all be correct.” Festinger published a book about the Seekers, When Prophecy Fails. He used the pseudonym Marian Keech. Her real name was later revealed to be Dorothy Martin. Her cult also knew her as Sister Thedra. To become a more fervent believer after something has been disconfirmed by evidence, Festinger concluded there must be several conditions, including: (1) A belief must be held with deep conviction and it must be more than meditative. It must relate to action,
such as attending meetings or doing volunteer work. (2) The person holding the belief must have taken some action that is difficult to undo, such as a financial investment in it. (3) The believer must have social support. An isolated individual cannot maintain belief in something that has been disproven by evidence. But a group can withstand contrary evidence and may attempt to proselytize. Leon Festinger was a pioneer whose work has been cited many times. He called his theory “cognitive dissonance.” Hundreds of studies have since advanced what he began, studies that have a multitude of applications, including mind control and advertising. They help explain political polarization and how people can be stubbornly wrong, in spite of undeniable evidence. Festinger’s work helps appreciate the challenge for people like Charles Darwin, who advanced science, knowing he would create unpopular cognitive dissonance in religious belief. Leon Festinger taught us that we’re not as rational as we would like to believe. Fred Mittag
Saw you in the Ojo 49
HELL EXPLAINED—By a Chemistry Student &RXUWHV\ RI 0DUJLH .HDQH
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he following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid-term and an actual answer turned in by a student. The answer by this student was so ‘profound’ that the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well: Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion,
we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities: 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose. 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, “It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then it must be true and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct—leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why last night Teresa kept shouting “Oh, my God!” The student received an A+.
READER ADVISORY! Brother Isaacs is Cal Crenshaw’s wonderfully colorful recollection of an ancestor of his who in 1889 migrated to the northeastern part of the United States in what was then known as Indian Territory. It can be found at http://chapala.com/elojo/index.php/mid-montharticles Each mid-month, we will be offering superb articles that while a bit too long for our print version are perfect for our new format. Check it out!
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Saw you in the Ojo 51
I Shall Return! %\ -LP 5DPER
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hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been considerable discussion during the past year about the use of torture by agents of the United States. The recent release of a damning Senate report has confirmed that the torture of those deemed terrorists has been commonplace since 9-11. Two men have been identified as those responsible for the creation of the torture program. However, what some have not yet heard is that the two were paid in excess of $70 million dollars for developing their evil plans. Further, I confess today to having applied for the job years ago, anticipating those financial rewards, which were considerably more than my previous governmental work had paid. And so, I conceived a plan. Over the course of several years I attempted, here in Mexico, to prove my worthiness as a torture expert who inflicts pain on others without conscience. It was with those Mexican credentials in hand that I intended to approach the Defense Department. Citizens of Ajijic are aware of my accomplishments locally in pursuit of my goal. Allow me to explain: Knowing that an investment would have to be made first, I withdrew $25,000 U.S. from my bank account here. I was certain that, with that amount, I would achieve my ends. I began first by approaching a group of underpaid municipal workers in Ajijic. For a fair sum they agreed to ignore the repair of red lights in the middle of the village, thereby causing consternation amongst the driving public. They also agreed to increase the size and volume of topes to be found on the carreterra coming east into the village. Promises were extracted that they would do no road repair work on main village access calles unless the Christmas holidays were imminent. Having no entrance to the village via Colon would be pure torture! I found many gringos who were willing, for a price, to only use the Super Lake grocery store on Saturdays in spite of their being retired and able to shop any other day. The parking lots there on Saturdays were thereafter jammed
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
with cars whose older drivers generally found it difficult to navigate in reverse. Some went so far as to pay me the compliment of referring to it all as â&#x20AC;&#x153;torture.â&#x20AC;? Several bankers agreed to assist in my efforts for a price. They agreed to delay setting up bill payments out of customer accounts for four to six months. No explanation would be given for the extended delay. In addition, when amounts were to be withdrawn, they contracted with me to give as many $500 peso bills as possible and only give lesser amounts when requested. Each time any transaction would take place, the customer would have to present an immigration document, no matter if such transactions were made on a daily basis. Customer recognition would not be recognized! After about six months of buying this level of cooperation, I knew that I was well on the way to proving my talents to the U.S. Government as one without equal in the imposition of torture. My tactics were working splendidly. But there were a few more adjustments to be made. Within the following six months, they were all achieved. One kitchen worker at a restaurant that welcomed writers who would read and be critiqued on their work was bribed to play a radio just loud enough to be a distraction to those trying to listen to the readers. He would also monkey with the amplification system before the writers arrived. Several writers would attempt to read before the torture would be brought to a merciful end by a techie in the group, whom I had neglected to bring into my scheme. Soon thereafter, I made my appointment with the man behind the scenes in Washington, a red-faced, balding man with steely gray hair. For reasons of national security, his name cannot be mentioned here. As he reviewed my application for employment as a torture expert, my interviewer winced and tugged at his chest. I remained stoic in spite of my thirst for approval. He continued scanning my documents with a
critical eye and then leaned across his desk toward me, glaring in the fashion the public has come to expect of him. “I anticipated finding qualifications for torture in this application but nothing like this. Why, you have gone completely overboard with this project. You might as well have subjected your fellow citizens to water boarding, watching Adam Sandler movies, or listening to old tapes of Bob Dylan. But I’m very sorry to say that your investment appears to have been wasted. This government cannot use your services. However, we will reimburse you your $25,000 out of respect for your imagi-
native efforts.” I knew then that man in charge knew a fellow dick when he met one. I left the interview disappointed but undaunted. It turns out now that I had good reason. After all, what’s happened to those who did conceive the approved torture plans and those who implemented them? We all know: nothing, nada, zip, so listen up, Ajijic. One day, without fear of retribution, I’ll be back! Jim Rambo
Saw you in the Ojo 53
Anyone Can Train Their Dog %\ $UW +HVV artthedogguy@yahoo.com
The Other End of the Leash
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or the most part teaching basic obedience to the average dog is not difficult. We get their attention. Name, Focus. We use positive reward based training so we use a treat to lure the dog into position and reward the action. After this you repeat and reward. The problem exists with the other end of the leash. Many people have difficulty accepting the basics that make your training efforts easier and more successful. So here’s my list’ There must always be reason for the dog to perform a task. It’s called motivation. We use positive reward based motivation and we start with food because it’s the easiest. Always set your dog up to succeed. This includes an environment that the student knows, no distractions, and making the task easy to perform. Clearly identify that which you want to teach. Break it into the smallest teachable and learnable steps. Lure, Reward, Repeat. Timing is everything. We mark the dog’s achievement with a specific word, like “yes” or “good” or if you are Clicker training this is when you would click. This marking must be at the exact time the dog successfully performs the task. If you are 5 or 10 seconds late the dog doesn’t relate the reward to a specific action and all you are doing is feeding the dog. Never give a command until you have the dog’s attention. This is why we teach Name, Attention, Focus. If you don’t have the dog’s attention you are simply setting yourself and the dog up for failure. Old time trainers used to say “if your dog’s not looking at you his ears are facing away and you’re just yellin’ at his butt.” Don’t make changes in the environment, add distractions, or change the duration of the expected task, until you have completely mastered the task. Only then do you change places and add new steps. Training success is a direct re-
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
sult of repetition. Five or ten smaller training sessions a day that include lots of successful repetitions will achieve much more than an hour every two days. The secret is to make the desired action automatic every time the student receives a verbal or physical signal. If, for example, you want the dog to stop and sit before you proceed through a door or down a few stairs, you train with lures and rewards and expect correct performance every time. Gradually the dog will automatically sit and the reward will phase down to a vocal, “Thank You” or “Good Dog” and a simple pat. Avoid accidental punishment. I regularly see these two examples of accidental punishment. Many people will call their dog from a distance and then turn and start to walk to the car. The dog comes and is not acknowledged or recognized as having come when called and the first comment from the owner as he turns his back and walks away is “Hurry up and get in the car”. The second common case is when people let the dog play in the park and when they are ready to go they call the dog and as soon as he gets near, they snare him, snap on the leash, and hustle him off to the car. Both of these are cases of accidental punishment. Not intentional but they have neglected to praise or even acknowledge the dog for coming and they have ignored the fact that the dog was having fun and maybe wasn’t ready to leave. Don’t reinforce improper or unwanted actions or performances. Remember, every time you ignore a dog who is doing what you don’t want him to do you are reinforcing whatever he is doing at that time as being a correct action. Your message is telling him that you accept what he is doing as another acceptable procedure. “Loose leashes Happy Tails” Art Hess
