El Ojo del Lago

Saw you in the Ojo

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El Ojo del Lago April 2010

Saw you in the Ojo

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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 Jazmin Eliosa Special Events Editor Kay Davis Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editors Paul Jackson Henri Loridans Feature Editor Jim Tuck (Honorary) Staff Photographer Xill Fessenden Staff Writers Mildred Boyd Ilse Hoffmann Floyd Dalton Sales Manager Tania Medina (045) 33 1140 3570 ojodelago@gmail.com Office Secretary Iliana Oregel 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: Quadrimag S.A. de C.V. El Ojo del Lago 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.

FEATURE ARTICLES

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Neil McKinnon, long regarded as one of the finest writers to ever grace our fair area, has written a deeply personal account of his difficulty over the years to understand the culture of the various countries in which he has lived.

8 Cover by Fessenden

14 SPEED BUMPS

Bernie Suttle had a tough lesson to learn when he moved to Mexico: how to get by in life without a car.

24 HUMOR

Gail Nott has concluded that the training given to show dogs to insure proper behavior can also be applied to husbands.

30 MEXICAN HUMOR

Katie B. Goode writes about the continuing adventures of “Mildred” and “Suzette,” two ladies of a certain age, as they struggle with a new culture and sexual attraction in Mexico.

32 CANINES AND FELINES

Thetis Reeves sends along an update from the Animal Shelter and a profile of Bingo, a dog who has been there for quite a while. He sounds like he would make anyone’s home a little happier.

34 TRAVEL

Carol Bowman checks in with the much-anticipated third segment of her five-part series called “Journey to the End of the World.”

66 SOCIAL TABOOS

Dilia Suriel starts with the observation that to simply mention death at a party can be social suicide. This and many other perceptive points are part of a book she has written with the intriguing title of Midlife Radiance.

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.

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 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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COVER STORY

COVER STORY

PUBLISHER

Index...

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

COLUMNS THIS MONTH 6 Editor’s Page 7 Op-Ed 10 Bridge by Lake 12 Uncommon Sense 16 Thunder on Right 18 Wondrous Wildlife 20 Faith & Fables 22 Tilly/Tommy Report 26 World of Wine 27 Feathered Friends 28 Ask Carolyn 36 Lakeside Living 38 Magnificent Mexico 48 World of Ours 50 New Lease on Life 52 Hearts at Work 54 Joyful Musings 56 Child of Month 63 Notes from Nestipac 65 Planting for Future 68 Welcome to Mexico 69 Front Row Center 70 LCS Newsletter

LAKESIDE LIVING

 D IRE C TOR Y 

36 MAGNIFICENT MEXICO

VOLUME 26 NUMBER 8

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Saw you in the Ojo

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By Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez

The Mexican-American Soldier

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hen the United States first entered WWII in December of 1941, there were more than two and a half million people of Mexican descent living in the US, eighty-five percent of whom resided in five states: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California and Texas.

But in early 1941, an order had already been issued by the commander of the 36th Infantry Division that a new unit be formed, comprised only of Hispanic-Americans.

The mandate included both officers and enlisted men.

Whether the order was discriminatory cannot be easily judged.

What is indisputable is that it gave rise to what later became one of the most highly-decorated fighting units in American history.

The new unit, called E Company, became part of the 141st Regiment of the 36th Division, later to be known as the Texas Volunteers. The all-Hispanic rifle company quickly drew many recruits from every part of the Southwest, including many men who had long been members of the National Guard in their home-states.

The rifle company soon became noted for its excellence. The remaining question was how well it would do in actual combat, a doubt that was resoundingly settled when the Texas Volunteers stormed the Italian beach at Salerno and began blasting up toward its ultimate goal: the Eternal City of Rome.

But then came several elements which in combination dealt the American forces a stunning counterpunch. The Germans held the highground at Monte Cassino, from where they could shell the US troops below with shattering accuracy. The terrain had also grown steep and rocky, and with the driving sheets of rain, the entire area became a swamp. Hundreds of Sherman tanks sat stalled alongside washed-out roads.

The Italian campaign had boiled down to that most basic element in any army: the foot soldier. It was now his war to either win or lose.

The first major objective was to successfully cross the raging Rapido River. To accomplish this, the 156 men of E Company were ordered

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to make the crossing first, though it was known they would be facing more than 3000 Germans on the other side, armed with heavy machine guns, mortars and even light cannons.

Why such a pitifully small group of men, all of whom had been in combat for three straight weeks and some of which could barely walk, was sent out on such an impossible mission is something that even now, some 70 years later, is still hotly debated. Of the original striking force, only 23 men made it back to their own side of the river and of those, a dozen later died.

Even so, by the end of the war, E Company had won more medals for bravery than some entire regiments, while overall, Hispanic soldiers had been awarded more Congressional Medals of Honor (in ratio to their numbers) than almost any other ethnic group.

Yet despite their outstanding combat record, these same heroes were initially denied membership in both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. But that history of outstanding achievement has had its way over the past several decades and today every branch of the US military is packed with highranking Mexican-American officers.

Moreover, the leadership of both the VFW and the American Legion has often been held by MexicanAmericans.

The philosopher who once said that “the wheels of fate grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine� was not wrong.

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Alejandro Grattan

By Maggie Van Ostrand

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his is my last column for El Ojo Del Lago.

It’s a bittersweet parting because my editor, Alejandro (Alex) Grattan, was the first person to encourage me to turn a writing hobby into a lucrative profession. He did this way back in 1995 by inviting me to become a staff member of Ojo and write a monthly column.

Thanks to all you wonderful Ojo readers—and much to my surprise, my little column, “A Balloon in Cactus,” led to writing jobs for newspapers as big as the Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Amarillo Globe-News and various other newspapers and magazines.

Online assignments followed, including political satire for the Huffington Post, entertainment assignments for film magazines, even local humor for great states like Texas, Ohio, and Michigan.

I couldn’t have done it without you. Trouble is, now I’ve got so much work for pay, I have no time to write for fun.

In looking back, my favorite subject has always been Josefina.

In addition to being my beloved housekeeper in Ajijic, she was my teacher (through her, I learned that you cannot measure the heart of the Mexican people, it’s just too big), the world’s best cook (she’s right up there with Frida Kahlo), a doctor (even the sting of a scorpion is nothing to worry about with Josefina’s home remedies) and the most impressive of all: she has kept her husband madly in love with her for over 30 years. All my marriages together don’t equal 30 years.

Love for the people of Mexico has been my good fortune, and writing about them, my greatest joy. By the time you read this, Alex will have assigned the Op-Ed column to another Ojo staff writer, and I’m sure you’ll continue to support him or her, as you have supported me.

Thank you so much, Alex, and all you lovely expats, for your support, encouragement and friendship in reading my column all these years.

I’ve always wanted to have the last word, and this is it: Vaya con

Dios, mis amigos.

Our Editor Responds: Dear Maggie, I am deeply saddened by the news of your imminent departure— but cannot fault you for a moment.

Indeed, I am delighted that your writing career has blossomed so beautifully, though from the beginning we all thought you had talent to burn, with a compelling mix of humor, pathos and a social conscience.

It will be impossible to replace you (as it will be with Mildred Boyd, who recently died) but I hold out the hope that you will favor us with an occasional piece every now and then and stay in close touch.

You will always be special to me as well as to the many thousands of our readers who became your devoted fans over these past fifteen years. You were the first columnist I signed on when I became the editor of the Ojo and from that moment on you became one of our most treasured literary assets.

With affection and gratitude, Your friend and former editor, Alex PS: By the way, David Tingen feels much as I do, and is well aware that you are the type of person and writer one meets very few times in an entire lifetime.

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A Ticket to the Grand Show

By Neil McKinnon Email: neilmcki@yahoo.ca

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hen I was young my mother encouraged me to, “Eat up your dinner because millions of people are starving in Asia.” I never questioned the underlying premise and just accepted that stuffing the last morsel of stewed kidney down my throat helped alleviate suffering around the world.

Some 60 years later I still obsessively clean my plate ... and I confess to occasionally feeling a bit smug as I imagine the warmth and good-will emanating from the many contented and well fed people on the Asian continent that I alone saved from hunger.

At least I used to. I found something amiss while working in China.

I met people who thought North American mothers urged their children to clean their plates so there would be less food in the world for Chinese children. One elderly gen-

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tleman even implied that I might be personally responsible for much of the suffering he’d endured as a youngster.

I felt terrible. This was like telling Mother Theresa she’d caused the Holocaust. How could we be so dreadfully at odds? Why were these Chinese people so wrong? Or, the unthinkable—could my own beliefs be suspect? What is it that causes misunderstanding when people from different cultures come into contact?

During a late-night bar conversation one of my friends referred to the movie U-571 as “Just more Yankee

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

crap.” No one questioned him. We knew what he was talking about. It’s a stereotypical Hollywood movie, which we all agreed had been made to glorify Americans. We understood why Canadian reviews had portrayed the movie as bad history.

It never occurred to us that our reaction was also stereotypical. Americans who didn’t like the movie didn’t think of it as Yankee crap. Reviewers who panned it in the U.S. did so for a variety of reasons including badly sketched characters and techno-babble dialogue. Why were we so quick to agree on American motives and so blind to our own patterned reactions? Could our common culture have caused us to think as one?

My wife Judy is a sansei or third generation Japanese-Canadian. Some years ago her grandfather died and I was asked to speak at the funeral in the Buddhist Church. I deemed it an honor and accepted. Judy’s mother spent a lot of time tutoring me on the pronunciation of Japanese words to be included in the formularized speech. I practised diligently and performed well, in my mind justifying their confidence in me.

It wasn’t until a few years later that Judy levelled with me. It seems the speech was to have been given by her uncle, the eldest male in the family. However, he was terrified of making a mistake and losing face.

This would have embarrassed everyone. A secret meeting was called and it was decided I should be the standin, not because of anyone’s confidence in my ability but the opposite.

I, as a hakujin or “white person,” was expected to make mistakes and so could not lose face and embarrass the family.

So misunderstandings not only occur in distant lands. They happen in our own households, or on the street or at the corner store—wherever and whenever people of differing cultural backgrounds meet and interact. They can arise during fleeting encounters with strangers or appear in our most intimate relationships.

Many are minor and cause amusement for both parties. They may even draw people closer together. Others unfortunately are a plague. They inhibit communication between people of good-will, they deny solutions when enemies negotiate and they cause pain in our personal lives.

Today the world is small and interconnected. Differences are impossible to avoid. The future depends on people who are not only able to move beyond their country’s borders but who can exceed the boundaries of their own culture.

This raises questions. What is cul-

ture? Why does our own sometimes imprison us and why is that of others so hard to understand? How do we acquire a ticket to the grand show of intercultural experience? Will doing so eliminate misunderstanding?

Is the result worth the effort? Will I gain or lose in the attempt?

Culture means many things: to some it’s behaviour or the way people act, to others it’s values or what people believe in and to many it’s buildings and monuments. Still others say its religion, customs, rituals and language. We are safe in saying it’s all these things including the way they are tied together. That’s why cultures are complex. Understanding them is like looking at an iceberg.

Only a small part can be seen. The remainder is locked away beneath the surface.

All this is fine so long as no conflict arises. When it does—as soon as I feel tension, or am hurt, angry or uneasy when encountering someone from another culture—then, as it is the nature of a given not to be challenged, the problem becomes the other’s fault. I simply reach out and grab the handiest stereotype I can find—hackneyed old saws such as: 1. Japanese people are twofaced, 2. American children are spoiled, or 3. Mexicans are lazy.

The stereotype comes into play not because it necessarily contains truth but because it mirrors what I know—my own culture. So in the foregoing examples I am really reflecting: 1. The lack of importance that most Canadians place on harmony, 2. My (and other Canadians) concept of child raising, and 3. The rules of labor and work ethic I learned growing up in Canada.

Lack of understanding is a wind that blows in two directions. The problem is it’s difficult to agree on just what the differences are let alone reconcile them. It all depends on who is stereotyping who. Using my examples: A Japanese might say Canadians are too adversarial and aggressive, an American might say Canadians stifle their children’s self-expression and creativity, and a Mexican might say that Canadians spend too much time running around in circles trying to get everything done by yesterday.

Yes, we are different and yet we’re all human—a contradiction that our value system sometimes has trouble with. Thus, in order to tackle cultural misunderstandings we should try and suspend value judgements as much

as possible. I must also accept that my givens are not absolute.

For a truly enlightening experience I must be prepared to examine my premises whenever they collide with those of a foreigner. I must become aware of the discordant nature of our verities and make myself enter the other’s world. I need to try to understand other people’s givens. The variety in the world is itself exciting, and each culture has its own truths which may not necessarily jibe with mine.

I once encountered an illustration of how difficult this can be. In her wonderful book, A Daughter of the Samurai, Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto recounts an ancient Japanese myth. It concerns a lady who lives in a castle and nightly entertains a secret lover.

Every evening she lowers the drawbridge so her lover can visit. Eventually she decides she’d be better off finding a paramour within the ranks of court nobility and devises a plan to end the current relationship. She waits for a snow storm and deliberately neglects to lower the drawbridge so when her lover comes he falls to his death.

The upshot of the myth is that the lady was fickle but not wicked. After all her lover’s death is really due to nature—had it not been storming he would have seen the danger. Therefore she bears little responsibility as it really was the fault of the weather.

Sugimoto, writing in 1925, states, “It was the storm that caused his death.”

The story jumped from the ranks of quaint myth when I happened across an article in The Japan Times.

It reported on the trial of a Hiroshima man who had been charged in the death of his four year-old son. The boy had been acting up at the dinner table and the father punished him by pouring water over him and locking him naked on the veranda in freezing weather. The boy died of exposure.

The court found the father not guilty

of manslaughter and stated there was no clear connection between the father’s acts and his son’s death.

As a Westerner I have difficulty with this. Steeped in our own justice and accountability traditions I don’t think I will ever really understand. It’s difficult not to lapse into stereotypes. To my way of thinking the court was exhibiting cultural behaviour that hadn’t changed substantively in hundreds of years. You can begin to grasp the difficulty involved in any attempt to get a handle on someone else’s givens.

The excursion to a foreign land is occasionally daunting. It requires travel on planes, boats, trains, buses or automobiles. But there is a trip I can take without leaving home, the trek to identify my givens. The latter journey is sometimes painful and will never be complete. I’ll often backslide into stereotypes.

Though the geography of culture is complex each of us carries a map.

It shows the way to one of the great wonders of the world—the theatre of life’s experience—and playing there every day is the grand show of human diversity. My ticket includes transportation. The vehicles that will take me are patience, wonder and a sense of humor.

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BRIDGE BY THE LAKE

By Ken Masson

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had a bridge dream the other night. I dreamt that herself and myself were playing against Rick Williams and John Fraser at the Lakeside Bridge Center when this remarkable deal presented itself. Herself, sitting North opened a slightly weak, vulnerable 1 Diamond. Rick, sitting East, made a 1 Spade overcall and I bid 2 Hearts. John passed and herself bid 2 Hearts, knowing that I had at least five cards in that suit.

Rick passed and, not having a clue how to bid this hand scientifically, I jumped to what I hoped was a confident-sounding 6 Hearts which ended the auction. I noticed a slightly panicked look in herself’s eyes as she laid down her under-nourished dummy. John’s lead of the Club 7, together with dummy’s 4 spades, made it plain that the West hand was void in Spades. It was also clear that if the Heart and Diamond suits split reasonably evenly, I would have a good shot at making my contract.

However, since West, North and South all had voids, that wasn’t too likely.

Nonetheless, I didn’t have much option but to plow ahead and hope for the best. I began by ruffing the opening lead in dummy and leading the Diamond King. The bidding made it probable that East held the Diamond Ace, and so it transpired as Rick played that card on the King.

I ruffed with the Heart 8 and laid down the Heart Ace. Now it was East’s turn to show a void so I ruffed a low Club with dummy’s last Heart and started to play Diamonds, pitching firstly a Club and then a Spade from my hand. West ruffed the third Diamond and exited with a low club, won in hand with the Ace.

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Now it was a simple matter to cash my remaining winners and claim 12 tricks – 1 Club, two Club ruffs, 2 Diamonds, 5 Hearts and 2 Spades. The reward: 1430 points for the vulnerable slam, bid and made, a top board for some inspired bidding and cool play.

But just then I awoke in a cold sweat – this had not been just a dream, it was a replay of a hand I had played the previous day and the end result had not been so pretty in real life. The first few tricks were the same as in my dream but I failed to count how the Diamonds were divided as I played that suit. I assumed that they were all good after the Ace had been found and disposed of, but to my horror Rick produced the 9 on my 8 in the end-game and as I had no trumps left I had to humbly accept a devastating defeat.

However, bridge is a partnership game and we must share the bad times as well as the good, so I let herself know that she must share the blame for opening such a weak hand! But if the truth really be known, I also would have opened 1 Diamond with her hand.

Despite my fumbling of the play, it really was a once-in-a-lifetime deal: never before can I remember all four players at the table each having a void in a different suit.

Questions or comments: email: masson.ken@gmail.com

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AS I SEE IT

By Henri Loridans RLMSC@PRODIGY.NET.MX

Let’s Get Graphic, Gory and Ghoulish

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n Christmas Day 2009 a terrorist aboard an airplane landing in the USA attempted to set off explosives he had stuffed in his crotch.

He succeeded in burning himself, but did no damage to the plane or to the other passengers. If the headlines on one of the tabloids had been translated and circulated among other potential suicide bombers, I believe that some of the glamour of Jihad would have eroded. The headlines were GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. A young recruit might even have considered that if the plot had succeeded, the he may not have been able to service all those virgins after all.

Civilized people all over the world see images of the Twin Towers billowing smoke as a great tragedy. Islamic extremists see a victory over the infidel; the glorification of Allah. There is rejoicing when news clips are shown with bodies being carried away from a bombing site in a secular country.

What reaction would there be among those who would sacrifice their own lives to kill and maim innocent people if, instead of concentrating on the damage to the victims, we focused on what happened to the perpetrators. Their remains squeegeed off the floor, scraped from the walls and piled in a gory mess. Pictures could be taken and put side by side with photos of the young men taken in the prime of their lives.

These juxtapositions would then be circulated in ethnic neighborhoods where the families of the bombers live and where more are likely to be recruited.

Such depictions would surely detract from the glowing memories of the departed basking in the presence of Allah in lush surroundings catered to by virgins. Is this heartless treatment of mothers and fathers of deceased young men and women? Perhaps, but if it serves to suppress the glamour of martyrdom, it’s worth it.

Further comparisons could be made and spread in those regions that spawn misguided zealots willing to die in the cause of slaughtering innocent men, women and children.

Circulate pictures of young Muslim achievers, who chose to live rather than to die. Describe their accomplishments in business, in the arts and in sports. Depict them in happy times with their families and associates. When put side by side with an oozy muck of human remains, some potential volunteers will have second thoughts. A good dose of ridicule and realism may be what is needed.

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UNCOMMON COMMON SENSE

By Bill Frayer billfrayer@gmail.com

How to Have a Productive Debate

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ngaging is a serious debate or discussion about a difficult issue can be a good way to expand your under-

standing of that issue. If you listen, ask appropriate questions, and state your position cogently, it can be a rewarding experience.

Unfortunately, the participants are usually more interested in pontificating about their own ideas than in engaging in thoughtful dialogue. Think about the last time you were engaged in a passionate conversation about some controversial topic. Chances are, while the other person was speaking, you were formulating your response, rather than deeply listening to your “opponent.”

To make a debate productive, you need to approach the process with two assumptions: (1) You must understand that you could be wrong to some degree. (2) You must also believe that the purpose of engaging in this conversation is to get closer to the truth, not to win the argument. Most people think they are absolutely correct and want to win the argument. If you have the intellectual humility to realize that you don’t have all the answers, then you are on track to have a productive discussion.

After setting aside your ego in this way, the most important thing you can do is listen deeply to what the other person is saying.

Be ready to courteously ask for clarification of points you do not understand. For example, if the other person claims, “I think the Iraq War was a necessary battle for the United States,” you might reply with a thoughtful question like, “Necessary in what way?

What makes a war necessary?”

This kind of response will encourage the other person to elaborate on his or her point and give it more clarity. Your goal should be to understand before you respond.

Asking relevant, courteous follow-up questions does not mean you agree, but it does help you understand. When you do present your point of view, you will have

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Bill Frayer

increased the chance that your position will be listened to in a similar way.

Another goal of this kind of discussion is to look for areas of agreement. If you are discussing a difficult topic like abortion, for example, you might find that you both may agree with certain common ideas. Most people do not hold rigid, extreme issues on controversial issues. Many prochoice people are not entirely comfortable with the high number of abortions. Many pro-life people do recognize that, under some circumstances, terminating a pregnancy might be necessary.

By consciously looking for areas of agreement, you can narrow your differences and focus on the issues which make the topic difficult.

For example, most of the controversy about homosexual rights invariably narrows down to a factual disagreement about whether homosexuality is a choice or an orientation over which we have no control. Simply identifying this fact helps each side understand the other’s concerns. You may not ultimately agree, but you will reduce the anger and genuinely appreciate the other’s viewpoint.

This need to have civil discussions about sensitive issues is not just an academic exercise. Often, political decisions are made on the basis of emotional, irrational characterizations of the opponents’ viewpoints. The public, especially in the US, is terribly polarized into ideological camps, fed by ideological media companies. If we are to solve the very real problems we face, we must learn to engage in civil, courteous dialogue with those with whom we are inclined to disagree. This is true in our own lives and in society at large.

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There’s Something About the Dalai Lama…

By Julie D’Costa

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here’s something about the Dalai Lama that gets me thinking. There’s something about him that is different from most ordinary mortals. These days he is everywhere – in Vancouver, at a huge fundraiser for children of the world in Eastern Canada, and even on CNN being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer. He is quite the celebrity.

In fact, he is more than a celebrity. He is a compelling figure, someone many choose to listen to, someone to emulate. He is an anomaly.

Until recently, figures from mystic traditions have remained hidden from the world, living in isolation and teaching only those few who have passed the test and been selected for enlightenment. What a change from the past.

It’s interesting, actually, that holy men from other ancient traditions are also coming out and opening up to the world, sharing their wisdom and understanding with anyone who will listen. This is true for the Maya and the Hopi, and for shamans from many traditions. Could it be that the world needs their teachings to prepare for the changes that are coming in 2012?

Watching the Dalai Lama on CNN was intriguing. From the look on Wolf Blitzer’s face, I think he got Wolf thinking too. Asked, “Are you disappointed about not meeting with the President?” the Dalai Lama responded, “There is no disappointment”. When asked if he was angry with the Chinese for their brutal incursions into Tibet, he replied, “There is no anger.” Not only is the Dalai Lama not resentful, he even chooses his responses to the Chinese to allow them to save face. A truly extraordinary man!

So, what is it that makes him different from the leaders of other religious traditions? Being brought up Catholic, I naturally considered the Pope. Like most religious leaders, he speaks from tradition, from mastery of the teachings of his religion, its history and rituals.

