El Ojo del Mar - October 2011 by Roberto Rojas

Saw you in the Ojo

Index...

FEATURE ARTICLES

COVER STORY

Herbert Piekow’s cover story last month was about the tragically ill-fated Maximillian, one-time Emperor of Mexico, and his wife, Carlotta. Now Mr. Piekow flips the coin to tell the story of Benito Juarez, who after replacing Maximillian, paved the way for one of Mexico’s most progressive eras.

COVER STORY

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3  D IR EC T OR Y  PUBLISHER Richard Tingen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alejandro Grattan-Domínguez Tel: 01-800-765-3788

6 Cover by Dani Newcomb

TRAVEL

Patsi Krakoff relates the long journey she has taken that saw her start in Paris at a very young age and eventually end in Mexico, and the fateful decision she had to make when she hit the BIG FOUR-O.

MEXICAN ARCHITECTURE

Victoria Schmidt writes about some of the major differences in design between the houses found at every price level in Mexico and the United States. In Mexico, even the more modest homes are sheer eye-candy compared to similar models north of the border.

HUMOR

An anonymous contributor has filed a brief story about how age might affect the choice of restaurants made by a group of ex-pat ladies living in Puerto Vallarta.

A SHAGGY DOG STORY Landon Hollander relates a touching true story of a desperately poor old Mexican man, and the two loving dogs he left behind. Any ex-pat, who after reading this story, still feels compelled to complain about his own life is simply not paying attention.

Associate Publisher David Tingen Director of Marketing Bruce Fraser Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Jazmin Eliosa Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editor Paul Jackson Contributing Editor Mark Sconce Staff Photographer Xill Fessenden Staff Writers Ilse Hoffmann Floyd Dalton Sales Manager Bruce Fraser 333 559 2046 info@elojodelmar.com Office Secretary Iliana Oregel

ADVERTISING OFFICE

“Observant readers will have noticed a new feature in the magazine that we introduced in the August edition. It’s titled “Hottest Deals on the Coast”. We asked our real estate advertisers to send us the very best deals they had available – houses or condos that had the best combination of a great location, high quality design and construction and an excellent price. We present three listings from each realtor monthly.

Times are tough, and everyone isn’t exactly lining up to move to Mexico. So, for those who are visiting the Pacific coast for the first time and those who are considering making a move, but might still be in doubt, we thought it would be helpful to show them what they will be missing if they don’t jump in while the market is on the buyers’ side. There may be some who are also thinking of trading up or down, and can see at a glance what the market is like. Investors may also be interested to know what their funds will buy. Happy hunting.”

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

Send all correspondence, or advertising to: El Ojo del Mar www.elojodelmar.com info@elojodelmar.com Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: (376) 765 3676, Fax 765 3528 PRINTING: El Debate Circunvalacion No. 1, Fracc. Costa Brava, Mazatlan, Sinaloa. El Ojo del Mar aparece los primeros cinco días de cada mes. (Out over the first five days of each month) Certificado de Licitud de Título 3693 Certificado de Licitud de Contenido 3117. Reserva al Título de Derechos de Autor 04-2007-111412131300-102 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. All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Mar. Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the 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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By Alejandro Grattan The Theory of Compensating Values

s many of us go into the final stages of our lives, almost none of us can honestly say that we succeeded at everything we tried. For some, that can be a crippling epiphany, leaving them morose and unhappy. But perhaps contentment has little to do with getting almost everything you the ladder with as much grace and ever wanted but rather in coming dignity as we can muster. to deeply appreciate what did come Success becomes much less imyour way—and still might. portant as we discover the sheer joy Sara Davidson, formerly a highly of the undertaking itself rather than successful screenwriter and novelist, its eventual outcome. As Davidson has written a marvelous book called says, if we’re lucky, we become “half LEAP! What Will We Do With The Rest in love with uncertainty.” Of Our Lives? Davidson’s epiphany Failure also can force us to rediscame when at age 57, she lost her cover the best parts of ourselves. long-time partner, her career (no one John Huston’s classic The Treasure of wanted to hire her, anymore) and her the Sierra Madre is the story of three children left for college. This was the down-and-out misfits struggling to beginning of a thing she calls “the stay alive in the blast-furnace that narrows,” a time when we are totally stripped of our Failure also can force was Mexico in 1925. Banding together identity and must come face to face us to rediscover the they strike out for with a frightening best parts of ourselves. the bandit-infested mountains around question: What do Durango in a desperate search for we really want to do with the time gold—and after ten months of backwe have left? breaking labor they find more gold Life eventually humbles us all, than they ever dreamed of getting usually in our later years but someand then—in one of the cruelest irotimes much sooner. Every person has nies ever put on film—they lose it. to brave “the narrows” according to But in losing the gold, the two retheir own character. Davidson’s was maining survivors of the adventure to “crawl into a fetal position and cry, discover something far more valuberating myself for failing at work, able: they rediscover the long-lost at love and with my children.” This is best parts of themselves, a case of what the Buddhists call the “second “compensating values” at its poetic arrow”—how we respond to the bad apex. things that have happened to us. Davidson responded by deciding to write a book about it, and in doing so she interviewed dozens of onceALEJANDRO GRATTAN famous people who for one reason is a former screenwriter/ or another had “fallen from grace”— film director who has pubpeople like singer/composer Carly Silished seven novels. Two mon, activist/politician Tom Hayden of his novels are in over (once married to Jane Fonda) and 1000 libraries in the US and Canada. He co-founded the Ajijic Writers’ super-model Christie Brinkley. Carly Group 23 years ago and has been the Simon summed it up best: just as we Editor of El Ojo del Lago for the past 16 once scrambled up the ladder of life years. with ferocious ambition, each of us grattan@prodigy.net.mx has to later learn to walk back down

Saw you in the Ojo

President. What followed was the bloody fratricidal Reform War of 1858-61, pitting liberals against conservatives. Zuloaga’s forces captured Juárez, near Guadalajara’s Palace of Justice and he was saved from a firing squad only through the intervention of the poet Guillermo Prieto, who thrust himself in front of Juárez, crying: “Brave men do not assassinate.” The soldiers allowed Juárez to escape. By sheer determination and a feeling that he was somewhat like his idol, Abraham Lincoln, the short and stocky Indian named Benito Juárez persisted in his efforts to form a legitimate and well run Mexican government independent of fratricide and Eudi hi alma l h IIndirector off his mater, the ropean intervention. It is curious stitute of Science and Art. When however, that he appealed to the the dictator Antonio López de SanUnited States for assistance, which ta Anna regained power in 1853 he thought was most likely to come Juárez was expelled from Mexico. to his aid. In October of that year he arrived In fact Union General Phil Sheriin New Orleans where he joined dan wrote in his journal that “we the liberation movement that continued supplying arms and drove Santa Anna into exile in the munitions . . . sending as many as fall of 1854. In November President 30,000 muskets from Baton Rouge Alvarez appointed And from Being President of a alone.” Juárez minister of General Grant, the interior and in bankrupt Mexico was which is assumed December of 1854 not an easy job. to have come from he was elevated to Lincoln: “Concenchief justice of the Supreme Court. trate in all available points in the Three years later in December, States an army strong enough to 1857 Félix Zuloaga led a coup in move against the invaders of Mexwhich Congress was dissolved and ico.” The US assisted Juárez, not so on January 11, 1858 Benito Juárez, much because they believed in as chief justice appointed himself him, but feared the foreign powPresident of Mexico, a legal proceers of France and Austria who were dure as the chief justice is next in now in Mexico with Maxamilian as line to succeed the President and the Emperor of Mexico. President Comonfort had resigned. After the death of Emperor The difficulty was that Juárez had Maximilian, Juárez easily won the few supporters, no congress and 1867 election; but he faced serious fewer finances and Mexico now problems. Two long and devastathad two Presidents as Félix Zuing wars had left an empty trealoaga had also declared himself sury and a large army remained as well as European resentment over the execution of Maximilian. To raise money for his bankrupt country Juárez sold off lands that had been expropriated from the Church. He sold these lands to hacendados (big land owners) who had supported the Liberal cause. Land stripped from the Church, instead of being distributed to the campesinos (peasant farmers), was sold to the highest bidder. The displaced soldiers for the reduced army presented another problem: many became bandits operating on the outskirts of Guadalajara, and the road from Veracruz to Mexico City was unsafe for passengers

BENITO JUAREZ ·The Man Who Appointed Himself President By Herbert W. Piekow

enito Juárez was born March 21, 1806 a fullblooded Zapotec Indian from San Pablo Gueletao, where his parents had a small farm. At the age of thirteen he was sent to Oaxaca City to the house of the Maza family. His sister worked as a servant for Señor Maza. Juárez could neither read, write nor speak Spanish. Señor Maza, however, realized Juárez was a bright young man and hired Antonio Salanueva, a devout Catholic and lay member of the Franciscan order, to teach the boy reading, writing, arithmetic, Spanish grammar and bookbinding. Both men were impressed with Juárez’s aptitude and they sent him to the Franciscan seminary in Oaxaca. After graduating from the seminary in 1827, he enrolled in the institute of Science and Art and in 1934 earned a law degree from that institution. While studying for his degree he served as a Oaxacan city councilman and in 1841 he became a civil judge. In 1843 he married Margarita Maza, the daughter of his patron. His career continued to escalate as he was appointed a federal deputy and served as governor of Oaxaca from 1847 to 1852. After his term as governor he became

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

or cargo. Being President of a bankrupt Mexico was not an easy job. The country was further pulled apart by several insurrections in central Mexico and Juárez had to send in troops to subdue challenges by the rebels whose message was, “To destroy the present vicious state of exploitation.” In the south there were insurgent Maya and in the north large bands of marauding Apache, who it is estimated caused the death of over 15,000 Mexicans. Throughout his entire time as President of Mexico Juárez was faced with opposition, conflict, non-support and attempted coups and civil wars. Juárez faced an almost impossible situation and for five years he worked at being President of Mexico until July 17, 1872 his heart gave out while he was working at his desk in the National Palace. Juárez, however, had many accomplishments. He is responsible for the present form of the Mexican Federal Government with two houses; it was Juárez who created the Senate of the Chamber of Deputies in order to weaken Congress and to help strengthen the executive branch, he gave himself the right to veto any bill, with a twothirds majority required to override the veto. He wanted to be remembered like his contemporary Lincoln; however, Juárez lacked the charisma and he was unable to gain the necessary support that allowed Lincoln to earn his status. Also, unlike Lincoln, who freed the slaves, Hidalgo had already proclaimed a no slavery policy for Mexico, although the peasants who worked the lands were in virtual servitude and it would take another revolution before they were truly liberated.