Saw you in the Ojo 55
The Fairly Tragic Story of “Bjorn Bjork” %\ -RKQ :DUG
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jorn Bjork was born in 1866 and had become known as his country’s most revered author, and with books like: I am Unhappy Snow, My Favorite Color is Clear and I Will Not Hang Myself Today amongst others, Bjorn Bjork showed the world that not all his countrymen were humorless and dull. Because of his countrymen’s natural abhorrence of anything pleasurable, Bjorn’s mother had only one child and that was still-born. Carl Jung later speculated that it was this experience that made her more nurturing than the average mother. In fact, at a civil trial brought by a neighbor who thought Bjorn had chuckled at him, housemaid Brunshooeh Quagmire testified in court that Bjorn’s mother touched him on the head twice; once when he was deathly ill and once by mistake when she thought he was the family pet. Growing up in Oulu was not easy for Bjorn and after an unrequited love affair with a disoriented “Lap” dancer - from Lapland, Bjorn spent several years in a small, but charming asylum. He was sent to Iceland because his depression had caused him to run through the streets of Oulu lifting women’s skirts and whistling his National Anthem, Maamme, to their exposed nether regions.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
After a brief twelve years of electroshock therapy, Bjorn was released and began writing of his experiences, but found that his countrymen could not have cared less about Iceland. As a result many of his works about that country have been lost, but a few still remain. Written in hieroglyphics (a side effect of the electroshock therapy) with a #2 pencil, these works are archived in the Snoolerpop Institute in Reykjavik and, we are told, will never see the light of day. Bjorn Bjork’s writing influenced many writers of the day. Cantaloupe Gustavansenson credits his Elegy on Country Snow to Bjork and allows that his famous Scandinavian Saga called: The Famous Scandinavian Saga was heavily influenced by Bjork’s popular children’s book, How a Wolf Will Eat Your Face. His next book My Rush at a Wall was written so enigmatically as to be incomprehensible to most, but became Bjork’s best seller because almost every one of his countrymen bought the book, thinking it would impress visiting company. I myself have a copy of Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake on my mantel for just such a purpose. For several years after, it seemed nobody was interested in Bjork’s writing; then, as if by some miracle Bjork’s father died from spontaneous combustion. Suddenly Oulu experienced two emotions at once – confusion and relief. People had never experienced a mix of emotions before, but sympathy fell on Bjorn Bjork just as he was completing his 47th work entitled My Father Will Live Forever – Damn It. Bjorn Bjork was ecstatic and due to his new-found fame met a woman amongst the crowd of well-wishers. Wedding plans were soon in the air and after an appropriate period of time, seven years, the couple wed and as the wedding bell tolled and the minister said the final wedding phrase: “Now, if you really must, you may touch the bride’s sleeve,” a cheer broke from the crowd of well-wish-
ers; only a single cheer because there is an exponential tax on any cheer exceeding one in that country. It was at this time that Bjorn wrote, not his best work, but definitely his most romantic work. It was hailed as the most romantic book in his country for two entire days. Inspired by his marriage, Bjorn wrote the tome: I Never Knew What That Was For. The Bjork household would never know the thrilling sound of children running in terror, because, as a friend said: “He still doesn’t know what that is for!” Bjork died peacefully while being
driven to church. His carriage was being drawn by an inexperienced colt called Shoofie. The bridge ice caused Shoofie to slip and after a complete 360 degree skid, Shoofie dropped the cab onto the Oulujoki river ice below. Bjorn Bjork left his brain to his country on the surface ice of the Oulujoki. All agreed: that was exactly where he would be happiest. John Ward
Saw you in the Ojo 57
The Ojo Crossword
ACROSS 1 Present 6 Replace a striker 10 Limbs 14 Sea snail 15 Whirr 16 Bloke 17 Eagle´s nest 18 Canal 19 Roman eight 20 Element 21 African nation 23 North northeast 24 Russian ruler 26 Resounded 28 Mineral 31 Game animal 32 Negative .LQG RI À\ 36 Asian bird 40 Seaweed substance 42 Hoopla 43 Prophet who built the arc 44 Shrewd 45 Grab 48 River (Spanish) 49 Obstacle 51 Believable 53 Opp. of exoteric 56 A few 57 Whichever 58 Type of screwdriver 61 Talk
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
65 Rampage 67 Paradise 68 Offering 69 Volcano 70 Tint 71 Atop (2 wds.) 72 Tryout 73 Poky 74 African country DOWN 1 Cob 2 Formal “you” $LU SUH¿[
4 Shines 5 Stretch to make do 6 Pointed weapon 7 Whorl 8 Opera solo 9 Beer maker 10 Air Cushion Vehicle (abbr.) 11 Rhinoceros´ nickname 12 American state 13 Saw 21 Female parent 22 Frozen water 25 Add up 27 Anthem 28 Chew 29 Bear or Berra 30 Parent groups 31 Diagram 34 Yin´s partner 35 Those who make the food laws (abbr.) 37 Past times 38 Nab 39 Sailors “hey” 41 Drowse 45 Trinket bags 46 Clunk 47 That man 50 Snip 52 Making lock openers 53 Insertion mark 54 Fuse 55 French city 56 Tendon 59 Teen hero 60 Comedian Jay 62 Lawyer (abbr.) 63 Dice 64 Stored 66 Make lace 68 Foot extension
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Vehicular Conundrums
D
riving in Chapala has been very difficult for the last four or five months, and it doesn’t look like it will get any better in the near future. I know there are many of you who have been dealing with your own problems in Ajijic, and that you don’t get over to Chapala very often, so, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Use defensive driving! And make sure you know your way around Chapala! Prior to the holidays, the powers that be started remodeling the central plaza. Our Christmas décor was limited, our taxis were misplaced, the telephone stand inoperable, our vendors vacated, and one of our busiest streets was closed for one block. Pedestrians, busses, those who used taxis and drivers all set in for a long-term inconvenience in the hopes that the overall result would be for the best. Shortly after that, however, the main road in front of Christiania Park started major renovations. The aforementioned busy main road was now closed at the main street and at the park. Or, according to the locals, alto y debajo, the top and the bottom. Those of us who lived in between on this one-way were now navigationally challenged. We could no longer legally drive to our houses, or on several of the alternate routes due to the large amount of construction. It is not unusual right now to take an alternate route only to get to the block before exiting on main street, and find that it, too, is closed. Now this is causing quite the conundrum. I am going left to go right. North to go south, east to go west, and my four-letter-word vocabulary is getting a work out. One morning I drove down my street, dropped my husband off, and drove around the block. By the time I was to turn back on my street…it had been closed! An attempt to pick up my maid one morning turned into an entire loop around Chapala—a quick 5-10 minute round trip took 30 minutes!
How to spot a closed street in Chapala? Guess! OK, most of the time there is yellow police tape across the road. You can’t see it until the car in front of you stops, pauses, hits reverse, sees your car, then turns left or right. Then you figure out why when YOU see the yellow tape. Of course, sometimes there is a hazard sign in the middle of the road. Sometimes there are just trucks parked horizontally to stop further progress. And of course, there is always the good old standby: The guy in the orange vest waving wildly at you. It certainly isn’t unusual to find someone driving the wrong way down a one-way in Mexico. But in my neighborhood it has become the standard-as is driving in reverse down the one-way. I did that until I took out a tail light one day. So now I just stick to driving the wrong way turning around and finally parking at my house. Eventually, the plaza was finished and the upper road to the main street was opened. But the vendors were not allowed back on the plaza. So the parking spots they took to sell their wares are still occupied, as if there is an abundance of parking in Chapala? I’ve spoken to many of my Mexican friends. They are unhappy that their shopping and their vendors were displaced over the Holiday season hitting them hard during a very difficult year. Still they haven’t been allowed back in the plaza. It isn’t just the parking and driving that has been inconvenienced but both the plaza vendors and the stores along the street where their access has been limited. Of course, rumors abound as to the various reasons why they aren’t back in the plaza. But I don’t hold much to rumors, since they are abundant and truth seems elusive. Meanwhile, our wonderful climate decides to add a burden to the entire process of change. Unseasonable rains have slowed the progress, and in one case, completely washed out the newly opened pathway that was the entrance to our street. So for a brief few days we were actually able to drive
to our houses legally. But we are now back to driving the wrong way. The amazing thing about all this is how everyone seems to adapt. Perhaps this is fortunate, because the project in Chapala near the park will take a very long time. Homeowners who live on Gonzolez Gallo are the most inconvenienced. They have lost their sidewalks, easy access to their homes, their water has been turned on and off many times. Some small abbarotes have changed their hours, and built make-shift entrances. But everyone seems to come together to try to make this all work. Our greatest concern having seen what has happened to the west side of the street is what will happen when the start on the east side? This is the side of the street that Cruz Roja is located. How will people access Cruz Roja? Meanwhile the rain and the heavy trucks going to the construction site have taken their toll on Morelos. The street is barely passable with sink holes and pot holes. The workers still seem to take it in stride. They work using mostly hand tools and wheel barrows. They direct traffic around trucks bringing in supplies, and the normal traffic just trying to get where they need to be. They stand with their orange vests
and wave the traffic with their orange flags. Always smiling, I wonder if their arms ever get tired? We’ve been complaining about the weather, how do they feel about it? People who live in Chapala wonder how long this entire project will take. Some said it was to have been completed by Carnival— which has come, and gone. Others are saying three more months, while others jest, no, three more years! Victoria Schmidt
Saw you in the Ojo 59
“People Helping People”
The
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News Scenes from the...
