Editorial Page

COLUMNIST Editor’s Page

By Victoria Schmidt

We cannot move!

Last Monday I took a cab from the corner of Farmacia Guadalajara in Ajijic, to my

doctor’s office in Riberas. Traffic was crawling in each direction bumper-tobumper. Usually, it opens up around the horrible and dangerous intersection at Walmart. But it did not. Both sides of the street were clogged as we went east toward Chapala. It was still clogged past Super Lake, and Paninos. It didn’t start moving until a block before San Antonio Hospital. The return trip was not much better. Cabs and ubers are taking lateral roads, and back roads through town, but still, they must at some point reach the Carretera. At Lakeside we have grown used to tianguis traffic, and the weekend invasion of the Guadalajara visitors to their Lakeside homes. The high season brings back more people and more traffic, but it is now the clogged season.

There are simply too many people on the road. Too many two-car households. Too few using the ciclopista which helped to narrow the road and cause parking and driving problems. Too many motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. It’s getting dangerous out there.

The stop lights don’t work, and it can take weeks or months to fix them. Why? The infrastructure in this area was not made to handle the population. And yet developers keep on coming.

The only thing “Magic” about Ajijic is if you can make it from one end to the other in under an hour. “Rush hour” traffic doesn’t exist. t’s “Rush day.” All day. Pedestrians are making it safely across the streets, but where there are stop lights, drivers do not wait before entering the intersection. The streetlights turn green, but traffic is still at a stand - still because there are cars still sitting in the middle of the intersection. Don’t do that! It blocks traffic both ways…those waiting to enter cannot. I have sat through two maybe three turns of the traffic light before I can get through to make my turn onto the street. That’s not right. We are all smart enough to know we need to wait for a car length to open up before we cross into the intersection when the traffic is bumper-tobumper.

And the horns. Please. When the line is kilometers long beeping your horn isn’t going to move the traffic.

So now desperate drivers are taking matters into their own hands. When the opposite lane seems free they will drive as far ahead as they can and either try to re-enter the traffic lane or turn off the road at a street. Or people are driving the parking areas as far as they can to get onto the Carretera. Especially in Riberas. As the locals say, muy peligroso, very dangerous.

Of course, all the use of the alternate roads isn’t helping to keep them in shape. Holes are getting larger and deeper. And the residents are not happy about the diverted traffic.

And yet the developers keep coming. They destroy the beauty that was our area by developing the hills. Their trucks ruin the road, their wells dig down into the hills, their development diverts the natural path of the water during the rainy season, and when we experience huge tormentos, about one every 10-15 years, landslides not only damage the hills, and run into and across the Carretera, but they take with them the homes of those who live on the mountain and hills. Hundreds of homes were damaged this year, thankfully no one was killed by the storm itself, but many people had no choice to remain in the wet homes while they tried to repair the damage and grew desperately ill.

What can be done? First of all, we need to take responsibility for our part of the problem. Drive only when necessary. Limit the amount of driving. Limit the number of vehicles we own, use alternative transportation when we can. Carpool, and obey the traffic laws. We need to let our public liaisons know that they need to figure a way out of the problems with the traffic. What are our government officials doing about it? Can’t they change the lights more swiftly when they go out? Can’t they put traffic police out into the intersections that get clogged up? Can a traffic task force be put together to identify the areas with the most problems and address them for more solutions?

We moved here 16 years ago, before Walmart and Centro Laguna. Before more developments were built. And at least for me, Ajijic has lost its “magic.” Victoria Schmidt

An Exclusive Tequila Tour Like No Other

Submitted by Carole Baker Assistant Community Facilitator for Jaltepec.

Centro Educativo Jaltepec, the only institution in Mexico to grant a Technical Degree in Hoteleria and Hospitalidad is introducing a fundraising venture that will continue to help us support the students of Jaltepec. These young Mexican women will benefit from an education that will guide them towards their future success and TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES.

This will not be your usual tequila tour! It is NOT a tour to the town of Tequila. The Rancho Tequila Reserva de los González is located in the red highlands of Jalisco northeast of Ajijic, and southeast from Guadalajara near the town of Atotonilco el Alto. It is a unique opportunity to enjoy a private excursion to a family owned Tequilera and Hacienda. The Tequila Reserva de los González has never been open to the public. They have provided their exclusive facilities to help us raise money to benefit the students at Centro Educativo Jaltepec.