HERBERT W. PIEKOW lives in Guadalajara. He has enjoyed two careers, first as a vice president of an international trading company, and later providing floral displays for, among many other events, the Academy Awards.

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The Poets’ Niche

By Mark Sconce msconce@gmail.com

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

MARK SCONCE--Antiochian, Nepal Peace Corps Volunteer, Berkeley Journalism Student, International Model Agent, Pushkin Aficionado, Poet, Writer.

lert readers of this column know that the Classic Poets I’ve featured are near synonymous with their respective countries: Yeats/Ireland; Lord Byron/England; Pushkin/Russia; Goethe/Germany; Dante/ Italy; _______/France? Yes, who best represents France? Let’s see if we can put a face on Belle France. You’ve got Victor Hugo, a poet, yes, but more famous for Les Miserables and The Hunchback; Paul Verlaine “What have you done, you there/Weeping without cease,/Tell me, yes you, what have you done/With all your youth?” Arthur Rimbaud “One must be absolutely modern.” Stephane Mallarme “The flesh is sad, alas, and I have read all the books.” Pierre De Ronsard “Now fearfulness, and now hopefulness/Pitch camp in every part of my heart.” Voltaire, of course, but more the philosopher and wit “A witty saying proves nothing.” No, I’m voting for Charles Baudelaire, a truly transformative character who changed the way we think and can still bring us up short some 160 years later: “God is the only being who, in order to reign, doesn’t even need to exist.” “It’s time to get drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of Time, get drunk without stopping! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish.” “If the poet has pursued a moral objective, he has diminished his poetic force.” Sooner or later now the hour must be When Hazard, Virtue (your still-Virgin mate), Repentance(your last refuge), or all three— Will tell you “Die, old Coward, it’s too late!” Tr. By Roy Campbell Not too much diminution of poetic force there, I’d say. Baudelaire’s take on life and love was decidedly different. Dark, introspective, his poetry represents a transition between a naive Romanticism (often rural) and the intense self-consciousness that foreshadows Modern Poetry, which, whether we like it or not, is here to stay. Blasphemy and explicit sexual references set in urban landscapes both beautiful and decayed characterize much of his most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil, 1857). Of course, it was so scandalous that he was prosecuted along with his publisher in Paris. It’s little wonder he was in thrall to Edgar Allen Poe and translated his works into French— translations that still stand strong today. But the following excerpt will give us a flavor of The Flowers of Evil: When, on a certain day, into this harassed world The Poet, by decree of the high powers, was born, His mother, overwhelmed by shame and fury, hurled These blasphemies at God, clenching her fists in scorn: “Would I had whelped a knot of vipers — at the worst ‘Twere better than this runt that whines and snivels there! Oh, cursèd be that night of pleasure, thrice accurst My womb, that has conceived and nourished my despair! “Since, of all mortal women, it would seem my fate To be my saddened husband’s horror and disgust; And since I may not toss this monster in the grate — Like any crumpled letter, reeking of stale lust — Tr. By Edna St. Vincent Millay Baudelaire’s syphilis finally got the better of him. At the age of 46, he died in Paris in his mother’s arms. You who fill the hearts and eyes of whores With love of trifles and the cult of sores. B

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Anyone Can Train Their Dog By Art Hess arthedogguy@yahoo.com Teaching the Basic Heel

he final step of our basic off leash “lure and reward” training is to teach Shep to heel off leash with tion where he always succeeds and a simple hand signal. As you see in is not rushed or pushed too quickly the first photo we have Shep on our into situations where distractions left side (as I explained before we will become more interesting to him are using a leash for this demonstrathan the proper performance of the tion only because of where we shot task at hand. the pictures). By now he knows to Shep is young and we have lots look up when I move my hand in his of time so it’s easier if we do many direction because he has been resmall and successful walks instead warded for looking up and performto striking out to go to town to “get ing certain tasks. the mail” and encounter all the inAs he looks up I step off and let evitable annoyances like bikes and him come along and very soon you skateboards, overly friendly dogs or will note that he I proceed in small ses- yappy ankle biters. looks up and asIt’s much easier to sumes a proper heel sions, always reward- go slowly than to position. As long ing for correct perfor- rush out and create as he moves along new challenges and freely in this proper mances. problems and then position I will keep walking. If we be faced with fixing your mistakes can do ten or twelve steps like this while you’re trying to move smoothI’m happy. When we stop I give him ly ahead with your training. the hand signal for the sit and he beIf I was working with this dog gins to learn to sit quietly beside me several times a day on a daily basis whenever we stop. In most instancI would be at this stage by the end es it is this simple. of about a week. I hesitate to cast I proceed in small sessions, althese things in stone because then ways rewarding for correct perforwe have owners putting marks on mances. If I go slowly with small their calendars and phoning with segments I won’t worry about my possible unrealistic expectations. dog charging ahead or dragging Remember just because the pup behind because I’ve created a situawill perform these tasks pretty well with me in an environment without distractions doesn’t mean he will be ready to do “show and tell” when Mommy comes to see him.

ART HESS has lived in Mexico for several years and says, “By last count I’ve worked with over four hundred dogs which must make me the luckiest guy in Mexico.”

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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LIFE ISN’T FAIR, BUT IT’S STILL GOOD Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old!

o celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’ 27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone. 8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present. 12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks. 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful. 18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is

Saw you in the Ojo

MAZATLAN ADS

BRIDGE B RIDGE B BY Y THE THE SEA S EA By Ken Masson masson.ken@gmail.com

hose who read last month’s ramblings may remember that herself and myself were well-placed going into the final round of our first duplicate back in Toronto this spring when disaster struck on the first board. We needed to recover smartly if we were going to finish first in our direction, East-West. On the second board, herself, sit-

ting East, passed in first seat and South opened 1 heart. Although I had an opening bid myself, I had no convenient way of entering the auction and so passed. North also passed and the spotlight fell on herself. Knowing that it rarely pays to let the opponents play at the one level, she made a takeout double. I was marked with “stuff ” based on the bidding; indeed I could well have had a “trap

pass”, a strong hand with long hearts, just waiting for my partner to reopen with a double. South passed and I had an awkward choice of bids. I didn’t feel I was quite strong enough to pass for penalties, nor did I feel that game could be on for our side as my partner was a passed hand. 2 no trump, 1 no trump, 2 spades and 1 spade all struck me as viable alternatives. In the end I convinced myself that there was no point in jumping the bidding as whatever call I made was likely to buy the contract so I settled on a timid 1 spade. To everybody else’s surprise North now suddenly came alive with a bid of two hearts. When this bid came back to me visions of revenge for the debacle of the first deal leapt before my eyes and I swiftly pulled out the “double” card sending the message to partner: “we’ve got them!” Just one down doubled and vulnerable would surely make up for the measly score we had picked up in the previous hand. After all, wasn’t I sure to get 2 hearts, 1 diamond and a possible club ruff, in addition to the tricks my partner, the takeout doubler, was sure to contribute? I led a low spade and nearly fell out of my chair when the dummy came down with the AJ3 of hearts sitting over my lovely collection. How could he have passed the first time? Well, there was no point in worrying about that now; I had to concentrate on trying to beat the contract. Herself won the opening lead with the spade ace and switched to the king and queen of diamonds, the second of which declarer ruffed. In quick order he cashed the king and queen of spades, before leading a heart to the dummy. I split my honors and declarer won with the ace. He now ruffed a diamond back to his hand and ruffed a spade in the dummy with the heart 3 and played a club to his ace and cashed the king – he now had 8 tricks in and had to come to another in the wash – 2 hearts doubled making three for the unlovely score of minus 870 and zero match points on the deal. In the last two boards we had dropped from first to eighth place. That sure was some welcome home! Questions or comments: email: masson.ken@gmail.com KEN MASSON has been playing, teaching and writing about bridge for 35 years. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Ken has been living in Toronto since 1967. He and his wife and bridge partner, Rosemarie, are now in their third year wintering in Mexico.