Ah, but that is not the source for the Dalai Lama. It seems to me that every word he speaks comes from a completely different kind of mas-

tery. He has mastered himself, his emotions; in Jungian terms, his Shadow.

He has grown beyond resentment, anger, fear, and disappointment and speaks from a much higher source. Some would say he has mastered his ego.

He seems to embody the virtues of love, compassion, and acceptance. He speaks from his higher self to the higher self within each of us. In terms of David Hawkins in Power Versus Force, the Dalai Lama speaks from the highest vibrations of transcendence: love, joy, and peace; what is often referred to as enlightenment. His voice is a call to each of us to live from our higher selves.

Could this be why he has admirers the world over?

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Change Of Life in Mexico

By Bernie Suttle

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he stagnant traffic eased onto the Chapala Highway and we were swept into a whirlpool of cars, trucks busses, cycles, and even pushcarts.

Just as our 11-year-old Sebring was coming up to speed and moving into the center southbound lane, it shuddered, moaned and died.

Good God! Now what? Finally got it over to the side! Eventually our sick car was towed away and we were lucky enough to get a ride to our “Santuario” in Ajijic where we began to contemplate life without a car.

Originally, when we moved into our new home on the west side, we planned to live without a car. That plan was altered when we learned that a car came with the house.

Soon we were getting many things done each day: trips to the village, Chapala, Guadalajara, often even to Wal-Mart, and ironically, to regular sessions at the gym - to stay fit. We went right back into the manic, California mode.

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Now, with no other alternative, we are experiencing the “Mexican change of life” we had anticipated at the beginning – life without a car. We walk down to the Carretera, and then either ride the bus or walk to the pueblo. Lots of exercise now. No need for the Gym. Walking brings us deeper into the life of Mexico; the people never passing without “Buenos Dias” or “Buenas tardes,” depending on the hour, the neighborhoods, the landscape, the animals and even the insects.

To ride the bus, we stand at the

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

side of the road. We wait for a bus and, when we see it coming, we stick out an arm. We are delighted when it stops. The smiling eyes of those already on the bus welcome us aboard. Sometimes a young man provides music, singing and playing a guitar. He collects tips from the appreciative at his departure.

Passengers share seats, conversation, bundles and even children although it is not clear whether or not they have previously met. This is a community on wheels. At departure, each passenger gives a soft “gracias” to the driver. Where else does this happen?

We were attracted to Ajijic by its charm and the warmth of its people.

The scenery and the weather here may be the best in the world, but the real value of being here is exposure to the people and their culture. We have discovered the magic key to enjoying the Graceful Mexican Life by walking and riding the bus.

We do like to see other people, like “Crusoe” finding “Friday,” as long as there are not too many of them and they are not too different from ourselves. The car is our “earth ship.” It protects us from “them” as we travel rapidly from here to there and back again. In our metal cocoon

it seems that we are the only humans on the road. The other cars are driven not by humans but by ROAD HOGS, IDIOTS, SOB’S, BASTARDS or worse; hence, ROAD RAGE. This manic pace to accomplish “things’ is facilitated by the automobile, so much so that we measure our value by how many things we can accomplish in one day. When we do this, we miss the Mexican Way where people have priority over scorecards and rules. We like the Mexican Way. We’re glad we have had a Mexican Change of Life.

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The T he S Spanish pa anis sh Sy System ystem mo of f S Surnames urnames

By Jose Casas y Sanchez

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ince time immemorial in Spain, the Catholic church and the civil government (since the middle of the 19th century) have been using the same system for registering and ordering the surnames of individuals. Its use was extended to the New World, starting in the Colonial Era. The high number of surnames a person may use—four, eight or more—does not make that person an aristocrat or more elegant or a member of the nobility, it only shows that the ancestors are known to that family or that individual in particular; it is basic genealogy. In the titled families these records are very carefully kept, and most off the nobility know by heart the order or cadency of their ‘illustrious’ surnames.

As most of us in Latin America are Catholic, we have been baptized in our local parishes and have also been registered in the civil registry offices of our towns or cities. The baptismal certificate and the civil birth certificate both clearly state the two surnames of the person’s father and mother, and sometimes also the surnames of the four grandparents, especially if that particular parish priest or civil servant at the registry office was more or less educated and did not make a mistake during the registry of the names. In the larger parishes of the cities, like cathedrals or basilicas, these errors were much less frequent than in the small town parishes, so if you are lucky, on your baptismal certificate you have your first eight surnames.

You only need to get the baptismal or civil certificates of your four grandparents, and with luck, bingo! you have your 16 surnames.

This system is logical, practical, simple, and effective. It is harder to make mistakes when investigating the family history, doing genealogical research, and quartering the blazons in family heraldry. One of the most important aspects in the Spanish system of surnames is that the women never, ever lose their last names. They have exactly the same surnames as their brothers.

When a woman marries she simply adds the last name or names of her husband.

This system allows the woman to keep forever her last names. It is hard for us to understand the American or British system that dictates that the woman loses her last name completely when she marries, and does not change, even if she becomes a widow. And all of this in a modern liberal women’s rights society!

Another important point is that, by law, we always have to use our first two surnames when legal documentation is involved, when signing legal papers, writing bank checks above a certain amount, etc.

Occasionally you will find the letter ‘y’ between the two surnames; this is done to separate the person’s father’s and mother’s surnames, not to confuse a double surname that is composed of two words. In English this is done using a hyphen. One thing to remember and to learn, is how to address a Hispanic person, in person or in writing. The rule is to always address the person by their first surname, never by the second. When in doubt, address the person by both names. This too, is the Spanish way of doing things.

(Ed. Note: JOSE CASAS was educated in Mexico, the USA, and the UK, before working as a textile engineer in the family business.

From 1977 to 1981 he was the Administrator of the International Airport at Guadalajara. He spends his time in genealogical studies and is an active participant in heraldry and medieval societies, and writes on these subjects.)

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THUNDER ON THE RIGHT

By Paul Jackson paulconradjackson@gmail.com

I

’m sitting in my home in Dallas North - the colloquial name given to Calgary, Alberta, Canada - where just about the entire economy is built on oil, natural gas and cattle.

It’s estimated that 10% of the population of this prosperous city of one million are of American extraction and, you’ve got it, they hail mainly from Texas and Oklahoma.

Up in frigid northern Alberta are the vast oil sands - larger than the state of Florida - and they contain the greatest petroleum reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia. In Alberta, you live and breathe oil and gas, and the higher the price goes the better.

Canada is already the biggest foreign supplier of oil to the U.S.A. - right now supplying about 18% of oil imports - and that is expected to double within the next 15 years.

It’s the safest supply of foreign oil the USA has to look forward to.

Yet here’s a frightening unfolding scenario.

The latest assessment by Canadian economist and energy expert Jeff Rubin is within two years oil will hit $225-a-barrel. This has huge implications for the U.S. economy and for President Barack Obama’s administration. Imagine the economic and political turmoil $225 oil will cause.

Before you think Rubin’s prediction is wild-eyed, ponder that in the worst recession since the Great Depression, oil is already at $80, and it was Rubin who, back in 2006, predicted oil would hit $150

Paul Jackson

in 2008, which it almost did.

Why is oil likely to soar dramatically to such a stunning price?

Two reasons: (A) China and India are now starting to drain off oil in staggering amounts and the market is tightening like a vise, and (B) The cost of building new plants to process Alberta oil sands production is heading for the monumental $10 billion mark a plant.

Obama is already in a bit of a bind himself.

Environmental groups in the U.S. are pressuring politicians to ban imports of Alberta oil sands petroleum claiming it is ‘dirty’ oil.

That’s because it is initially mined as a tar, and then heated up to release the oil.

So far, Obama has paid only lip service to these groups and politicians - his administration has signed several new deals to import more oil sands product - but if municipal and state governments - especially in California - actually pass laws banning Alberta oil, the president could be out of the picture.

Thus putting the U.S. continuing at the mercy of Arab oil exporters.

Another danger - China has already started investing billions of dollars in the oil sands and while Canada would naturally prefer to sell its oil to the U.S., if the U.S. doesn’t want it, then China is an open market ready to gorge on the oil sands and a bonanza for Canada.

So Obama is between the proverbial rock and a hard place here.

For sure he knows eventually getting 36% of his country’s imported oil needs from a friendly neighbor is essential to America’s security so common sense dictates he’ll do all he can to keep that growing pipeline open, but he can’t do anything about the price.

And if Rubin is right - and he has never been wrong - that $225 mark will be hit shortly before the 2012 elections.

Tighten your seat belt - it’s going to be a slippery ride.

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The Magic of Translation

By Michael Warren

E

very poem is a translation.

Impressions become thoughts and thoughts become ideas; an event sinks into the poet’s consciousness and a mysterious alchemy begins to occur. Once this is understood, it becomes possible to approach the task of translation with a proper humility.

The magical process has become explicit, but is no less magical as a result – in some ways rather more so, as if one had seen an actor painting his face and putting on his costume and then found oneself completely carried away by his performance.

For a poet, the work of translating a poem into another language can be a very rewarding task. A true translation will convey not just the meaning of the words, but also the rhythm and emotion of the original poem. Let me give you an example.

Some time ago I attempted a translation of Le Tombeau des Rois, a collection of poems by Anne Hébert, a French-Canadian poet. Her poem “Nos mains au jardin” ends with the seven lines Pour une seule fleur Une seule minuscule étoile de couleur Un seul vol d’aile calme Pour une seule note pure Répétée trois fois Il faudra la saison prochaine Et nos mains fondues comme l’eau.

An initial translation into English produces For one single flower One single minute star of color One single flight of a calm wing For one single pure note

Repeated three ee times – It will require the next season And our hands melted like water.

We have the sense of the words, but this is not yet a poem. The repetition of “seule” produces a liquid plaintive sound, while “single” is too heavy. Moreover, the overtone of “lonely” is lost. There are other problems – “It will require the next season” and “minute star of color” are clumsy English renderings of natural French phrases. And how on earth can one reproduce the bird-like sound of “répétée”? I wrestled with this poem for weeks – finally I saw a way to produce the sound I wanted in English.

For the blessing of one flower one single tiny star of color for one lonely sailing wing for even one cuckoo-call – we shall need another season and our hands melted like water.

Of course you can argue about this translation, and in particular about the cuckoo-call to conjure up the sound of “répétée.” In a poetic sense it seems to me that it is closer than the direct word “repeated” could be. Robert Frost once said that what is lost in translation is the poetry.

This is certainly true for word-forword translations, but when mind, heart and ear are all involved in the process, translation can provide a unique poetic experience.

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Wondrous Wildlife

By Vern and Lori Gieger

wildlifemexico@wildtravellers.org

Mickey, Minnie and Friends

M

ice, there are approximately 1,100 species in this enormous group and they are classified into several families. Undoubtedly the most popular mouse is Mickey; however, the best known mouse species is the common house mouse. It is found in nearly all countries and yes, it is also a popular pet. This mouse is believed to be the second most populous mammalian species on Earth, after Human Beings.

So, when one thinks of endangered species they rarely think of mice. However there are several species of mice that are threatened or endanger of extinction. The

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deer mouse is just one example.

Although most think of mice as a pest, they actually can be beneficial. The deer mouse’s diet is proof of that; deer mice feed on seeds, fruits, arthropods, leaves, and fungi. Throughout the year, the deer mouse will change its eating habits to reflect on what is available during that season.

During winter months, the arthropods compose one-fifth of the deer mouse’s food. These include spiders, caterpillars, and various other bugs including scorpions and cockroaches. During the spring months, seeds become available to eat, along with insects, which are consumed in large quantities.

Leaves are also found in the stomachs of deer mice in the spring seasons. During summer months, the mouse consumes seeds and fruits.

During the fall season, the deer mouse will slowly change its eating habits to resemble the winter diet.

These pint-sized seed predators are proving to be powerful little warriors in the war against weeds, according to new research from Iowa State University.

It is not surprising that some of the sub-species of this little mouse are endangered; they are on the menu of many predators, such as hawks, raccoons and other small mammals, even rats. They also fall victim to cats and poisons.

Deer mice are tiny creatures that spend much of their time in areas such as trees or burrows where they have nests made of plant material.

The individual litters of deer mice

are contained by the mother in an individual home range. Deer mice do not mingle with other groups or with their litters. In a study, less than one third of deer mice left their original home range to reproduce. This means that there is interfamilial mating and that the gene flow among deer mice as a whole is limited. The female deer mouse can reproduce at all times of the year. Each litter contains three to four mice that develop in the mother for approximately one month.

The male deer mice are allowed by the female to help nest the litter and keep them together and warm for survival. While their maximum life span in captivity can be up to six years, the average life expectancy in the wild is only approximately two years. The deer mouse is found in the United States and parts of Mexico.

Even though mice are not generally thought of as being beneficial, they can be; every so often we have to look beyond a stereotype image, in this case, the deer mouse, and see the potential benefit, and realize that they too are an essential part of a healthy eco-system.

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OF O F FAITH FAITH A AND ND F FABLES ABLES

By Bob Haynes bzhaynes@gmail.com

Becoming A Possibilitarian

T

he older I get, the more convinced I am that Charles Swindoll was correct when he wrote about having only one string to pull as we approach each new day. That string is “attitude” and I have the choice to choose which attitude I will embrace.

Swindoll said: Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.

We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

Understanding how our attitude can affect our life is vastly important to all of us today in these challenging times. Because of round-the-clock news, we all are aware of how much our world is impacted today by negativism…

So it’s important for us to find some common focus that will allow us to approach each day with optimism. I loved what Norman Vincent Peale said… Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they’re always there.

Peale was talking about making posi-

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tive decisions in the face of adversity because we often grow best when we are tested.

I also think that he, like Swindoll, was talking about controlling our attitude which will, in turn, would allow us to raise our sights and see those possibilities. Many times when we do that we find whole new experiences out there just waiting to be explored.

We all know the consequence of not responding to our realities.

Sometimes it is much easier to just sit back and be a critic, but that’s not how we can be a part of the change that is necessary for our well-being.

We must choose to be doers. As Wayne Dyer once said, A non-doer is very often a critic—that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It’s easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.

All life is composed of some sort of change and we can choose how we adapt to that change.

C.S. Lewis probably put it in the best perspective when he said: The fact is that the future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”

There’s a great quote that I’d like to share with you in closing that might make this column a bit more understandable. The author was Vivian Greene and she wrote: “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it’s about learning to dance in the rain!” Shalom!

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THE TILLY & TOMMY REPORT In our March column, we asked our readers to send in some of their animal stories.

What follows is the first one in what we hope will be a long series.

“A Dog Named Bruno”

By Fred Mittag

A

lejandro Grattan noted in his February “Editor’s Page” that dogs benefit, among others, the elderly. That stimulated memories.

My brother years ago gave our parents a dachshund that they named “Bruno,” a dog that soon became important. My father couldn’t bend down from his chair, but he could call Bruno, who would faithfully come and pull the large warming socks off his feet at bedtime. My father spent regular time throwing toys for Bruno, who would fetch and then stand against my father’s leg to drop the toy back into his lap to be thrown again. My mother played with Bruno, too.

My parents were amused that Bruno learned the word “ball” and they couldn’t say it around him, because he would become too excited. After all, they couldn’t throw the ball for Bruno all day long. So they started to spell it, and Bruno even learned what that meant. They were proud that Bruno could recognize the spelling of b-a-l-l, even though it meant he would demand that they throw it so he could run after it. They enjoyed demonstrating Bruno’s spelling prowess to visitors.

My brother kept a small vegetable garden in back for our parents and Bruno harvested some of it for himself. He would walk down the row, carefully eyeing the crop and choose a bell pepper.

He then repeatedly jumped up and snipped at the stem until the pepper had fallen and become his. But before eating it, he would bring it into the house and prance around, showing it off. Or he would pull up a radish and vigorously shake the dirt off and then eat it.

I never thought of these things

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as dog food, but Bruno happily ate them, along with raw brussels sprouts and other things. And it’s not as though my parents were starving him. Along with b-a-l-l, Bruno learned to spell t-r-e-a-t.

Bruno simply enjoyed harvesting his own vegetables, along with his regular chow.

Bruno, being a Wienerwurst dog with short legs, couldn’t avoid scraping his penis on the edge of the concrete steps going out the back door. My father, noticing this problem, installed a plank on the steps, complete with a piece of carpet for Bruno’s footing. After that, Bruno always used the carpeted plank, a boon to his private comfort.

But he only used the plank to go outside to harvest the garden or to roam around the yard. When he needed to potty, he didn’t use the plank. Instead, he came to my mother who had to pick him up and carry him outside, then set him down in the yard so he could pee. Bruno had been a very easy dog to house-train.

When my father was in the hospital he would tell my mother she needed to go back home and take care of Bruno. This was a godsend for my mother, because otherwise, my father would have expected her to spend the whole day and most of the night at the hospital, a wearisome duty.

Bruno survived my father and developed diabetes. My mother had to be a nurse to Bruno, giving him insulin shots and pills. After not having my father to care for, Bruno gave her more purpose in life than she would have felt otherwise.

My mother called one day to say that Bruno was very ill and was shaking. I lived nearby and we took Bruno to a veterinary

clinic that was open on Sunday.

I’ll never forget how she held him in her lap as we rushed to the clinic. The veterinarian asked for permission to give Bruno a shot in the stomach with a large needle, but to no avail. My mother had waited in the car, and was spared seeing that terrible needle.

The veterinarian pronounced Bruno dead and came with me to the car to tell my mother, whose eyes welled up in tears. I went back in with the veterinarian to pay him a reasonable fee for his

effort. He told me that my mother had lost her dog, but that she had not lost her need for a pet.

But my mother decided against another dog. She was already in failing health and besides, she thought it would be unfair to expect another dog to take Bruno’s place. All these years later, my brother, sister, and I remember Bruno for his charm and intelligence. But not least, for his precious role in the lives of our parents in their final years. tommytilly2010@yahoo.com

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GRINGAS G RIN NGAS & G GUACAMOLE UACAMOLE

By Gail Nott

Training Techniques

Y

ears of counseling couples and breeding and exhibiting show dogs has led me to the conclusion that one can utilize identical training procedures to insure appropriate behaviors by husbands and puppies.

First and foremost, do not yell, scream or wave your arms.

Both hubby and puppy are threatened by loud, threatening gestures. Husbands run to the den or the nearest bar; puppies hide under the furniture. It is equally hard to extract them from these locations.

Words consisting of only one syllable seem to be audible. “Honeeee” works well with men, “treat” is recognized by puppies.

Behavior modification and positive reinforcement are suggested.

When hubby leaves clothes strewn all over the house, quietly pick them up, place in a heavy-duty trash bag and hide in your closet. Eventually, he will run out of clean clothes.

It is not recommended that you put what the puppy leaves on the floor in a trash bag, in your closet.

When the husband begins to put his clothes in the hamper, reward him with the TV remote. Puppies prefer a dog biscuit.

Husbands and puppies must be taught that the garbage collector is not stealing their stuff; it is not acceptable to drag old clothes, shoes or sports equipment off the truck nor bite the driver. Reinforce that a simple growl will do when they

are tired, cranky or displeased; it is not necessary to snap.

I must warn you that husbands and puppies will appear to have learned new behaviors perfectly. When you ask them to demonstrate, i.e. honey, would you fix the garbage disposal, or Fido, roll over, they will stare blankly at you pretending to have no idea what you are talking about.

Exercise is important for both.

Suggest that hubby walk the dog.

As pretty, young girls are usually drawn to pet a dog, your man will perceive himself to be a babe magnet and eager to walk Fido daily. A second benefit is that both dog and walker can pee on the same tree.

Training with voice commands must be seriously considered before implementing. Husbands appear to inherently have mastered “Sit” and “Stay.” It is suggested that you practice “Come” and “Walk” when nearing the sports or audio shops at the mall. Puppies, on the other hand, will respond to a gentle tug, smile and pat on the head.

It is never wise to provide either trainee with too much liquid. Two daily six packs of beer for a husband will result in frequent training sessions about toilet seat placement.

A consistently full and available water bowl for a puppy may result in a slip and fall.

Flatulence, while a normal bodily function, should be discouraged in social settings. It is not acceptable for the trainee to pull the blankets over the head of the trainer and evacuate. Puppy, should it be lucky enough to sleep on the bed, should not be allowed to repose and expel on the trainer’s pillow.

While it has been suggested that the only difference between a new husband and a new puppy is that after a year the puppy is still happy to see you, never give up hope.

Always be prepared to try a new training technique. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.

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The World of Wine

By Ceci Rodriguez

The Price Of A Wine

H

ow much should you have to pay for a specific wine? It depends on your disposable income and, especially, on what gives you pleasure.

It is important to remember that good quality wines exist at all levels.

It is not a monopoly of expensive wines; but simple wines have modest ambitions, and should be judged accordingly, by relatively modest standards.

For anything beyond the most basic beverage, wine is made in a very wide range of different styles, with different purposes in mind, and often with considerable effort involved in achieving those aims.

To give a better explanation, I will divide the wines into two categories: Fine wine and Everyday wine.

The word “fine” has the capacity to transform the image of a wine from being a humble agricultural product to an artistic endeavor. Additionally, “fine” aims to reflect one or more of

the following: -The climate and soil of the landscape where it is grown.

-The grape- -or grapes—from which it is made.

-The year in which it was made.

In order to achieve any of these qualities, it is essential that the wine is made with care and from the highest-quality grapes.

The term “everyday wine” is used for a wine that is of basic quality, simple but attractive. The quality of these wines has improved dramatically in the last twenty years. Better winemaking methods have made the quality of basic wine better than ever before, and because of the spread of winemaking all over the world it is now more plentiful, and therefore cheaper than ever before.

There are two different types of every day wine. One is “global everyday wine,” which is usually made from well-known grape varieties, such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and tastes very similar wherever it is made. The other is “country-specific every day wine” – most of it made in Europe—that reflects the winemaking culture of the region in which it was produced.

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Feathered Friends

By John Keeling

Canyon Towhee

T

he canyon towhee is a largish sparrow that is a fairly common resident around Lake Chapala, but it is not often recognized because it is so plain-Jane. You will see this bird most often on your lawn first thing in the morning looking for seeds and insects in the grass, or sitting on a rock or a wall. It is considered an unusually versatile and adaptable bird, because it is just as happy living around human habitations as it is living on isolated, dry, rocky, scrub-covered hills, or in higher-elevation pine and oak forests. Its geographic range is from Arizona and New Mexico down to the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, and it does not migrate.

It is about eight inches long, appearing like a large, nondescript sparrow with a long tail. Seen from the back it is a uniform gray-brown; seen from the front it has a streaked, buff throat and a black spot on the front of the breast. Seen from underneath the breast is pale brown and you may be able to observe that the vent under the tail is yellow or rust colored.

Its basic call is a plaintive ‘cheep, cheep’, but it can get more excited, particularly in breeding season.