At present we are offering these dates:

Thursday December 16th and Saturday January 15th .

The February and March dates are to be announced at a later time.

The all-inclusive event costs $3500 pesos which includes transportation in a clean, modern, luxury 16 seat van limited to 10 guests in each vehicle, with a maximum of 3 vans for departure once a month. There will be a tour of the facilities, a delicious four course catered lunch with wine and refreshments, a full linen service and elegant table settings, and, most certainly, a tequila tasting experience!

All COVID protocols will be followed, and the transportation company offers insurance for the travelers during the trip. For your personal well-being during COVID, those who wish can put together a Pod of ten friends they feel comfortable with. The tour leaves from the Centro Laguna Mall at 9:30 AM with check in at 9:15 AM, and Linda Buckthorp, our Community Facilitator for Jaltepec, will be there to greet you and, following COVID protocols, do a temperature check, apply hand gel, and take your tickets before boarding and escorting you onto the van. This is a wonderful opportunity for yourselves and friends or family who may be visiting you to have a “not your usual tequila tour!”

Sandra González, Administrative Coordinator and Montserrat (Montse) González, our Fundraising Coordinator, will personally receive our guests upon arrival at the Tequilera. The tour will be hosted by Juan Manuel González García, son of Don Julio González, the original founder of the business in 1942, and a partner in the Tequila Reserva de los González and Club Tequila Colección Privada founded in 2009. It will be a very exclusive and special opportunity to visit the facilities.

The tour of the plant will include an explanation and demonstration of the process of making tequila. In addition, Juan Manuel will share the legacy and pictures of his father, Don Julio, which are displayed in the Tequilera. Some of the private cellars will be opened for the guests so you can see how they look inside. He will also be accompanied by his daughter, Montse.

Following the tour of the Tequilera, the tequila tasting event is a highlight before lunch, when our host will explain the special characteristics of each type of tequila. You will be served fruit, ‘totopos’ and guacamole to accompany the tequila tasting.

Another treat is a local lady whose job it is to ‘tortear’ which means to make fresh tortillas, quesadillas and ‘sopes’ with fresh ground corn or ‘masa’ grown in the red soil of the highlands, which gives the masa an extra special taste. The cheese is also a specialty of the area which adds to the flavor of the quesadillas. They are the most amazing tortillas that you will ever taste! The delicious catered lunch, with refreshments and desserts will be impeccably served inside the spacious facilities with a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape.

Tequila Reserva de los González has hosted two previous tours in October and November. All the guests expressed their appreciation and mentioned that they were very honored to be at the Tequilera and that the service had been to their complete satisfaction.

It is sure to be a unique and unforgettable experience.

Please contact: Linda Buckthorp: buckthorplm@gmail.com phone 33 3407 8193

Juan Manuel and Montse.

Book Review by Herbert W. Piekow

Most of us know Michael Hogan as a writer of history, philosophy and as a teacher; particularly we know him as the author of the bestselling, Irish Soldiers of Mexico, which was the basis of an MGM movie as well as

three documentaries. He is also a scholar, teacher and author of more than 23 books.

His latest published book about women of the Irish Rising is well researched, educational and a delight to read. “Women of the Irish Rising, engages the mind, lifts the spirit and moves the heart.” These are the words of Robert Di Yanni, Professor of Humanities, New York University. After reading Hogan’s book I can only agree by encouraging you to read this book yourself. In his book the reader learns not only about the Irish fight for free determination after four hundred years of British subjugation, but we do so through the brave actions of women, not all of whom were Irish by birth. Women share the stage with men through journals, letters, interviews, newspaper reports of The Rising and photographs. Almost everyone has read about the 1916 Easter Rebellion, as we studied this in school. Hogan reminds his audience that Europe was at war and the British were stretched thin ruling a vast overseas empire and fighting a European war. He shows his readers how the Germans helped the Irish cause by supplying arms, munitions and explosives.

As a student of history I particularly appreciated Hogan’s use of the newspaper, photographs and personal stories. In Women of the Irish Rising, the reader gets intimate knowledge of some of the women who organized and fought alongside their male counterparts, even though some of the men only reluctantly acknowledged the women for their zeal, knowledge and bravery. Countess Constance Markiewicz, who at six feet two inches is a larger than life character who was not only a leader in the Irish Citizen Army, but she was an educated landowner, a sharpshooter, explosives expert, wounded veteran and elected Member of the British Parliament.