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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FROM PARIS TO PUERTO VALLARTA By Patsi Krakoff

Even though I’m happily marhen I was a young ried now to a wonderful man, I still model in Paris, my see other good-looking men as pogal pals and I used to tential partners… for sharing a few lunch on red wine and imagine our moments of witty repartee. Perhaps lives as old women. Now that this the sexual drive has become transage thing seems to have happened, formed into some sort of bizarre conin spite of all the risks we took (too versational libido. much wine, too many drugs, too Who knows? Who cares? It is what many men), I remember some of our it is. fantasies… Anyway, what I started to tell you We’ll be in rocking chairs sharing was about my changing values as I stories about Jean-Pierre, François grow older. I spent a very prolonged and André… adolescence in Paris, chasing fun, We’ll be scanning the obituarfame and fortune. ies looking for reAge 40 was the magiIt lasted 18 years. cently widowed husme, youth culbands… cal number signify- For minated at age 40 We’ll be dating ing maturity. I was hit with an existential our cosmetic surcrisis. geons to avoid the with profound philoAge 40 was the high costs of revi- sophical questions, magical number sions… signifying maturity. like, should I still wear We weren’t necI was hit with proessarily cynical, but jeans out to dinner? found philosophiold age seemed cal questions, like, should I still wear about as realistic to us as travel to jeans out to dinner? the moon. We thought we’d be livIn Paris in the 70s and 80s, a city ing a young carefree life until death known for its elegant couture, we struck. And I thought I’d have the models started a trend by showing same carefree values to boot. How up at Maxim’s and Regine’s wearing odd that seems today, looking back. jeans with elegant Yves St. Laurent And yet, some days I don’t feel silk blouses. And of course, a lot of that much different than I was back bling from Harry Winston and Dior then. The names of friends have with Louis Vuitton purses. changed, they’ve become older, and I started pondering such questhe restaurants have changed. Oh, tions about the true meaning of life I almost forgot… I’m in Puerto Valfor months after my 40th birthday. larta, not Paris. Should I marry? Have kids? I had alThe last time I modeled was for a ways dated older men. They seemed Red Cross benefit in 2003. to have the chateaux, Ferraris and Marguerita is my friend, not my helicopters to take me to the South drink. of France, Greece, and Italy. But All my drugs come from Walmart. something told me my future was What’s really odd is that I still see elsewhere. myself as young, an eye-catching So at age 41 I gave up Dom Peribeauty who, unfortunately, lives in gnon (but kept wearing jeans) and a house that has poor lighting and went back to my first lover: my books. mirrors. If I keep the lights low and I started reading fanatically. I went to don’t wear glasses, I’m fine. every fi lm I could see, especially film I have a high regard for the mernoir and Philip Marlowe movies. its of denial. I’m like my step-mother I studied psychology, literature when she entered a nursing home and hypnotherapy. Finally, I sold my and asked “How come there’re so houses in Marbella and Paris, packed many old people here?”

my bags and left Europe to go to graduate school in California. I said au revoir to Yves, Harry, Coco, and Louie. After 18 years in Paris, I returned to my roots, without really understanding why… muttering all the way, that ancient mantra of the Gods…”Who knows? Who cares? It is what it is.”

DR. PATSI KRAKOFF is a semi-retired psychologist and journalist and has lived in Mexico since 2002. She writes at ContentforCoaches.com and WritingontheWeb.com. She lived in Paris 19 years where she was a freelance writer and fashion model. Is an avid tennis player.

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GLITTER GULCH By Margie Harrell

ver the years, many catchnames have been given to the town I now call home. Of them all, Sin City seems to be the one that has stuck. My favorite has always been “Lost Wages” which seems to say it all. As the city grows by leaps and bounds, Glitter Gulch of the 40’s is but a memory. The myth of Las Vegas continues as the P.R. Dept tries to convince one and all that when it is 110 degrees in the shade, it is a “dry” heat. If you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn that is for sale. The Spanish translation of Las Vegas is The Meadows but any meadows that were here have long ago been covered over by a mega resort. Just when you think the construction is finished they tear up the streets and begin again. The hotels seem to pop up overnight. When revenues are down the bigwigs get together and decide the only solution is to build another resort. That’s called Vegas logic. Sin City is a complete state of mind. Where else can Joe Construction become Donald Trump for a weekend? The illusion continues as your “lucky” slot machine rings bells and mimics the sound of coins dropping into a bucket as a slip of paper is spit out that you redeem at the cashier’s cage. The fact that you have won a mere fraction of what

you bet escapes you as you clutch your winning voucher. Welcome to Fantasy Land. All the one-armed bandits take cash only now and for a very good reason. It allows management to track your wagering. You probably thought there were only cameras in the ceilings, not so. That blinking light over the machine you have taken residence at has an eye on you as long as you sit there. As I often remind my gullible friends, mega resorts weren’t built on visitors winning. Think about it. As in the movie Ocean’s Eleven, the head honchos know what is going on in their hotels at all times. Recently a friend came to town on a gambling junket. Straight out of Smalltown U.S.A. he proceeded to overindulge and spent a good part of the day sleeping it off. That evening two gentlemen in dark suits appeared at his door to inquire when he might be heading down to the casino to place a bet. Apparently a certain amount of wagering is required when you are on their dime. Did you ever notice there are no windows in the casinos, bars and restaurants? For a very good reason. Get ‘em in and keep ‘em in is the motto here. There could be a tornado raging outside and you would be none the wiser. After eating breakfast at 2am and possibly lunch at 8pm, you are lucky (no pun in-

As I often remind my gullible friends, mega resorts weren’t built on visitors winning. Think about it.

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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tended) if you can remember your own name. Caution, should you wander into one of our finer dining establishments and there are no prices on the menus or even no menus, run don’t walk to the nearest exit. A sandwich could end up costing you a crisp hundred dollar bill— but, the service was excellent, right? With all its new-found class and style, Vegas still has some antiquated laws on the books. Case in point. It is perfectly legal to carry a gun as long as it isn’t concealed. On the other hand, it can be an arresting offense to carry a glass container on the Strip on New Year’s Eve. A loaded six-shooter on your hip is cool but a beer bottle could get you dragged off to the pokey. Prostitution is also legal in some counties of Nevada but, thankfully not the one I live in. Tell that to the ladies-of-the-night who hang around the posh resorts. Currently we locals are anxiously awaiting a big event. A vacant post office downtown is being converted into a museum to showcase, what else, the Mob. I am told such items as portions of the brick wall from the St Valentine’s Day massacre and the blood stained suit of Bugsy Siegel will be on display. An interesting little known fact. When Bugsy was overseeing the construction of the Flamingo hotel in the late 40s he was paranoid about the Mob discovering he was stealing from them so he had secret tunnels dug underneath the basement. No doubt to facilitate a hasty escape should the need arise. Too bad he didn’t have something like that in Beverly Hills when they gunned him down. I recently was offered a tour of the tunnels but my claustrophobia declined. As mayors go, ours is straight out of a True Crime magazine. He fits Sin City like a glove having been an attorney for the Mob for years to which he proudly admits. His favorite thing to do is to be photographed with a bevy of showgirls on his arm and a martini glass in hand.

An ex-exotic dancer and a suspected murderer round out the prior list of elected officials we are most proud of. A while back a friend popped into town to get married and, as it was her fourth attempt at wedded bliss, she didn’t feel a fuss was necessary so they opted for one of our colorful drivethru chapels. There really are such places here complete with menus so the happy couple can pick and choose which service best fits their needs. As I sat in the back of their SUV as their witness I was tempted to holler out “Make mine a cheeseburger with a large fries.” Something for everyone in good old Glitter Gulch. But credit must be given where credit is due. There is no greater thrill than sitting atop the Eiffel tower (half-scale of the original) at the Paris Hotel as you watch the dancing fountains across the boulevard at the Bellagio Hotel swaying to the tune of “My Way” by Frankie. In the distance can be heard the rumble of the erupting volcano at the Mirage Hotel. Is this Fantasy Land or what? As you head out of town there is a 7/11 store on the right with a sign out front which simply says “free aspirin.” Take it, my friends, as it is the last free thing my town will offer you as you head for the nearest pawn shop for gas money to get home. Our Chamber Of Commerce estimates that 78% of those who visit our fair city will return, and that you can bet on. Glitter Gulch Awaits.

MARGIE HARRELL has been in and out of Mexico for the past 20 years and has published many articles about her experiences, usually with a droll sense of humor.

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THE TRIP THAT CHANGED MY LIFE By Kelly Hayes-Raitt

came home pregnant. Of course, I didn’t know it until the laundry was done and the jet lag had lapsed. India had shaken my soul, now it had invaded my uterus. India seeped into my pores. This uncontainable country’s smelly colors and infiltrating chaos shook my very essence. I felt like one of those plastic snow domes with scattered fake snowflakes and happy figurines flicked off their perches. After India, nothing lands in the same place; most people either love this, or hate this. India is not a place of ambiguity. And I’d gone with teenagers. My first time in India, I chaperoned nine American teenagers, handling their

logistics in a country that defies logistics handling. To further complicate our lean-budgeted trip, I learned, just days before we left the comfortable land of Happy Meals, that our food kitty was short. I was expected to miraculously raise several hundred extra last-minute dollars. I shook my head, “This may be the first time in history starving children are taken to India.” I figured God or Vishnu or Somebody would multiply loaves for us. After all, we were on a peace mission. Our nine teens were meeting nine Indian teenagers to create a musical reflecting their shared dreams for a world at peace in a hundred years from now. Daunting task: We Americans, righteous in our individuality, were unprepared for a culture that reveres conformity. In this country a third the size of the United States with nearly four times the population, people who go along, get along. Just crossing India’s streets was a lesson in going with the flow, except to my foreign eyes, there was no discernable flow. Motor scooters weaved precariously, dodging the ruts made by buses that bulldogged ahead with people dangling off them like Christmas tree ornaments. Taxis invented their own lanes, careening onto sidewalks or into oncoming traffic, whichever best suited their reflex to bypass the occasional cow, donkey, monkey or elephant. Children, barefoot and openhanded, threaded the amorphous traffic lanes, their lonely pleas drowned by belligerent horns. The air was a bitter mixture of exhaust, shit, sweat and spices. On the surface, India is a jumbled assault on the senses. Only on introspection does it calm and clarify. Not even India, however, could stop our kids from doing what all American teens do – attempt to conform by rebelliously asserting their individuality – all in the context of figuring out their selfworth. They cross-dressed, the boys