These birds mate for life, and mark out a territory which they will tend to protect against other birds of the same species, though you may encounter small groups of them outside of breeding season. The nest is a cup of grass and stems lined with leaves and hair, located at low to medium height in a bush or young tree. Usually three eggs are laid, which are

incubated by the female only for 11 days before hatching.

On your lawn you will see that it hops rather than walks. It is one of several birds that skulks out of sight, remaining hidden in the undergrowth, but all the while you can hear them scratching the dry leaves on the ground.

John Keeling and his wife lead ‘Los Audubonistas del Lago’ which is a loose-knit group of people interested in birds. To receive notices of bird walks, please leave your e-mail address at www.avesajijic.com.

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Ask Carolyn

By Carolyn Comedo

D

EAR CAROLYN: I confessed to Father Gregory that I indulge in what he calls the solitary vice.

He said it was the most destructive pastime ever practised by sinful man and precipitates warts, blindness, impotence, sterility, heart disease, deafness, and cancer. I’m twentyeight and according to Father Gregory I should be dead by now. Is he pulling a fast one?

SOLITARY SAM DEAR SOLITARY: No. I think you are the one doing the pulling.

You should know that self-abuse is precipitated by eating the wrong foods. Candies, cloves, peppermints, tea and coffee have sent thousands to eternal damnation. However, research has now shown that peppermint is okay.

DEAR CAROLYN: I am a 28 year-old man, married for 5 years.

My wife says I should slow down

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when we make love.

She appreciates efficiency everywhere else. Why not in the bedroom?

SPEEDY DEAR SPEEDY: IT is a well documented phenomenon that, once sex is initiated, a woman is never finished, which means, of course, that you aren’t finished either. A rule of thumb is that a man should devote as much time to the sex act as it would take him to memorise War and Peace. Remember, when having sex with a woman one should organise the activity such that she also will recognise it as sex. One method of slowing down is to eat an apple while quietly reciting the passages from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians that deal with marriage and sexual purity.

DEAR CAROLYN: I am 48 years old. So far in my life I have had 14, 996 orgasms. How many times can a man ejaculate during his lifetime?

STILL COUNTING DEAR STILL: Unfortunately, you are nearing your limit. You only have four more to go.

DEAR CAROLYN: Last Friday was my husband’s birthday. After work a bunch of the guys took him out for a few drinks. He was feeling no pain by the time he came home so he stopped on the doorstep of our house, exposed himself and tied a pink ribbon around his you-knowwhat. Then he rang the doorbell expecting me to answer. Unfortunately, I had arranged a surprise birthday party. All of our friends and neighbours were inside waiting to shout, “Happy Birthday.” They were the ones who were surprised. He’s done stuff like this before. Do you think I should leave him?

SURPRISED

band, Alex, asked me to buy some sexy underwear. I thought it would spice up our marriage so I did. When I went to put it on I couldn’t because Alex was wearing it. This caused a big fight which only ended when we agreed to take turns wearing the underwear. Everything is great when I have it on, but when it’s Alex’s turn all he wants to do is look at himself in the mirror. Any suggestions?

TAKING TURNS DEAR TURNS: You only have a problem if you hear the mirror tell Alex that he is the fairest one of all.

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DEAR SURPRISED: No, I don’t.

A boy wearing pink isn’t that much of a faux pas.

DEAR CAROLYN: My hus-

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The Continuing Adventures of Mildred and Suzet te…

By Katie B. Goode

Don’t Call Me M’am

G

“G

ood afternoon, m’am,” Eduardo said, proud of his new English greeting.

“Eduardo!” Mildred said, desperately trying to hide the twitch at the corners of her mouth with a smile.

“Su ingles es muy bien,” said Suzette.

“Except for the m’am part,” Mildred said under her breath.

“Qué?” said Eduardo, serving his lunch ladies their usual, margaritas on the rocks.

“No, no. Su ingles es perfecto,” Suzette assured her favorite waiter while admiring his proud stance that reminded her of a toreador ready for the ring.

Eduardo grinned and left to try his English on a new pair of lunch ladies coming up the restaurant

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steps. “Did you see it?” Mildred asked.

“See what?”

“The hackles on my neck rise.”

“You mean because of… it?”

“Exactly.”

“You’d think you’d be used to it by now.”

Mildred gazed at the clouds over the lake, as dark as her painful reverie. “I can still remember the first time. I was at the grocery store and

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the bag boy said…” She paused and shuddered at the memory. “Paper or plastic… m’am.”

Suzette gasped, recalling her own trauma at hearing the “m” word for the first time.

Mildred gripped her glass. “My head spun to the rear, hoping there was an old woman lurking behind me who could take the hit. Really old.”

“No one?”

“No one. I stared at the kid for a moment, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. ‘M’am?’ he repeated. You talking to me? You talking to me? I thought, mentally lifting the kid up against the store window by his collar.”

“Some might say the kid was being respectful.”

Mildred hung her head. “I still have nightmares about that day.”

“I know,” said Suzette, slumping in her wraparound chair. “I was depressed for a week the first time it happened to me.”

“When you think about it, being called ‘m’am’ was just the first barb in that briar patch of aging.”

“That morass of lost youth.”

“That abyss of decay.”

“Yeah. The first time the world told us we were getting old.”

They clicked their glasses, saluting their timeless friendship.

“It’s not that I mind aging,” Suzette said, flipping back her bottle red curls. “I just don’t like being treated like I’m prehistoric.”

Mildred watched teens skipping rocks over the calm lake. “Have you noticed how young people look at you now?”

“Or rather, don’t. It’s more like they look through you. You used to be an individual. Now you’re just generic.”

“A generic geriatric granny.

Hardly worth a glance.”

“Just sucking up air.”

“Exactly.” Mildred leaned forward, intense. “Remember that lump I had removed last summer?”

Suzette nodded, playing with the salt on the rim of her margarita glass.

“Well, my son visited me in the hospital — and the doctor came in and addressed him instead of me.

Hel-looo Doctor, I wanted to say.

I’m here, I’m lucid, and look — I’m not even drooling.”

“No!” “Yes! But it’s not just doctors.

I can remember when I was still at the top of my game, career-wise, and the young fillies started giving me the look.”

“You mean the ‘move over, gramcracker, it’s my turn now’ look?”

“Exactly.” Suzette sipped her drink and looked at the line forming at the salad bar, worrying that her favorite topping, betabels, might be gone by the time they got there.

“But you know, they’re right.”

Mildred sighed, watching a handsome couple on horseback trot along the shoreline, young and carefree. “Although we have a few good races left, it’s their time to tear up the track.”

“It’s the way of things,” Suzette nodded, feeling wise and philosophical.

“Yep,” Mildred agreed. “Getting close to pasture time.”

“Actually, that tall grass is looking pretty good about now,” Suzette said, her stomach growling. “And speaking of grass, that salad bar’s looking pretty good, too…”

Mildred sighed as she rose.

“Grass or greens, it’s all the same.

You can send me to the farm, you can put me out to pasture, just please, please… don’t call me m’am.”

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UP-DATES U P-DATES FROM FROM T THE HE A ANIMAL NIMAL S SHELTER HELTER

By Thetis Reeves

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e dropped by the Shelter dog center the other day to see how Bingo was faring these days now that Chester, his long-time room-mate, finally got adopted a while ago. Chester held the record of being in residence for 359 days before going off to a really good home. Now that distinction belongs to Bingo, who was taken in as just a tiny puppy and is barely a year old now.

Sharing living space with a few dozen other dogs has been the only life Bingo has known. So, without ever having experienced the joys of a home all his own, he’s leading the best possible life and staying in a good frame of mind, even though his human “family” arrive in the morning to feed, walk and care for him and have to leave him and his mates alone every night. Bingo’s spirits were high as he bounded into the front office to greet me like his best friend (which is how he greets everyone).

Bingo is a bright-eyed, medium-sized, reddish-blond, neutered terrier mix. He’s actually gotten handsomer over time and, with his sweetness and intelligence, it puzzles us that he hasn’t been adopted by now. But every darn dog in the place has something going for it, so we understand how this or that dog gets picked and a Chester or a Bingo stay a little longer. Bingo is the kind of guy that so values his friendships with the volunteers that at meal time he pays attention to them first before he turns to his dinner. He has his priorities.

There’s no doubt that the person or people who adopt Bingo will

have a loving companion. Yes, he does have his quiet moments, although exuberant describes him best at first meeting (which is why it’s hard to get a really good picture of him!). With a little time and training along with the sense that he’s in a home of his own at last, Bingo is a dog you’d brag about having. Come in to meet him and the others in residence.

By the way, the Pedigree pet food people have supplied us with gift packages free to everyone who adopts a dog from us. They’re filled with pet-food samples and doggy treats.

At the Cat Center there’s the usual choice of beauties, ranging from little kits to more mature ones. Some cats can grow discouraged by shelter life. They withdraw a bit and it fails to come across to visitors the charming personalities that would be revealed outside the shelter environment. We had a cat recently so blue that we asked a foster person to take her in for a while to see if she’d cheer up in time. She cheered up instantly! She was adopted soon after. So take a long and careful look at each of our felines when you’re ready to adopt.

And remember, every adoption makes room for another needy cat.

So adopt two!

So many times we’ve stressed the importance of having an ID tag on your pet’s collar. Yet the number of dogs found without ID that are obviously lost pets is just sad. A reunion between dog and owner is just a telephone call away—if the dog has his phone number on him.

Without ID, that dog may never see you and his home again.

The Animal Shelter Hidalgo #212, Riberas del Pilar (376) 765-5514

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JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

By Carol L. Bowman

Part Three—From Land to Sea Torre del Paine to Punta Arenas

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s our bus climbed in elevation, the Andean peaks enveloped us on all sides. The flatness and stark emptiness of the Patagonian steppes gave way to Beech tree forests of Chile’s Torre del Paine National Park. Spurred by the breath of early spring, the greens of budding bushes and leafing trees enhanced the landscape’s depth.

A climatic phenomenon introduced itself to the group. Within two short hours, we experienced all four seasons. Suited up for the current elements, a winter-like snowy wind bounced off water repellant outerwear and smacked pink cheeks peeking out from a hood’s protection. We hiked along a black gravel beach that fronted an iceberg crowded lake. Later the snow turned to a spring like drizzle, as we trudged to the top of a connected peninsula for a trillion dollar view.

Suddenly, the sun popped from behind the clouds. Arched over the lake, the prism of a rainbow reflected dreamlike colors off ice formations. The warmth of the rays proved too intense for alpine coats, mufflers and mittens.

One by one, the layers peeled off, gloves tucked in pockets, hoods pushed back. It felt like a summer sweat. Moisture evaporating from

All suited up, we hiked to a lake during a snow squall.

the skin, along with the sting of an autumn chill forced zippers back up, completing the cycle.

The dominant image in Torre del Paine National Park, the 12 million year old Andean Horned Towers called the Paine Massif, played hide and seek. Shrouded in misty swirls of snow, the peaks exposed their sheerness, but disap-

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Within an hour, summer arrived.

peared within blinks. Each camera seemed obsessed, pointed upward in case the horns offered a quick glimpse. Would our lenses feel the excitement of a clear shot?

Despite the sound of camera clicks from different angles, the clouds prevailed and we settled for less than perfect pix. On second thought, the very fact that we stood

Horned Towers/ the Paine Massif- a storm rising

in Patagonia before the mighty Horned Towers, a rare privilege by itself, the images captured proved priceless.

In contrast to campers fighting gale force winds in scattered lean-tos, we spent our night, inside the park, huddled under down comforters at Hotel Rio Serrano, a luxurious, Danish modern lodge.

Savoring the spellbinding Andean views, wild flower meadows and glacier fed lakes, we hiked again upon rising, consumed by this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

On to Rio Verde, a working Chilean sheep and cattle estancia since the late 1800s, boasting 10,000 head of cattle, 6,000 sheep and 400 horses, for our last landbased sleep before heading to the seas.

During our overnight stay, we

supped on free range lamb, scouted for ibis nests tucked among the rocks high above the inland sea’s shore and watched the annual wool gathering frenzy, as electric shears buzzed each sheep in less than two minutes. We soothed our cold bodies with plenty of warm Chilean, mulled wine. The estancia proved to be the perfect stop, grounding us before pushing the last 60 miles across Patagonia to Punta Arenas, Chile.

Considered the southern most city on the South American continent, Punta Arenas at 53 degrees latitude vies for this distinction with Ushuia, Argentina, which at 55 degrees latitude technically lies further south. Ushuia lies on the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, separated from the continent by a thin ribbon of Magellan Straits, making this land mass an island.

The dispute of most southern city continues unabated between Chile and Argentina.

We boarded the 100-passenger Via Australis in Punta Arenas, for a five day expedition through the Straits of Magellan, Beagle Channel and our ultimate goal, Cape Horn. The same wonderment that

dazzled Magellan on his sea route to the end of the world 500 hundred years ago waited patiently.

Only 54 passengers made this first expedition of the 2009-2010 navigable season. Our roomy cabin with picture window, perfect for glacier viewing, the open bar policy, Chilean wines flowing without limit and learning/discovery lectures offered by the naturalist team on board, provided spacious, but intimate quarters for our sea odyssey.

The daunting challenge, learning to board and disembark the unstable, motorized, rubber zodiac boats used for two landings a day, loomed. The team emphasized over and over the importance of avoiding a shocking plunge into the ice filled water. With layers of water proof protection, knee high Wellington boots and a sturdy life vest, a mandatory constant companion, I glued my eyes and ears to the safe boarding instructions.

The image of Rose hanging onto an iceberg off the Titanic raced through my mind. Anxiety rose within me as our virgin zodiac landing neared.

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Phone: (376) 766-4774 or 765-3676 to leave messages Email: kdavis987@gmail.com Events are listed by date, like a calendar: past events, then those planned for the future. Some organizations offer multiple events, and these items appear toward the end of the column.

February 25 Sol y Luna showed artwork of photography, terracotta painted items, paintings, and a variety of other creative endeavors. Ajijic writer Bonnie Phillips exhibited her photography for the first time, along with Juan Ramon Soto, Jaime Barbiery, Ken Brown, and Chris Wren. Dilia, the Latina jazz singer, entertained along with a young man named Victor who plays violin. Jaime gave a Mother’s Favorite Drinking Glass salsa demonstration and there was (Bonnie Phillips) a raffle of art. This was a creative opening for its variety of food and entertainment.

On February 27 in Ajijic, the 32nd annual Chili Cook Off parade featured the Lake Chapala Shrine Club Legion of Honor (military veterans) as flag bearers. Shrine Club members led the kick off parade with the Mexican beauty Queen riding in Noble Jim Powers 1930 Model A Roadster driven by Shrine Club President, Perry King.

Throughout March the winning photos of the contest La Vida en Chapala were displayed at Galeria Quattro on Colon in Ajijic. The three judges, well known photographers Chili Cook Off Queen rides with here, were Maria di Paola Blum, Xill Fessenden and Rebecca Ford. The Shriner President, Perry King winners are: Professional #1 Sheree Harris Young girl with confetti #2 Barbara Grist Man with mask at a fiesta #3 Janice Kimball View of the malecon Amateur #1 Cathy Chalvignac Pier and lake #2 Catherine Guyomarch Musician carrying bass #3 Schomp, Kate Car dashboard with cows outside (b/w)#1 Myrna Gabriela Ramos Three Children #2 Jaime Barbiery Graffiti #3 Ricardo Hinojosa Zamora View of the lake Honorable Mention Catherine Guyomarch Alberto Rojas Serrano Bruce Lloyd Guillermo Gaona

Girl asleep Cart peddler on malecon Accordion Peddler with baskets

On March 4, Katie B. Goode, representing the Lake Chapala Writers Conference, met with Padre Beto Macías of Niños y Jόvenes in San Juan Cosalá. There are 80 children who live there under his care. Padre Macías accepted a donation of $5,000 pesos in the name of the Hotel Real de Chapala of La Floresta.

Across the lake at Villa Infantil de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y San José, an orphanage for 28 small children, water problems have become an issue for

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Todd Stong and his volunteers. They have learned that a 2” pipe services a 10 HP pump at the well and that a 3 HP pump would serve better and cost less. Todd will speak about infrastructure matters like this one at Open Circle at the Lake Chapala Society on April 18. See more on page two of Lakeside Living.

March 5 at Opus Boutique featured an art show with photography by Jill Flyer, artwork by Victor Alcazar and jewelry by

Padre Beto Macías of Niños y Jόvenes Susy Wright. Botanas were offered to the guests.

Diana Kennedy has written nine books on cooking, not the ordinary but special foods. CASA members and other invited guests attended the presentation on her work, honoring her latest effort on cooking the foods of Oaxaca. It is a beautiful tabletop book in Spanish with photos and recipes. The author is an International La Feria en Mezcala celebrity in the culinary world, who has received awards in Mexico and other countries. Check her out in Wikipedia.

On March 15 over two hundred people attended One Thousand and One Nights for the benefit of Lakeside School for the Deaf and Children with Special Needs (Centro de Atenciόn Múltiple de Gallaudet). Two exotic belly dancers, Kristine Moily and Kristina Barker, entertained during cocktails. Lakeside School for the Deaf and Children with Special Needs is a non-profit organization supporting education for deaf children. For more inDiana Kennedy, Maru formation on the group and volunteer opportunities, check the School for the Deaf website at lakesideKent schoolforthedeaf.org.

In March Los Cantantes del Lago put on their Spring Concert. Their Magnificent Movies & Opulent Operas program provided musical numbers, costuming, dance and comedy ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado to others like Carmen, Funny Girl,

Phantom of the Opera, The Mission and more.

Special mention to Fernando F. Alvarez and Eleanor Stromberg for their piano duo and to Ballet Folklόrico del Ayuntamiento de Chapala: Zayda Zarmudio (director), Karen Palma, Román Esquival y Antonio de la Torre. Part of the stage decoration were three mariachi sculptures. Auctioned off with a bit of comedy, the mariachis brought $10,000 pesos for the Ballet Folklόrico group. This show was terrific

Phantom of the Opera sung by Los Cantantes

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The 2008 movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, sparked a resurgence of public interest in objects that have long fascinated archaeologists and historians as well as spiritualists, New Agers and all the rest of the lunatic fringe.

Just what is it we are talking about when we discuss crystal skulls? Depending on who’s talking, and their name is legion, crystal skulls seem to be all things to

all people.

Are they genuine meso-American artifacts? Communication devices left by beings from outer space?

New Age power concentration points such as ley

lines and pyramids? Paranormal doorways to other worlds? Supernatural pranksters? Healers and oracles? Relics from a lost continent? Pure fakes? None of the above?

Since skulls are humanity’s universal symbol of death, it is not surprising that thirteen large crystal skulls and many others, from bead size on up, and of apparently ancient origin have allegedly been found. Since pre-Colombian religion was relentlessly focused on death and regeneration, it is to be expected that such objects should be found in various parts of Central America. They have long been classified as preColumbian artifacts they show little resemblance to any other portrayals of the Death God. What is surprising and most unusual is that, although each is said to have been found near some ancient ruins of Mayan, Mixtec or Aztec civilizations, not a single one of all the known life-size pieces has a documented provenance from any official archaeological expedition!

Best known of these mysterious artifacts is the MitchellHedges Skull, also known as the Skull of Doom or the Skull of Love. Supposedly found by 17-

year-old Anna Mitchell-Hedges near Luubantun in 1927. Like all the others, it possesses a sort of macabre beauty and morbid fascination. This one is carved from a large chunk of clear crystal and is a fairly accurate representation of an actual human skull.

It even features a fitted removable jawbone. This piece is still owned by her family but is often loaned to traveling exhibitions so others may have the benefit of its curative talents. Its special supernatural prank seems to be crashing computer drives.

The only crystal skull that comes close to resembling the perfection of the Mitchell-Hedges is one called the Rose Quartz Crystal Skull, found near the border of Honduras and Guatemala. It is not clear in color and, at life size, is slightly larger than the Mitchell-Hedges, but it does boast a comparable level of workmanship, including the removable mandible.

The Mayan Crystal Skull and the Amethyst Skull were supposedly discovered in the early 1900s and brought to the U.S. by a Mayan priest. The Amethyst Skull is carved from purple quartz while the Mayan skull is clear crystal, but the two are otherwise very alike.

The Texas Skull, familiarly known as “Max,” is a singlepiece; clear crystal skull weighing 18 pounds. It reportedly originated in Guatemala, and then passed from a Tibetan spiritual-

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ist to Cecil and Jo Ann Parks of Houston, Texas in payment of a debt. She kept it locked away for years until a TV program alerted her to its possible value. It was when freed that it told her its name was Max. The Parks family allows visitors to observe Max and enjoy his antics and they display the skull at various exhibitions across the U.S. “Max has expanded,” she says, “He has changed my life.

“ET,” a smoky quartz skull, was given its nickname because its pointed cranium and exaggerated overbite give it an alien appearance. Found in the early 20th Century in Central America, ET is part of the private skull collection of Joke Van Dietan, who credits it with healing her brain tumor.

She often tours with her skulls to share the extraordinary healing powers she firmly believes they possess.

There are two so-called Aztec Skulls. One was purchased by the British Museum of Man in 1898. The other, no longer on display because of its questionable authenticity, once graced the collection of the Paris Museum of Man. Both are inferior to Mitchell- Hedges in size, clarity and craftsmanship.

In early 1990, a rock quartz crystal skull weighing more than 40 pounds was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Since there was no documented evidence of the age or origin of the skull, the curator determined not to place the skull in the museum for viewing until

its authenticity was established.

Still it makes itself known and its guardians nervous by moving freely about the museum at night.

Others included the privately owned are Sha-Na-Ra, Jesuit and The Rainbow Skull. They along with most of the others Very few of the skulls examined have proved to be genuine preColombian artifacts.

Which brings us to the real mystery!

First, everything that is known about lapidary work indicates that the skulls should have been shattered, fractured or simply fallen apart when carved. Second, it is impossible to say how the skulls like the Mitchell-Hedges were constructed. From a technical standpoint, it appears to be an object which not one of today’s most talented sculptors or engineers would be unable to duplicate. The Aztec and Amethyst skulls were also studied at Hewlett-Packard, and they too were found to be inexplicably cut against the axis of the crystal.

One head-shaking Hewlett Packard tester put it most succinctly. “They can’t possibly exist, but there they are!”

The most obvious answer to the mystery is that native artisans in Latin America or elsewhere crafted the skulls themselves. The Mayans are most often associated with them, although some doubt that they could have made the skulls, and not simply because of the technical conundrum the

job poses.

One theory holds the Aztecs as a more likely candidate to have created them.

Skull imagery figures prominently in Aztec art and religious symbols, and not in that of the Mayans. The Aztecs were also more highly skilled in sculpting with crystal. It could be that the skulls found in Mayan ruins are actually displaced Aztec relics... or, as some suspect, this incongruity may indicate that some accounts of the skulls’ origins are phony as a three-dollar bill.