www.lakechapalasociety.com
April 2015
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7KH 1HZ %RDUG Front row: Cate Howell, Carole Wolff, Lois Cugini, Barbara Hildt, Yoly Martinez. Back Row: Keith Martin, Ben White, Michael Searles, Garry Musgrave, Fred Harland.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
LCSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; New Volunteer Coordinator
Meet Rachel McMillen our new Volunteer Coordinator. Rachel has lived DW /DNHVLGH IRU ÂżYH \HDUV Before that, she came from many locations around the world including Australia, British Columbia and London. Rachel also happens to be the author of the popular Dan Connor mystery series. Her third book premiers this summer and she will be going on a book tour soon! Rachel's goals for her new position is to be a liaison for the volunteers and help them make "LCS as good as it can be". Currently, she is looking for volunteers in many areas, events, health services, membership, library, computer classes. Much-needed RIÂżFH YROXQWHHUV PXVW KDYH OLYHG KHUH DW /DNHVLGH IXOOWLPH for a year. Thank you Rachel, and welcome to the LCS family of volunteers. You are helping us meet our mission of people helping people.
AbueLindaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Authentic Mexican Cuisine
April classes: Location: Constitucion #3, Ajijic. Cost: $300 or $350 non-members. Questions: 766-0955 or email: abuelindascuisine@gmail.com. Tianguis to Table 1 April, Wednesday, 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30 meet at Salvadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Carretera and Revolucion) Registration deadline: March 31 Mexican Soups, Stews, Salads and Salsas: Pasta Poblano and Pico de Gallo 2 April, Thursday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm. Registration deadline: March 31 0H[LFDQ 6SHFLDOWLHV )URP 9HUDFUX] Âą 3HVFDGR D OD 9HUDFUX]DQD April 7, Tuesday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6pm Registration deadline: April 3 Tianguis to Table 8 April, Wednesday, 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30 Meet at Salvadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Carretera and Revolucion) Registration deadline: April 6 Mexican Soups, Stews, Salads and Salsas: Mole Poblano or Mole Verde 9 April, Thursday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Registration deadline: April 7 0H[LFDQ 6SHFLDOWLHV 5RDVWHG 3RUN IURP -DOLVFR LQ 7RUWD Ahogada 14 April, Tuesday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6pm Registration deadline: April 10
More Dirt From the Gardens
The garden team accepted a generous gift of a low handle shovel while planting the comemorative maple tree marking the anniversary of 70 years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Canada. This shovel is being put to good use already. Thank you to Ben White, LCS President for the contribution. We would like to send a shout of appreciation out to the volunteers who readied the gardens for Viva Mexico. The gardens provided a fantastic photo opportunity and it was wonderful seeing the dancers and models posing throughout the gardens for this remarkable photo shoot. We rescued a wayward monarch caterpillar recently. 2XU IULHQGV DW +DYH +DPPHUV EXLOG EXWWHUĂ&#x20AC;\ FDJHV DQG save caterpillars from precarious places in the garden. The volunteer gardeners are learning more about this endangered species so we can rescue them.
Tianguis to Table 15 April, Wed., 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30 Meet at Salvadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Carretera and Revolucion) Registration deadline: April 13 0H[LFDQ 6RXSV 6WHZV 6DODGV DQG 6DOVDV &UHDP\ &DODED]D 6RXS 6WXIIHG &DODEDFLWD 16 April, Thursday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Registration deadline: April 14 Mexican Specialties: Gorditas and Sopa de Tortilla 21 April, Tuesday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Registration deadline: 17 April Tianguis to Table 22 April, Wednesday, 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30 Meet at Salvadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Carretera and Revolucion) Registration deadline: April 20 0H[LFDQ 6SHFLDOWLHV )URP *XHUUHUR Âą 7DOOD 3HVFDGR 23 April, Thursday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Registration deadline: April 20 0H[LFDQ 6SHFLDOWLHV )URP 3XHEOD Âą 6RSD GH $MR 7LQJD GH Pollo 28 April, Tuesday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6pm Registration deadline: April 24 Tianguis to Table 29 April, Wednesday, 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30 Meet at Salvadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Carretera and Revolucion) Registration deadline: April 24 Mexican Specialties: An overview of Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive FXOLQDU\ FXOWXUH 30 April, Tuesday, 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6pm Registration deadline: April 28
Saw you in the Ojo 61
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April Activities *Open to the Public ** US Citizens (S) Sign in required (C) Membership card required Cruz Roja Sales Table CRIV Monthly Meeting
CRUZ ROJA *
HEALTH INSURANCE * IMSS & Immigration Services Lakeside Insurance Broker
Mon-Fri 10-1 2nd Wed 2-5 Mon+Tues 10-1 Tues+Thur 11-2
HEALTH & LEGAL SERVICES * Becerra Immigration Thur 10:30-12:30 Blood Pressure Fri 10-12 Hearing Aid Services (S) Mon+2nd+4th, Sat 11-4 Ministerio Publico Wed Apr 1+15 10-2 Claravision Optometrist (S) Thur 9-4 Pharmaceutical Consultantion 4th M10-12 Skin Cancer Screening (S) 2nd + 4th Wed 10-12 :30 US Consulate** Wed Apr 8 10-12 Sign up 10-11:30 LESSONS (C) Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Sat 10-12* Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reading Program Sat 9-10* Exercise Mon+Wed+Fri 9-10 Intermediate Hatha Yoga Tue+ Thur 2-3:30, Sat 1-2:30 Line Dancing Tues+Thur 10-11:15
Are you traveling north and returning soon? Or have someone coming to visit? We have been very fortunate UHFHQWO\ LQ KDYLQJ VXIÂżFLHQW FRXULHUV WR NHHS WKH 9LGHR Library current, but now we need your help. We order them on-line, pre-pay them and have them delivered to your address of choice.
7KH +XQGUHG )RRW -RXUQH\ #6873 Helen Mirren Comedy 7KH -XGJH Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall Drama Love is Strange #6882 John Lithgow and Alfred Molina Comedy 'RZQWRQ $EEH\ Year Five #6888/89/90 Fargo Year One #6884/85/86/87 Billy Bob Thornton Crime series :HOFRPH WR WKH 6WLFNV French comedy English subtitles Activities News Beginnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iPad classes will resume on August 27. For more information, contact lcsipadclasses@gmail.com.