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

donning dresses for a skit, the girls wearing the boys’ overalls and T-shirts. They flirted. They hugged. (They hugged a lot.) They tested boundaries – theirs, each other’s and mine. We traveled from Delhi to Jaipur to Agra to Hyderabad to Madras to Aurangabad to Bombay by bus, by train, by air, by elephant, nursing each other through “Delhi Belly” and culture shock from which even the adults weren’t immune. In my own adult act of teenage regression, I started smoking again. Not the demure menthol ultra-lights I had smoked fifteen years ago in high school, but the chunky, boyish Marlboros favored by the Indian men – and by one of our group’s chaperones, a man whose attention I couldn’t quite capture. His cigarette smoldered seductively in the ashtray, and I just picked it up and inhaled. We spent most of our time in Hyderabad, sort of the Cleveland of India, where we interacted with the Indian teens and volunteered at an orphanage. I horrified the staff at our five-star hotel one day by inviting the underclass orphans to our swimming pool. I bought the children knock-off Donald Duck T-shirt and shorts sets to wear as bathing suits, negotiating hard for a bulk price from a sidewalk vendor. The kids squealed and splashed. I heard later that the staff drained the pool after we left. One of the orphans, a silent, alert five-year-old girl with a quick laugh, fell asleep in my lap during the bus ride back to the orphanage. As I gathered her sleepy dead weight, her arms draped around my neck, my forearm supporting her butt, I expected her to instinctively wrap her strong legs around my hips. Instead, the girl clung to my neck, her legs thrust out ramrod stiff and clenched tightly together from the waist down, even in her sleep protecting the most vulnerable part of herself against the memory of a previous violation. At the end of the trip, I deposited the American teens at the Bombay Airport and found my way to a resort on an island off India’s coast. Travel weary and sleep confused that first night, I opened my door to insistent 2:30 AM knocking. The resort’s husky German manager, who just hours before had “island welcomed” me with a silly drum parade and lame punch in a frosty glass, now drunkenly forced his way into my room. This same man earlier had inexplicably upgraded my room, bought me a drink at the bar, and invited me to an

I horrified the staff at our five-star hotel one day by inviting the underclass orphans to our swimming pool.

exclusive VIP dinner. Now he’d come for his payment, and for a foggy moment I believed I owed him, a nanosecond he quickly exploited before I was too overpowered to fight back effectively. It took me longer to deal with the fact I’d been raped than impregnated. For months after I returned home, sitting on the stoop outside my Santa Monica apartment, I smoked Marlboros and dissected my encounter, mining every moment for the exact instant I had subconsciously chosen to allow my body to be stolen. While I don’t believe anyone “asks” to be violated, I do believe I draw experiences into my life specifically to provide myself with opportunities to change. I didn’t want to repeat this particular “opportunity;” I was determined to understand why I had made myself vulnerable. I sat in the dark wrapped in my fluffy bathrobe, my baby long since gone, rewinding the summer. I took an extra long drag when I thought of the little girl who instinctively avoided wrapping her legs around me and wondered at what blink of an instant we little girls learn our bodies are commodities to be taken or traded. Although I never consciously believed there is a quid pro quo between allowing a man to buy me dinner and sleeping with him, on a deeper level I didn’t believe a man would have any other motive. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to say “no,” I didn’t know how to say “yes.” I didn’t believe I was worthy of a man’s attention. India had invaded my uterus. And it had shaken my soul. I had to travel halfway around the world to learn I would never again accept some man’s price tag on my body. I snuffed out my cigarette. (Ed. Note: “The Trip That Changed My Life” originally appeared in Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World by Rita Golden Gelman with Maria Altobelli, published by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in June 2010.)

KELLY HAYES-RAITT was in Iraq prior to the US invasion and has also spent much time in Afghanistan--and has written articles about each experience that have been published in major magazines in the US. She spends much time in Mexico and is writing a book about her far-flung travels.

GUADALAJARA

By Victoria Schmidt

Mexican Architecture

just a bit larger than my husband’s. ouses in Mexico aren’t He had to walk into his bathroom like houses further straight to the sink, close the bathnorth in North Ameriroom door so he could turn around ca. Coming from the bleak north, to access the toilet and shower the riot of colors, shapes and sizes that were hiding behind the door. are sheer eye-candy. Large walls In mine, I had to keep the shower or gates secrete some of the most door open in order beautiful gardens, fountains, topiary, Claustrophobic could to use the toilet, while short, and homes. The not even begin to de- and my knees almost houses themselves feature miradors, scribe some of the touched the oppatios, terrazas, and bathrooms I’ve seen. posite wall. In the home of a friend, cupolas that make her shower door opened to her it easy to forget the bland foursink. When she brushed her teeth walls homes further north. and bent over to spit and rinse The Mexican colors are delight-- her butt was inside her shower. ful. I used to say our City Council had passed an ordinance requiring new housing to have taupe siding and be built in identical rows. This is not true in Mexico. In my village, the colors are vibrant. The houses often have accent colors and ornate ironwork. But while I enjoy the wonderful homes here, the way some of them are laid out just doesn’t make sense. The first house we rented had two kitchens, an infinitesimal kitchen inside the house, and a large spacious kitchen—outside! In order to reach the bathroom, we had to exit the house, walk around the corner, and access the bathroom from the patio. In another house, the closets never quite met. The doors would close, but they all were crooked. When we moved in, it took us a few days to find the light switch for the overhead light in the master bedroom. It never really occurred to us that the switch was inside the closet! And what is it with door locks and keys? One house had a different key for every door in the house. Our next house was the same. My high school janitor had fewer keys! But Mexican bathrooms really are the limit. Our last house had two bathrooms that were so small we called them “bath-ettes.” Mine was

Claustrophobic could not even begin to describe some of the bathrooms I’ve seen. Of course, in some of the newer homes designed more for the “gringo’s” I have seen beautiful and ornate bathrooms, large and luxurious. I even saw Jacuzzis and bathtubs! One of the bathrooms in our home is just off the master bedroom. I’ve never seen anything like it. The shower has a bench, which is wonderful for handicapped people. But the showerhead is placed for someone who is about 6’3”. Most Mexican’s don’t seem to be quite that tall, so why is the showerhead so far up the wall? In addition, there is no shower door or curtain. This would be workable, I could even get used to it, but the bathroom itself has no door! The entrance is a lovely archway cresting the top and a curved wall on the right side, but no door. Who builds a bathroom without a door? Finally there are laundry rooms. In the northland, our laundry rooms were in the basement or if we were lucky, on the main floor -- but they were never outdoors. They weren’t even in the garage.

The washer and dryer, like children and guests, had their own room. They weren’t cast out to the patio, or a separate detached bodega. I just keep wondering whatever happened in Mexico that caused all those machines to be banned from the premises?

VICTORIA SCHMIDT was a systems supervisor for several documentary film companies. She and her husband Tom moved to Mexico from the Mid-West a few years ago. She has contributed several articles to technical magazines in the US.

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Hearts at Work A Column by James Tipton “…the people most important to you”

nyone born in the United States in the first half of the 20th century learned a lot about how to live from western cinema heroes like Tom Mix (a movie star who actually served as I was b i h a cap gun iin each h born with a pall bearer at the funeral of real chubby little hand, and only a few western hero, Wyatt Earp), Hopalong short years later I scrunched down Cassidy, Roy Roginto a maroon seat ers, Red Ryder, Gene Avoid people who dis- at the Schines TheAutry, Guy Madison, ater in Ashland, John Wayne, and guise their arrogance Ohio and watched The Lone Ranger, under the pretence of Saturday morning and later from the westerns (for a quarhumility. stars of television ter) with my sisters serials like Have Gun Nancy and Peggy, Will Travel, Gunsmoke, and Bonanand my cousins, David, Joe, and za. Danny. All of us were destined to become, after the movie ended, western heroes in our own back yards, at least until supper. A couple of years later I began to devour novels by authors like Zane Grey, Luke Short, Joseph Altsheller, and Max Brand. Only a few decades ago, living in Colorado and in my forties, one lonely evening, tired of more ‘sophisticated’ literature, I succumbed to subscribing to the Louis L’Amour Western Collection, receiving and reading about a book a month for several years. Last week at the American Legion in Chapala I picked up a previously well-loved copy of Louis L’Amour’s Ride the River; I was swept up into the simple L’Amour plot and the basically romantic but deeply held values of the characters. In Ride the River, a wise old lawyer named Mr. Finian Chantry tells our young heroine— several of his novels have strong and independent women as protagonists—Miss Echo Sackett: “Do not let yourself be bothered by the inconsequential. One has only so much time in the world, so devote it to the work and the people most important to you, to those you love and things that matter. One can waste half a lifetime with people one doesn’t really like.” Amen. The message is a simple one. If you are in relationships that compli-

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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cate your life get out of them. Avoid self-serving people. Avoid people who are not thankful for the gifts of life. Avoid people who disguise their arrogance under the pretence of humility. Avoid people whose selfdestructive behaviors want to take you down with them. Don’t let those strangers in the dark bar seduce you to their table. In his commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (from Life Surrendered in God), Roy Eugene Davis cautions us to “be attentive to the relationships you cultivate or allow to be formed. An old axiom is, ‘A man is known by the company he keeps.’ We can easily know our sense of self-worth and self-esteem by examining our relationships of choice. If we choose to regularly associate with negative and self-serving people, or those who are provincial and grounded in conditioned consciousness, it reveals our own lack of self-worth and selfesteem. “If we choose to frequent places where discordant and destructive influences prevail, it reveals our uncaring attitude about the usefulness of purity. When necessary to mingle with people who are self-centered

and self-defeating in their attitudes and behavior, remain inwardly centered in soul awareness and depart from them at the earliest convenient moment.” Well, Pard, there’s a lesson to be learned in the commentary by that Indian fellow named Patanjali, and also in those words so well spoke by Mr. Louis L’Amour. Until next time, Happy Trails to you. And may you walk softly toward that sweet old cabin still waiting in that gentle wilderness deep inside of you.