Hogan has written this not as a history book nor as a novel, but as a book about strong, mostly unknown people, in this case Irish women, who believed in an ideal and were willing to sacrifice, even their lives, to affect a change. Yes, the women in this book are not just idealists, they are also in history at the right time and they are brave, strong intelligent people. They appear at a time in history when there is better communication, expanding education opportunities and a European War to help their cause. The Women of the Irish Rising were willing to sacrifice to affect change and yes, sometimes this meant violence. This was an era of exposé, violence and social change throughout the world, in the Congo, Mexico, Russia, China and Europe. Yes, the characters in Hogan´s book are mostly women but without them there probably wouldn´t have been a successful Irish Independence Movement, instead most likely a sort of IrishBritish co-existence. As it was the women who, in many instances led or at least educated the men, and certainly trained many how to fire rifles, plant and detonate explosives and to use the media. Countess Constance Markiewicz, a lieutenant in the Irish Volunteers was

a wealthy noblewoman who used her position and impressive six feet two inches of height to her advantage. She not only supported the Irish movement, but she supplied arms, ammunition and, as a sharpshooter, she trained Irish boys and men.

Rosa Hachet kept a detailed account of her activities in her journal. She was co-founder of The Irish Women Workers Union and a member of the Irish Citizens Army, a trained medic and she secretly transported arms, no easy feat when British soldiers constantly stopped, searched and arrested men, boys, young girls and women. Yet, Rosa like so many were willing to risk their dignity and lives for a cause they deemed greater than themselves. Margaret Keogh, the First Martyr of The Rising, in her nurse’s uniform was shot by the British while aiding the wounded. Her death helped galvanize the millions of US people of Irish descent because she was the niece of Captain Myles Keogh of the US Seventh Cavalry who had died with General Custer at Little Big Horn. Hogan’s research includes the firsthand accounts of the Woman Warrior, Margaret Skinnider, who in her book, Doing my Bit for Ireland, describes her learning how to plant incendiary and explosive devices. She was also a commander of a sniper team which concentrated on eliminating British machine gun emplacements and she was shot three different times. Margaret Skinnider, a sharpshooter, declared in her book, “every shot we fired was a declaration to the world that Ireland, a small country but large in our hearts, was demanding her independence.” This book is more like a firsthand report on the Irish struggle and nothing like a history book.

There was not universal support from the populace as 140,000 Irishmen in British uniforms were fighting the Germans on the Continent and there was the fear that because of the Easter Rebellion more young Irish men would be conscripted to the British forces. The first radio broadcast, “in history” occurred because the British troops destroyed the telephone and telegraph lines from Dublin and at the same time this broadcast created a media conflict because it contradicted the front page of the New York Times front page story that had been supplied by officials of the British. Hogan’s book is well researched, documented with quotes, enhanced with photos, is an easy read, and at the same time it is both educational and entertaining. Women of the Irish Rising; a People’s History is available through Amazon or, at any of his public appearances such as LCS Open Circle on December 19th and at Diane Pearl’s.

Herbert W. Piekow

Why This Lakeside Curmudgeon Still Loves The Holiday Season

By Don Beaudreau wbeaudreau@aol.com

Happy Holiday to one and all, however you might celebrate it! Whatever your religious tradition (or lack of one), cultural influence, philosophical belief, or life experience. Whatever your sorrow, frustration, fear, confusion, or anger. Whatever your joy, expectation, excitement, amazement, or astonishment.

It is a season so very rich in images, memories, hopes and emotions. For some of us, it is overwhelming. Too much of a good thing, or too little of a good thing. What I have learned is to let go of my expectations or desires. Or at least to try to let go of them. To go with the flow, be centered, and not control others. You know, all that “stuff” you read about in trendy articles on the internet.

But it is not so easy to do that, especially for a curmudgeon like me!

It seems that the more some of us try to go with the flow, the more we blow! We explode our emotions all over the place. Memories (sweet or upsetting) come back to us. Or we create fearful expectations about the future.

Nevertheless, I love this season because its symbols speak of hope and possibility, even for this self-professed curmudgeon. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Angels

I believe there are angels among us all the time.