LIBRARIES Audio Thur 10-12 Book & Video Mon-Sat 10-2 Library of Congress Books**/ Talking Books Thur 10-12 Wilkes Mon-Fri 9:30-7, Sat 9:30-1 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (C) All Things Tech Fri 9:30-11:30 Beginners iPad Classes (S) Thur 10-11:45 Bridge 4 Fun Tue + Thur 1-5 Conversaciones en EspaĂąol Mon 10-12 Discussion Group Wed 12-1:30 English/Spanish Conversation Sat 11-12 Everyday Mindfulness Mon10:15-11:45 )LOP $ÂżFLRQDGRV 7KXU Genealogy Forum Last Mon 2-4 History Club Tue Apr 14 1:30-4 Mac OS 1st Mon 12-1 Mac User Group 3rd Wed 1-2 Needle Pushers Tues 10-12 Neill James Lectures 1st + 3rd Tue 2-4 Open Gaming (open to the public from 2) Mon 1-4* Philosophy Group Wed 10:-12 Scrabble Mon+Fri 12-1:50 TED Learning Seminars Tues 12-1:20 ends Apr 14 Tournament Scrabble Tues 12-1:50 SERVICE & SUPPORT GROUPS * Have Hammer Workshop Demo Mon 10-12* Information Desk Mon-Sat 10-2 Lakeside AA Mon +Thur 4:30-5:30 Ninos de Chapala y Ajijic Fri 10-12 Begins Apr 17 Open Circle Sun 10-12:30 SMART Recovery Wed 2:30-4 Toastmasters Mon 7-8:30 pm
*RRG :LWK <RXU +DQGV" Special Events Coordinator Karla Boentgen is looking for SHRSOH ZLWK D ELW RI Ă&#x20AC;DLU WR KHOS ZLWK ÂżHVWD GHFRUDWLRQV JUHHW guests, and collect tickets. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to have you work with us. Call Karla at 766-0461 for more information.
IT Position Open :H QHHG DQ ,QIRUPDWLRQ WHFKQRORJ\ SHUVRQ WR ÂżOO D YROXQWHHU VWDII SRVLWLRQ 7KH TXDOLÂżHG FDQGLGDWH PXVW EH DQ /&6 PHPber, have experience in building computers, installing software, trouble-shooting computer and network problems, and building and managing networks. Position requires climbing stairs several times a day. If you are interested, please contact Robert Katz at bobkat1226@ gmail.com
Convert Your Tapes to DVD Only $50 pesos each tape. Drop them off in the Video Library.
TICKET SALES Monday-Friday 10-12 *
62
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
Viva eSun!
Follow Us on Facebook
,Q WKH ÂżUVW IXOO \HDU RI RSHUDtion-2013-2014, our eSun power array saved LCS a whopping 59.3%!
Now you can follow us on Facebook. Keep up on all things LCS - programs, activities, special events, updates and news. Like us at www.facebook.com/lakechapalasociety.
If You Have Time, You Can Make a Difference!
Call Casi Nuevo at 106-2121 during business hours--10 a.m.- 3 p.m Monday through Saturday, or e-mail us at CasiNuevoAjijic@gmail.com. Yes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel good, promise.
'LUHFWRULHV DUH +HUH The new directories are hot off the press and available in WKH /&6 VHUYLFH RIÂżFH -XVW VKRZ \RXU PHPEHUVKLS FDUG and get your Membership Directory. There are important telephone numbers for Lakeside, information about Mexican holidays, embassies and consulates, ORFDO ÂżHVWDV HYHQWV DQG RI FRXUVH WKH FXUUHQW PHPEHUVKLS It also includes information our programs and services, history, and a listing of local businesses, services; practical information on making phone calls, and accessing informational websites.
APRIL BUS TRIP The only LCS Bus trip in April LCS will be traveling to the popular Galerias Mall on Wednesday, April 15th. The bus will leave from the sculpture in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. Join fellow shoppers when they enjoy a day of shopping at the Galerias Mall which includes stores like Liverpool, Best Buy, H&M, Sears, and other great stores. The mall is adjacent to Costco, Super Walmart, Super Mega and Samâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club. Also there are a variety of great restaurants like: The Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Chiliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s , Applebeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and Outback Steak House. Something for everyone. LCS bus trips sell out quickly, so buy your tickets soon in WKH /&6 VHUYLFH RIÂżFH FRVW LV SHVRV IRU PHPEHUV DQG $300 pesos for non-members.
Thanks to Casther Paints LCS received a generous donation of much-needed waterUHSHOOHQW URRÂżQJ PDWHULDOV IURP &DVWKHU 3DLQWV IRU WKH URRI RI WKH 6HUYLFH 2IÂżFH
TKXUVGD\ )LOP $ÂżFLRQDGRV Open to LCS members only. Bring your card. All films shown in the Sala from 2-4 p.m. No food. No pets. $SULO 2015 UK A disoriented young British soldier is separated from his unit during a riot in Belfast in 1971. Jack O'Connell (Starred Up) is amazing in this intense drama. My early favorite for the Oscars. $SULO 7KH 6HOÂżVK *LDQW 2013 UK A contemporary fable about a 13 year-old and his IULHQG ERWK PLVÂżWV LQ WKHLU RZQ QHLJKERUKRRG ,QVSLUHG E\ an Oscar Wilde story. $SULO 6DOW RI WKH 6HD 2008 - Palestine Sorya, a Brooklyn born Palestinian discovers that her grandfather's account was frozen in an Israeli bank when he was exiled in 1948. She is determined to claim what is hers. $SULO &KLQDWRZQ 1974 USA Private eye Jack Nicholson is living in the murky moral climate of pre-WWII Los Angeles when he's hired by a socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband's LQÂżGHOLW\ 2QH RI P\ WRS RI DOO WLPH $SULO 7KH 'URS 2014 USA %RE 6DJLQRZVNL ÂżQGV KLPVHOI DW WKH FHQWHU RI D UREEHU\ JRQH DZU\ -DPHV *DQGROÂżQR V 7KH *RGIDWKHU ODVW movie.
Introduction to Spanish This is a casual class offered for the beginner that covers the Spanish alphabet, simple vocabulary, phrases, and other useful information about Lakeside and Mexican culture. &ODVVHV DUH KHOG WKH ÂżUVW 7XHVGD\ RI WKH PRQWK DQG run for three weeks from noon to 1:30 p.m. Materials are provided and tuition is $175 pesos. For information, email Peter Donaldson spanishprogram@lakechapalasociety.com.
THE LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY, A.C. 16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco LCS Main Office: (376) 766-1140 Office, information and other services - Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. Grounds open until 5:00 p.m. LCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS. President - Ben White (2016); Vice-President - Cate Howell (2017); Treasurer - Michael Searles (2017); Secretary - Carole Wolff (2016); Directors: Lois Cugini (2017); Ernest Gabbard (2016); Barbara Hildt (2017); Fred Harland (2015); Keith Martin (2016); Pete Soderman (2016); Immediate Past President: Howard Feldstein. Executive Director - Terry Vidal
The LCS Newsletter is published monthly. Deadline for submissions is the 17th of the month preceding publication. Submit all news items to newsletter@lakechapalasociety.com Note: The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all submissions according to time, space availability and editorial decision.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
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Service
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
www.tel.chapala.com
DIRECTORY
* ADVERTISING / DIRECTORY
Tel. 108 0879, Cell 33-3157-7790
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- EL OJO DEL LAGO Tel. 765-3676
* ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Tel: 766-5961
3DJ
* ANIMAL CLINICS/PET SHOP - CLINICA VETERINARIA SAN ANTONIO Tel: 766-0808 3DJ - DEE’S PET HOTEL Tel: 762-1646 3DJ /$.(6,'( )5,(1'6 2) 7+( $1,0$/6 $& Tel: 765-5544 3DJ - PET PLACE Cell: 333-1964-150 3DJ
* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS
- CASA DEL SOL Tel: 766-0050 - CASA FLORES Tel: 766-5493 - CASA TRES LEONES Cell: (045) 331-350-6764
3DJ 3DJ 3DJ 3DJ 3DJ 3DJ
- LINEA PROFESIONAL Tel. 766-2555, Fax. 766-0066
%(72¶6 :,1( /,4825 Cell (045) 333-507-3024 - CORAZON DE MALTA /,&25(6 3$=
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- BOULANGERIE - PATISSERIE )5('(5,& $51$8/7 3DJ - ROCHATAS Tel: 765-3150 3DJ 6&$1',1$9,$ 6RXUGRXJK %DNHU\ Tel: 766-0604 3DJ
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- HUNTER DOUGLAS Tel: 766-0026
- SANDI - Bookstore Tel: 01 (33) 3121-0863
3DJ
* CHIROPRACTIC
* GARDENING 3DJ
* CONSIGNMENT SHOP 3DJ
3DJ
- C.D. MARÍA LUISA LUIS VILLA Tel/Fax: 766-2428 3DJ - C.D. SANDRA ANAYA MORA Tel: 765-3502, Cell: 331-218-6241 3DJ - CHAPALA DENTAL CARE Tel. 765-5584, 766-3847 3DJ - COLEGIO ODONTOLÓGICO - De La Ribera De &KDSDOD 'HO (VWDGR 'H -DOLVFR $ & 3DJ - DENTAL EXPRESS Tel: 106-2080 3DJ
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
3DJ 3DJ
* IMPORTED ITEMS 3DJ
- EDGAR CEDEÑO - MEXICO PROTECT Cell: (045) 33-3106-6982 3DJ 3$5.(5 ,1685$1&( 6(59,&(6 Tel: 765-4666, 765-4070 3DJ - PROTEXPLAN U.S. Toll Free 1-800-608-5743 Mexico Toll Free 01-800-681-6730 3DJ - RACHEL’S INSURANCE Tel/Fax: 765-4316 3DJ - TIOCORP Tel: 766-3978 3DJ :(67 &2$67 0(;,&2 ,1685$1&( Tel: (818) 788-5353 3DJ
- ILUMINA Y DECORA Tel: 765-5067
3DJ
5($/ 257(*$ 6216 Hardware for Carpenters Tel: 765-2404, 765-3404 3DJ
0$// 0$5.(7 - CENTRO LAGUNA Tel: (376) 766-5514
$-,-,& :$7(5 *$5'(16 Tel: 766-4386 - GARDEN CENTER Tel: 765-59-73
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3DJ
* MEAT/POULTRY/CHEESE
3DJ
- TONY’S Tel: 766-1614
*5$1,7( 0$5%/( 0$5%/( *5$1,7( Tel: 766-1306
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* LUMBER
* COMMUNICATIONS
- TEPEHUA TREASURES Tel: 763-5126, 763-5147
$'2%( :$//6 ,11 Tel: 766-1296 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, Fax: 766-2049 - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766-1152
* LIGHTING
- 7(0385 0$775(66 $1' 3,//2:6 Tel: (52) 333-629-5919, (52) 33 3611-3049 3DJ
- AUTOMATIZED GARAGE DOORS R.G. Cell: (045) 33-1385-4473, 33-3874-4445 3DJ - AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Tel: 766-4973 3DJ
* DENTISTS
3DJ
* FURNITURE
* GARAGE DOORS OPENERS
3DJ
3DJ
3DJ
- DR. VICTOR J. YOUCHA Tel: 766-1973 3DJ - SPINAL DECOMPRESSION THERAPY Tel: 766-3000 3DJ
- ISHOPNMAIL
3DJ
* HOTELS / SUITES
3DJ
3DJ
* BEAUTY
* FUMIGATION
3DJ
(0( $548,7(&726 Tel: 765-4324 3DJ - GENERAL HOME SERVICES - Amancio Ramos Jr. Cell: (045) 331-520-3054 3DJ 0$5%/( *5$1,7( Tel: 766-1306 3DJ :$5:,&. &216758&7,21 Tel: 765-2224 3DJ
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- FUMI-TECH Tel: 766-1946, Cell (045) 333-369-3737
* CONSTRUCTION 3DJ
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6.< ),71(66 Tel: 766-1379
&8*,1,6 2386 %287,48( Tel/Fax: 766-1790 - MI MEXICO Tel: 766-0133 - OLGA’S - Custom Sewing Tel: 766-1699
Cell. (045) 33-1511-4088
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* FITNESS
3DJ
* INSURANCE
()),&,(17 :($/7+ 0$1$*(0(17 Tel: 766-2230 - MORTGAGE LOANS Tel: 766-5797 3DJ
- CASA GOURMET Tel: 766-5070
* FINANCIAL SERVICES
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* BLINDS AND CURTAINS
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- AFRODITA Tel: 766-6187 - FRESH BEAUTY Cell: 33-3141-5626, 33-3185-1353 - GLORIOSA Tel: 766-3372 - GLOSS - Nail Salon Tel: 766-0375 - MARIALE Tel: 766-4229 1(: /22. 678',2 Tel: 766-6000 - PANACHE Tel: 766-2228, Cell: 333-404-5276 - RESPIRO SPA
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* AUTOMOTIVE
3DJ
- DENTAL HEALTH ONE Tel: 1060-826 3DJ - DENTAL OFFICE-Dr. Francisco Contreras Tel: 765-5757 3DJ - DENTAL PLASTICA LIFT Tel: 108-0595 3DJ - DR. ALBERTO DON OLIVERA Tels: 765-4838, 765-4805 3DJ - DRA. ANGELICA ALDANA LEMA DDS Tel: 765-5364 3DJ - HÉCTOR HARO DDS Tel: 765-3193 3DJ 2'2172 &/,1,&. Tel: 766-5050 3DJ
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- ART HOUSE Tel: 765-5097 - ALFREDO’S GALERIA Tel: 766-2980 - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 766-5683 - EL PALOMAR Tel: 01 (33) 3635-8089 - SOL MEXICANO Tel: 766-0734 - THE CREATIVE HEART Tel: 766-0496 - ZARAGOZA Tel: 766-7049, 766-0573
- INTERCAM Tel: 766-5978 - MULTIVA Tel: 766-2499
3DJ
(0(5*(1&< +27/,1( $0%8/$1&( &58= 52-$ ),5( '(3$570(17 POLICE $MLMLF &KDSDOD /D )ORUHVWD
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* MEDICAL SERVICES 3DJ
* GRILLS - NAPOLEON Tel: 766-6153
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+$5':$5( 6725(6 - FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ Tel: 766-0880, Fax: 766-2440 3DJ
* HEALTH /$.( &+$3$/$ &(17(5 )25 63,5,78$/ LIVING Tel: 766-0920 3DJ
* HEARING AIDS /$.(6,'( +($5,1* 6(59,&(6
$/7$ 5(7,1$ 'U 5LJREHUWR 5LRV /HyQ Ophthalmic Surgeon Tel: 766-1521 3DJ - CASITA MONTAÑA MEDICAL CENTER Tel: -766-5513 3DJ - CHAPALA MED Tel: 765-7777, Cell: 33-3950-9414 3DJ &/,1,&$ < )$50$&,$ 0$6.$5$6 Tel: 765-4805 3DJ - DERMATOLOGIST Tel: 765-2400, Cell. 333-170-6570 3DJ '(50,.$ 'HUPDWRORJLF &HQWHU Tel: 766-2500 3DJ - DILABIM - Laboratiorios Clinicos Tel: (33) 3615-1790 3DJ - DR. GABRIEL VARELA - Neurosurgeon Tel: 765-6666 Cell. (045) 33-3128-6347 3DJ - DR. JUAN ACEVES-Non-Surgical Loss Programs Tel: 766-5513 3DJ - DRA. CLAUDIA L. CAMACHO CHOZA -
Ophthalmologist Tel: 765-5364 3DJ - DRA. MARTHA R. BALLESTEROS FRANCO Cell: (045) 333-408-0951 3DJ - GO LAB Tel: 106-0881 3DJ - HOSPITAL ANGELES DEL CARMEN Tel: (01) 3813-0042 3DJ - ISILAB Tel: 766-1164 3DJ /$.(6,'( &$5',2/2*< &/,1,& Tel: (387) 763-0665 3DJ /$.(6,'( 0(',&$/ *5283 Tel: 766-0395 3DJ - MED INTEGRITY Tel: 766-5154 3DJ - PLASTIC SURGEON-Sergio Aguila Bimbela M.D. Tel: 108-0595 3DJ 3/$67,& 685*(5< 'U %HQMDPLQ 9LOODUDQ Tel: 766-5513, Cell 044-333-105-0402 3DJ - RICARDO HEREDIA M.D Tel: 765-2233 3DJ - VARICOSE VEINS TREATMENT Tel: 765-4805 3DJ
* MOVERS /$.( &+$3$/$ 029,1* Tel: 766-5008 67520 :+,7( 029(56 Tel: 766-4049
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* MUSIC / THEATRE / EVENTS ' - +2:$5' Tel: 766-3044 3DJ 7+( 1$.(' 67$*( 5($'(5¶6 7+($75( Tel: 765-3262 3DJ
* NURSERY - LAS PALMAS Cell: 33-3170-1776/33-1195-7112 3DJ
* PAINT 48,52= ,PSHUPHDELOL]DQWHV Tel: 766-2311 48,52= 3LQWXUDV Tel: 766-5959
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7$%$5.$ Tel: 766-1588 3DJ 7+( 3($&2&. *$5'(1 Tel: 766-1381 3DJ - TRATTORIA DI AXIXIC Tel: 766-3796, Cell. 33-1795-5253 3DJ - TONYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069 3DJ - YVES Tel: 766-3565 3DJ
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* RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES
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* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT &2/':(//%$1.(5 &+$3$/$ 5($/7< Tel: 766-1152, movile: (045) 33-1175-9632 3DJ - FOR RENT Tel: 765-2671 3DJ - FOR RENT Cell: 331-365-9396 3DJ *(7$:$< 72 38(572 9$//$57$ Tel: (52) (322) 223-1340, 3DJ - JORGE TORRES Tel: 766-3737 3DJ - MANZANILLO VACATION RENTALS Tel: (314) 100-6773 or (314) 109-0657 3DJ - ROMA 3DJ Tel: (376) 766-3163, 766-5171 - RENTAL LOCATERS 3DJ Tel: 766-5202 - SANTANA RENTALS Cell: 315-104-3283, 3DJ - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766-1152 3DJ