JIM TIPTON has published several books of poetry and has sold dozens of articles to magazines in the US. His collections of poetry include Letters from a Stranger (1998)— winner of the Colorado Book Award in Poetry. Jim lived in Puerto Vallarta for several years. spiritofmexico@yahoo.com

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WARSAW vs. KRAKOW: Opt for the Cash Cow By Carol L. Bowman

his is a tale of two Polresembling a movie set resulted. Reish cities: the country’s built to appear old, it looks like what present capital, Warsaw, it is- an imitation town. and the medieval center of govThe people carry an invisible ernment until 1596 A.D., Krakow. heaviness, even hanging from the They’re as different as the negative young Poles who never experienced and positive poles of a magnetic the atrocities and the denial of freefield. dom. Could the past’s darkness be Warsaw left me feeling empty creating a pessimistic view of the fuand wanting, as grey skies, constant ture? Is tragedy anticipated to strike drizzle, and an early May raw chill again? I can’t remember hearing gnawed into my bones. Fifty years laughter in Warsaw. The wounds run had passed since the Nazis had sysdeep and the scars endure. Tourists tematically destroyed 85% of the become swept up in their mantra: city, blew up centuries-old buildings, ‘Never forget what happened here.’ irreplaceable architecture, heritage I welcomed moving on to Krakow, and culture and exterminated 20% the oldest city in Poland. It escaped of its population. Yet, a sense that, the World War II bombing raids, “it just recently haporiginal Renaispened” hangs over With Auschwitz/Birke- sance, Gothic and the city like a blan- nau camps a short Baroque architecket of morning fog. ture remained intact The phrases, distance from central and 20th Century ‘Second World War, Krakow, SS officers generations were the physical Warsaw Uprising, took up residence in spared destruction of their Jewish Ghetto and Communist Take- area mansions, giving city. After 1939, the over’ persist. One the Germans reason to Nazis turned the city into the Capihears them over and over while save the city from pil- tal of the General Government. With wandering through lage. Auschwitz/Birkenau various museums camps a short distance from central that chronicle the multiple foreign Krakow, SS officers took up residence occupations, horrors and devastain area mansions, giving the Gertions Warsaw and its people have mans reason to save the city from suffered. City tour companies have pillage. few options. Our guide stopped by a Positive energy flowed and the 3x5 foot fragment of an original brick sun beamed as we neared Krakow. wall to proclaim that “this” was the Walkers sauntered along, non-tratrain station where the Polish Jews ditional bikers, business suited men boarded enroute to concentration and smartly dressed women in heels, camps. Seeing ‘What’s not there’, probriefcases slung over the handlebars, duced a profound emotional impact. rode to and from and customers Most obvious in the “Old City sipped cappuccino at sidewalk caSector,” ironically every building has fes, as early 20th Century refurbished been constructed within the last 15 street cars clanged by. I couldn’t wait years. The attempt to replicate anto be a part of this idyllic scene. cient structures that lined the cobIt’s the ‘Pope’s town’ after all and blestone, pre-1939 streets, unfolded Pope John Paul II, had just been beas we entered the large plaza suratified a week before our arrival. I rounded by outdoor cafes. Although anticipated an uplifted and proud the efforts to authenticate reconpopulace. Krakow, Eastern Europe’s struction must be applauded, for me, Cash Cow, which entertains over a make-believe Disney World village

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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seven million European and international visitors a year, beckoned us to get crackin.’ With 6000 historic sites emanating from the Main Market Square of the medieval Old Town and over two million works of art on display, we hit the streets immediately for our tourist work-out. Krakow grew from a Stone Age settlement in the 7th Century to a World Heritage UNESCO site, and has been named the official European Capital of Culture. With much of the historic center auto free, for six hours, we walked, explored, marveled and enjoyed the delights of Krakow. Every block another ‘must see’ sprang into view: Cloth Hall, the oldest shopping center from 1555, St. Mary’s Basilica and tower from where a trumpeter announced the passing of every hour, Wawel Castle, where most of the Polish Kings are buried and the float of European river cruisers down the Vistula River. Mid-point, we rejuvenated famished stomachs with Polish home cooking at a local ‘Milk Bar’. These cafeterias, known for their comfort food at ridiculously cheap prices are trendy with college students, locals

and tourists who know where to find them. A government subsidized, Communist era enterprise, these establishments provided the local people with an economical place for dining. They were so popular, after the Communists left, the Milk Bars stayed. We ended our self guided exploration of Krakow, sipping hot, mint dark chocolate that tasted like a melted Hershey bar, at a sweet café on the square. Totally sated, we understood why Krakow is Poland’s Cash Cow and why Warsaw isn’t.

CAROL BOWMAN worked in a psychiatric hospital for 33 years before moving to Mexico in 2006. Visiting 45 countries before retirement, Carol’s outlet of travel writing helped preserve her sanity. She was a featured author in the published anthology, Tales from the Couch V.

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El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

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Nudine The Quiver Queen By Bob Tennison

“

exas is the Bible belt and Dallas is the Buckle.” This stupid song was sung by the gospel choir that came on the radio just before the noon news. TV had not as yet taken over our lives. Luckily I never heard the song again, so I surmised that one of their five or six listeners wrote them that it was really too dumb even for them. Many of my classmates, including my closest friend, were Baptist and, as a Catholic, I was looked upon as different. One of the most outlandish things my friend’s mother told me was that the reason our priests wore long black cassocks was to hide the forked devil’s tails underneath. Sadly, she believed this. When I told her I could hardly wait to be a priest and grow one, she avoided me forevermore. The parents of many of these friends did not believe in movies, so when my friends went with me, which they did very often, they never had to worry about being seen by anybody they knew. Downtown Dallas offered about three blocks of theatres, from the elegant Majestic, the Palace (where an organ rose from the pit and was played for fifteen minutes before the show began) to the lesser exotic Melba, Rialto and, lastly, the Queen, before hitting the bottom of the barrel, the Fox. It was truly a fleabag left over from any glory days it may have had, and catered to those who didn‘t mind paying a quarter to enter and being swept away by the smell. Those not wishing to be seen could turn up their collar, don dark glasses and hurry in, mostly at night. The real shocker came when The Dallas Morning News began advertising in the Entertainment Section the forthcoming appearance at the Fox of a stripper going by the name of Nudine, the Quiver Queen. Never before did I remember ads like this one. There

were even trucks going up and down the city streets with signs advertising her. Even soft porn had never hit our screens before, so this was also a first. Needless to say, many members of our little group were hot to trot to the Fox. Supposedly limited to only persons twenty-one and over, the spooky lady in the box office was not remotely interested in all of us being under age. She just wanted to sell tickets. Of course we had to crash a picket line to reach the box office and, as luck would have it, the gossip bag who lived across the street from me put her picket sign down long enough to give me the “shame on you” sign with her fingers, and I well knew that my mother would have a lecture waiting for me. The movie deserved an Academy Award for being the worst ever made and about as risqué as one called Don‘t Take Your Shoes and Socks Off in Public. It was only a miserable hour long, and then came Nudine. GASP! She was wearing a small black G-string and matching brassiere with silver tassels. She was not a bad looking old doll. A tad tired around the edges, but she could still move. After a few bumps and grinds, she had those tassels spinning around like a top, and the next thing we knew they were spinning in the opposite direction. We had never seen anything like this and we were impressed. We were not the only ones, as the old fellow across the aisle from me was playing with himself. A few more bumps and grinds, and then came The Quiver. Unreal. It was like somebody standing naked on an iceberg with a light snow falling on them—amazing, to say the least. After the dim lights came on, we made a quick exit and headed for our favorite hot spot, La Villa Roma, where the friendly waitress led us to a back

The movie deserved an Academy Award for being the worst ever made and about as risqué as one called Don‘t Take Your Shoes and Socks Off in Public.

booth in order to serve us an illegal beer. The only bar drink allowed in Texas was 3.2 beer, as grim as it sounds, but we were ready to feel grown up. One of our buddies had promised to help his parents entertain their visitor from Albuquerque who had come to Dallas to attend the Texas Centennial. She was our version of an old maid schoolteacher, almost thirty, never married wearing horn-rimmed glasses. His parents had to attend a business conference that evening, so she was invited to go with us. She declined Nudine but took in a movie and would join us later at La Villa. We were watching the front door and, when Clarice came in and stood looking around, I stood and called out, “Back here, Nudine.“ Every head in the place swiveled toward the front door, and the poor fellow at the end of the bar jazzed around so fast his elbow sent his bottle of beer sailing across the room. Poor Clarice, red face and all, headed in our direction. If looks could kill, I would have been dead immediately. We did try to make it up the next day by taking her to the Expo and taking pictures of her getting an autographed photo of Hollywood’s current new star, Linda Dar-

nell. We knew her from high school as Monetta. She was in the middle of an extremely successful career when she died in a hotel fire at forty-two. She was in Dallas to promote her first movie Daytime Wife at the Majestic. Yes, we took Clarice. Years later, in this ever shrinking world, I ran into Clarice when I was on a business trip to Albuquerque, having dinner at a downtown restaurant. The greeting given me was so cold I had to brush the icicles off my sleeve before taking a table near the rear and ordering a Martini (legal in New Mexico). I watched her pay her check, take her broom from under the table and fly out the front door.

BOB TENNISON is from Texas, and was a flight attendant for many years, a job which took him to many places and gave him a great deal of comedy material.

AIN’T LIFE GRAND!

group of 40-year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally, it was agreed that they would meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the waiters there had tight pants and nice arses. Ten years later, at age 50, the friends once again discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally, it was agreed that they would meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the food was good and the wine selection was excellent. Ten later, at age 60, the friends again discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally, it was agreed that they would meet at the Ocean

View Restaurant because they could dine in peace and quiet and the restaurant had a beautiful view of the Pacific. Ten years later, at age 70, the friends discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally, it was agreed that they would meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the restaurant was wheel chair accessible and had an elevator. Ten later, at 80 years of age, the friends again discussed where they should meet for lunch. FINALLY! It was agreed that they would meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because they had never been there before.