In all likelihood, every crystal skull in the world was fashioned by plain old terrestrial beings of some sort. And regardless of whether the work was carried out five years ago or five hundred years ago, by humans, extra-terrestrials or apes, we still don’t have the foggiest idea of how they did it.

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and received a well earned standing ovation.

On April 4 – 6, 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday and 3 p.m. on Tuesday, My, My, How Nice! Productions presents Murder at the Howard Johnson’s, a comedy love-murder triangle. The show is at Sol y Luna, Rio Bravo #10. It stars Peter Palmer, owner of Pedro’s Gourmet and GO Le Club restaurants. Michael Warren and Jayme Littlejohn costar, direction by John Ward. Ticket prices are $200 pesos, on sale at Diane Pearl Murder at the Howard Johnson’s Colecciones and Suzy’s Consignments or by email at mymynownice@gmail.com. A portion of all My, My How Nice Productions goes to CREM, the children’s symphony.

EVENTS TO COME: On April 16 – 18 Naked Stage will do a play reading of Over the River and Through the Woods, directed by Ann Swinton. This will be at 3A Calle de Zaragoza, just off Colon in Ajijc. The theater will then move to Sol y Luna, just south of the carretera on Rio Bravo. The first performance at Sol y Luna, the May reading, will be The Seafarers, directed by Don Chaloner, and will be presented May 14 – 16. Readings will include provocative works which you may not see elsewhere Lakeside. Also, Naked Stage does readings all year long, giving Lakeside residents something new and spicy each month all year long. Ticket donations, starting in May, are only 70 pesos each.

Reservations are a must. Performance times are 3 – 5 p.m. For more information, please call 766 – 2044.

On April 16 at the Lakeside Mall, the radio play The Scam will be presented as a fundraiser on behalf of Los Niños de Chapala y Ajijic. Watch the antics of Dugan and Paddy in their pursuit of financial rewards. The cast stars Liz White, Fred Koesling and Michael Warren. The Heist, the second in the set of three plays about Dugan and Paddy will be presented September 17, and The Snatch, the third play, will appear on November 5. Each will be held in a Dinner Theater atmosphere along with a silent auction. Dinner, catered by Panino’s, will be served at 6 p.m. and the play will begin at 7:00 p.m. The three plays were written by Larry Reeves who, before turning to play writing, had a career in children’s book publishing in New York City.

All proceeds go to Los Niños de Chapala y Ajijic, a 40 year old non-profit organization working to improve the lives of Lakeside children through education. For more information, please visit their website at www.LakesideNinos.org.

Tickets are $250 pesos, available at LCS, the Los Niños office at Chacaltita 20A, Chapala, or the Los Niños table in front of Salvador’s Restaurant each Wednesday morning. If you would like to make seating reservations for a large group, please call Ruth Davis, 766-2988.

The American Legion post #7 schedule for April: Sundays: 12 – 3 p.m. Legion grill burgers Apr 7 – 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.: US Consulate (no Social Security) Apr 8 – 5 p.m. Auxiliary dinner: hasta la pasta Apr 17 – 5 p.m. Legion dinner: surf ‘n turf Apr 22 – 5 p.m. Facility dinner: mango chicken Lakeside Little Theatre news: On stage now is LLT’s sixth and final show for the present season, Cash on Delivery. Bob Coull is directing Michael Cooney’s rollicking farce about a con artist, welfare fraud, and a whole lot of mistaken identity. Performances are April 3 through 11, 2010.

LLT invites all members who volunteered in any capacity during the 2009 – 2010 Season to our annual Applause Party on Saturday, April 17 from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Theatre. Lakeside Little Theatre thanks all of its enthusiastic and generous volunteers, members and patrons for another successful season.

LLT’s Annual General Meeting on March 17 elected Larry King, Secretary, and Bob Coull, Treasurer. Pat Carroll remains as President by acclamation. All three positions will serve two year terms.

Season 46 plays and directors (2010 – 2011) in order – LLT’s Cash on of production: Delivery 1. Our Lady of the Tortilla by Luís Santeir, directed

by Sally Jo Barlett, scheduled to run October 2 – 10, 2010 2. Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward, directed by Shirley Appelbaum, scheduled for No-

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vember 6 – 14, 2010 3. Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig, directed by Roger Tredway, running December 11 – 19, 2010 4. Tribute by Bernard Slade, directed by Allen McGill, playing January 15 – 23, 2011 5. The Pajama Game by Richard & Eleanor Stromberg, choreography by Alexis Hoff, scheduled for February 26 – March 8, 2011 6. The Foreigner by Larry Shue, directed by Robert Coull will show April 2 – 10, 2011 Season tickets are $800 pesos per reserved seat for six plays from October 2010 through April 2011, including LLT Membership. Individual tickets are $150 pesos.

Open Circle at LCS on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m.: Apr 4 Joanne Fleming Valin Apr 11 Lynda Cole Apr 18 Todd Stong – infrastructure update Apr 25 Bill Frayer – poetry May 2 Graham Miller Says Todd Stong, Open Circle speaker for April 18, the 20-year future of north shore development begins with growth from 350,000 people living around the edge of the lake to as much as 600,000, representing 2 – 3% growth. Of the total currently there are 20,000 gringos on the north shore. In addition, Guadalajara will continue to grow, perhaps to 7 million, with an influx of the “Guad Squad” every weekend and holiday, encouraging home purchases by those who can afford a place on a beautiful, recreational lake set in the mountains and cooled by breezes year round. The 2011 games will encourage more people to settle here, and gringo Baby Boomers Todd Stong will reach their peak within the next 10 years. We can estimate growth at 3500 foreigners (that’s us) per year. What’s happening to accommodate traffic and parking? Come to Open Circle and hear the full story.

VIVA! La Musica: The Appreciation Gala at St. Andrews February 2 was a great success. The recital by four young violinists playing the pieces they would play in a competition the next day was excellent. If you missed the party, call Ann Barry at 766-2942 to renew your membership for 2010.

There are still seats available for the fabulous trip to Zacatecas, featuring the opera, Armida, with Rene Fleming, simulcast from the Met, as well as other events including a one day trip to Jerez. Four-star hotel accommodations with breakfast and museum entry fee plus side trips are included for a cost of $4,350 pesos for Viva members, and $4,550 pesos for non-members. A reduced single supplement fee of only $1,000 pesos is available.

Don’t miss this wonderful trip which also features a visit to the archaeological Zacatecas Catedral, begun in 1612 and site, “La Quemada.” An English speakcompleted about 150 years later ing guide will be available for the entire trip. The complete itinerary is available from Grupo Turquesa. Reservations can be made at 766 – 5435. Deposit of $2,000 pesos is due by March 24 with the remaining balance due March 31.

Mark your calendars for the up-coming events: June 17 Piano Trio with Chris Wilshere July 15 Jalisco State Chorus Aug. 19 Issac Ramirez, Cello, and Andres Sarre, Piano Sept. 14 Ensemble Filarmonica with Luciano Perez and soprano, Dolores Moreno Oct. 21 Rigoletto, a fully staged opera Tickets go on sale at LCS June 1 – June 17. Season tickets will be: members $1,100 pesos and non-members $1,250 pesos. Single tickets are $250 pesos for members and $300 pesos for non-members. The Opera will cost $300 pesos for members, and $350 pesos for non-members.

The installation of railings has been completed and the next project, the acoustics, involving a stage and ceiling sound reflector, will begin soon. An architect who sings with Los Cantantes will be conferring with Viva on these improvements. Funds raised from “Lip Synch” are ear-marked for this project.

If you would like to help with the up-coming Concert Series including ticket sales, hospitality, setting up, programs, and ushering, please call Rosemary Keeling at 766 – 1801. Thanks to all of you for your continued support.

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Sins of Our Fathers

By Scott Richards snsintonga@yahoo.com

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ankind’s unfathomable ability to consume, destroy, endanger and control his entire environment has fascinated and saddened me from childhood. As we unconscionably harvest the Earths resources to the brink of extinction and beyond in our congenital belief of self-entitlement, ignoring the billions of inhabitants of this planet on a scope capable only of Humans, we refuse blame, point fingers, ignore facts, throw another shrimp on the barby and decide how to best waste tax money on finding the culprit.

As Rome burns, they have another meeting, schedule another luncheon, create another task force, network personal agendas, swap pork and use more smoke and bigger mirrors as the world and nature disappear around us silently screaming in their lack of lobbyists and congressional status.

The animal called Man began his slow descent from the trees to the savanna and almost immediately into control of the flora, fauna and the future of the entire planet. We didn’t have a meeting or a vote on world domination with the other millions of species for the rights to harvest any and all other rightful, legal inhabitants to extinction. We are only one mammal and nowhere near the majority, so who made us top animal? Money, guns, and lawyers?

We are the only mammal that can, has, and continues to ignore the safety and rights of all living things not designated as pets. In our un-

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conscionable climb to Alpha status, we blindly eradicated many species before the past, present and future world could even know them. Extinction, unfortunately for the rest of nature, is a bad thing. You can’t schedule a meeting for it. You can’t pour million of misdirected funds into a ghost, it’s over, it’s forever and the unknown ramifications of their loss will never be fully appreciated.

We’ve blindly created “missing links” or holes in the natural eco systems as man developed tastes and desires for this animal or that bird, as early man permanently and completely absorbed another whole species forever. In our pre-Darwinian understanding of nature, we have irreversibly altered the entire planet’s original perfect design.

The image that comes to mind to describe this bizarre, uniquely human behavior is a man high up in a tree standing on the limb that he is sawing off. Being a pessimistic realist, I won’t put my money on mankind to succeed much longer. Fairly soon, I think, we will be just another hole to be filled by the next in line for control of the planet’s resources.

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THIS WORLD of OURS

By Bob Harwood bharwoodb@hotmail.com

The Israeli Palestinian Conflict

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he Israeli Palestinian Conflict. While in Israel 35 years ago I encountered gunfire on Temple Mount, roadblocks on an excursion into the West Bank, bleak refugee camps in the desert, camps now occupied by third generation Arabs. Endless procrastination in resolving this conflict was a primary cause of 9/11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and nuclear saber rattling in Iran. It continues to fuel terrorism and risks a clash of civilizations in a world where Muslims now outnumber Jews 100:1. Beyond reviewing the history and events as current as still breaking news I offer two more radical proposals.

History: Our collective guilt in failing to prevent the Holocaust in which half of the world’s Jews perished still inhibits objective discussion lest any critique of Israel be deemed “Anti Semitic.” It is the most

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sensitive topic on which I write. We cannot rewrite history but how most fairly—and realistically—might this conflict be resolved?

The key elements of a resolution are clear: mutual recognition of two secure and viable states with borders close to those of 1967, limited incorporation of certain Israeli settlements into Israel on condition of acceptable land swaps elsewhere for Palestine, Jerusalem, sacred to both, as a shared capital and a limited right of return to Israel for Arabs expelled in 1948. It will require UN involvement to curb Fundamentalists on all

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sides and guarantee with an international force if need be the ongoing security of both nations.

Polls in both Israel and Gaza confirm the preferred choice of both peoples is the two-state solution.

The 22-day war little more than a year ago with its disproportionate 100:1 Palestinian casualties, many of them children, led to global condemnation, a new low in Israeli PR abroad and the Goldstone report calling for investigation of war crimes.

Far greater than the disproportionate Collateral Damage of war periods is Israel’s unending economic strangulation and impoverishment of Palestinians.

What must be done in the immediate future and what are the systemic issues to be addressed beyond that? Provocative preemptive acts must cease. Israel must no longer designate as heritage sites places holy to both faiths. Just as U.S. Vice President Biden arrived to reinitiate Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, Israel flaunted plans to construct 1600 Orthodox Jewish housing units in disputed East Jerusalem. This rightly evoked Palestinian outrage and unanimous condemnation by the UN, USA, EU and Russia. Fundamentalist extremists in whatever

country aggravate this dangerous conflict. We must support the moderates who seek a just resolution.

Hamas terrorist acts fuel the ultra orthodox extremists in Netanyahu’s coalition government. Israel’s threat of a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear capability fosters the determination of Iran’s Ahmadinjehad and Ayatollah Khamenei to pursue Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Continuing mass protests by more moderate Iranians who oppose the regime have not yet prevailed.

Proposal #1 - As curbing nuclear proliferation and general nuclear disarmament are two major international objectives let me begin there. I urge you to set aside preconceptions to be perfectly objective. Israel is the only country in the region known to have weapons of mass destruction.

To give new impetus to resolving all these issues I propose specific, legitimized international intervention to (a) disarm Israel’s mass destruction capability (financed by the USA) and (b) stop Iran going down this path by removing the major concern that each uses as its justifying rationale.

Proposal #2 - Achieving such a radical goal would call for major reform of the United Nations. During

my university years in the 1940’s I was privileged to be the Canadian representative on the executive of the Pacific Northwest College Congress on World Affairs at Reed College, Oregon. Our focus at that time was on the newly emerging United Nations. With the looming Cold War we reluctantly accepted the undemocratic but pragmatic necessity of extending a veto power to just five nations, four of whom represent less than 9% of the world’s people!

The archaic obsolescence of that Veto power was demonstrated at the recent Copenhagen climate confer-

ence where new voices from developing and third world countries were finally being respectfully heard.

Since 1972 the overwhelming use of the Veto in the UN Security Council has been by the USA to veto any motion to advance resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if it contained any vestige of criticism of its Israeli ally. In our fragile interdependent world that can no longer be tolerated.

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Bob Harwood

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A NEW LEASE—on Life!

By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Like the Nike Commercial says - Just Do It!

“A

A

re you kidding me?

I’m not letting them put a tube up my ass!” “I’m not subjecting myself to such an invasive test!” “To be perfectly honest I am afraid of what they are going to find.”

“Hell no! I don’t want to know what’s going on in there! Better not to know.”

But the question is, is it really ‘better not to know’ or is it best to be smart and find out before it is too late and options become less favorable? And then there is the ultimate relief of knowing we are healthy when tests turn out to our advantage. My message: don’t delay - Just do it!

Let’s face it, we all hate tests - the inconvenience, the humiliation of “a tube up the ass,” our breasts being squashed during a mammogram and yes, the ultimate invasion of a prostate exam and a pap test. And then there is the unpleasant stab of a needle during blood work - but what a small price to pay for vital information that could save your life.

My dad died of colon cancer, yet I had put off having a colonoscopy for years. Was it all that bad? Not at all the night before during the ‘cleanout’ I hunkered down with family and friends watching movies, albeit pushing that pause button every few minutes - it was a good laugh. And never had I been so squeaky clean! It really is not the horrific experience some people will have you believe - a very small price to pay for vital information. The actual colonoscopy was nothing - a pleasant drug to put me into LaLa Land and after waking up I shopped for eight hours straight!

Fear is the biggest impediment to having regular medical testing. A second reason is lack of money but with-

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out your health you have nothing so lack of funds should never stop you from having peace of mind. Here are tests that you should consider: 1. Annual blood work - great way to check cholesterol, blood sugar, immune and liver function and other markers which can be strong indicators of potential health issues.

2. Annual urine and stool 3. Non invasive heart function tests - treadmill stress test and an echocardiogram if indicated.

4. Bone Density - quick and painless and important for menopausal women.

5. Regular blood pressure checks 6. Cancer Screening - annual Pap, colorectal (sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy) every five years, annual digital rectal exam for men over 50 along with PSA, skin exam checking for sores and changes in moles, mammogram or thermography and a yearly clinical breast exam along with monthly breast self-examinations.

A huge blessing about living in Mexico is that you can have any of these tests at any time - no waiting period. The other blessing is that you usually receive results right away. Both of these advantages can be lifesavers.

Time is of the essence when it comes to health concerns. Don’t delay - it could cost you your life!

See you at the gym.

Judit is the owner of Change of Pace Fitness Center, central Ajijic. She can be reached at 766-5800.

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Judit Rajhathy

Saw you in the Ojo

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Hearts at Work —A Column by Jim Tipton

“…human, lovely, and sufficient unto itself.”

A

s I enter middle age—I turn seventy in two years—I think more and more about relationships of short duration. Most of the people I know well in both Colorado and Mexico have had “one night stands,” so popular in the seventies, relationships that spontaneously take root, grow, burst into full blossom, and then, after only a few hours, wither away to apparently nothing. Nevertheless there is pleasure, and perhaps even meaning, in them.

Decades ago I was in Mexico during spring break, on Playa de los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta. The beach was covered with so many college-age bikini-clad bodies that one struggled to find a strip of sand a foot wide on which to spread a towel. But, what better way to get close to people. I, no fool, slipped in next to two browning bodies with lovely voices. As we all sipped margaritas,

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we were soon talking Russian lki about b R i literature, about Mexico, and about student life at Bryn Mawr. José Cuervo visited us often that hot afternoon; and I volunteered the bottle of Coppertone Dark Tanning Oil I carried with me for such occasions, and of course I told them about the classes I had taken at the Boulder School of Massage in Colorado.

The extroverted and sexy brunette was named Sallie, and the prim

blond with blue eyes was named Harriet. As both the tequila and the careful application of tanning oil began to work, the talk changed from Tolstoy to sex. They revealed to me their “deal” of the previous night— whoever was first to pick up a boy in Happy Jacks, take him back to their adjacent hotel, make love, and return to Happy Jacks—all within 30 minutes—would receive as her prize, the following day, unlimited margaritas on the beach. It was not Sallie who won, but Harriet, the apparently shy one. Sallie announced that Harriet had done it all in twenty-four minutes, beginning to end. I asked who the boy was. Harriet said she had no idea, but she remembered he tried to convince her he went to Yale, although she doubted it because when she asked, “How do you like Boston?” he told her he loved it, particularly the breaded-tenderloin sandwiches.

Harriet’s relationship was passionate, intense; it lasted all of twenty-four minutes: two bodies meeting, coming together, parting. But there are even shorter relationships that have a magic around them, and it may be something as simple as a short conversation with a stranger.

Indeed if we can say, “This, Here and Now, is wonderful,” and not wish ourselves out of the moment into “If only,” then something has happened, something that is human, and lovely, and sufficient unto itself.

One morning in Puerto Vallarta I was waiting for a bus. A young Mexican woman, in low-cut jeans and a white blouse tied sweetly below her breasts, sat down beside me.

She began talking to me in her newly-learned university English. I told her I was a writer, a poet. We talked about love, about the poems of Pablo Neruda, and then, less than ten minutes later, her bus, not mine, arrived.

She stood up and turned to me and offered her hand. I stood up. She kissed me on the cheek. I kissed her

on the cheek. Still holding her hand, I helped her step up onto the bus.

She again turned toward me. I saw in her navel—now almost at lip level—a beautiful black pearl mounted in gold. She gave me a smile which I later mounted in gold, and still carry with me.

One of those rooms in my heart is now her room. I have mounted her name on the door: Naomi. I have decorated her room with Zapotec rugs, huge heart-shaped pillows, ancient tables heavily carved with angels, a bowl filled with black pearls, like caviar for the eyes, pitchers filled with roses that never wither, and, bound in red leather and stamped in gold, the Collected Poems of Pablo Neruda; of course there is a bed, although the details of some things, to remain sacred, must be kept private.

I knew Naomi for ten minutes.

Others I have known for only one minute, or ten seconds, or two seconds. But I did know them. I hope to see you one day soon walking through the streets of Ajijic or Chapala (or maybe on the beach at Puerto Vallarta).

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Jim Tipton

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53

Joyful Musings

By Joy Birnbach Dunstan, MA, LPC, MAC

Tapping Into Wellness With EFT

H

about trying “ H owsomething weird

today?”

That’s what I generally ask my clients the first time I present a technique from the newly emerging field of energy psychology.

The particular modality of energy psychology that I use most often is called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). It is based on a theory developed by Dr. Roger Callahan that imbalances in the body’s energy system have profound effects on a person’s well-being. These balances can be corrected by tapping on certain body locations while tuning in to the thoughts that are behind negative emotions. Dr. Callahan made his discovery in 1980 and called his method Thought Field Therapy, and it is the foundation behind EFT. The human body is governed by a complex set of energy circuits similar to an electrical system.

These energy circuits are called meridians and were discovered by the Chinese about 5000 years ago.

Meridians are the basis for modernday acupuncture and a variety of other healing techniques.

According to EFT theory, all negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the body’s energy system, not by the distressing experiences or memories we typically blame. Some people have a tendency for their energy systems to become imbalanced more easily than others, which is why some people are bothered by their memories and

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others are not. By directly balancing the energy system, negative emotions can be dissolved more effectively and painlessly than by focusing on the memories themselves.

EFT compares this energy flow in your body to that of a TV set. If the electricity flows through your TV as it should, the sound and picture are clear. But if you were to poke around inside the TV with a screwdriver, perhaps short-circuiting a few of the wires or loosening some connections, the picture and sound would lose clarity, and the TV would exhibit its version of a negative emotion.

When our human energy system becomes imbalanced, we can straighten it out by tapping on particular places along our energy meridians while focusing on the problem and doing some brainbalancing exercises that stimulate and integrate the two hemispheres of the brain. The tapping locations correspond to beginning and end points of each of the meridians, thus vibrationally affecting the entire meridian much like the ripple effect in a pond. With the energy system back in balance, negative emotions are dissolved.

I have used this technique with scores of clients and seen some amazing results. EFT even turned my disbelieving husband into one

of its most ardent proponents. When our beloved dog died a few years ago, he fell into a deep depression over the loss. This generally easygoing, optimistic man withdrew into himself and cried at the sound of another dog’s bark. He refused my efforts to help him through it and moped around the house in gloomy silence. Finally, after nearly three weeks like this, he said to me, “Okay, see what you can do.”

So we used EFT for his grief, and after about twenty minutes he suddenly looked at me with clear eyes and a puzzled smile and said, “I still

miss her, but it’s okay now.”

While it is sometimes used as a stand-alone technique, I believe EFT is most effective when applied as a component along with other psychotherapy, especially for complex problems involving layers of issues and emotions. And if it sounds too far-fetched to be true, remember that “the mind, like a parachute, functions only when open.”

Editor’s Note: Joy is a practicing psychotherapist in Riberas. She can be contacted at joy@dunstan. org or 765-4988

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55

CHILD

of the month

By Rich Petersen

Eber Emmanuel Vilchis López

N

iños Incapacitados would like you to meet little Eber Emmanuel Vilchis López. Eber is 18 months old and lives with his family in Ixtlahuacán. He has three siblings: Moisés, Edgar and Clara. His mother, Maria Guadalupe, is a housewife and his father, Alfredo, is a laborer.

Eber Emmanuel was born with Down syndrome, a congenital anomaly that results from having an extra copy of chromosome 21. Symptoms range from mild to severe, but most often mental and physical development is slower in people with Down syndrome. Other health problems are also common: heart disease, dementia, hearing problems, visual deficiency, and thyroid problems, among others. While there is no cure for Down syndrome, many people can and do live long and productive lives.