* RESTAURANTS/CAFES
- ALICE NURSING HOME Tel: 766 1194, 766 2999 - EL PARAISO Tel: 766-2365 - LA CASA NOSTRA Tel: 765-3824 - LA VALENTINA Tel: 766-5179
3DJ 3DJ
Tel: 766-3379
3DJ
* SPANISH CLASSES - MS. OROPEZA Tel. 765-3772
3DJ
STAINED GLASS - AIMAR Cell: 33-1741-3515
3DJ
* TAXI - ARTURO FERNANDEZ Cell: (045) 333-954-3813
3DJ
* THERAPISTS
3DJ 3DJ
* SATELLITES/ T.V. - AJIJIC ELECTRONICS S.A. DE C.V. Tel/Fax: 766-1117, 766-3371 3DJ 6+$: 6$7(//,7( 6(59,&(6 Tel: 33-1402-4223 3DJ
* SCHOOL - INSTITUTO TERRANOVA Tel: 766 2401, 766 3999
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* SELF STORAGE - SELF STORAGE-BODEGAS CHAPALA Tel: 766-0661, Tel/Fax: 766-1045 3DJ
/(6/,( ' 67521* 3K ' ,QGLYLGXD 0DULWDO )DPLO\ 7KHUDSLVW Tel: 766-5374 3DJ - RESPIRO SPA Tel. 108 0879, Cell 33-3157-7790 3DJ
* TOURS - CHARTER CLUB TOURS Tel: 766-1777 - RAY TRAVEL RESOURCES 520 464 2407 - phone (US and Mexico) + 52 376 766 2795 - phone (Mexico)
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* TREE SERVICE - CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 762-0602
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* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS /$.( &+$3$/$ 62&,(7< Tel: 766-1140 - LOS NIÃ&#x2018;OS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC Tel: 765-7032
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* SOLAR ENERGY
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* PERSONAL ASSISTANCE 1(:&20(56 ,/6( +2))0$11 ilsecarlota40@gmail.com, www.guadalajarachapalatravelguide.com Tel 01(33)3647-3912 Cell 33-3157-2541
* PHARMACIES - FARMACIA CRISTINA Tel: 766-1501 - FARMACIA EXPRESS II Tel: 766-0656 )$50$&,$ 0$6.$5$6 Tel/Fax: 765-5827 - FARMEX Tel: 765-5004
- GEORGETTE RICHMOND Tel: 766-2077 - LORENA C. BARRAGAN Cell: (045) 331-014-5683 - LINDA FREEMAN Cell: (045) 333-661-6386 - LUCI MERRITT Cell (045) 331-545-6589 - MPR REAL ESTATE Tel: (315) 351-5167 - NOÃ&#x2030; LOPEZ Cell: 331-047-9607 - PETER ST. JOHN Tel: 765-3676 - RAUL GONZALEZ Cell: 33-1437-0925 - SANDI ALLIN BRISCOE Tel: 765-2484 - VISTA ALEGRE Tel: 766-4867 - VISTA LAGO Tel. (33) 3616 4536, 3125 6363
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* REAL ESTATE - AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 766-2836 3DJ - ALL IN ONE REAL ESTATE SERVICE Tel: 766-1161 3DJ %(9 -($1 &2)(// +RPH 2I¿FH 3DJ - CHULA VISTA NORTE Tel: 766-2177 Cell: (045) 33-3841-8867 3DJ - CHRISTIAN HARRIS Cell: (333) 390-3153 3DJ - CIELOVISTA Tel: 766-4867 3DJ &2/':(// %$1.(5 &+$3$/$ 5($/7< Tel: 766-1152, 766-3369 Fax: 766-2124, Tels: 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 3DJ - CONTINENTAL REALTY Tel: 766-1994, Cell: (33) 1366-2256 3DJ - CUMBRES Tel: 766-4867 3DJ - DON SNELL Cell 33-1005-9129 3DJ ($*(5 $62&,$'26 Tel: (376) 766 1917, 1918 3DJ )25 6$/( %< 2:1(5 Tel: 766-1660 3DJ - GERARDO MEDINA Cell. 331-121-7034 3DJ
5(67$85$17( Tel: 766-1360 3DJ - AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 766-2458 3DJ - ARILEO Tel: 106-1627 3DJ - BRUNOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Tel: 766-1674 3DJ &$)( 3$5,6 3DJ - CASA FUERTE Tels: 3639-6474 / 81 3DJ - EL BAR-CO Tel: 766-0452 3DJ - GO LE CLUB Cell: (045) 33-3502-6555 3DJ - JASMINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S - Classic India Tel: 766-2636 3DJ - JARDIN DE NINETTE Tel: 766-4905 3DJ - JUST CHILLIN Tel: 766-3437 3DJ - HACIENDA DEL LAGO Tel: 766-0685 3DJ - HUERTO CAFÃ&#x2030; Tel: 108-0843 3DJ /$ &$6$ '(/ :$))/( Tel: 766-1946 3DJ - LA HACIENDA DE DON PEDRO Tel: 766-4906 3DJ - LA MISION Tel: 108-0887 3DJ - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, 766-2049 3DJ ³ /$ 7$9(51$´'(, 48$7752 025, Tel: 766-2848 3DJ - LA PAELLA DE MARIA Cell. 331-438-9706, Tel. (387) 761-0424 3DJ - LOS MOLLETES Tel: 766-4296 3DJ - MASAYUME Tel: 766-0452, 3314 174454 3DJ 020¶6 '(/, 5(67$85$17 Tel: 765-5719 3DJ - PANINO Tel: 766 3822 3DJ - PIZZERIA TOSCANA Tel: 765-6996 3DJ 5,7&+,( Tel: 766-4185 3DJ - ST. REMY Tel: 766-0607 3DJ
- DESMEX Cell: 044 (333) 100-2660 - ESUN Tel: 766-2319, 01-800-099-0272
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* SPA / MASSAGE - MARIALE Tel: 766-4229 - RESPIRO SPA Tel. 108 0879, Cell 33-3157-7790 - TOTAL BODY CARE
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Saw you in the Ojo
The Ojo Crossword
Saw you in the Ojo 67
CARS FOR SALE: PEUGEOT GRAND RAID. Great vehicle, 5 doors, Mexican plated, swing seats, 5 passengers. Price: $6000.00 U.S. Call: 333-368-7581. FOR SALE: 2009 Chevy in condition. 43,000 KM, new air, new battery, new tuneXS DQG DOO Ă&#x20AC;XLGV UHFHQWO\ FKDQJHG 7KLV FDU has been well-maintained since its purchase. Chapala area. Price: $5000.00 USD or best offer. Reply by email with contact info and I will call you shortly. FOR SALE: Toyota Camry. Xle Mx plates. Heading north, must sell by April 1st or it goes into storage. No accidents/paid for/ registered/no tickets. Made in Kentuky for Mexico. Price: $95,000 OBO. First good cash offer gets it. Best to email me catchcan_ph@outlook.com FOR SALE: 2007 Toyota Camry. Mexican plated, all maintenance records up to date. Price: $6500 US or equiv pesos. Call: 376-766-3120. FOR SALE: 2009 Utility Trailer 8X5, comes with car topper. Alberta, Canada plated. Like new. Price: $1500 USD, OBO. Will accept pesos or Canadian dollar. Call: 376-766-5421. :$17(' I want to buy a â&#x20AC;&#x153;compact SUVâ&#x20AC;?, Mexican plated. Call: 766-1496. FOR SALE: American Ford Explorer, Mexican plated, 2007, V6, 4.6L, XLT, 4x4, tow package, ABS, cruise control, ALL power, 5 door, 7 passenger, Michelin tires, one owner, excellent condition, 102,000 miles, Price: $10,000 usd or OBO. Call: 7661496, 333-108-3993. :$17(' Looking to buy an enclosed Cargo Trailer...Would prefer a 5â&#x20AC;&#x2122; X 8â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Please call: 765-6987 FOR SALE: 2005 Dodge Stratus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; white. Mexican plated. 2.4 litre engine 4 cyl. power group. Repairs: air con $4200 MXP; engine mount $3000 MXP; calipers $960 MXP; Oil pan $400 MXP; Oil, brake Ă&#x20AC;XLG 0;3 7RWDO UHSDLUV 0;3 Bought Dec. 2014 $4200 USD. SELL FOR $4250 USD. Price: $4250 US. Call Richard (cell) 331-540-6513 or 376-766-2638. FOR SALE: 2007 UPLANDER BELOW WHSLE. Ontario, Canada plated 07 Extended Chev Uplander. Must sell due to Permanent. Canadian retail price is $6400 and wholesale is $5000. Would accept $3600 Cdm for quick sale. Overall condition is good. Phil: 01-387-761-0125. FOR SALE: MERCEDES BENZ. Nice vehicle in great running order. 4 wheel drive GRRU VXY $LU UHSDLUHG DQG QHZ JDV ÂżOWHU Cost me 1500 u.s in new parts. Price: $5500 u.s. or mex. equivalent. Call: 376-108-0911 or email me at mikemutter12@gmail.com Mexican plated. COMPUTERS FOR SALE: HP Pavilion desktop computer, with keyboard and mouse. From the U.S. Price: $445. USD. Call: 333-391-8305. FOR SALE: Light weight notebook. Price: $1500 pesos. FOR SALE: Magic Jack Plus. Price: $700 Pesos. Call: 331-330-1050. FOR SALE: Galaxy Tablet with Accessories. Excellent, used 2 months. 16 gigs with added micro SD slot for music, photos. Comes with heavy-duty hard-shell case w/ kickstand & zippered neoprene jacket.