The waiters there had tight pants and nice arses.

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ADIOS & FAREWELL, AMIGO MIO By Landon Hollander

e was there every day, at a sack of dog food and two bowls. the main bus stop, in his The dogs would receive their much plastic chair, newspaper anticipated dinner with joy and love, on lap, reading glasses perched licking his face when he bent to serve at the end of his nose, or chatting the dishes. And he would grumble with passerby and chums. Wearing at them to cut it out, damned monone of his Amigos de La Cruz T shirts. grels, but then he would scratch their Because of his almost emaciated statbellies and everyone was happy. ure, most people would think him a Now he would wander back to his street person perhaps needing food, room and a light would go on and, maybe homeless, certainly jobless, recently, a newly procured TV could no? He was Hector, last name not be heard for an hour or so. Then known, and his job was to “pace” the lights out and silence, for a while. In buses, ATM and Compostela, so that the quiet neighborhood, the sound they weren’t on top of one another. of passing trucks down on the highHe kept a clipboard and logged arrivway and the occasional barking of als and departures. ten scattered dogs were the only Each day, ususounds to be heard. ally later in the af- He would stroll around Until the coughing ternoon, he would the wood shack to the started. cross in front of back extension that Each day, he the taxi stand to would emerge, inthe Rosticeria and served as his home variably shirtless, buy some chicken, and emerge with a and his fly-weight and later he would boxer’s body would cross the highway sack of dog food and once again amaze. and buy cigarettes two bowls. “Buenos dias, Hecand a Coke at Max’s tor!” I would shout tienda. across the street always to be met When the long day was done, with, “Buenos Dias, Landon!” usuusually around 8:30 or 9:00 in the ally followed with a comment on the evening he would once again cross ever changing weather or the abthe highway and walk up the lateral, sence of water from the faucets that turn left and head up Calle Monte fed directly from the street, no tinaco Calvario. About half way up the first here. block he would be enthusiastically Hector would gladly be the force greeted by two scruffy dogs who he that kept our bougainvillas from called Bolita and Cachorra, the forovertaking the universe, and he mer a tad on the chunky side with would be the one who, when ina Border Collie relative somewhere formed that we would be going to in the distant gene pool, the latter Guadalajara or back to the States, forever the puppy by title, a classic would make the forked finger pointtan, thin Mexican “criollo” -street dog. ing at his eyes and back in my direcWith the two dogs running happy, tion: “I’ll be watching out for you, my bouncy circles around him, Hector friend.” would fluidly dip his upper body and On Thursday June 30th, Hector returned home as always, but before slide through the opening between entering through the barbed wire, the chest and waist high strands of he walked over to inform me that he barbed wire that encircle the vacant was going to Tepic, where his famlot, of which he was the caretaker. ily lived, because he was sick and He would stroll around the wood needed to see a doctor. I asked if it shack to the back extension that was serious and he refused the noserved as his home and emerge with

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

tion; no, but I need to go there. He then walked further down our street to inform Ruben & Adela, who were his friends. The following evening I received a text: From: Hector 07/01/2011 07:35 PM Te encargo los perros. (I charge you with the dogs/Take care of the dogs.) Two nights later, this message: From: Hector family 07/04/2011 06:03 PM Hi, just too tell you about my Uncle Hector he died today at 4 a.m. of morning Ok. Last night around 9:30, I was out front loading some things into my car, and down the street from further up the hill where they hang with Nacho & Henry, two other neighbor dogs came trotting beside Bolita and Cachorra. Side by side, staring straight ahead down the hill, the street. They stopped, still side by side, and sat, watching and waiting. Tonight we will gather with our neighbors and discuss their joint adoption. We will miss Hector every day and every night for the simple, real man he was, his selfless joy and friendship. Each time I glance across the street, each time I pet his dogs and each time I pass the bus stop, I will think fondly of my humble amigo and fight back the tears.

No Idle Retirement Here! By Tommy Clarkson

ecently, for 107 days, Estate queries, often short-fused, with my once, Manzaclarioned from numerous phones or nillo, sun-burned, nose slipped in more quietly via e-mail. placed against the proverbial Rumors – sometimes to the point grindstone and formerly, retinaof ridiculous (“Is the Corps going to detached eye struggling for focus blow up the dams?”) to be corrected on the ball, I was back in the yoke – some, instantly, via the social meof work. And though this time condia of Twitter, YouTube, Flicker and stituted grueling seven day work Facebook. weeks of 12+ hour days, it was wonThere was data to be dissemiderful! nated and press releases to be reI did so, once again, as a team searched, written and forwarded. In member of the U.S. Army Corps of the Joint Information Center phones Engineers (USACE). Patty, my life’s rang, fingers flew across keyboards, co-pilot, and I had been professionand huddled heads muttered asally associated with this great group pects of The Strategic Communiof soldiers and civilians in Iraq back cation Plan. For an old writer and in 2005-06 and then, a year later, in media relations guy – at the sake of Louisiana, post Hurricane Katrina. redundancy - it was wonderful! Absent now, however, were the There were energetic, enthusiroadside IEDs and astic young folks laboring to mentor, middle snipers of the for- Intently mer and the whiney, on my left sat a fel- aged, mid-leveled finger pointing and bureaucrats to genpolitical edginess of low “Old Coot,” also tly admonish and the latter. brought back to ac- nudge work-wise This time, it was and an occasional, back in the U.S. tive ranks as a “Re- senior - who’d arheartlands - Omaha, hired Annuitant.” rived at their post NE. Our task was through politithat of engaging the surging, roilcal “correctness” or intrigue – with ing effects of unprecedented rainfall whom to contend. Thankfully these and mountain snowpack melt that were few in number. had caused the record setting MisOver here, national outreach or souri River flooding. response to the Wall Street JourInstead of a leisurely cup of nal, FOX News, NPR and Associated “Morning Joe” under the palapa at Press; over there, regionally, mul7:30 AM, the days began - reministiple daily questions from newsman cent of early barracks bound Army Tony Mangan of KCCR radio in Pierre days - rising at 0530 hours in order South Dakota; interjected in-beto be at my duty station by no later tween, earthy, practical questions by than 0645! senior journalist Marshall White of In lieu of late afternoon cocktails the St. Joseph (MO) News Press; and on the terrace, it was intense parthen, third among the most heard ticipation in the daily late afternoon from reporters, crisp, multi-faceted CODEL (Congressional Delegation) and incisive inquiries from Nancy call with federal, state and local ofGaarder of the Omaha World Herald. ficials and then fielding a barrage of All addressed from within a winquestions from the media from the dowless room on the third floor of a eight states abutting the river’s upfederal building not far from the anper basin. gry waters of the Mighty Mo, the Big Soon, Fridays could have been Muddy. Mondays and Sundays, just another This space - called “Mr Jic” for the day. One on top of another, Fourth acronym of the Missouri River Joint

Information Center - buzzed with activity. On the rear wall, large, permanent, brushed aluminum letters proclaimed this to be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, Omaha. On the opposite wall, more functional and ever changing lists under heads of Current, In Queue and Ongoing had been hastily printed on large white boards that sandwiched a calendar of “X”ed out dates since commencement of the natural disaster. Elbowing for acknowledgment, blue markered, daily water release statistics – today, “160,000 cubic feet per second” – for Oahe Dam and reservoir crowded phone numbers for state emergency operations centers, departments of transportation and FEMA. Intently laboring on my left sat a fellow “Old Coot,” also brought back to active ranks as a “Rehired Annuitant.” He’s Steve Wright, a federal service veteran of thirty-five years and who had preceded me into the Arabian sandbox. On my right sat, Thomas O’Hara III, who we’d collectively mentored, with whom we’d both served “over there,” and for whom we shared a fierce, paternalistic pride. Beyond his present Flood Fight duties he is, today, the USACE Omaha District’s Executive Officer. The experience harkened to mind a line – and no few other memories - with which we three could well relate: “One Army. One Fight.” Serving with friends in a challenge of consequence... What a great break from retirement!

TOM CLARKSON and his wife have lived on board a boat, on a remote 1.2 square mile island in the Pacific, in the bowels of wartorn Iraq and are now reasonably settled in Santiago, Manzanillo.