There is no history of this syndrome in other members of Eber’s family.

Eber has the benefit, as do so many of the children helped by Niños Incapacitados, of a loving and dedicated family who have been tireless in their pursuit of therapy and medical care for their son. The boy has had his share of ups and downs in his short life: several hospitalizations for lung infections, a thyroid gland that for a time would not function properly, and at the beginning, the feeling that he was not responding to physical and mental therapy sessions.

Fortunately in the past few months Eber has begun responding to specific therapies designed especially for

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children with Down syndrome. He is now reacting to his environment and to verbal stimulation, and he has been fitted with eyeglasses to try to correct his crossed eyes. Those of us who have seen Eber since March 2009 when his mother brought him to the group have been amazed at the recent progress.

Niños Incapacitados has paid for his medications, hospitalizations, lab tests, hearing tests, and a CT scan of his abdomen, plus the 3-4 times weekly therapy sessions. All the hard work and dedication on his family’s part seems to be paying off. At our last meeting, as evidenced by the photograph, Eber was as active and curious as any 18-month old, and rewarded us with a big smile.

Niños Incapacitados meets the second Thursday of each month at 10:15. PLEASE NOTE: Beginning in April 2010 our meetings will be held at the Hotel Real de Chapala (La Floresta) where we hope you will join us to learn more about our organization and to meet other children we are assisting. Please visit our website: www.programaninos.org.

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By Dave Gutk

A

t the age of thirteen Benito left the field and walked to Oaxaca where he found work as a domestic servant in the household of Don Antonio Maza, who also employed his sister. Don Antonio, impressed by Benito’s quick intelligence and desire to learn, became interested in his development.

His friend Antonio Salanueva, a devout Catholic and a lay member of the Franciscan Order, taught Benito to read and write Spanish, grammar, arithmetic, and bookbinding.

With the hope that he would become a priest he was sent to the Franciscan seminar in Oaxaca where he studied the writing of Saint Thomas Aquinas and other great Catholic philosophers. He graduated from the seminary in 1827 but decided not to become a priest.

Instead he entered the Institute of Science and Art and earned a law degree. It was there that he was introduced to the works of the rationalist philosophers of enlight-

58

enment and their secular doctrines.

The ideas took root. Benito Juarez became a judge in 1842 and governor of the state of Oaxaca in 1847.

In 1853, because of his opposition to Santa Anna’s return to power, Benito was forced to leave Mexico and take refuge in New Orleans where he supported himself as a cigar maker. He returned when Santa Anna was forced to resign in 1855. A liberal government under

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

Juan Alvarez was formed and the period known as La Reforma (The Reform) began. “Ley Juarez” (Juarez’s Law) was passed the same year which removed the fueros (privileges) of the Church and the Military. In addition, it declared all citizens equal before the law. When a new constitution was passed in 1857, Benito became chief justice and vice president under the president Ignacio Comofort.

As was to happen so often in Mexican history, a reactionary counter-revolution lead by General Felix Zuluaga and supported by the Church and the military began what was called the Mexican War of Reform. Benito was arrested and would have been executed had not the Poet Guillermo Prieto intervened. He stood between Benito and the firing squad and said “Brave men do not execute!” The firing squad lowered their weapons and Benito escaped to lead the liberals in the war of the reform.

Benito called for the confiscation of all Church properties. After four years of fighting, the reactionaries were defeated and the liberals returned to power. They elected Benito president. Unfortunately the years of chaos had left the country

bankrupt and deeply in debt to England, France, and Spain.

When Benito was forced to suspend payment on the debt the creditors seized the port of Vera Cruz. A settlement was negotiated with England and Spain but France wanted more—a presence on the North American continent.

The French force moved out from Vera Cruz to capture the capital at Mexico City and impose a puppet government. Mexico and Benito Juarez would face yet another four years of fighting, turmoil, and bloodshed.

The French were defeated by General Ignacio Zaragoza Sequin and Colonel Porfirio Diaz at Puebla on May 5th 1862 (Cinco de Mayo) but the French regrouped and captured Mexico City a year later. They installed Maximilian as emperor of the puppet government, an event that was welcomed by the Church, some of the military and large land owners. When Maximilian didn’t restore the fueros of the Church and the military he lost their support. Juarez continued to resist the foreign imposed government. He rejected Maximilian’s offer of amnesty and the office of Prime Minister.

Eventually when the French withdrew their troops to meet the Prussian threat in Europe, Maximilian and his conservative supporters were defeated. Benito returned to power and the Reforms were implemented. The Church’s huge haciendas were seized and sold. The proceeds were used to pay down the country’s debt. Juarez was reelected in 1857 and 1861.

It was July 18th, 1872 and Benito was at his desk in the National Palace in Mexico City. There was much left to do and maybe he had little time to do it; lately he had a persistent pain in his chest. Suddenly he gasped, clutched his chest, and slumped forward in his chair.

Many years later, during the Mexican Revolution, Father Miguel, Father Jose, and Benito were joined by other Mexican patriots. The band of horsemen grew.

The corn was finally harvested.

On Michigan Avenue in Chicago, near the Chicago River, across the street from the Tribune Tower, is a small plot of land with a bust honoring Benito Pablo Juarez Garcia. The plot is probably no bigger than his field in San Pablo Guelatao.

Similar memorials can be found in New York City on Sixth Avenue, in

Washington across from the Watergate building, and in New Orleans on Basin Street. On the banks of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande) is Ciudad Juarez, a city of over a million people which is named in his honor. He is much revered in his own country. His birthday is a national holiday. The Mexican twenty peso note carries his image.

Benito traveled a long way from his humble beginning and for a man small in stature he cast a very long shadow and will continue to do so for many more years.

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My Plan To Save the World

By David Harper

I

t came to me as I was watching the Winter Olympics.

A newscaster appeared on the screen to tell me that I should not worry because they had a helicopter on the way to cover a shooting that had just occurred in Tacoma. All I had to do was wait until their next news show for a full report.

Then I thought: why do I care?

Thousands are dying in accidents every day, why is it important that I know about a shooting in a place I never visit? Why are they sending a helicopter, a reporter and a camera man? Why waste all this energy polluting the planet thereby bringing forward the total immersion of New York City by a decade or so?

Then it dawned on me that all this incessant news coverage, from 24 hour news stations to daily newspapers is exactly what is wrong with the world and causing all the unhappiness. We don’t need to know all this stuff. And we don’t need wiseass talking heads on TV explaining everything to us all the time. It has become so ridiculous that no politician, from the President to the Mayor, can tell us anything any more without someone explaining that it is a plot to raise our taxes for no good reason, or because his brother-in-law will get the contract.

In the thirties, everyone knew politicians were corrupt but they lived with it. Then along came television and now we are riled up on a daily basis. H. L. Mencken said that “Every man should be ashamed of the government he lives under.”

He didn’t have any particular party

in mind, just whoever was in charge at the moment.

Mencken also said, “A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier,” and since he was a journalist he might have known what he was talking about.

So here’s the plan: Step one: All 24-hour news stations will be shut down immediately. Step two: All TV stations may have only one news show per week that must be broadcast at 8AM Saturday morning so that it does not interfere with the main things worth watching on TV, live sports, children’s cartoons, women’s exercise classes and soap operas. Local stations will be encouraged to share coverage so that only one of them goes to the scene of the latest shooting, thereby saving energy, reducing pollutants and sparing New York City for a decade.

Step three: All newspapers may henceforth publish only once a week. They will be allowed to pick a day and they too are encouraged to share news reports. They will not be allowed to print opinion columns or letters to the Editor.

Step four: No politician will be allowed to buy time on television.

Weekly newspapers may print as much political stuff as they think their readers might want. I allow this in the sure knowledge that few people will actually read it.

I think a four-step plan is sufficient to cover the basics. To those of you who think MPSW is dangerous and they need their news coverage hourly I say kindly explain the Senate’s health bill to me. Have you read it? Half the country is ready to fight to the death over it and yet no one knows anything more than what the politicians and the talking heads tell us and they can’t agree on the story themselves.

Speaking of politicians brings me back to H. L. Mencken again. It is interesting that he and Nancy Pelosi are both from Baltimore, which should tell you something.

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FROM MY TROPICAL DECK CHAIR

By Consuelo

I

wonder if my mother wanted the same thing I grew up to want, a quiet place of my own. Books, paints and travel. I know she loved armchair travel as much as I do. Shelves and shelves of books were our company. So I have reading to thank my mother for. She was a painter, an aspiring painter, a hobby painter, and finally, a painter whose oils lay dry and twisted in their old Grumbacher tubes, her paint box in the cupboard, never to be used again after she became an antique dealer and estate appraiser.

Her color sense was remarkable.

As a child, I disliked our chartreuse dining room with pink trim. I abhorred the huge antique sideboard and China hutch full of pink and green Spode. She had the sideboard and hutch painted pink and green to match the room, match the dishes.

The formal living room was a soft chocolate brown with turquoise trim. The bookshelves were turquoise, the couch was turquoise, a nubby weave that dug into the back of your legs if you sat in the forbidden room. It is a wonder she did not have the piano also painted to match.

The other day, I did a little writing exercise with Judith, my writing partner, a five minute write about the closet of my mother. The rules for topic writes, Natale Goldberg method, is write as fast as you can, no stopping, no going back, no crossing out, no thinking. I have been kind of mad and sad about my mother forever, but especially since she totally stopped talking to me when I decided to early retire in Mexico. So this write brought up a love that was buried so deep inside me I could not access it. Well, I could not access the love I have for my mother easily. It sat outside my conscious awareness.

So here is the write. I fall into her closet like Alice down the rabbit hole. She has tall black velvet heels with rhinestone clips on the tops.

She has a silk shantung black dress that she had made by her dressmaker. She has a pheasant feather hat that is made of felt, and pheasant feathers from pheasants that daddy shot on his Sunday forays into dis-

tant farmer cornfields, followed by long hours with his hunting buddies at the Nine Thirty Club. She has a gold ballgown in a big shiny pink box. The gown is nestled in layers and layers and layers of white tissue paper. She bought it at Marshall Fields in Chicago, to wear when she meets Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. She will never wear the dress.

Thirty years from now, however, he will have a boyfriend named Earl, who grows tulips from the Netherlands commercially. Earl wears brown wingtip shoes.

And so, this is how I reconnect with my mother, my love for my mother. Maybe I can stop feeling squirmy on Mothers’ Day. Maybe I will send another card to follow the others that she never answers.

Maybe this Mothers’ Day I will get lucky, and hear from her.

But you know, I hear from her when I look at my bright wild fauvist yellow wallpaper paintings.

I hear from her inside my head when I explore a new place. When I lived in New Mexico, I wished she would come see it. Taos and Santa Fe are both towns where the houses and buildings are a soft chocolate brown, with turquoise trim. The yellow and turquoise color combination of my childhood bedroom finds itself into almost every painting I do. And when I spend a whole afternoon reading, gazing out at my tiny secret garden, enclosed by high white walls, I think of my mother. If it were not for her courage and her faith in God, her curiosity about far flung places all over the globe that she never got to see, but I did, I am, I would not have had the wonderful life that I enjoy today.

Love is everything. Think nice thoughts. website: santafekitchenstudio.com blog: http://outofthearmchair.wordpress.com paintings can be seen in Puerto Vallarta at Galeria International on Morelos and in the Marina.

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Signs of Global Warming at Lakeside

By Ed Tasca

I

t seems as though everywhere on the planet you look these days, weather patterns are changing, and climates, once predictable, suddenly turn on you like a bad drunk.

Given the predictably near-perfect nature of Lakeside weather, is it possible that global warming can disrupt in any way Lakeside’s revered climate and ecology? I think it’s time we all got real and took a closer look.

One. Rainfall shortage Since rainfall throughout western Mexico is concentrated largely during the summer months, this past summer’s bashful rains, causing droughts, garden panic and water at mere intravenous supplies, provoked Al Gore to ask, “Lake where?”.

The rainy seasons are getting shorter, but are still closed between the hours of 2 and 4.

So where does the water go?

Lake Chapala water losses - in an average year, according to ecology officials – occur as follows: 44 percent flows into the River Santiago, where it spends the winter hatching tons of bobo fly larvae, the inadvertent snacks you get while jogging along the lake; 31 percent evaporates and combines with cement dust to form a mist that gives us sightings of the Virgin Mary; 16 percent pools at the foot of Colon in Ajijic, leaving photoplankton stranded to rot, and sending tourists back into their surgical masks; 5 per cent is piped to Guadalajara, where the actual water content is removed leaving enriched uranium. The remainder is actually glue and mole sauce.

Two. High bacterial levels: The levels of pneumococcal bacterial in the lake water were measured not long ago at several hundred times higher than the levels currently found in any of the Great Lakes and 80 times higher than the maximum concentrations recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency for motel bed spreads.

Three. Insect Growth: Several new species of cockroach have been found in Jocotepec, mutations which actually enjoy sunlight and have been spotted splashing about at the hot springs.

Four. Algae growth: Explosive

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growth in bluegreen algae gives the lake water a distinctive smell and taste, both of which have become quite popular among teens, and have been simulated for chewing gum varieties.

Five. Concentrations of heavy metals: Concentrations of heavy metals in certain aquatic plants, including the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and bulrush (Typha latifolia) have exceeded recommended limits and one species of bottom-feeding fish is so engorged with the metals that several have been sighted crashing through man hole covers in Villa Nova.

Six. Infestations of aquatic weeds: Lirio (water hyacinth) had been removed from the lake, but has returned recently. Originally introduced as a garden ornament, the aquatic weeds made their way into lake waters where they flourished, hindering fishermen, encouraging insect infestation and, most critically, posing a risk to Gringos who try walking across them.

Seven. Fewer Fish: The lake once teemed with unique native fish, including species of highly-prized, delicate-tasting whitefish. Many are endangered today, although the whitefish despite their heavy concentrations of mercury are making a comeback, because Lakeside chefs find they can tell their temperature while they’re baking.

Other signs that Lakeside may be surrendering to climate aberrations: Herons and egrets have begun moving inland, and are now arriving in greater numbers, many, it’s believed, are training to become real estate agents.

Tests of summer air show that carbon monoxide gases have exceeded cement dust as the air’s major component.

Tears coming from statues of the Virgin have been assayed as liquid methane.

Monarch butterflies are arriving in air-conditioned buses.

Carbon dioxide levels make the

air so heavy, that fleeing muggers take an average 5. 2 seconds longer to find their getaway cars.

Hurricanes are getting more powerful (the word itself apparently named after a Mayan god). Mexican officials claim the tormentas thundering through Mexico’s new recycle dumps explains why the recyclables wound up again as general trash.

El Nino ocean currents are so permeated with methane gas, accompanying seabirds can be heard singing “Zeta Gas. Zeta Gas.” What can we do to help? If you’re not asking that question, then

you should be ashamed of yourself.

I’m doing my part. Knowing the problem as they say is fifty percent of the solution. (What the other fifty percent is anybody’s guess.) But it’s time we stopped being so smug, and engaged in solutions. I for one think you should be telling publishers of magazines like this one who are publishing nonsense like this to stop.

That would at least save paper, and it would also raise my Kindle stock prices. At any rate, it’s a start.

Editor’s note: Coming Next Month: Ed’s comic novel about a wayward heart transplant delivery.

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Notes From Nestipac

By Phyllis Rauch rauchlosdos@yahoo.com

Did You Know?

A

s a Lakeside old timer, I often find myself sharing odd (as in varied) pieces of information with recent arrivals to the area. Sometimes ex-pats who have already been here for a few years, are also surprised. Let’s see how many of these facts are new to you.

Did you know that the young people who pack your groceries at the supermarkets receive no wages? Their only earnings are the tips you give them. There is a sign to this effect at my local Aurrera, but it’s only written in Spanish, of course.

Although I haven’t researched this one, I suspect the men who offer to help you unload your groceries or wave you into or out of the parking spaces, may be working if not for free, for very low wages. My policy? When in doubt, tip.

Did you know that if you can’t locate baking soda at small groceries, you’re almost sure to find it at the drugstore (farmacia)? It’s called bicarbonato de sodio. Perhaps you are traveling and just need a few pills, for a headache, or heartburn. Many of the older, family pharmacies will sell tablets individually. Just look for the little stack of drawers.

Did you know that most Mexican doctors, including specialists, give you not only their office phone number, but also their cells, home phones, and any other means of reaching them they may have? I was shocked when I visited my mom in Ohio a number of years ago and, in an emergency, discovered that her beloved young Dr. was completely unavailable, even for a question. A trip to the emergency room was our only option.

Back in Mexico, after suffering an asthma attack for an hour, I called my specialist at 3am. He was quite incensed but not because I had called.

He said, “Why do you think I give you all those numbers if I don’t want you to call me?”

Did you know that there are many wonderful Mexican wedding customs, unknown to us northerners? If you are lucky enough to be invited to a local wedding, try to sit near the front and watch out for the placing of the lasso around the necks of the couple. Sometimes you’ll see multiple lassos, made of white rope, silver, crystals, or fresh flowers. These are, as well as the arras, (a little chest of gold coins symbolizing the new financial responsibilities,) family Bible, and crucifix provided by various padrinos, godparents of the wedding couple, who present these gifts during or after the ceremony. Bolos are the little gifts that children hand out to the guests after the wedding.

Did you know that wealthy people purchase lots at the cemetery, just as we are used to in the north? People with less money have to pay a yearly rent. If after years or generations there are no family members left to pay the rent…well, use your imagination.

So how did you score? If you have discovered additional, little-known Mexican facts or customs, I’d love to have you share them with me. When I collect enough, I’ll share them here. rauchlosdos@yahoo.com

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The Ojo Crossword

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El Ojo del Lago April 2010

ACROSS

DOWN

1 Fruit in cookies 5 Dry 9 Cover 14 Belief 15 Factor of ten 16 Japanese poem 17 Called 18 Move while sleeping 19 Giant in ‘Princess Bride’ 20 Bundle 22 Bestow an award upon 24 Child 25 Two schillings 27 Bath 31 Youngster 32 New York City 34 Neither’s partner 35 Competent 38 Insult 40 Poke into 42 ___ up (makes bigger) 44 Ball holder 46 Assistants 47 Excite 48 West southwest 50 Loch ___ monster 51 Atmosphere 52 Recede 55 Baker 57 List of meals 59 Rich person 61 Chat 64 Stupefaction 66 Lament 68 Bye 71 Parlay 73 Section 74 Beer brand 75 Adolescent 76 Left 77 Partially frozen drink 78 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ____ 79 Droops

1 Front 2 Gem State 3 Civet cat’s cousin 4 Soap Opera 5 Advertisements 6 Substitute new parts for old 7 Colder 8 Natural selection idea originator 9 Blacken 10 Estates 11 Assist 12 Danish krone (abbr.)

13 Take to court 21 Farming club (abr.)

23 Some 26 Top 28 Positive electrode 29 Earring locales 30 Braid 31 Woof 33 Certified public accountant 35 Right angle to a ships length 36 Misrepresent 37 What students do 39 Quilt 41 Skating area 43 Meet 45 Traveled with 49 Romance 53 Heat unit 54 Byway 56 Only 58 Drug doers 60 Rabbit 61 City 62 Growing older 63 Groups of eight bits 65 Hind end 67 Hauls around 68 American Cancer Society (abbr.)

69 Pain unit 70 Promissory note 72 Compass point

By Judy Baehr 766-2695 jdbaehr@aol.com www.greatgreens.org

Lake Chapala Issues from the Ground Up

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or many years Wendee Hill and Marie Pruden, founders and directors of ACÁ, have worked on issues that threaten Lake Chapala and the people who live around it.

At the Living Lakes Conference this March, Wendee spoke of the need to address the issues of chemical pollution of the watershed and urged support of existing local projects as part of the Ramsar site management program for the Lake. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance

and to plan for the “wise use,” or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. Lake Chapala was designated as a Ramsar site in 2008.

The majority of toxins going into Lake Chapala from the Lerma River Basin are created by chemical runoff from agricultural farms and corporate disposal, directly exposing inhabitants who use lake water and those who work near or with pesticides. A survey of area villages that ACÁ conducted with Erica Gwynn in 2008 reveals that native people around the Lake are aware of the health issues related to toxic agricultural chemical use and natural resource depletion.

Large-scale non-organic commer-

cial farming operations often render the land sterile in their wake, putting local farmers out of business and damaging a historically rich farming culture.

“We need to empower the families in the villages around the Lake,” said Wendee, “giving them the tools and understanding to protect the Lake and teach their children to do so. At the same time, we need to teach them organic farming methods including chemical avoidance and sustainable use of water, because by learning how to grow crops and raise livestock in a safe way, they will be able to feed their families and have income, thus sustaining the native population around the Lake, who are the best future caretakers of the Lake.”

Wendee urged: a) Continued research on local agricultural workers, particularly women and children, who are exposed to unregulated toxic agricultural spraying every 4 to 7 days using toxic chemicals, most of which are no longer used in other countries due to their toxicity, which is often of long-term duration.

b) Support of people already doing the work. ACÁ conservation and organic agriculture models are already in place, but need to be integrated into an educational initiative in communities around the Lake. c) Support of projects for women, who suffer the most from high agricultural exposure and lack of training. By working in schools and communities, ACÁ programs reach out to women. d) Emphasis on education as an integral part of the management plan, rather than an adjunct.

Official Mexico is now intensely interested in the potential market opportunities in agro-ecology, but very little support trickles down to the resource-poor farmers. Governmental program funds are tied to red tape and the complexities of them effectively exclude the resource poor, who need them the most.

Wendee said, “The need now is to develop effective and relevant community solutions that resolve the contradiction between ecological conservation and economic prosperity.”

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By Fred Mittag

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ob Herbert of the New York Times wrote a piece that makes a normal stomach feel like throwing up breakfast. It’s about a boy named Mohammed Jawad who was seized in Afghanistan when he was – well, nobody knows how old he was.

Some guessed his age at 12 and some thought he might be 14. There’s no dispute that he was a child. “Mohammed,” by the way, is the most common boy’s name in the world, which is in itself something to ponder for foreign relations policy.

Mohammed has been in American custody six and a half years. I think specialists in child development must have some strong things to say about that. We have tortured him and that is part of his childhood development.

He has tried to commit suicide by banging his head against the wall and was restrained.

Mohammed’s treatment was so outrageous that an Army Officer, Colonel Vandevelt, described as “gung ho” to secure convictions, and who was assigned to prosecute Moham-

med, removed himself from the case.

He said that he could not “in good conscience” serve in the military tribunals set up to try accused terrorists.

As he looked at the evidence, he became increasingly dismayed and then refused the role of prosecutor.

The colonel explained that by pure accident he came across the official report by an Army criminal investigation of abuse of prisoners at Bagram. Colonel Vandevelt wrote a sworn affidavit in which he said Mohammed had been tortured. The colo-

Embracing Mortality

By Dilia Suriel

D

uring a survey of what people fear most public speaking came in first, death came in second. While this conveys the terror toward public speaking, “death” remains forbidden. To clear a party simply mention “dying.” It is tantamount to social suicide.