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Touch screen with stylus pen, battery charger, and 450 pp. Guidebook. Price: $150. PETS & SUPPLIES Found Dog: We have a dog hanging RXW DW RXU KRXVH DQG ZDQW WR ÂżQG WKH RZQHU The dog is very well mannered. He has long black hair and a beautiful big bushy tail. We think his home is in Chula Vista Norte. GENERAL MERCHANDISE :$17(' Disabled person needs reFOLQHU 6HDW QHHGV WR EH ÂżUP DQG WKH VL]H needs to accommodate a person over six feet tall. The recliner maybe fabric but with no stains or odors from pets. Thank you FOR SALE: Electro golf serial A-9130. Asking $25,000p which at this exchange is only $1600. Call 765-4590 for an appointment. It has nice upholstery. Starts and UXQV ÂżQH HYHQ KDV KHDGOLJKWV FOR SALE: Stereo system. Two Paridim speakers Denon Receiver, denon 5 CD player plus cabinet Price: $10 000 p obo. Call: 376-766-1669 catchcan_ph@outlook. com. FOR SALE: Shaw/Star Choice 505 HD receiver. This does not record. Complete with remote and component cables to hook up to TV. Free and clear to be activated. Price: $1000 pesos. 766-4105. FOR SALE: ELECTRIC COFFEE MAKER. 5 Cups stainless steel jar. Brand MR. Coffee. Price: $225. CALL: 376-7661157. FOR SALE: Rice cooker in excellent condition. Used just twice brand aroma/ digital, 10 cup. Price: $430. Call 376-7661157. FOR SALE: Stationary Exercise Bike. This exercise bike is in reasonable condition. Price: $700. Call: 766-5544. FOR SALE: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Streets of San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, DVDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, popular TV series, starring Karl Malden & Michael Douglas. Season 1 Volumes 1 & 2. Great views of San Francisco. Price: $20. USD. Call: 333-391-8305. FOR SALE: Furniture-modern style-for: ORXQJH EHGURRP NLWFKHQ VWXG\ RIÂżFH Various cabinets, kitchenware & utensils. Linen , framed pictures , ornaments & more. email: pelino50@protonmail.ch. Tel: 331-140-4189. FOR SALE: Burgundy leather recliner. Purchased at Furniture for Less. Price: SHVRV ÂżUP
FOR SALE: Mexican style wooden furniture with secret drawers to hide laptops, jewelry, money, documents. If you don´t say, nobody will know where your valuables are hidden. FOR SALE: Dresser and Mirror. black and silver. 6 drawers and two open shelves 15â&#x20AC;? deep 33 â&#x20AC;&#x153; tall (28 1/2â&#x20AC;? on the short end) 63â&#x20AC;? wide Mirror: black and silver 43â&#x20AC;? tall (28 1/2â&#x20AC;? on the short end) 63â&#x20AC;? wide It is ultra-modern Dresser $3500 pesos, Mirror $2000 pesos, Combined $4500 pesos.(we paid 7000 pesos for these) Call: 333-1716874. :$17(' Looking for Warren Hardy Level 4 Course book. New or used. Call Ernest at 376-106-1231. :$17' Looking for a piano bench. I have a Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand keyboard. I am sure a regular piano bench would work. If possible, music storage un-
El Ojo del Lago / April 2015
derneath would be great. Call: 045-331382-4771. :$17(' Looking to purchase an Inversion Table please. Call: 376-766-2805. FOR SALE: Bookcases. Like new, shelves, some with doors. Price: $500 p each or BO. Call: 376-766-3120 FOR SALE: NIKON D2X SLR Body. Top Condition Professional Digital Camera Body, 12 MP, complete with Manual, Charger and Batteries. Nikon Lenses are also available. Price: $10,000 pesos. Call: 376766-5114. FOR SALE: 4 Outdoor table and chair sets. Each table set comes with 4 folding chairs and umbrella. Black and Brown color. Price: $800 Pesos each set. :$17(' Looking for 5-or 6 250-300 watt pv solar panels to complete project. FOR SALE: Across 6 burners propane stove only 1 year old. Located central Ajijic. Black color. Price: $3000 Pesos. FOR SALE: LG Turbo drum washer and dryer. Price: $12,000 Pesos for the set. FOR SALE: Heavy duty home Nautilus waist and abdominal machine. Upholstered seat. Very lightly used. 48â&#x20AC;?(120cm) high x 38â&#x20AC;?(97cm) long x 35 1/2â&#x20AC;?(90cm) wide x 150lbs.(68kg). All original manuals. Price: $5000ps. Call:765-2445. FOR SALE: Mighty Mac chipper shredder model 12PT made by Amerind MacKissic, Inc. 7hp Briggs & Stratton engine. Lightly used. Chips up to 3â&#x20AC;? caliper and shreds up to 1â&#x20AC;? caliper. All original manuals. Price: $8000ps. Call: 765-2445. FOR SALE: Clay Cookware. Received two as a wedding gift. $1,000 pesos new. Price: $400 pesos. Call: 376-766-1132. FOR SALE: Delonghi portable air conditioner/heater, never used, all accessories included, instruction booklet. Price: $495.00 US DLLS, OBO. FOR SALE: YAMAHA Digital surround sound home theater system, model yht 100, receiver, 2 main speakers, 2 rear speakers, center speaker and subwoofer plus accessories. Price: $549.00 US DLLS, OBO. FOR SALE: Catamarin Prindle 16 w Trailer. Hulls in excellent condition. No SDWFKHV LQ ÂżEUHJODVV 6DLOV IHHO OLNH QHZ Trampoline, stays, and rudder lines are new, No Mexican registration papers but have pvs. bills of sale. Price: $10,000 peVRV ÂżUP &DOO :$17(' I am looking for horseradish root plants for use in cooking. If you have some or know someone who does, please contact me. FOR SALE: Gorgeous modern set of 3 ceramic, mosaic glass covered watermelon wedges (large, medium, small), with mirrored edges. In the afternoon, when the sun hits the mirrored edges, the whole wall gets illuminated. Has been a statement piece of our large glass table. Price: $500 pesos. Contact me at ernst_graf@yahoo.com or 766-3210. FOR SALE: $GMXVWDEOH RIÂżFH FKDLU ZLWK black fabric, hardly used. Price: $500 pesos. FOR SALE: Unframed painting Robe du Soir by Linda Le Kinff 30 x 24 2005 Seriolithograph in color on paper. Signed in the plate. Price: $100 US. FOR SALE: Unframed painting Morning Social by Itzchak Tarkay 15 3/4 x 24