Saw you in the Ojo

International Friendship Club PUERTO VALLARTA

Introducing IFC Home Tour season Mike McGee, Home Tour Director and Mandy MacLeay, President

CARS

The International Friendship Club will kick off its 23rd. season of Home Tours on November 16 and continue every Wednesday and Thursday until mid-April. The donations we receive from our visitors provide the greatest part of our fundraising efforts. Again this year, the tours will depart from Restaurante La Albufera located on Aquiles Serdan #242 local 2 (across from the Molina de Agua). This is the second year that the owner Maria Del Pilar Casellas of La Albufera has hosted the home tours and by the way it serves excellent Spanish tapas and paella. On the Home Tour by presenting your attendance stub of the day they offer a discount on your lunch or dinner. We should mention that for the second year, Bill and Ron, owners of Elements of Design, where one can buy fine home furnishings and accessories, are covering the printing cost of admission passes to the tours. They also offer a 10% discount on your purchases when you present your tour stub. Their business is located at #242 Aquiles Serdan, local 9. Each week, Home Tours feature four different outstanding villas generally located on the south shore. The success of the program not only depends on those who go on the tours but on the members of the International Friendship Club who volunteer each week to make this event a pleasant outing for all. On each bus there are two trained docents. The docents do an outstanding job of introducing the homes, telling interesting stories about Vallarta and interjecting a laugh or two. They are a great crowd pleaser. Without the generosity of the home owners we would not be able to showcase the beautiful homes to our visitors. So as you can see this is an all community effort where the ultimate winners are the children in need in our beautiful community of Puerto Vallarta. The proceeds from the tours fund a number of programs: our In House programs such as; the Cleft Palate Surgical Program and Community Service and Education. These are coordinated by volunteer members from our organization. We also support other Puerto Vallarta Charities such as Becas Vallarta, Refugio Intantil Santa Esperanze (RISE), The Salvation Army and Los Mangos Biblioteca among others. These registered charities receive stipends from The International Friendship Club to bring additional funds to supplement their own fundraising efforts. We have a variety of methods for you to pick up your passes for the IFC Home Tours. 1st., on tour days Wednesday and Thursday they go on sale at 242 Aquiles Serdan # 2, Restaurante La Albufera (across from the Molina de Agua) at 9 a.m. with the bus leaving at approximately 10:30 a.m. The tour ends at about 1:30 p.m. 2nd. Advance passes can be obtained at the International Friendship Club office for future tours. The office hours are 9:00 to 4:00 Monday to Friday. The office is located at Edificio Parian del Puente # 13, Corner of Libertad and Miramar, Centro, Puerto Vallarta. 3rd. method that will soon be established is to make your advance reservation on the IFC website using a credit card at www.ifcvallarta.com. The donation for each pass is $450 pesos per person. The tour involves some walking. We encourage everyone to wear comfortable walking shoes, bring water, and do not forget your camera to complete your great memories of such a great day. If you have any questions, please contact the IFC office at 322- 2225466, from US or CA 514-418-2123 or contact Home Tour Director Mike McGee at 322-221-5681 in the US or CA at 415- 328-6359. The IFC office is open Monday to Friday from 9 to 1 starting October 4 but will be open 9:00 to 4:00 starting November 14. We welcome your comments or questions. For more information about Home Tours or the International Friendship Club, visit www.ifcvallarta.com or email ifcvallarta@gmail.com.

For Sale: Classic Cadillac in running condition, but need some work to make it perfect. See it in Conchas Chinas. Priced at only 6500 pesos. Call Frank or Conchita , 221-5316 For Sale: 1982 Suburban with a 6.2 Diesel engine. Engine and Transmission very good condition. Car needs body work. Asking 20,000 pesos or best offer. Call Frank, 221-5316 or Cell: (322)1338984 For Sale: Excellent Convertible. Imported, Mexican plates, insurance paid for 2011,taxes and importation paid until 2010. Motor 2.5 ltrs, working great. new tires, new shock, magnesium rhins, $35,000 pesos, for appointment call Luis at cell 33-1113-6192 For Sale: Great 98 Subaru Outback Legacy, It´s in good working condition, bought in the States and legalized it, now has Jalisco plates everything in order and paid. $36,000. Call: 01 (33) 32887874

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

GENERAL MERCHANDISE For Sale: Ryobi tool kit 18 volt complete with drill, sawzall, lantern, circular saw and charge. Extra battery included $2,400 pesos, contact Pete @ 333 490-5812 For Sale: Metal detector with headphones $3,400 pesos, contact Pete @333-490-5812 For Sale: Compressor, 100 psi portable and compact with air chuck; $1,000 pesos, contact Pete @333-490-5812 For Sale: Floor jack 4500 lbs perfect condition, $850 pesos, contact Pete @ 333-490-5812 For Sale: Portable Massage Table with face cradle, carrying case. $2000 pesos, email: spaldinghi@hotmail.com For Sale: Bar Style Table. Round 30” diameter laminated top on 42” high metal pedestal base. Includes 3 tall, wooden, swivels

stools w/back rests and brass foot rails. Excellent conditions $3500 pesos. No email, please call Lee Borden at (045) 333-496-5883 For Sale: Tracker Tundra 20 Boat, 280,000.00 or 25,000.00 USD. Really nice boat, 20ft long, capacity up to 9 people, GPS fishfinder e-mail with any questions! email: juliana109@hotmail.com

COLLECTABLES For Sale: Box cameras (early 1900s), the very first Polaroid Model 95 (1948), German Finetta 1950 35mm, Eumig C3 Austrian 1959 3-lens turret 8mm with case & instruction manual, email: justmeinmexico@hotmail.com For Sale: Incredible collection of 750 different Mexican stamps, all pictorial, all mint and never hinged. Only $200, call James Tipton, (376) 765-7689. For Sale: Harley Davidson touch lamp, new in box $400 pesos. No email, please call Lee Borden at Cell 333-496-5883 For Sale: Motorcycle 2009 Dinamo Custom 150cc like new. Less than 3000 km, never wrecked. All taxes paid. Includes two helmets. $21,000 pesos. Check out at www. dinamotos.com for specs and pictures. Call: (376) 766-1757 For Sale: Tap/jazz shoes, unisex, oxford style, size 10W, with padded soles and dance rubber. Soft leather, very comfy. Like new. $500 pesos. Call: (376) 766-4106 For Sale: Custom Bar Cabinent, space for 30 wine bottles, the middle section is the bar - all mirrored with a drop down door, the top section is for displaying glasses, has glass all around and 2 shelves. Asking $4000 pesos. Call: (376) 766-4636. For Sale: Very nice, lightly used acoustical guitars from US. Name Brands, One is an ovation. Both in excellent condition. Includes cases and straps. $500 USD each. Call: (376) 766-6051

Service

THE OJO CROSSWORD

DIRECTORY AUTOMOTIVE

MOVERS

- MOBILE DIAGNOSTIC & REPAIR SERVICE Cell: 333-506-7879 Pag: 19

BANK INVESTMENT - ACTINVER Tel. 01-800-705-5555 - BBVA BANCOMER Tel. 01-800-2282-728

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- MANZANILLOGURU.COM Nextel: (314) 12 03 974, ID 62*160932*2

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REAL ESTATE Pag: 08

CONSTRUCTION/ARCHITECTS - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION Arq. Juan Jose Rodriguez Tel: (322) 225-8248 Pag: 12 - STUDIO SYNTHESIS Tel: (01) 33-8421-7733 Pag: 07 - WBT D.F. 01(55) 1090 2821 Mty. 01(81) 8400 4999 Pag: 03

DENTIST - PATY ASCENCIO D.D.S. Tel: (669) 668-0548 Pag: 10 - SMILES AT VALLARTA-Dr. Alberto Hernández Tel: 223 9648 Pag: 13

HOTELS / SUITES

- BARRAREALTY Tel: (315) 355-5748 - COLDWELL BANKER MANZANILLO Tel: (314) 334-2000 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: (333) 899-2827 - INTER-MEX REALTY Cell: (044) 315-100-8869 - JEFF KLASSEN Mex Cell: 315-104-4951 - JOANNE B. CIMINI Cell: 044-322-152-0905 - MAZATLAN PROPERTY GROUP Tel: 985-3065 - MEXICO PROPERTY RESOURCES Tel: (315) 351-7489, 108-3425 - RE/MAX - PERLA PACIFICO Tel: (314) 333-2904 - REENA EGGER Cell: (322) 173-8712 - VALLARTA ESCAPES Cell: 322-150-7447

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RENTALS Pag: 12 Pag: 10 Pag: 17 Pag: 18 Pag: 15 Pag: 13 Pag: 19

- FLOWERS & FLOWERS LAW OFFICES Tel: (33) 3616 3749 Pag: 18

INTERIOR DESIGN - JAIMAH Tel: (322) 22 121 98, 333 791 0550, (329) 29 836 79, (314) 333 6700 Pag: 20

INSURANCE

- MANZANILLO VACATION RENTALS Tel: (314) 100-6773 - SANTANA RENTALS Cell: (315) 104-3283

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RESTAURANTS/CAFES/BAR - CASA DELLA PIZZA Tel: (314) 333 6010 - BILLY BOB’S Tel: (323) 113-6732 - EVAS BRICK HOUSE Tel: (329) 289-2238 - JOLANDAS Tel: (315) 351-5449 - JUANITOS Tel: (314) 333-1388 - ESCONDIDA SPORT BAR Tel: 222-1590 - MATEJAS Tel: (045) 322 147 6383 - THE RED CABBAGE CAFE Tel: (322) 22-304-11

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SOLAR - ENESOL Tel: (01329) 298 0900

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TOURIST ATTRACTIONS Pag: 17 - VALLARTA BOTANICAL GARDENS

MEDICAL SERVICES - HOSPITAL ANGELES DEL CARMEN Tel: 01 (33) 3813-0042

ACROSS

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LAWYER

- PROTEXPLAN U.S. Toll Free 1-800-608-5743 Mexico Toll Free 01-800-681-6730

- NOTARIA 1 - Raúl Gordillo Tel: (314) 332-1611

PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

COMMUNICATIONS

- CIELO ROJO Tel: (311) 258-4155 - ESTANCIA SAN CARLOS Tel: (322) 222-6230 - HOTEL HACIENDA BLUE BAY Tel: 01-800-822-3099 - HOTELITO ESCONDIDO Tel: 01 33-3719-2395 - LA MISSIÓN Tel: (322) 222-7104, (322) 222-4822 - LA MANSION DEL SOL Tel: 01 800 715 9339 - LOS CUATRO VIENTOS Tel: (322) 222-0161 - QUINTA DON JOSE Tel: 01-800-700-2223

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NOTARY

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- MAILBOXES, ETC. Tel: (322) 224-9434

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BOUTIQUE - BUMERANG Tel: (322) 127-5555