But what exactly is an angel?

Here is how I suggest we can tell if we bump into one:

Angels deny they are angels.

They don’t all have wings or halos or smiles – those are only the ones who l ike to dress up.

Angels don’t expect anything in return for services rendered.

They don’t always tell us what we want to hear.

Oh, yes, every once in a while, we think we hear their voice;

And every once in a while, we think we see them!

Angels aren’t all called Michael or Gabriel.

We might even be angels and not realize it.

Yes, angels are here among us,

Giving us gifts beyond measure:

Gifts of humor when we think the sun will never shine again;

Passion when we believe we are unlovable;

Inspiration when our life force wanes;

Confidentiality when we can’t tell anyone else our secrets;

Forgiveness when we so sorely need it;

Advice when we don’t know which direction to turn;

Frankness when we try to tell less than the truth about who we really are;

And the gift of just being there when we are so very alone.

You see, the angels are people who care about us.

This is their message as they sing over the Bethlehem infant,

Hover at the bedsides of those who suffer greatly,

Walk hand-in-hand with those whose lives this year have been very tough,

And who are there as a source of strength and understanding when life doesn’t seem to make any sense.

Yes, angels are real, and they can bring joy to us every day of the year if only we let them into our lives.

Truly, the angels are among us!

The Star

Beyond human imagining, In a place and at a time we will never know, A star exploded – Sparking a fire that lit up the sky, That lit up stars and planets in other places At other times from our own. And the earth, too, was bedazzled after a while. This little spinning orb lost in space encountered this great light! All the while “time” or what we call “time” Continued with human events, great and small, Each having its own brief period then dying with the light.

This great light was the same light Homer saw

An untold number of millennia after the star blew apart.

And 3,000 years after Homer, that light shining over the Bethlehem manger was only half as bright,

And now 5,000 years after Homer, we moderns no longer see the light –

It burns somewhere else!

The same light creating more legends for others “out there”

Or so we can suppose, but what do we know?

How can we possibly conceive of the inconceivable?

Mortals we are, no matter how some might claim

Their own divinity!

So here is a suggestion As we end one year and start a new one: Perhaps better than our claiming too little or too much About our status in this blow-apart firmament, But knowing that we do not know, Might we live in hope that we are not lost in space?

From page 14

For how can we be? We have each other –

And is that not sufficient light?

Are we not stardust ourselves?

Each of us, a light shining on the other;

Each of us bringing the other out of darkness.

Home

Home is where… The fill-in-the-blank is: heart, love, dog. “It is where they have to take you in,” said Dad. But who is “they”? And where is that “place”? For the homeless? The imprisoned? The hospitalized? The marginalized? Where is home when our mind can never be retrieved? Home: more than wood and stone; More than a fixed, comfortable address. And so we fill in the blanks in a myriad of ways: Home is where the familiar things are; The memories not limited by time or place; Home is where the deep part of us resides, behind the persona, the mask, It is where the life force itself calls to us undefiled by circumstance — Pure and hopeful, advocating that we find home In dancing with the entire universe.

Gifts

Let us remember those we have loved and lost,

And affirm with all who are with us now in life or spirit,

That through it all – the good and the not-so-good –

We have many gifts for which to be thankful:

For we are here in the first place, we have survived!

We have friends and family, breath and energy, appetite and thirst.

We are in a place of comfort and safety,

And have seen sunrises and sunsets,

And the faces of children, so wondrous about life.

We have heard birdsong and Bach and the wind whispering through pines.

We have touched the hand of our beloved, felt the softness of a fine downy quilt, and the grittiness of sand sifting through our toes.

We have smelled the fragrance of new mint and fine perfume, and the saltiness of the ocean.

We have tasted strawberries just off the vine, honey on the comb, and a well-seasoned wine.

And on occasion, we have really communicated with another human being,

And have been loved and have loved in return.

We have dreamed dreams, felt deep emotion, and sometimes found a peaceful sense about who we are.

Yes, through it all – the good and the not-so-good

Let us rejoice for these gifts of the human spirit.

Don Beaudreau is a local writer whose books are available on AMAZON BOOKS in Kindle and paperback editions. His latest book, Cleopatra in Cat Skin (And Other Lessons from the Critters) weaves together a rich tapestry of his adventures with animals around the world.