El Ojo del Lago - January 2016

Saw you in the Ojo

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Saw you in the Ojo

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PUBLISHER

Richard Tingen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alejandro Grattan-DomĂ­nguez Tel: (01376) 765 3676, 765 2877 Fax: (01376) 765 3528 Associate Publisher David Tingen Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Sandra Hernandez Special Events Editor Sandy Olson Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editor Mark Sconce Theater Critic Michael Warren Art Critic Rob Mohr Roving Correspondent Dr. Lorin Swinehart Sales Manager Bruce Fraser 2IÂżFH 6HFUHWDU\ Rocio Madrigal ADVERTISING OFFICE Av. Hidalgo # 223, Chapala Mon. thru Fri. 9am - 5pm Sat. 9am - 1pm Tel. 01 (376) 765 2877, 765 3676 Fax 01 (376) 765 3528 Send all correspondence, subscriptions or advertising to: El Ojo del Lago http://www.chapala.com ojodellago@prodigy.net.mx Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: (376) 765 3676, Fax 765 3528 PRINTING: El Debate El Ojo del Lago aparece los primeros cinco dĂ­as de cada mes. (Distributed over WKH ÂżUVW ÂżYH GD\V RI HDFK PRQWK) &HUWLÂżFDGR GH /LFLWXG GH 7tWXOR &HUWLÂżFDGR GH /LFLWXG GH &RQWHQLGR

Index...

FEATURE ARTICLES

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COVER STORY

Ed Tasca struggles to understand the mysteries of the Mexican economy and is especially curious as to why his Cheerios now costs some 130 pesos.

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COMMENTARY

John Ward wonders why Hugh Hefner is changing the hugely successful layout of Playboy Magazine—and in doing so, John carefully approaches the subject of female nudity.

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Editor’s Page

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Imprints

Margaret Van Every’s story is about a lonely, elderly woman who asks a total stranger is she should be married.

The story is made of the stuff that might make an exceptional one-act play.

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Uncommon Sense

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Front Row Center

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Bridge by Lake

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Hearts at Work

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Profiling Tepehua

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Dear Portia

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Lakeside Living

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Child of Month

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Welcome to Mexico

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Anita’s Animals

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LCS Newsletter

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FICTION

HISTORY

Beverly Bandler looks back at the Vietnam War and offers a cautionary note that was once expressed by a world-famous writer: We learn nothing because we remember nothing.

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REMINISCENCES

Katina Pontikes has kept a history of her romances in a very old brown shoebox, and has opened it only once or twice over the past several decades— but has vowed to open it again on the day she turns eighty.

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MOVIE LORE

Carol Bowman, one of our intrepid travel writers, recently returned from 0RURFFR ZKHUH VKH WULHG WR ¿QG ³5LFNœV CafÊ Americain� as seen in the timeless movie, Casablanca. Turns out the ¿OP FRPSDQ\ KDG QHYHU FRPH ZLWKLQ 10,000 miles of the city, but many other productions certainly have!

Reserva al TĂ­tulo de Derechos de Autor 04-2011-103110024300-102 Control 14301.

Permisos otorgados por la SecretarĂ­a de GobernaciĂłn (EXP. 1/432 “88â€?/5651 de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva 171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de 1994.

DistribuciĂłn: Hidalgo 223 Chapala, Jalisco, MĂŠxico.

All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions expressed E\ WKH DXWKRUV GR QRW QHFHVVDULO\ UHĂ€HFW WKH views of the Publisher or the Editor, nor are we responsible for the claims made by our advertisers. We welcome letters, which should include name, address and telephone number.

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COVER STORY

z DIRE C TOR Y z

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

LAKESIDE LIVING

VOLUME 32 NUMBER 5

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Saw you in the Ojo

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COLUMNIST

Editor’s Page *XHVW (GLWRULDO E\ -RKQ 'DOODV +LFNV For more editorials, visit: http://thedarksideofthedream.com

The Particular Value of Pathfinders

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hen I was a boy, my imagination would have short-circuited before creating an image of myself as an old man. I noticed recently that two well-known men I long admired died at the age of 62. When Edward Abbey (1927-1989) and Carl Sagan (1934-1996) died, I was then young enough to think of them as having predictably fallen among the ranks of the aged.

Now, I am 62 and can appreciate, being in good health myself, how many years more they could have enjoyed and we, we could have enjoyed them in our midst. Alas, hemorrhaging esophageal vertices fatally weakened Mr. Abbey and blood cancer siphoned life from Dr. Sagan.

Knowing that they died at 62 and that I have reached that age, I feel I am treading the uneven path of life minus two capable guides. Ed Abbey made maps with words and scouted the terrain ahead for us giving due warning of dangerous passages while Carl Sagan, orienting by the stars, replaced fear and ignorance of the night with wonders of the universe. Now I have strode to the point where they left the trail and their absence reminds me of the particular value of pathfinders.

Of course, the ranks of the pathfinders haven’t been totally decimated.

Others still thrive. To be sure, there are men and women younger than myself whom I look up to. But they are younger than me, and however deserving of my admiration, I look to certain men and women who are older than me to run point on the trail. Wisdom and virtue do not always accumulate with aging, but it is to those older than me that I am almost instinctively drawn to know how they deal with the whole panoply of experiences and sensations associated with long life. Seeing how certain remarkable people cope encourages me.