- BALDERAS Tel: 01 (33) 3810-4859 - SEYMI Tel: 01 (33) 3603-0000, 3603-0256

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1 Gent 5 Hang-up 9 Adult insect 14 Track 15 Planet end 16 Bellybutton 17 Assistant 18 Stake 19 Greek island 20 Inscribed stone 22 Fair 24 Hellos 25 Looked 27 Christmas 31 Japanese dress 32 Move a boat 34 Neither’s partner 35 Baby 38 Compass point 40 Preceding 42 Muslim’s God 44 Young lady 46 Saying 47 Jeweled headdress 48 Talk 50 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 51 Large computer co. 52 Precious stone 55 Dictionary (abbr.) 57 Capital of the Ukraine 59 Twain’s Tom 61 Sun’s name 64 Stellar 66 Talky 68 First public appearance 71 Against 73 Dregs 74 European country 75 Pepsi rival 76 Tropical edible root 77 Author of “The Inferno” 78 Fresh 79 Voiced

DOWN 1 Hit 2 Island nation 3 Chilean mountain range 4 Rind 5 Hotel 6 Non existence 7 Marriage site 8 Old man 9 S.A. Indian 10 Conjoin 11 Avenue 12 Understand 13 Roberto’s yes 21 Wing 23 Flurry 26 White-tailed sea eagle 28 Dimensions 29 Raids 30 Slipup 31 Scorch 33 Words per minute 35 Dye with wax 36 Defense 37 Pick on 39 Route 41 Root 43 Old, ugly woman 45 Polite 49 Desert 53 Time zone 54 Percussion rattle 56 Bawl 58 Leap over 60 What horses pulled 61 Pointed weapon 62 Musical production 63 Household cleaner brand 65 Eye infection 67 Singing voice 68 Accomplished 69 Airport abbr. 70 Censor 72 Fresh

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Saw you in the Ojo

BARRA DE NAVIDAD COSTA ALEGRE ROTARY- Meetings: Wednesdays, 9:00 am, Cabo Blanco Hotel, www.costalegre-rotary.org. MANZANILLO MUJERES AMIGAS LUNCHEONS- Monthly throughout the year, first Wednesday of each month, El Caribe Restaurant, 1:00 pm. Contact: Candy King, 044-314-103-0406, candyk@coldwellbankerbienesraices.com THIRSTY THURSDAYS – MANZAMIGOS- Weekly throughout the year, to be announced each week – www.manzamigos.com, 6:00 pm. Contact: Gerry Szakacs, manzamigos@gmail.com, to join: Shime Dawson, collectors140@yahoo.com AMIGOS POR UN REFUGIO ANIMAL EN MANZANILLO AC – Monthly throughout the year, third Wednesday, Hotel Playa Santiago, 11:30 am. Contact Debi Teter 314-376-5974. ara.mzlo@yahoo.com. MAZATLAN AMERICAN LEGION- meet the 3rd Tues. 1pm at the Olas Atlas Steakhouse. Call Ed Cunningham, Commander, Tel. 136-0773, paradise1940@aol.com AMIGOS DE LOS ANIMALES- To report injured, abandoned domestic animals, adopt pets or to find information at Tel. 986-4235 FRIENDS OF MEXICO- 2nd Tues. 10am at the Vineyard Church on Camarón Sabalo north of the Panama Bakery in the Golden Zone. Social hour 9am. www.friendofmexicoac.org HANDS ACROSS THE BORDERS- Meetings 2nd Friday of the month 9am at The Vineyard for coffee or breakfast. MAZATLAN MEMBERSHIP LIBRARY-A non-profit with both English and Spanish titles. Summer hours Mon-Fri 10am to 2pm. Tel. 982-3036, mazlibrary@gmail.com NORTH ROTARY CLUB- Meets every Tues. night 8:30pm at El Cid clubhouse. CENTER ROTARY CLUB- Meets every Tues. at 8 am in the Agua Marina Hotel. WEST ROTARY CLUB- Meets every Thurs. night at 8:30pm at the Agua Marina Hotel. TRES ISLAS ORPHANAGE FUNDS- Serving Orfanatorio Mazatlán Salvation Army Home for Children, Father Tovar’s Home for Boys (Hogar San Pablo), Ciudad de los Niños, and FloreSer. One hundred percent of your donations tax deductible. Please visit www.orphanagefunds.org BOYS HOME (HOGAR SAN PABLO)- Paseo del Centenario #9 Centro, Tel. 982-3720 MAZATLAN ORPHANAGE- Zaragoza #227-A Centro Tel. 981-2214 President Cristina Peña de Herrera. SALVATION ARMY HOME FOR CHILDREN- Major Frizzell Tel. 980-7609 HOSPICE MAZATLAN IAP - Cerro San Antonio #33-B, Lomas de Mazatlan. Office 669-182-1486. For information: Lois Croly RN, cell 044-669-982-5441, www.hospice-mazatlan-iap.org MELAQUE ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS- Wednesday and Sunday 5 pm at San Patricio by The Sea Church. Contact Sharon 315-355-7203. PUERTO VALLARTA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS- Meetings Monday to Friday at 8am and 8pm at #1712 Francisco Medina Ascencio in the Hotel Zone. AL ANON- Monday and Friday 6:30 pm step study Saturday 9am. 222-3906, 222-2521 EXPATS IN VALLARTA- July 9 and 22. Wine appetizer evenings. For locations and time check www.expatsinvallarta.com, NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS- Daily 5pm. 222-3906, 222-2521 CODA STEP SISTERS- Tuesday 6:30pm. 222-3906, 222-2521 NIC ANONYMOUS- Monday 9am. 222-3906, 222-2521 ARTS- a 12 step program for creative people, Tuesday 8pm more info Bill at 222-5711 LIONS CLUB- Wednesdays 9:30 pm, Madero #280, 322-222-0313 OVER EASTER ANONYMOUS- Tuesday 5pm. 222-3906, 222-2521 ROTARY CLUB PUERTO VALLARTA- Tuesdays, 9:00 pm, Outback Restaurant. ROTARY CLUB PITILLAL- Thursdays, 9:00 pm, Outback Restaurant. OLD TOWN FARMER’S MARKET- Saturdays 10-2, Pulpito 127. www.oldtownfm.com. Re-opening Nov. 5. NUEVO VALLARTA FRIENDS OF BILL W. Mon. Wed. Fri. 6pm Vallarta time. In Paradise Plaza upper level follow signage to US Consul, to ‘door with notice ‘Friends of Bill W” Contact Adriana (322)297-0064 ROTARY CLUB BAHIA DE BANDERAS- Wednesdays, 9:00 am, Villa del Palmar, Flamingos. LO DE MARCOS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS- 10am at Emiliano Zapata 37, contact Judy Te. (327)275-0328

English Church Services – Puerto Vallarta Assembly of God 1 de Junio #333, Col. El Calvario, Pitillal, 322-4163743 Sunday 10:30 AM –English translation Calvary Chapel Pablo Picasso/Diego Rivera #105 (beside La Playa store, just off Ascencio), 322-293-5455 Sunday 10:30 AM - English translation, and 6:30 PM – in English Wednesday 6:30 PM – in English (Bible Study) Centro Cristiano Nuevo Amanecer Sierra Aconagua #111 (next to Bancomer branch on Ascencio), 322-222-3330 Sunday 10:00 AM – English translation Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Emiliano Zapata #420, 322-209-0592 Sunday 8:00 AM and 12:00 Noon – in Spanish (translators avail.) Sunday 1:00 PM – in English (Sunday School) Worship in Paradise At Paradise Community Centre Sundays 10:00 am Pulpito 129, old town, www.worshipinparadise.org Christ Church by the Sea Blvd Fco. Medina 7936 (across from Airport) Sunday 10:00 am - In English www,christchurchbythesea.org, 322-209-0895 First Baptist Church Argentina #181 (corner Peru, 1 block north of Malecon), 322-222-1722 Sunday 9:45 AM – in English Iglesia Maria Reina de la Paz Albatros #270, Col. Marina Vallarta,322-209-1545 Sunday 11:00 AM - Bilingual Jehovah’s Witnesses Milan #271, Col. Versalles bthomson@prodigy.net.mx Saturday 4:00 pm and Monday 7:00 PM – in English Parroquia de la Santa Cruz Aguacate #233 (at Lazaro Cardenas), Old Town, 322-222-0989 Sunday 11:00 – part English Parroquia De Nuestra Señora De Guadalupe Miguel Hidalgo #370 (2 blocks E. of City Hall, corner of Independencia, Downtown) 322-222-1326 Saturday 5:00 PM – in English Sunday 10:00 AM – Bilingual

English Church Services – Mazatlan

RINCON DE GUAYABITOS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS- Monday and Friday 4pm at Peñamar Hotel. ROTARY CLUB MEETINGS- Wednesday, 7:30 am, Restaurant Piña Colada.

San Judas Tadeo Av. De La Ostra, Col. Sabalo Country Sunday 8:45 AM – in English

SAN BLAS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (English) - Tuesdays 5:00 pm. Saturdays, 10:00 am. Calle Sinaloa #20. Tel: 323-106-1135

The Vineyard Church Camaron Sabalo #335, Golden Zona (beside Budget Car Rental) Sunday 9:00 AM – in English

SAN PANCHO ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS- Friday 6:30pm. Tel. (311)258-4488 AL ANON- Monday 5pm. Tel. (311)258-4488 CODA- Wednesday 5pm at Museum next to San Pancho Café more info Glenda Tel. (311)258-4488 SAYULITA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS-Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 6:30pm. 222-3906, 222-2521 AL ANON- Thursday 5pm 11 Primavera Street. 222-3906, 222-2521 YELAPA Generic 12 Step meetings on Sunday 4pm at Hotel Lagunitas

El Ojo del Mar / October 2011

The Ojo Crossword

English Church Services – Manzanillo Pedro’s Cazuelas Restaurant Miramar Beach Sunday 5:00 PM – in English

English Church Services – Melaque St. Patricio By-The-Sea Sunday 10:30 AM, www.sanpatricio-by-the-sea.com