2005 Seriolithograph in color on paper. Signed in the plate. Price: $150 US. FOR SALE: Unframed painting Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bill of Rights by Marilyn Zapp 18 x 24. Price: $100 US. FOR SALE: Unframed print Musical Sphere by Anatole Krasnyansky 25 1/4 x 24 2005 Seriolithograph in color on paper. Signed in the plate. Reg # 1530935494. Price: $100 US. FOR SALE: High end Sea Eagle Fast 7UDFN LQĂ&#x20AC;DWDEOH ND\DN 1HDUO\ QHZ used 5 times. Seats 1-2. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pro Packageâ&#x20AC;? ,QFOXGHV VHDWV SDGGOHV Ă&#x20AC;RWDWLRQ YHVWV foot pump, foot rest, stow bags, carry bag, repair kit. Price: $600 USD; $9,000 MXP, or b.o. FOR SALE: Beautiful red glazed ceUDPLF YDVH ZLWK D EULJKW VXQĂ&#x20AC;RZHU SHsos. Brightens up any self or counter. Price: $130 pesos. Contact me at ernst_graf@ yahoo.com or 766-3210. FOR SALE: Beautiful ceramic sculpture of a lady with basket. Price: $100 pesos. Contact me at ernst_graf@yahoo.com or 766-3210. :$17(' Wanted Motorcycle or Scooter Looking for a non-plated or us plated motorcycle.what have you got? Anything from an Italika 125 to US plated 1100cc. Prefer a Honda cargo 150 or tool 125. Will consider all bikes. Retail for Honda Cargo 125 is 14500 pesos. Please keep your price reasonable. FOR SALE: Set of 3 San Francisco watercolor paintings by famous French watercolor virtuoso Jean-Louis Thibaut. Set includes â&#x20AC;&#x153;Golden Gate Bridgeâ&#x20AC;?; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cable Car and Alcatrazâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Victorian Housesâ&#x20AC;?. Price: $1000 pesos. E-mail me for pictures. Contact me at ernst_graf@yahoo.com or 766-3210. FOR SALE: Large wooden computer GHVN ZLWK KXWFK SXOO RXW WUD\V ÂżOH GUDZHU shelves and cupboards. Very attractive and in excellent condition. Price: $2500 pesos. Call: 765-2484. FOR SALE: Stereo system. Demon receiver and 5 CD player. Two Paridim speakers. Price: $8000. Pesos or best. Cell: 333-967-1903. FOR SALE: 17â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 1989 Centurion Ski Boat. 351 Cleveland Ford inboard engine, full boat cover, comes with trailer, owner returning to states. Price: $3750.00 USD. Call: 376-766-0261. :$17(' We would like to buy a used outdoor ping pong table / table tennis table in good condition. Call Ian: 331-712-9757. FOR SALE: self-contained Vita Hot Tub, seats 6 comfortably, 8 jet setting (including energy saver, aromatherapy) Comes with lovely, iron step ladder, for ease of entry, or just hop in. New marine grade vinyl covers (to include new Styrofoam). American made. Price: $4,000 USD. For info call 762-1628 or email heltonbcs@ aol.com for photos. Just plug in and you are ready to go! :$17(' Pink tricycle in good condition, for 3 year old. Please call 766-4969. FOR SALE: Jazz-tap shoes, unisex oxford style womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size 10, soft leather, padded insoles, dance rubber with taps, very comfortable. Price: $500 pesos. Call: 766-4106 :$17(' CD / CASSETTE PLAYER.
Audio port and USB OK, too! Any size system, very good condition only. 766-4106. FOR SALE: PORTABLE A/C ON WHEELS. Hot weather will be here soon. This is a great large room A/C. Economical to use on local 110/115. Includes instructions and remote control. Fedders from NOB. Can also be used just as a fan. Price: $1,750 MXN. Call: 376-766-1213. :$17(' Looking for a white refrigerator with freezer on the bottom. 22 cu ft. or LARGER. Call: 765-4590. FOR SALE: Experience all seven books of C. S. Lewisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia in English. Very good condition. Price: $150.00 pesos. Call: 766-1069. FOR SALE: 9-DVD BOX SET MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. Enjoy the best performances of your favorite rock and soul stars of the 70s on this legendary TV show. Still factory wrapped. NEW - $139USD Now only $1000 pesos. Call: 766-4106. FOR SALE: Two lovely obelisks for your garden climbers. Large one, 9in diameter X 31in high and smaller one 6in diameter X 23in high. Both included in price. Price $250P. FOR SALE: Heavy rubber mats, 29in x 18in. I have moved and no longer need these 3 mats. Very effective in loosing debris before entering home. They are individually priced. Price: $150P. Call: 376766-5870. FOR SALE: Hanging Bamboo divider 45in wide and 6ft long. I have two. They were bought locally for 850P. I used them on my terrace and they provided privacy but allowed access to any breeze. They are individually priced. Price: $500P. Call: 376766-5870. FOR SALE: Rosewood circular dining table. Sturdy construction. Includes four
matching chairs. Price: $4500 pesos. Call: 766-3711. FOR SALE: Philips Ever Flo Oxygen Concentrator Light weight, compact and quiet. All the bells and whistles Price new 23,000 pesos. Price: $11,000 pesos. Call: 045-331-468-6914. FOR SALE: Selling a wonderful chaise longue -- including the decorative pillows. Price is only $2,900 pesos. Also selling a matching loveseat - see other ad. Call: 7664154. FOR SALE: Selling a wonderful loveseat/2-sitter. Price is 2,900 pesos only. Also selling a matching chaise longue - see other ad. Call: 766-4154. FOR SALE: Shaw Receiver with remote DSR317. Price: $500p. Call: 7654590. FOR SALE: Complete Shaw Satellite System includes Dish, HD Receiver, and Remote. Price: $4,000 obo. FOR SALE: Complete surround sound system complete with remote control. One year old. Purchased for $16,499 Pesos asking 1/2 price or best offer. Speakers and controls. Excellent condition. Price: $8250 Pesos. Call: 765-7061. FOR SALE: red kayak for sale 10 feet long come with paddle and vest red recreational kayak, one person sit in two free lessons. Price: $4000 pesos. FOR SALE: DVDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of award winning TV series, Homeland. Season 1. Price: $80. Pesos. FOR SALE: Nebby Nebulizer. Price: $50.00. Call: 376-765-7373. FOR SALE: Tracer 1000 Wheel Chair. Price: $175.00. Call: 376-765-7373. FOR SALE: Perfecto2 Home oxygen concentrator. Price: $700.00. Call: 376765-7373. FOR SALE: Geophysical prospecting
equipment one Scintrex MFD-4 Magnetometer and one Geonics EM-16 VLF survey tool with manual. If you want to prospect for minerals and fault zones, these are your tools. FOR SALE: FIRE ENGINE RED. Golden Technology 3 wheeler scooter comes complete with Hydraulic lift and 2 sets of ramps, sadly its owner never got to have the pleasure of riding upon it. Price: $2000usd obo. Call: 766-4456, 331-138-3193. :$17(' Wanting a set of free weights and bench in good shape. Would prefer metal weights but will also consider the plastic covered type. Call: 765-7628. FOR SALE: Three pair Ecco lace-up shoes size 37, excellent condition. Black leather. Tan Nubuck and Light Tan leather. Make offer. Afternoons 765-7629. FOR SALE: Bowling. Almost new Co-
lumbia 300 series White Dot deep amber/ gold tones marbleized ball. Very nice-looking and weighs approximately 14 pounds (or a little less). Of course, the holes can be re-drilled. Price: $250 MXN. Call: 376766-1213. FOR SALE: Two Wilson Tennis Racquets. Hammer system 5.8 and 7.4. In very good condition. Price: $500 pesos each. Cal: 045-331-382-4771. FOR SALE: Yukon Advanced Optics 7HOHVFRSH [ ÂżHOG GHJUHHV ft.at 1000 yards. Comes with original instructions, carry case, neck/body holder and adjustable stand. Like new - only 4 yrs. old. Pictures on request. Price: $1000 pesos. Call: 045-331-382-4771.
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El Ojo del Lago / April 2015