Let’s start with religion. It has been stated that “Religion is the human response to being alive and having to die.” A study demonstrated that once believers are in imminent threat of death, their faith in an afterlife dramatically increases. Additionally it showed that there is nothing more powerful in modifying a believer’s behavior than their prospect of life after death.

What motivates this aversion? Is our fear of death a desire for immortality? In her book “Anger in the Sky,” Susan Ertz stated “Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.” Why would immortality hold anything beyond our typical day?

And would we thrive in a society where our values are no longer embraced by the ‘young people’? Or is it a need

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for heritage that fuels this dread? A Greek proverb states “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Across space and time the legacy of Mozart, Botticelli, Mother Theresa, Tesla, Michelangelo continues. Albert Einstein states that “Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life.”

“We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one whom we love.”

As a young adult I had the fortune of having a father who discussed the value of God versus the concept of

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

nel said that he lacked the words “to express the heartsickness” he felt as he came to fully understand how Mohammed had been treated by American soldiers. The colonel certainly speaks for me.

There is no evidence against Mohammed and a judge has ruled his confession by torture to be inadmissible evidence. The judge’s ruling sounds like the beginning of sanity and justice – but hold on. President Obama’s lawyers are opposing defense efforts to secure Mohammed’s freedom. And in the best tradition of a Fascist state, administration lawyers are using Mohammed’s “confession” as the basis for holding him – a confession under torture that has already been ruled inadmissible and without merit. The law is being interpreted however the “Führer” thinks it should be interpreted. Well, to calm down a bit, Obama has stopped torture, heeding his better angel. But to oppose legal rulings in Mohammed’s favor amounts to accreditation for the methods of torture that produced the so-called “confession.” This does not make legal sense, and it certainly doesn’t make any moral sense.

I’m inspired by Colonel Vandevelt. He’s no longer on active duty, but has joined the efforts of military

defense lawyers and the ACLU (of which I’m a proud member) to secure Mohammed’s freedom. The colonel said, “Six years of virtual solitary confinement is enough for someone who was not much older than a child when he was taken into custody.

My breakfast felt unsettled when I read about Mohammed this morning, and Colonel Vandevelt felt “heartsickness” when he learned about Mohammed – the very boy he was assigned to prosecute. I hope you have been stirred, also, at the failure of justice and the profound immorality.

It’s done in your name and in mine, in the name of America. Terrorists destroy buildings and lives. We are destroying America.

The United Methodist Church, along with many others, is a moral voice against torture. I urge you to sign their petition, below. They want all signatures, not just those of Methodists members. The Methodists have a persuasive and eye-catching sign in front of their headquarters in Washington, D.C. that looks like this: Add your name to our petition!

Federico freethinker1@mac.com Rational Philosophy Informed by Science, Inspired by Art, and Motivated by Compassion

God. He had a comedy routine about having been thrown out of 2nd grade for being a disturbance, yet he introduced his children to Nietzsche, Rousseau and Castro. He had a constellation of gifts that made him vibrant, intelligent, tenacious, driven and inspiring. He was by far an imperfect husband, but as a father he worked fervently to underwrite our attendance to the very best schools; however, he insisted on the distinction between knowledge and education. He taught us the merits between dreams versus facts, hope versus experience and truth versus reality.

I was seventeen when my family was devastated by his death a few weeks short of his 44th birthday. To convey the despair, the loss that shrouded our existence, would be hellish. However we were compelled to honor his life and fulfilled his dream and thus return him to life. We put ourselves through college and completed advanced law and medical doctorates. Despite his untimely death he brought forward a legacy forged more potent, more present, by the life of his children.

So the question remains: Do we die every day because we live the fear of dying over and over again? Is death our emotional inability to say “I care for you. You matter to me. I’m sorry.” Or is it not singing that one song within us that is muffled by fear? Or uttering the

poems that crave to be spoken? Isaac Asimov once stated that “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.”

My Lake Chapala community has taught me the wisdom summarized by Norman Cousins: “The true death is the fear of living. Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” This wisdom is distilled in the questions: Can the fear of dying co-exist with living fully? Do we learn how to die when we embrace life joyfully? Or is our most profound lesson to embrace our mortality that enlightens us?

While at a hospice I learned the reverence for life, an acceptance of our shared frailties, an embracement of the preciousness of each moment and a compassion for every person. I saw no fear of death, but I experienced a tangible appreciation for life.

The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.

The opposite of art is not ugliness, it is indifference.

The opposite of faith is not heresy, it is indifference.

And the opposite of life is not death, it is fear.

(Ed. Note: This is an excerpt from the book Midlife Radiance, which is for sale at Diane Pearl’s boutique in Ajijic.)

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HERE’S H ERE’S TO TO YOUR YOUR HEALTH HEALTH

By Doctor Manuel Cordova

Transgenics (Gmo’s) What’s It All About?

Part II

I

n the 90s, the food technology industry worked very hard to develop new methods to produce better appearance and yield from agricultural products. The result was a new form of genetic manipulation in the food industry and a new concept for emerging technologies. Their goal was to create new and better products, but the evidence of long term impact on health, price and cost were grossly neglected.

There is much evidence to show tumoral development and genetic mutations as a result of the GMO process in the food chain. The results can change the human body in many ways. Soon, the commercial businesses and financial interest took over the control on the food industry and were motivated more by profit than nutrition. The massive media campaigns and commercials all appear to be in the best interest of the public, but the real truth of GMO was, obviously, not released as part of their advertising campaigns.

Large companies such as Monsanto, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Asgrow and numerous others have taken control of the industry. There is a serious absence of FDA legislation to prevent the misuse of GMO and people have not been properly informed of the dangers. The demand for increased production of food for a growing global population has clouded the issues of nutritional value and human health risk of what is actually taking place.

Fortunately, there have been nu-

merous research centers and scientists who refuse to be silenced about the problem. Information is more widespread today about the dangers of GMO, but much more work needs to be done.

European countries are more informed than the United States has been and most of their food products contain labels to indicate which foods have been subjected to GMO. In Mexico, food products are not all labeled for GMO; however, the problem does not exist to a large degree in this country at the present time for fruits, vegetables and meat products. Unfortunately, Monsanto has entered Mexico and plans to change the corn crops by adding GMO in certain areas. The long term impact to the agricultural terrain will result in contamination for future crops even if GMO is later discontinued.

Beware of your food consumption and make an effort to find out whether GMO is a factor in your daily diet.

To know more about GMO`s check: www.responsibletechnology.org w w w. G e n e t i c R o u l e t t e . c o m World Natural Health Organization www.wnho.net www.centerforfoodsafety.org (Ed. Note: J. Manuel Cordova, M. D. is a practicing Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Specialist who lives full time here at Lakeside.) mdjmcordova1204@yahoo.com (376) 766-2777

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Welcome to Mexico!

By Victoria Schmidt

A Rescue in Mexico

T

is dy“ T hising,”horse she said as

she slowly walked the horse towards me. Its hide was stretched over the skeletonized frame with each bone protruding. Two abscesses marred his front legs weeping puss with bits of weed and grass stuck to the wounds. His oversized knee spoke of an untreated wound or possibly a break. The horse could barely walk.

Christina, an acquaintance of mine, had called out to me one morning while I was walking my dog, Boo. She explained as they drew closer. “Last year when I was here I gave this horse worm medicine; I found him like this today and I’ve spoken to the police” she explained. “Do you know who owns this horse?” I didn’t. Again she stated that the horse was going to fall down and die if something wasn’t done. That much was evident.

Christina asked for a telephone.

She wanted to call someone who could help. Just then, Bruce, a neighbor, returned to his house and offered the use of his home telephone. Christina handed the horse’s leash to me and the two disappeared into the house.

As I stood on the street in Chapala, dying horse in one hand, anxious dog in the other—I watched as a man crossed the street to talk to me. He approached tentatively and removed his hat holding the brim in both hands. With his head bowed slightly he said in broken English. “Excuse me, it is no my business, but this horse cannot be like this.” I quickly explained what was going on. Shortly, another neighbor, Jay, joined us.

The two men started inspecting the horse, his wounds, his teeth, and his legs. The Mexican introduced himself as Jose.

When Bruce and Christina rejoined us after the telephone call, she explained to us that in Mexico, it is against the law to rescue livestock. It is called “Interfering with Livestock.” And the penal-

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ties can be very inconvenient.

However, the person they called, Gudrun Jones, has a special status with the authorities and was now on the way with a veterinarian. If the vet certified that the horse was in need of medical attention, she could take the horse without fear of legal repercussions. While this discussion was in progress, another woman came by, looked at the horse and with tears glistening in her eyes, she stuffed $200 pesos in Christina’s hand to help with medical expenses and immediately turned and left as if she could no longer bear to look upon the horse.

By this time, our little band of rescuers had given the horse food and water, and it seemed as though he would be helped. With Boo tugging anxiously on his leash, I excused myself so we could finish his morning walk. I figured that help was on the way and that everything would be fine.

The next day I was told that shortly after I left, the vet arrived armed with a bale of hay; he examined the horse and gave it a shot.

He nibbled away at a carrot while the assembled cast discussed what would be done. The horse was in need of medical supervision, so it was decided the vet would take it.

(The vet, Pepe Magaña, of Riberas will gladly accept any contribution towards the horse’s ongoing medical treatment.)

The future looks better for this magnificent, yet abused and neglected creature. I feel blessed that in an extremely small way, I was a part of a cast of people, a group of strangers, who came together one sunny morning to orchestrate the rescue of a helpless and dying horse on the streets of Mexico.

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Victoria Schmidt

FRONT ROW CENTER

By Michael Warren The Boy Friend

By Sandy Wilson Directed by Allen McGill

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his is a piece of fluff, to be enjoyed by cast and audience alike. Written in the bleak post-war fifties, The Boy Friend recalls and at the same time parodies a more carefree era when the girls were flirty and vivacious, the boys were rich and handsome, and everyone danced the Charleston. For some reason, director Allen McGill chose to “explain” why his cast was not exactly young – but Lakeside audiences are forgiving anyway, and all came ready to enjoy a light musical entertainment.

Among the revelers is a group of “young men” played by Keith Scott, Greg Clarke, Gary Keeler and Kevin O’Byrne. They are eager to dance with (and later to marry) the “young girls” played by Alexis Hoff, Judy McKinnon, Tina Jones and Gale Bildfell. This chorus group had some entertaining and tuneful numbers, naturally in roaring twenties style. The female lead is sweetly played by Helena Feldstein as “Polly Browne” who cannot find love because she is (boo-hoo) too rich. She is ably matched with Vicente Vernon as “Tony” who is pretending to be poor, but is really the son of an English lord. These two both have good strong voices, and touch our hearts with several pleasing duets.

The whole piece is set in the French Riviera, so of course there is plenty of hand-kissing and discussion of l’amour. The only way to play this stuff is with tongue firmly placed in cheek, and there are some delightful performances of this nature by Betty Robinson as “Madame Dubonnet,” the headmistress of the young girls’ finishing school, and Pat Carroll as “Percival Browne” – Polly’s millionaire father. Evidently these two had an affair many years ago, when Madame Dubonnet was known as “Kiki” – a name that can only be said with a suggestive waggle of the rear end. Jeritza McCarter plays the maid “Hortense” as only Jeritza can – her song “It’s So Much Nicer In Nice” is one of the highlights of the evening.

And Ray Himmelman leers his way around the stage with great charm as the lascivious “Lord Brock-

hurst” while avoiding the clutches of his prim wife “Lady Brockhurst” amusingly played by Peggy Lord Chilton.

There is a specialty number during the carnival ball – a tango which is expertly performed by Flemming Halby and Graciela Ducet. I should also mention some walk-on parts undertaken by Jerry McDonald (as a gendarme) and Don Chaloner (as a waiter). And in the opening explanatory sequence, Ken Yakiwchuk and Catherine Huff make a cameo appearance. All in all, it’s a light and entertaining evening with a predictable story, a happy ending and some enjoyable song and dance numbers.

The choreography is by Alexis Hoff who is of course an excellent dancer herself, and the music is handily directed by Richard and Eleanor Stromberg who is also the pianist for the show.

Allen McGill skillfully pulled the strings of this slick performance – he managed to bring The Boy Friend happily to the Lakeside stage, in spite of the average age of the cast being somewhat higher than in the original West End production.

Congratulations to all involved, both onstage and backstage – you pulled it off and the audience went home happy! Next up is the last play of the season “Cash on Delivery” – a Michael Cooney farce directed by Bob Coull, opening on April 3rd.

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LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY 16 DE SEPTIEMBRE #16-A AJIJIC, JAL, MX WWW.LAKECHAPALASOCIETY.ORG

News

April 2010

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The best news that I’ve heard since your board took office in January is that the Audit Committee has received ZERO complaints since then. That tells me that we’re getting along better with each other. We’re willing to give each other a chance to do the right thing. We care about each other. I was on campus on a recent Tuesday and marveled at the crowds of people enjoying the grounds and the many programs and services that we offer every day. We are all having a really good time!

That’s not to say that everything is rosy and perfect at LCS. You don’t have to look very hard to see that there are many projects that need attention. A broken toilet, a leaky roof, faded or missing signs, a shabby paint job to name a few. Be assured we are aware of both the little and big issues. In fact, we are addressing our deferred maintenance concerns by instituting a reserve fund in this year’s budget. We do not plan on raising dues at any time in the foreseeable future, but we will need to dramatically improve our fundraising to support our charitable giving, to meet our current needs and to continue to plan for the future. Your board and its committees are continuing the planning process and will share our progress with you as we complete the strategic planning in the next few months.

As Terry Vidal, our Executive Director, continues to build his operational management team he will let you know his progress through monthly reports in this newsletter. Although what your president and board are doing is equally important to you, the process of planning and policy is an incremental process. Likewise, with the arrival of our new newsletter editor, space in the monthly newsletter is becoming a premium! I promise to write to you at least quarterly and more frequently if there is something that needs your attention within that time. I always welcome your input so please write to me at president@lakechapalasociety.org or leave a message in the office and I will be glad to get back to you right away.

Enjoy your LCS and continue to be nice to each other!

Howard Feldstein, President

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

The operational structure is shaping up. In February a work group was asked to synthesize LCS operations into a workable organizational structure based on our current programs and services. At the March board meeting the plan was approved in principle, knowing that it is a work in progress. It amounts to eight (8) coordinator positions of which three (3) have already been filled: Administration (Shelly Huerta), Community Relations (Karen Schirack), and Facilities (Richard Bansbach) – to be filled: Finance, Programs, Volunteer, Community Education, and Libraries. A generalized chart of each coordinator’s area of responsibility is given below.

I am in the process of developing position descriptions for each coordinator so all expectations are fully disclosed. Please step forward if you have any interest in the open positions. Your effort will be rewarding and appreciated.

I’m amazed at how much LCS supports our community with charitable giving. This month I want to thank Coralie White, Mary Alice Sargent and Luz Zepeda for their volunteer efforts in our student aid program. Coralie and Mary Alice have been administering a student aid program that began 18 years ago. In 2009, LCS dispensed almost 300,000 pesos in student aid to forty-three (43) students!

In part thanks to Coralie and Luz’s efforts in securing and implementing a grant that has awarded 15 young women who are pursuing college degrees in science. A new brochure has been produced for the Student Aid Program, in an effort to solicit more financial support. Please help us spread the word about this important program. Take pride as LCS members, here at Lakeside, LCS isn’t giving fish away, we’re teaching the youth in this community how to fish!

Administration Coordinator (Shelly Huerta) Office admin.

Patio Sales Snack Bar Suppliers

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El Ojo del Lago April 2010

Community Relations Coordinator (Karen Schirack) Bulletin Board Comm. Advisory Panel Info Desk Mrkt./PR Mngr.

Newsletter Service Desk Website

Facilities Coordinator (Richard Bansbach) Buildings Gardens Housekeeping Security Technology

Finance Coordinator Accountant Budgets Fund Raising Special Events Membership Directory

Programs Coordinator Consulate Medical Personal enrichment Post Life

Volunteer Coordinator

Community Education Coordinator ESL Children's Art Computer classes Nutrition/Cooking Spanish Classes Student aid

Libraries Coordinator Biblioteca Eng Library Talking Books/Books on Tape Videos

LCS

News

April 2010

LIBRARY UPDATE

VOLUNTEER PROFILES

New books continue to arrive thanks to gracious members who have brought them down from up north and also from generous donations. Please continue to submit suggestions as we are interested in acquiring what YOU want to read.

We are starting a new column to introduce all the wonderful people who volunteer their time, energy, expertise, and sometimes their money, to support LCS and help to keep it strong and growing. We will start with the new Board members and then go from there to the longest serving volunteers until we have introduced everyone. As you can well imagine this will take a very long time, however, we have a space constraint in the newsletter and can only do one a month. We hope you will enjoy this new addition to the newsletter.

We continue our work to improving the Library’s infrastructure in order to make book selection easier for our members. We are strengthening sagging shelves, spreading out books so they’re easier to handle, polishing the database, etc. Also, the shelves are being “read” to weed out damaged and seldom-read books in order to make space for new acquisitions. This is necessary as our finite space does not allow us to be a full-fledged reference library.

A Mexico Reading Room within the library is in the works. This room will feature literature from Mexican writers, books covering the history, culture and art of Mexico along with ones on living and traveling in the country. More fiction set in Mexico is coming soon.

We have plans to design a comfortable space for readers to easily immerse themselves in what our host country is all about.

NEW ARRIVALS

NOVELS

THE MANUAL OF DETECTION by Jedediah Berry ON THE GRIND by Stephen Cannell A CAT ABROAD by Peter Gethers MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE by Karen Harper THE BASTARD by John Jakes BLINDSPOT by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore THE LACUNA by Barbara Kingsolver IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS

by Daniyal Mueenuddin THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF SCONES

by Alexander McCall Smith

PROFILE OF THE MONTH

Jack Shanks, Senior Director of Finance I’m starting with Jack since he stepped in and took over the Finance position after it was vacated, and is probably the least known of the Board members.

When I interviewed him I found him to be an open, friendly, intelligent and very likeable person.

Even though he has only been here two years he has become involved in other organizations besides LCS, where he is both the Finance Director and also on the Fundraising Committee. He is also the Coordinator for the Educational Program for Love in Action, and he teaches English to several local children.

MYSTERIES

Jack was born in San Antonio, Texas and lived his whole life in southern Texas, before moving to Lake Chapala where he has already put down roots. Before settling here he travelled to many different countries looking for the right place to retire and decided that Lake Chapala had every thing he was looking for. He loves the people, the weather, the lake is a constant joy and he spends most mornings walking and taking photographs—his newest hobby.

SCIENCE FICTION

He received both his B.A. in History and Speech with a minor in English, and his M.A. in Educational Administration from Panama American University. He was in the education field for thirty years as a teacher, school administrator and then superintendent of several school districts. He has two sons both of whom reside in Austin and a granddaughter, who he is very close to.

SNITCH JACKET by Christopher Goffard THE LAST INNOCENT MAN by Phillip Margolin CRUEL INTENT by J.A. Nance COLD RIVER by Carla Neggers CEREMONY by Robert B. Parker BLACK HILLS by Nora Roberts FRACTAL TIME - THE SECRET OF 2012 & A NEW WORLD AGE

by Gregg Braden ONE SECOND AFTER by William R. Forstchen NO ONE NOTICED THE CAT by Anne McCaffrey FORTY SIGNS OF RAIN by Kim Stanley Robinson SIXTY DAYS AND COUNTING by Kim Stanley Robinson

NON-FICTION

OUR CHOICE: A PLAN TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS

by Al Gore GOING ROGUE by Sarah Palin DARK SUN: THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB

by Richard Rhodes BOOMSDAY by Christopher Buckley

Transfer your old VHS to DVD A new service offered in the Video Rentals office, only 50 pesos each!

FRIDAY MUSIC JAM @ 2 PM If you play an instrument and want to hang with others who like to show-off their mojo, come and join us. Front Patio LCS lawn.

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LCS

News APRIL SCHEDULED EVENTS LIBRARIES Book & Video M-SAT 10-2:00 Talking Book TH 10-1:00 MEDICAL/HEALTH INSURANCE Blood Pressure M+F 10-12:00 Cruz Roja Sales Table M-SAT 10-12:30 Cruz Roja Monthly Meeting 1st W 2-4:00 Hearing Aids M & 2nd & 4th SAT 11-3:00 IMSS M+T 10-1:00 NYLife/Seguros Monterrey Insurance T+TH 11-2:00 Optometrist TH 9-5:30 Safe Insurance W 11-2:00 Skin Cancer 2nd & 4th W 10-12:00 Sign –up INFORMATION Ajijic Rotary Club M 10-12:00 Becerra Immigration F 10-1:00 Information Desk M-SAT 10-2:00 Loridan Legal T 10-12:00, LINK M 10-12:00 Los Ninos de Chapala /Ajijic F 10-2 US Consulate 1st W 11:30-2:00 Sign up LESSONS Children’s Art SAT 9-12:30 Country Line Dancing T+TH 10-11:30 Exercise M+W+F 9-10:00 Have Hammers Workshop M 10-12:15, F 2:30-4:30 Intermediate Hatha Yoga T+TH+SAT 2-3:30 Primitive Pottery M + F 10-1:00, SAT 12:30-3:30 Yoga Basics F 10-11:00 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AA M+TH 4-6:00 ACA Talks T 12-2:00 Beginner’s Digital Camera W 12-1:00 Bid Euchre T 10-12 Computer Linux Club F 9:30-10:30 Computer Windows Club F 10:30-11:45 Digital Camera W 10:30-12:00 Discussion Group W 12-1:30 Film Aficianados 2nd4th5th TH 2-4:30 Gamblers Anonymous W 12-1 Genealogy Last M 2-4 Great Books 1st & 3rd TH 2-4:15 Individual Counseling M-TH 3-4 Lake Chapala Green Group 1st T 3-4:30 Lakeside Friends of Animals 1st M 2-4:00 LCS Learning Seminars T 12-2:00 Mac OS 1st M 12-1:30 Mac User 3rd W 3-4:30 Mah Jonng F 10-3:00 Masonic Lodge #31 2nd & 4th W 4:30-8, 4th T 3-4:30 Music Jam F 2-3 Needle Pushers T 10-12 Neil James Lectures Dimitar 2nd & 4th TH 12-1:00 Open Circle SUN 10:30-12:15 Quilt Guild 2nd T 12-2:30 Scrabble M+F 12-2 Tournament Scrabble T 12-3 Transition Mexico 2nd M 11-1:30

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El Ojo del Lago April 2010

April 2010 Mildred Boyd

Born: April 20, 1921 in Ranger, Texas Died: February 10, 2010 in Cuenca, Ecuador Mildred Boyd began volunteering in the LCS library in January, 1985. In September, 2009, she was presented with the award for the longest serving LCS volunteer. Mildred served as Library Director, a board position at that time, for three years. Nearly twenty years ago Mildred and Jesus Lopez Vega, a professional artist who is an alumnus of the Children’s Art Program, revitalized that program since Neill James was no longer able to continue her participation. The program was started by Neill in 1956, and today, usually attracts 50 to 100 children each Saturday. Mildred gave her time, talent and love to several generations of children in Ajijic.

