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 Kay Davis Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editor Mark Sconce Drama 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
8
Maggie Van Ostrand remembers an actual situation that many at Lakeside can relate to: the death of a beloved dog and its sorrowful aftermath. However, Maggie being Maggie, there are some unusual twists in the story.
8 &RYHU E\ -D\ .RSSHOPDQ
10 FICTION Antonio Rambles’ story about what should have been a normal trip from Lakeside to San Miguel de Allende. But the tale takes on an eerie dimension when a motorist encounters a young beggar sitting in a battered wheelchair astride the highway’s center stripe.
12 BORDER PROMOTIONS
&2/8016 7+,6 0217+
6 Editor’s Page 9 Dear Portia
Sandy Olson has a word or two (all humorous) to say about one of Lakeside’s residents most distinctive peculiarities: the “promotions” that so many of them grant themselves immediately upon crossing the border into Mexico.
14 Hearts at Work
16 WILDLIFE HUMOR
20 Anyone CanTrain Dog
An opossum (in collaboration with Carol Bowman) writes about feeling so desperate that the unthinkable became its only alternative.
18 MEXICAN CUSTOMS Ilse Hoffmann worked for many years as a social worker here in Mexico, and relates how she learned to respect the beliefs of poor people, even when many RI WKHLU LGHDV ÀHZ LQ WKH IDFH RI UHDOLW\
22 LITERARY ODDITIES Addison De Witt has fun with a rather common species here at Lakeside: the “great novelist” types, who though they stand in judgment of budding novelists who are trying their best, have never completed a single novel, much less attained the slightest literary success.
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.
4
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
z DIRECTORY z
El Ojo del Lago / July 2013
15 Uncommon Sense
26 Profiling Tepehua 32 Lakeside Living
LAKESIDE LIVING
VOLUME 29 NUMBER 11
30
36 The Poet’s Niche 44 View from South Shore 49 LCS Newsletter
34