For example, she used her computer to make cards from the children’s art work. These cards are sold on the LCS patio in small packets and make lovely gifts in themselves for those of you who write notes. The child artist receives the profits from the sales. Many children and former children around the village remember the thrill of hearing their names read from the list by Jesus Lopez Vega and then coming forward to receive their money. For many of them, this was the first time they knew that their creativity could translate into such a concrete and useful commodity as pesos! For some, it was the start of a successful art career.

One day a few years ago, Mildred rescued an old wooden trunk from the LCS gardener’s shed. It contained about 1000 paintings done by the children of times gone by. Unfortunately, many of the paintings were badly damaged, but Mildred was able to preserve many, framing 300 for exhibition. These framed paintings are the basis for the —Historical Art Collection—that was so close to Mildred’s heart. Fifty years of the history of the village is represented in these paintings—a truly unique collection.

These paintings were exhibited twice on the LCS grounds, twice in Chapala, once at the Ajijic Cultural Center, and also in San Miguel de Allende. Her unfinished project was to find a permanent home within the Mexican community where this important collection would be displayed and honored. Judy Boyd, Mildred’s daughter, is now responsible for the conservation of this collection of about 1000 paintings.

Mildred Boyd was a person who touched many lives and left this world a better place for having been here. What more satisfying legacy can a person leave behind? A celebration of her life will be held in the LCS back gardens on her 89th birthday, April 20, 2010, at 2:00 p.m.

All her family, friends and admirers are invited to participate in this service. There is much to celebrate about Mildred Boyd’s life.

GREAT BOOKS Kenya Cardis and Fred Harland coordinate a group called Great Books, which has a limited number of participants. When one member leaves the group, then another member will be added to maintain the same number of participants.

If you are interested in joining a year around Great Books group, or interested in starting a snowbird/sunbird part time Great Books group, please contact: Fred Harland 766-1458 fmharland@gmail. com or Kenya Cardis 766-1881 georgekenya@hotmail.com.

*Due to a misprint in the directory, the Rotary ad is being reprinted here. We apologize for the mistake.

FILM AFICIONADOS Films & discussion 2nd and 4th Thursday every month in the Sala at 2pm April 8 - MACHUCA - A new film from Chile set in the political unrest of the Allende regime.

April 22 - THE EDGE OF HEAVEN - From Germany, winner of the 2007 Cannes Film festival. Brilliantly acted, multi-layered drama—film making of the first order.

April 29 - ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL - Directed by Werner Fassbinder, winner of the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. One of the better films ever made. A love story and social commentary.

P.S. For LCS members to get on the Film Aficionado e-mail list to receive notices and reviews of upcoming showings you can e-mail me at mak1939@gmail.com LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY 16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco LCS Main Office: 766-1140 www.lakechapalasociety.org Office, Information and other services open Monday – Friday, 10 to 2 and Saturday 10 to 2. Grounds are open until 5 LCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS President - Howard Feldstein Vice-President - Fred Harland Secretary - Richard Williams Sr. Director 1 - Dayle Blake Sr. Director 2 - Jack Shanks Sr. Director 3 - Wendee Hill LCS Education Director - Mary Alice Sargent Executive Director - Terry Vidal ◊ THE LCS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY. ◊ DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH PRECEDING PUBLICATION. ◊ NEWS ITEMS CAN BE EMAILED TO EEREID39@YAHOO.COM NOTE: THE EDITORIAL STAFF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO COMPLETE EDITING PRIVILEGES. ARTICLES AND/OR CALENDAR EVENTS WILL BE INCLUDED ACCORDING TO TIME, SPACE AVAILABILITY AND EDITORIAL DECISION ON THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION.

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Service

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

www.tel.chapala.com

DIRECTORY * BED & BREAKFAST

* ADVERTISING - EL OJO DEL LAGO Tel. 765-3676

* ANIMAL CLINICS/PET SHOP - ANIMAL CARE Tel: 766-3062 Pag: 61 - DEE’S PET CARE Tel: 762-1646 Pag: 71 - LAKESIDE SPAY & NEUTER CENTER, A.C. Tel: 766-0821 - PET SHOP Pag: 61 - SALUD ANIMAL Tel: 766-1009 Pag: 71

- CASA DE LAS FLORES Tel: 766-5493 - CASA DEL SOL Tel: 766-0050 - CASA TRES LEONES Cell: (045) 331-350-6764

- BETO’S WINE & LIQUOR Tel: 766-5420, Cell (045) 333-507-3024 - MODELORAMA Tel: 766-2678, 765-2055

- HUNTER DOUGLAS Tel: 766-0026

* BOUTIQUE / CLOTHING STORES - ARATI Tel. 766-0130 - CUGINIS OPUS BOUTIQUE Tel/Fax: 766-1790 - FIAGA BOUTIQUE Tel: 766-1816 - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 766-5131 - LEATHER GALLERY Tel: 766-2845

Pag: 21 Pag: 28, 67 Pag: 49 Pag: 29

Pag: 10

* CHURCHES

Pag: 46

- EASYCALL MEXICO Tel: 766-4980 - MAILBOXES, ETC. Tel: 766-0647, Fax: 766-0775 761-0363, Fax: 761-0364

Pag: 25

Pag: 78 Pag: 25 Pag: 45

Pag: 53

Pag: 50

* COMPUTING SERVICES - AJIJIC COMPUTING Tel: 765-4156 - CAFE INTERNET AJIJIC Tel: 766-3626 - COMPUTERLAND Tel: 765-7595 - NEW WORLD TECHNOLOGY Tel: 766-4343

* BEAUTY

- ALFREDOS BAZAR Tel: 766-2980 - SUZY’S CONSIGNMENT SHOP Tel: 766-5458

Pag: 13

Pag: 72 Pag: 13 Pag: 22 Pag: 39

Pag: 28 Pag: 37

- AJIJIC DENTAL Tel: 766-3682 - C.D. MARÍA LUISA LUIS VILLA Tel/Fax: 766-2428 - C.D. SANDRA ANAYA MORA Tel: 765-3502, 765-5444 - DRA. ANGELICA ALDANA LEMA DDS Tel. 765-5364 - DRA. DOLORES RUSSELL D.D.S. Tel: 766-2881, 766-0075 Cell: (045) 333-108-7727 - DR. ALBERTO DON OLIVERA Tels: 765-4838, 765-4805 - DR. FRANCISCO CONTRERAS Tel: 765-5757 - DR. HECTOR HARO, DDS. Tel: 765-3193, 765-6974

Pag: 11 Pag: 17

- DEL MAR Tel: 766-4278

Pag: 12

Pag: 07 Pag: 24 Pag: 18 Pag: 10

Pag: 73

Pag: 65

Pag: 56 Pag: 71

Pag: 26

- ARCHITECT - Arq. Francisco Zermeño Tel: (33) 3700-8329 Pag: 14 - ARTE EN RIEGO Tel: (33) 1086 6196 Pag: 27 - CABO DO MUNDO- INTERIOR DESIGN Tel: 766-0026 Pag: 09, 21 - CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING Tel: 766-3626 Pag: 13 - IRRIGATION SYSTEMS Tel. (33) 3135-3645 Pag: 46

- ARDEN MEXICO Tel: 765-3540 Pag: 42 - HEXIMAR Tel: (33) 3656-3747 Pag: 29 - INTERIOR & FURNITURE -RICARDO FERNANDEZ Tel: 766-4331 Pag: 29 - TEMPUR Tel: (52) 333-629-5919, 333-629-5961 Pag: 49

Pag: 67

El Ojo del Lago April 2010

Pag: 37

Pag: 70

* HOTELS / SUITES - HOTEL LA CASONA Tel: 01800-700-8877 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, Fax: 766-2049 - LOS CROTOS Tel: 764-0067 - MIS AMORES Tels: 766-4640, 4641, 4642 - QUINTA DON JOSE Tel: 01-800-700-2223

- TECNICOS UNIDOS Tel: (376) 765-4266

Pag: 57 Pag: 03 Pag: 62 Pag: 52 Pag: 63

Pag: 69

* ICE CREAM - BLUE BELL

Pag: 53

* INSURANCE - EDGAR CEDEÑO - MEXICO PROTECT Cell: (045) 33-3106-6982 Pag: 26 - LLOYD Tel: 766-0152, 766-3508 Pag: 25

* INTERIOR DESIGN Pag: 23

* JEWELRY - ALEX Tel: 766-3775

* FURNITURE

Pag: 70

- LAKESIDE HEARING SERVICES Cell. (045) 33-1511-4088

Pag: 63

* FUMIGATION/PESTS - FUMIGA Tel: 762-0078, (045) 33-1155-7059 - FUMI-TECH Tel: 766-1946, Cell. (045) 333-369-3737

Pag: 71

* HEARING AIDS

- ELEMENTS Tel: 766-5826

* FOOD SERVICES - SOCORRO’S PRIDE Tel: 766 1910

- MORINGA Tel: 766-0217 - WEIGHT WATCHERS Tel: 01 800 710 3378

* HOME APPLIANCES

- INTERCAM Tel: 766-5978 Pag: 21 - LAKESIDE FINANCIAL ADVISOR DAVID LESNICK CFP CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Fax: 001(623) 327-1277 Pag: 11 - LAKESIDE MORTGAGE CONSULTANTS Tel: 766-2914 Pag: 46 - MORTGAGE MONEY Tel: 766-5797 Pag: 72

- CRISANTEMO ROJO Tel: 766-4030

Pag: 55

- FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ Tel: 766-0880, Fax: 766-2440 Pag: 65

Pag: 15

* CONSTRUCTION

Pag: 27

- EL HOLE IN ONE

* HEALTH

Pag: 32

Pag: 20

* GOLF

* DENTISTS

* FLOWER SHOP

* CONSIGNMENT SHOP/ANTIQUES Pag: 22

- PAPELERIA TRINIDAD Tel: 766-2400

Pag: 67

* HARDWARE STORES

* FINANCIAL SERVICES

* COMMUNICATIONS Pag: 17

Pag: 69

766-1760 765-4444 766-5555

- GARDEN CENTER Tel: 765-5973

Pag: 28

* DRY CLEANING/LAUNDRY

Pag: 55

* BAKERY

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* CEILING FANS

* BANK INVESTMENT

- AFRODITA Tel: 766-6187 - ANGEL ESTRADA Tel: 766-4666 - HUGO´S NAILS Tel: 765-5772 - JAMES DON SALON Tel: 01 (387) 763 1933 - MARY KAY Tel: 765 7654 - SARA’S BEAUTY SALON Tel: 766-3518

Pag: 21

Pag: 47

066 765-2308, 765-2553 766-3615

* GARDENING

Pag: 54

* COPY CENTER

Pag: 70

- LAKE CHAPALA BAPTIST CHURCH Tel: 765-2925 Pag: 07, 73

* AUTOMOTIVE

- BRENDA’S BAKERY BOUTIQUE Tel: 765-2987

Pag: 72

* BLINDS AND CURTAINS

- AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Tel: 766 - 4973, Cell: (045) 33-3157- 6536 Pag: 53

- ACTINVER Tel. 766-3110 -O&A Tel: 766-3508 - MULTIVA Tel: 766-2499

Pag: 27

- VENTILADORES DEL OCCIDENTE Tel/Fax: (33) 3631-6619, 3634-9982

* AUTOMATIC DOORS

- FERNANDO’S Cell: (045) 331-323-6289 - LINEA PROFESIONAL Tel. 766-2555, Fax. 766-0066 - RON YOUNG-MECHANIC Tel: 765-6387 - SUNSET Tel: 766-0012

Pag: 54

* BEER & LIQUOR STORES

* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS - ART AT FOUR - www.lagunaartesplasticas.com Tel: 766-1360 Pag: 29 - AVIVARTES Cell: (045) 331 410 1707 Pag: 53 - AZTEC STUDIOS Pag: 61 - CATHY CHALVIGNAC Tel: 766-5381 Pag: 59 - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 766-5683 Pag: 27 - EL PALOMAR Tel: 01 (33) 3635-5247 Pag: 32 - JUAN CARLOS RICO-GARDEN ART Tel: 765-4689 Pag: 22 - MEXICAN ART & DECO Cell: 01 (33) 1437-1848 Pag: 59 - THE AJIJIC ART HOUSE Tel: 765-5097 Pag: 57

Pag: 55

- GOSO GROUP Tel. (33) 1613-7253 - PRODUCTOS ARROW Tel. 01 476 743 5884, 512 535 1561 - STUDIO SYNTHESIS Tel: 33-8421-7733 - WARWICK CONSTRUCTION Tel: 765-2224 Cell. (045) 331-135-0763

EMERGENCY HOTLINE AMBULANCE - CRUZ ROJA FIRE DEPARTMENT POLICE Ajijic Chapala La Floresta

Pag: 24

LEGAL SERVICES - MAGO’S OFFICE Tel: 765-3640

Pag: 12

* LIGHTING & DECORATION - LIGHTING & DESIGN CENTER Tel. 766-3506

Pag: 27

* MEAT/POULTRY/CHEESE - PURITAN POULTRY Tel: 765-4399 - TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069

Pag: 67 Pag: 19

* MEDICAL SERVICES - BODY SENSE CLINIC - PODIATRIST Tel: 766-6080 Pag: 63 - DERMATOLOGIST Tel: 766-1198, 765-2400 Pag: 69 - DERMIKA Dermatologic Center Dra. Monica Ramos Tel: 766-2500 Pag: 30 - INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST & GERIATRICS Dr. J. Manuel Cordova Tel: 766-2777 Pag: 09 - DRA. MARTHA R. BALLESTEROS FRANCO Cell: (045) 333-408-0951 Pag: 19 - HOSPITAL ANGELES DEL CARMEN Tel: (01) 3813-0042 Pag: 15 - HOSPITAL BERNARDETTE Tel: 01 (33) 3825-4365 Pag: 33 - ISILAB Tel: 766-1164 Pag: 37 - PINTO OPTICAS Tel: 765-7793 Pag: 35 - PLASTIC SURGERY - NFB Tel: 766-1185 Pag: 26 - RED CROSS Tel: 765-2308 - SURGERY HOST Tel: 766-3145 Pag: 54

* MALL - CENTRO LAGUNA Tel: 01 (33) 3560-2670

Pag: 79

* MOVERS - BALDERAS Tel: 01 (33) 3810-4859 - LAKE CHAPALA MOVING Tel: 766-5008 - SEYMI Tel: 01 (33) 3603-0000, 3603-0256 - STROM- WHITE MOVERS Tel: 766-4049

Pag: 08 Pag: 06 Pag: 16 Pag: 17

* PAINT - PAINTING AND MORE Tel: 766-2343

Pag: 24

* PERSONAL ASSISTANCE - JUSTUS HAUSER Tel: 763-5333, Fax: 763-5335 Emergencies: 01 (33) 3441-8223 Pag: 05 - NEWCOMERS ILSE HOFFMANN Cell: 33-3157-2541, Ilse40@megared.net.mx www.mexicoadventure.com/chapala/guadalajara.htm Tel: 01 (33) 3647-3912

Pag: 71 Pag: 18 Pag: 61 Pag: 69 Pag: 72

* PHOTOGRAPHY - MARTHA HERRERA Cell: 333-821-2378

Pag: 50

* POOL MAINTENANCE - EQUIPMENT AND POOL MAINTENANCE Tel: 766-1617 Pag: 24 - MARROCO Tel: 766-5213 Pag: 57

* REAL ESTATE - 1ST CHOICE HOMES LAKESIDE Tel: 765-2484 - AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 766-2836 - AJIJIC REAL ESTATE Tel: 766-2077, Fax: 766-2331 - ALL IN ONE REAL ESTATE SERVICE

* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT - COLDWELLBANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, movile: (045) 33-1175-9632 Pag: 64 - RENTAL LOCATERS Tel: 766-5202 Pag: 20 - ROMA Tel: 766-3163 Pag: 20 - SANTANA RENTALS Cell: 315-104-3283, 315-100-9955 Pag: 32

* REPAIRS/ MAINTENANCE - SERVICIO BELTRÁN Tel: 766-4586, 765-3949 - WATCH & CLOCKS Tel: 765 5190, Cell: (045) 33-1331-9226

Pag: 72

Pag: 72

* RESTAURANTS/CAFES/CLUBS

* PHARMACIES - FARMACIA CRISTINA Tel: 766-1501 - FARMACIA EXPRESS II Tel: 766-0656 - FARMACIA MASKARAS Tel/Fax: 765-5827 - FARMACIA MORELOS Tel: 765-4002 - FARMACIA SAN PAULO Tel: (378) 763-0506

Tel: 766-1161 Pag: 05 - BEV. & JEAN COFELL Home Tel. 766-5332 Office Tel. 765-3676 Pag: 47 - BUSINESS FOR SALE Pag: 62 - COLDWELL BANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, 766-3369 Fax: 766-2124, Tels: 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 Pag: 80 - CONTINENTAL REALTY Cell: (045) 33-1443-2143 Pag: 20 - CHULA VISTA NORTE Tel: 766-2177 Cell: (045) 33-3841-8867 Pag: 52 - EL DORADO Tel: 766-0040 Pag: 02 - EL RINCON Tel: 766-4938 Pag: 39 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 01 (33) 1568 9254 Pag: 67 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: (387) 763-1974 Pag: 59 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 766-4043 Pag: 50 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 315-355-7168 Pag: 34 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 766-5124 Pag: 26 - GEORGETTE RICHMOND Tel: 766-2129, 766-2077 Pag: 13 - LAGUNA VISTA Tel: 766-5740 Pag: 51 - LLOYD REAL ESTATE AJIJIC Tel: 766-3508 Pag: 25 - MARIA VILLANUEVA Cell: (045) 11-1305-8633 Pag: 71 - MICHEL BUREAU Cell. (045) 333-129-3322, Home: (376) 765-2973 Pag: 52 - TOM AND DIANNE BRITTON Tel. 766-5249 (home) Cell. (045) 33-1298-5722 Pag: 03

Pag: 49 Pag: 11 Pag: 03

- AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 766-2458 - CAFÉ ADELITA Tel: 766-0097 - CASA DEL WAFFLE Tel: 766-1946 - CHAC-LAN Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - CHILI BANG BAR Tel: 766-1919 - DAVID’S CAFE Tel: 766-2341 - EL BAR-CO Tel: 766-0452 - EL ESCONDITE Tel: 333-161-7918 - EL JARDIN DE NINETTE Cell: (045) 33-1410-4064 - GO LE CLUB Cell: (045) 33-3502-6555 - JOLANDAS Tel: 315-351-5449 - LA BODEGA Tel: 766-1002 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, 766-2049 - “LA TAVERNA” DEI QUATTRO MORI Tel: 766 2848 - LA VITA BELLA Cell: 33-3476-6577 - LAS CABALLERIZAS COXALA Tel: 766-0744

Pag: 60 Pag: 30

- LOS TELARES Tel: 766-0428 - MANIX Tel: 766-0061 - MOM´S DELI & RESTAURANT Tel: 765-5719 - NUMBER FOUR Tel: 766-1360 - PEDROS GOURMET Tel: 766-4747 - PEPE’S & AURORA’S Cell. (044) 33 1265 7900 - PEPITO’S Tel: 766-2060 - TABARKA Tel: 766-1588 - TOMAS Tel: 765-3897 - TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069

Pag: 47 Pag: 52 Pag: 11, 67 Pag: 23

Pag: 22

Pag: 32 Pag: 23 Pag: 19

* THERAPISTS - PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION Tel: 766-5563

Pag: 19

Pag: 63

* TOURS

Pag: 31

- CHARTER CLUB TOURS Tel: 766-1777 Pag: 09 - SUNSET Tel: 766-0012 Pag: 25 - VOLUNTEER ADVENTURES MEXICO Cell: (045) 22-8143-3243 Pag: 60

Pag: 45 Pag: 19

Pag: 06 Pag: 28

* SATELLITES/ T.V. - AJIJIC ELECTRONICS S.A. DE C.V. Tel/Fax: 766-1117, 766-3371

Pag: 40

Pag: 14

* RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES - LA CASA NOSTRA Tel: 765-4187, Fax: 765-5815 - THE BLUE HOUSE Tel: 766-1256

Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - RESPIRO SPA Tel: (045) 33-3157-7790 - SUNDANCE SPAS Tel: (33) 3613-2214 - TOTAL BODY CARE Tel: 766 3379

* TREE SERVICE - CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 762-0602

Pag: 73

* WATER - TECNO AQUA Tel: 766-3730, 766-3731

Pag: 18

Pag: 16

* SCHOOLS - INSTITUTO TERRANOVA Tel: 766-2401

Pag: 59

* SECURITY SYSTEMS / WIRE FENCES - S.O.S.E Tel: 765-4921

Pag: 73

* SELF STORAGE - SELF STORAGE-BODEGAS CHAPALA Tel: 766-0661, Tel/Fax: 766-1045 Pag: 31

* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS - ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Tel: 766-5961 - EL BAZAR DE LOS NIÑOS Tel: 765-3147 - LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY Tel: 766-1140

Pag: 73 Pag: 70 Pag: 78-81

* SPA / MASSAGE - AFRODITA Tel: 766-6187 - BODY SENSE CLINIC Tel: 766-6080 - HYDROPOOL Tel: 766-4030 - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 766-5131 - MONTE COXALA

Pag: 32 Pag: 63 Pag: 31 Pag: 49

SAW YOU IN T HE OJO

Pag: 03 Pag: 40 Pag: 25

The Ojo Crossword

Pag: 16 Pag: 34 Pag: 56 Pag: 28 Pag: 14 Pag: 46 Pag: 20 Pag: 03 Pag: 31 Pag: 40 Pag: 40

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AA- Meets daily at 10:00 am. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 pm. Marcos Castellanos 51-A. 766-5961.

ACÁ- Teaches youths, families sustainable agriculture, Joco and Jaltepec. Meet 14th of month. For more Information 387 763-1568.

A COURSE IN MIRACLES- Saturday 2:00 pm 16 Sept #34, Unit 6, 766-4882 No charge. Ongoing.

AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA 904 WING- Meeting 2nd Friday of every month in May, June, July & August. From September to April we meet the 2nd and 4th Friday. Contact Don Slimman 765 4141.

AJIJIC QUILT GUILD - Meets second Tuesday monthly. Guests & New Members Welcome. ajijicguild@gmail.com AJIJIC SCRABBLE CLUB- Tuesdays and Thursdays noon-3 pm at LCS Ken Gosh Pavilion. Dan Stark 766-0411.

AJIJIC WRITERS’ GROUP- Meets 1st and 3rd Fridays at 10 am. New Posada. Coffee. Meeting followed by lunch at the New Posada.

AXIXIC MASONIC LODGE #31- Meets 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at 5:00 pm. Contact the secretary at 763-5346 for details.

AMERICAN LEGION OF CHAPALA POST- #7 General Membership meets 11 am 2nd Thursday. Tel: 765-2259.

AMIGOS INTERNACIONALES- Every Wednesday 6 to 8 pm, Nueva Posada; informal friendly group meet to make new friends.

AMIGOS DEL LAGO A.C.- Working to improve the ecology. See www.amigosdelago.org or contact us at info@amigosdelago.org.

AMITIES FRANCOPHONES- Meets every 3rd Saturday at 1 pm contact: Roland and Camille at 766-0149. rvanhoudt@prodigy.net.mx.

ANIMAL SHELTER- Provide shelter and new homes for dogs and cats. Tel: 765-5514.

ANITA’S ANIMALS- Free loving dogs and cats. call (01 387) 761-0500. www.anitasanimals.com.

ASA- Ajijic Society of the Arts. Meets every 1st Monday of the month at Nueva Posada, 10 am.

BRIDGE AT OLD POSADA- Monday 1:15 check in. Mary Andrews 766-2489.

BRITISH SOCIETY- Lunch meeting the 1st Saturday of each month, 1pm at Manix Rest. 765-4786, chapalainn@prodigy.net.mx.

CARD & DOMINO CLUB- Wednesday, Friday & Sunday. Call for times. We will teach; make friends! Tel. 766-4253, Cell: (045) 33-1295-6485.

CANADIAN CLUB OF LAKE CHAPALA- Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, September through April. Social hour: 3:00 pm, program 4:00 pm. Visit www.canadianclub-chapala.com.

CASA DE ANCIANOS- Provides support for elderly citizens, 765-2497.

CENTRO DE DESARROLLO AJIJIC- Provides family planning and reproductive health education. 766-1679.

CHILI COOK OFF- Providing a carnival for residents raising charitable funds, 763-5038.

DAR- (Guadalajara)- Daughters of the American Revolution, meets monthly Sep. through June. Cell:333-897-0660 or Tel: (376) 766-2284.

DAR- (At Lakeside)- THOMAS PAINE CHAPTER meets every 3 Wednesday at 12:30 noon, September thru June. Tel: 766-2981 or 762-0834.

EASTERN STAR ESTRELLA DEL LAGO CHAPTER #10- 1st Wed. at 1:00 pm at Hotel Monte Carlo. 766-3785, www.oesestrelladellago.org.

E.R.I.C.- Provides support for the construction and renovation of educational buildings. 766-2866.

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS- GA Meeting held every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM in the Doctor’s office at the Lake Chapala Society Charlie K. at cell: 331-445-2136.

GARDEN GUILD- promoting the interest in the development of local gardens with an accent on the exotic species available in central Mexico.

GERMAN MEETING- 2nd Thursday, 1:00 pm. La Nueva Posada. Call Thea 765-2442 or Hannes 765-3094.

GOLDEN STRINGS OF LAKE CHAPALA, A.C.- Rehearsals at auditorio de la Floresta. Tuesday & Friday, 3-6 pm.

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS- Every Saturday at 8:30 am at La Nueva Posada.

IRISH SOCIETY OF MEXICO- Meets second Monday 4 pm at La Nueva Posada, Ajijic. Contact Brian Cronin, at 765-5071.

JUNIOR LEAGUE DE GUADALAJARA A.C.- Av. San Francisco #3332. ligagdl2@prodigy.net.mx, Guadalajara, Jal. Tel. (33) 3121-0887.

LAKE CHAPALA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB- Meets every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:15 p.m.. www.chapalabridge.com.

LAKE CHAPALA GARDEN CLUB-Promotes an interest, appreciation and better understanding of botanical subjects. 766-2637.

LAKE CHAPALA SHRINE CLUB.- Meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1 pm in the Nueva Posada. Perry King at (376) 763-5126.

LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY - LCS- 16 de Sep. # 16-A Ajijic, Open Monday - Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. www.lakechapalasociety.org. 766-1140.

LAKESIDE COMMUNITY AWARDS- We benefit all the community by honoring lakeside’s most talented. 766-3232.

LAKESIDE FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS - Board meets last Monday every month. Contact Ellie McEvoy at 765-2523 or John Marshall at 766-1170.

LAKESIDE LAUGHTER CLUB- Bilingual group promoting well-being through Laughter Yoga. Wed. 5 PM on beach behind Nueva Posada.

Charlene 766-0884, Patricia 765-2449 LAKESIDE LITTLE THEATRE A.C.- Balanced theatrical entertainment, English-speaking, 765-5942.

LAKESIDE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF- The 4th of each month. Nueva Posada 10:30 am. Call 766-2280, www.lakesideschoolforthedeaf.org.

LAKESIDE WILDLIFE RESCUE & REHABILITATION- Rescue & rehabilitation of wild animals. 765-4916.

LAKE SPAY AND NEUTER CENTR A.C.- Provides shelter and helps curtail the over-population of animals. 766-3813.

LCS EDUCATION CENTER- Provides classes in language and other topics for both Anglo and Mexican community. 766-0499.

LCS STUDENT AID FUND- Provides financial support to area students to enroll in university, vocational and high school program. 766-0716.

LINK- Assisting foreign community. Desk at Lake Chapala Society-Monday, 10 am-noon.

LITTLE BLUE SCHOOLHOUSE- Provides financial assistance for students at school for disabled children in Chapala 766-1552.

LOS NINOS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC, AC Providing educational scholarships to Lakeside children 376-766-1688, www.lakesideninos.org.

LOVE IN ACTION- Shelter for abused and abandoned children. For volunteers and donations. Anabel Frutos 765-7409, cell: 331-351 7826.

MAS- Music Appreciation Society. Concerts from fall to spring. Classical music and dance concerts. For info call Beverly Denton, 765-6409.

MISION SAN PABLO- Helping 60 orphaned children ages 2-14 yrs, Bonnie Shrall - Bonnie@shrall.com #766-0009. www.misionsanpablo.org.

NAVY LEAGUE, LAKE CHAPALA COUNCIL- Meets the third Saturday for lunch at 1 pm, Manix Rest. 766 4750 or 766-1848.

NEEDLE PUSHERS- Sew dresses, knit or chet sweaters for local kids. Every Tues. 10 am at LCS. Call Gay at 766-2902.

NIÑOS Y JOVENES CARAVAN- Delivers foodstuffs and used clothing to orphanage in San Juan. Call Reuben Varela, 01-387-761-0828.

OPEN CIRCLE- Fostering body, mind & spirit, every Sunday at the LCS from 10 am to 12 noon. 765-3402 or frankdburton@yahoo.com.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS- Every Tuesday & Friday 12 pm at Marcos Castellanos 51-A, in Upper Ajijic. Tel: 766-2575 or 766-1626.

PROGRAMA PRO NIÑOS INCAPACITADOS DEL LAGO AC.- Assisting Lakeside disabled children www.programaninos.org , 763-5010.

PASOS MILAGROSOS (MIRACULOUS STEPS.)- Helping Handicapped Children Through the Magic of Horses. Saturdays 8-2. www. pasosmilagrosos.com RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS- Meets 1st Wednesday at 2:00 pm at the Sala LCS. New members welcome.

ROTARY CLUB OF AJIJIC- Meets every Tuesday at 1:00 pm at Hotel Real de Chapala. Contact at 766-3302.

SCIENCE OF MIND STUDY GROUP- Discussion group every Tuesday at 10 AM Lake Chapala Center for Spiritual Living at Nicolas Bravo #17 Ajijic; contact Rev. Tim at 766-0920 or tim@revdoctim.com.

THE GENEALOGY FORUM- Meets monthly on the fourth Monday in the Sala at LCS, from 2:00 to 3:45.

UVA - University/Vocational Assistance (Little Chapel by the Lake a.c.)- Sue Torres, 766-2932 or Lynn Hanson 766-2660.

VILLA INFANTIL ORPHANAGE- Provides financial support for children. 766-3396. www.friendsofvillainfantil.org VIVA LA MUSICA - Bus trips to the symphony, summer concert series, call Rosemay Keeling 766-1801. www.ajijicviva.org.

VOLUNTEER HEALTH RESOURCE GROUP- Meeting last Saturday of each month at LCS in sala, 10:30.

VOLUNTEERS OF THE CRUZ ROJA- Sponsors fund raising events and provides administrative and support services to the Delegation.

(NOTE: If there is any change in the above, please advise us so that corrections may be made. Call: 765-2877)

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All Saints Lutheran Church Worship Service 11:00 am 4600 Avenida Tepeyac, Guad.

Tel. (01 333) 121-6741.

Abundant Life Assembly of God Carr. 140 next to Mail Boxes etc, Tel: 766-5615.

Center For Spiritual Living Celebration Service, 5pm Fridays, Nicolas Bravo #17 Ajijic. 766-9020 or tim@ revdoctim.com.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Services in English and Spanish, 10 am, Riberas del Pilar Bishop Wyvell Tel. (376) 765-7067, Bishop’s residence (376) 766-1532.

Church of the Holy Spirit Services Sun. 10 am, Albaro Obregon #119, Chapala Tel. (376) 765-4210.

Grace Baptist Church 5th Sun. Evening service 6 pm, Pedro Buzeta No. 970, Guad. Tel. (013) 641-1685.

Lake Chapala Baptist Church Mid-week service, 9:30 am, worship service, 10:45 am. Santa Margarita #147, Riberas del Pilar, Tel. (376) 7652925, 765-3329. www.lakechapalabaptist.com.

7th Day Adventist meet at Madeira 12 in Rancho del Oro, 9:15 am to Noon.

Potluck follows. 765-2165.

Little Chapel by the Lake Sun. services 11 am, Chula Vista,. Jal, Tel. (376) 763-1551.

Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation Santa Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar, Tel: 765-6968. For information and service times, please call Pres. Elliot Gould. contact us@lakechapalajews. com. Web site: www. lakechapalajews. com.

Lakeside Fellowship Sun. worship 11 am, Javier Mina #49 Ajijic, Tel. (376) 766-0795.

Saint Andrew´s Anglican Church Calle San. Lucas 19, Riberas del Pilar, Sunday 2 services, 9 am & 11 am. www.standrewsriberas.com San Andres Catholic Church Services 9:00 am. Ajijic, 766-0922.

St. John’s Catholic Church Between Av. Vallarta & Av. Lazaro Cardenas, Guad. Sun. 11am. (013) 121-8131.

The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center behind Mateos in Riberas del Pilar (Santa Margarita 113). For additional information call Steve at 766-5507 or email: trudycrippen@gmail.com. Check out our website at www.lcuuf.org.

CARS

WANTED: Want to buy your Vehicle, price 3000 USD. Contact: Lorraine Kulig.

FOR SALE: Luxury car for a small price. Mexican plates still insured. No accident, few scratches on paint, but motor, transmission, interior, tires, all A1. $115,000 pesos Contact: Paul Aaa FOR SALE: Hayabusa gsx 1300 r, Canadian plates, easily legalizable. Motor and everything like new, paint ok, excellent bike, still insured. Original papers. Great Motorcycle. $65,000 pesos. Contact: Paul Aaa FOR SALE: 1988 Chevy Super Van, 45220 original miles, has US plates. Very excellent condition. $10,000 USD OBO call Alfred at (376)765-6462 FOR SALE: Beatiful pointer wagon 2001 $43,000 pesos. 766 02 17 Office, 766 43 82 HOME FOR SALE: 2002 Ford Mustang, 6cyl/3.8 engine, excellent condition, recent tune up, new shocks, rebuilt A/C, new battery, belts & hoses 120,000 hwy miles S.D. plates.$4,900 USD. Call cell. (045) 331194-4783 FOR SALE: Cargo Trailer. American nighthawk, 18’ Trailer. Perfect for Furniture Moving. Sell $4500.00 with Total Hitch Assembly. Contact: Robert Tierney.

FOR SALE: Cargo trailer, capacity 2500 obs, brand new spare tire, 2” ball point hitch, with hitch jack, $25,000 pesos. Call Peter Dymacek, phone 376-766-5577.

FOR SALE: Sub compact, 4 door, great millage, easy to park, Mexican plated, immaculate condition. $59,800 pesos.

Contact: Ceri Dando.

FOR SALE: TOYOTA RAV4-1996BLUE-Standard. Wisconsin US plates, Brand new tires and suspensions. $4000 USD. Contact: Alain Figadere FOR SALE: 21 ft motorhome class c. AAA condition.Located in Riberas S.D.plates. $7800 USD. Call: Adolf Abercrombie at 376-76-53796 FOR SALE: Chrysler Town & Country LXI 7 passenger van, fully loaded, leather, only 54,000 miles. $9950 USD 763-5015 or us phone 360-384-0919 FOR SALE: 1993 Mercury Villager (same as Quest, complete power train is Nissan), 7 passenger van, A/C blows cold, non-smoking, one owner, original paint $4950 USD 763-5015 or us phone 360384-0919 WANTED: Looking for us car, maybe 2004 on must be us plated. In good or even better condition. Price to be reasonable.

Contact: Frank Raimo WANTED: Want Car with Texas plates, since I am FM 3 and no problem, Must be automatic and in good condition. Price adjustable. Contact: Frank Raimo FOR SALE: 1983 CLASSIC MERCEDES 4 DOOR. Air Conditioner, AM/FM Stereo, Automatic Transmission, Leather Interior, Sun Roof, Power Windows, Steering, Locks, near immaculate condition, Price $5,500. USD or $67,925 pesos, Call: Heinz Stapff at 765-3587 WANTED: Right rear lamp assembly for 1988 Caravelle. Contact: Frank Raimo FOR SALE: 1997 Pontiac Bonivile. Engine runs good. Mirrors gone. Dings and dents. Needs paint job. Air-conditioner and right side passenger window needs fixing.

Price $4000 USD. Call: Heinz Stapff at 765-3587.

ELECTRONICS

FOR SALE: PCIMCIA /1394 Firewire card. This card allows you to download data, pictures and/or video from your laptop to your computer. $250 OBO. Call: David at (376) 763-5248 FOR SALE: PCIMCIA Ethernet card.

If your notebook or laptop isn’t set up for wired Internet, you can use this card to connect to a DSL line. $250 pesos OBO. Call: David at (376) 763-5248 FOR SALE: Transfer your VHS tapes to your computer Hard Drive and never lose them. Simple to use and all software included. $250 Pesos. Call: David at (376) 763-5248 WANTED: Looking for used laptop $2,000 pesos. 766- 0217, 766- 4382 FOR SALE: HP Deskjet D2560 with new spare HP60 Tricolor Ink Cartridge.

Printer has only been used a short while.

Like new in original box. $750 Pesos. Contact: Gus McInnis FOR SALE: RAM 256, 512 chips, PC133 and DDR. Contact: Spencer McMullen FOR SALE: SONY VAIO w/Wireless.

15” SCREEN; Legit XP Home W/SP2; wireless; CD-RW/DVD player; Two Firewire port; 2 PCMCIA slots; all OEM system recovery disks; plus more. $200 USD or pesos FIRM. Call: David at (376)763-5248 FOR SALE: MagicJack plugs into a USB port in your computer. Get free unlimited long distance for one year to the USA and Canada. $750 pesos one year of service. Renewal is $250 pesos a year. Call: Joe Slaiman at 765-2326.

FOR SALE: Wireless Receiver. LagunaNet wireless receiver complete with antenna and cable. Price $200 USD. Excellent condition. Contact: Heather Leonard

PETS & SUPPLIES

FOR SALE: Adopt A Female Yorkie Pup. She takes to commands and would easily get adapted as she is good with kids and other animals. Get to us for more details (kmarieinlove@yahoo.com).

FOR SALE: Free to a good home.

We have to give up our beautiful dog. It is friendly and wants attention. Great with kids. Contact: Myles Beckley WANTED: Large Kennel. Door not necessary. Contact: Betty Rogers WANTED: Small travel dog cage for chihuahua. Contact: Ruth Collette FOR SALE: Jack Russell Puppies.

Darling, playful, loveable female pups.

Brown/White short haired. They are used to living with other dogs and cats. Desperately need good home. $125.00. Call: Bobbie Rush at (376) 765-7226.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE

FOR SALE: Charming Loveseat for two in light blue with small floral pattern.

34” X 64”. It is clean and gentle used. $50 US. 766-5592 call me.

FOR SALE: Big Tex 4’ x 8’ Utility trailer, single axle with ramp. $800 USD. 7665873 FOR SALE: 11’10” one person kayak with spray skirt, new rails and footpegs, paddle and life preserver. $450.00 USD. 766-5873 FOR SALE: Mitsui 14” Color TV. Year old, Perfect condition with Remote. First come first served, $600 Pesos. Contact: Heinz Stapff

FOR SALE: One steel frame window, 126 x 126. Two steel railings, one 260 x 110 high, one 160 x 110. One steel door, approximately 75 x 210 with frame. Call Tom, 766-0562, early mornings or ttutinkcss@hotmail.com FOR SALE: Bathroom fixtures. Three wall mount vanity sinks with faucets. Three toilets, bowls and tanks. One steel frame window, 126 x 126, half operates with glass louvers. Two steel railings, Call Tom, 7660562, or ttutinkcss@hotmail.com WANTED: Need furniture for 2 bedroom house. I already have a fridge and stove. Contact: Ron Torgerson.

FOR SALE: White Brand heavy duty machine with surge, with portable case.

Approx 10yrs old. Asking $1000 pesos.

Contact: Dusty Ward.

FOR SALE: Starchoice receiver and elliptical dish for sale $200US. Also 2-900Mhz telephones $20US and $30US. (376) 763-5015 FOR SALE: Lathe, like new. Call Alfred at (376)765-6462 FOR SALE: Gently used, light tan Boal sofa hide-a-bed. Full size mattress. Sofa measures 78 inches long by 37 inches deep. $3000 pesos OBO. Call: Marian Wellman at (376) 765-5273 FOR SALE: Star choice receiver DSR305 (not HD) complete with remote, power source, cables for hook-up to TV and manual. $450 pesos. 766-4105 WANTED: Buy Mexican queen size bed frame, box spring, mattress, bedding.

Wanted to buy bedroom dressers, 100 to 150 cm wide. Tom, 766-0562 FOR SALE: Watch your television provider, ie dish, starchoice, with your brand new slingbox on your television or other devices. This sling box can be used in place of multiple receivers. $75 USD or Offer. Call: Blake Edwards at 331-042-4832 FOR SALE: Best Way Comfort Quest multifunctional inflatable double couch/ lounger with side winder air pump, inflated only once, in original box. $800 pesos.

Contact: Gus McInnis FOR SALE: Duel Source Speaker Selector. Almost new in box, manual, Russound SDB-4.1 Dual Source 4 Pair Speaker Selector. W/ Zone volume controls / impedance matching. $55USD. Contact: Steven Miller FOR SALE: large furniture for dinning room, size 2.75 by 0.50 metters, need paint, I can deliver it. $1,000 Contact: Nancy Mendoza BEST OFFER FOR: A brand new logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. Call: Blake Edwards at (045) 331-042-4832 FOR SALE: 1,000 liter propane gas tank. Less fill ups. $1,500 pesos. Call Dan 766-2866.

FOR SALE: Solar hot water system.

Brand-new, in-the-box 180 ltrs solar hot water system. New $6999 pesos, sell 4900 pesos. 766-5734 FOR SALE: Women professional snorkel equipment. Tempered glass M18 googles with case, large size fins. $500 pesos. Contact ilse40@megared.net.mx Tel. (33) 3647-3912 FOR SALE: 2- Natural plywood cabinets for display and storage. Bottom half has three separate compartments for storage with doors, and top half has three display shelves. Great condition. $1500 pesos ea. Contact: James Bily

WANTED: Bread maker machine.

Preferably smaller loaf sz new or like new & with recipe/use manual. Contact: Sherry Hudson.

WANTED: Looking for used/new pinball machine and billiards table. Email with details of condition, name brand, price and your phone number. Contact: Monica WANTED: Generator 3500 watts or more Heater, portable room heater. Mixer wanted. Standing or hand held. Excellent condition. Call: Rubi Diamond 766-2524, leave message if necessary.

FOR SALE: Rarely used GE 3 cycle gas dryer. $1995 pesos. Call between 7-9 AM & 5-8PM, (376)765-6505 FOR SALE: 2007 “Airframes Unlimited” (Texas) Powered Parachute (PPC) complete with 2 seater trike, re-built 503 Rotax engine, Elan 500 SX Chute, and a 8’ X 10’ Utility Trailer transporter. $7,000 USD. Call Jim at 766-3785 WANTED: I need a GOOD 2 or 4 drawer file cabinet. Must have rollers and not be a cheap piece of do-do. Prefer metal or heavy wood. Call: David at (376) 7635248 FOR SALE: Rustico style heavy pine living room set 3 seater sofa, loveseat, armchair. Green stripe on beige in like-new condition. Priced to move at 3800p or $300 USD FIRM . Contact: Sherry Hudson FOR SALE: Moving to furnished apt, so selling contents of 1BR apt. Includes fridge, stove, micro, settees, tables, TV, double bed, etc. All in used but good shape. Load & pickup yourself in Jocotepec & take 10% off all prices. Contact: John Haskett FOR SALE: New and Used Floor Tiles.

Reasonable. Call. 766-2164 FOR SALE: One New folding table 24”X 6’ = $70USD. 3ea. New folding tables 24”X 8’ = $90 USD. Call: James Bily at 766-3212 FOR SALE: Sony speakers from bookshelf stereo system, 13h X 9w X 11d. $500, Call: Karen at 331-364-2195 WANTED: Looking for gently used recliner, reasonably priced. No plaid. Call: Karen at 331-364-2195 FOR SALE: Queen size duvet/cover, shams and bed skirt in rust/gold/green.

Excellent condition. $450, Call: Karen at 331-364-2195 FOR SALE: Double espresso and steam outputs comes complete with manuals and electric coffee grinder, restaurant quality.. Price $3,000 USD or $37,080 pesos. Call: Heinz Stapff at 765-3587 FOR SALE: Heavy duty wrought iron drapery rod with decorative ends on rod.

Usable rod length 65” to 72”. Decorative end pieces and a further 9” for one piece or 18” for the 2. Price $ 38.- USD. Call: Yolanda Mc Gaughey at 765-7280 FOR SALE: Two sets of luxurious satin finish fully lined pinch pleated drapes.

Thick lining will keep light out for good night’s sleep. One pair: 66” wide & 9 ft. In length $28.- second pair: 41” w & 80” long. $ 18.- Contact: Yolanda Mc Gaughey at 765-7280 FOR SALE: Dining Table and 6 Chairs $5,000 pesos or best offer, call 766-3103 or email arjay333@gmail.com

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