Many years ago one fine afternoon, you could have found me sitting at a table at an outdoor café with a mixed group of university students I was

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-RKQ 'DOODV +LFNV teaching in Eskisehir, Turkey. I don’t recall the gist of our conversation now, but the conversation prompted one of my students to say that she and her peers looked to me, and other teachers I presumed, to show them how to live, how to face life. I was taken aback.

I was simply teaching them English.

I had never thought they looked to me for more than acquiring language skills. Her remark, however, implied more than an appreciation of my ability as a teacher. It implied that because I was older than them, I had experienced life on the path ahead and could shine a light on stretches they had yet to come to.

Like her, I depend on others for direction. Clearly, however, one need not be famous like Edward Abbey or Carl Sagan to be a guide in life. Ordinary folk serve the role as well. My parents are still living, and long they have broken trail for my siblings and me. What’s more, I cannot overvalue dear friends who, unlike my tiring parents, still bound up the bumpy trail.

When my student said she looked to me for guidance in life, I was frankly dismayed because she had reminded me of my age and a gulf between us due to our ages. Just the same, I quickly came to see her words complimented me, so instead of feeling resentment, I felt justly reminded of a useful role I have in society, a role to help others on the road of life, a role that we are all born to, and a role that humans have assumed knowingly or not for all the generations.

We rely on our pathfinders, but we too are pathfinders for those coming up the trail behind us. As we traverse new country with rivers to cross and hiking trails to climb, we share with others what we see ahead.

Saw you in the Ojo

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PESO ECONOMICS EXPLAINED

—Or, why my box of Cheerios now costs $130 pesos. %\ (G 7DVFD

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hy don’t hy don n’t ’t ffood ood oo ood and other an nd ot the her consumer co ons nsum nsum umer er prices pri rice ces ce es ever go down? wn? Everything Eve very ryth ry th hin ing g else else goes goes oe es up and down wn iin n value, l b but not consumer prices. For many seniors, this issue has become an extremely important one.

I speak first-hand. Because taking into account every penny I have for retirement, I estimate that I could afford to live comfortably until the end of the next calendar year. Anything longer would require me to forage for food and ferret out a secret home in someone’s tool shed. And for health care, I would just have to close my eyes and take placebos, seeing as they do only slightly worse than most of our regular medications, and they are much cheaper. And some can even freshen your breath.

As the new year speeds on and the value of our peso remains slumped, we need to understand what’s going on in the macroeconomic world, which of course is made up of the analytics and calculus underlying the Group of 8 or 20 luncheons.

As we all know currency exchange rates go up and down. Why? Economists are of differing opinions. Some say, “Who the hell knows” and a second, more conservative group insists, “The problem goes back to the ‘New Deal.’”

Yet, a third group tells me: “It’s because your currency is too weak (or too strong, Goldilocks) against major currencies like the yuan renminbi, which is the official currency of China, the new economic powerhouse. And when a major currency like China’s explodes in your face like an airbag, all of a sudden, your wallet shrinks and some of us have to move to tiny countries whose economy is based on trading root vegetables.

China in the past liked to devalue its currency and make their products cheaper than anybody else’s, confusing global investors and central banks all over the globe. Some countries, Afghanistan and Khazatstan, for example, hit back hard: They devalued their currencies in response (causing no end of heartache). Oddly though, these countries are making an ingenious point. I will take this point up in a moment.

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Another thing the Chith th nese Commune n who is nist Party, Pa the world’s hottest really ll th he w closet capitalist, does is to pretend it’s still a staunch socialist system that doesn’t need to kowtow to Western economies. To demonstrate this, they still control a vast number of state-run companies, and promise to continue funding their “research and development” programs, which means increased investments in cyber-hacking U.S. companies.

No, I’m not picking on the Chinese. So don’t go writing nasty letters about me. It happens to be true. Remember, even Christ slapped around the “money changers.” But let’s hand it to the Chinese. It’s also a fact that they invented banknotes. In the year 812, applying another of their own inventions, paper (which was made from old linen rags discarded as litter [if you’re thinking ancient underwear, you’re absolutely right]). Anyway, how about this: The word the Chinese used to name this original banknote was “cash.” But what’s the big deal, if we’d invented it, that’s what you or I would call it.

Today, with their extraordinary production efficiency, China’s currency is now on a status with the U.S. Dollar, as a “reserve currency.” A “reserve currency” means a lot of countries collect certain currencies because they’re dependable and because you see them in suitcases in a lot of heist movies.

Interestingly, in the late 18th century, the Mexican Peso was the “reserve currency” for all North American countries. In fact, the U.S. Dollar was valued at a rate comparable to the more dependable Peso, so that the new United States made a bigger fuss about holding pesos than dollars. Pesos were gladly accepted across America for decades – setting the stage for the Taco Bell franchise.

But there are other considerations for currencies hoping to enter the hallowed ground of “reserve currencies.” They have to show up in more heist movies, for one thing. And they have to look valuable. Some currencies have only buildings on them, like the ruble. The Russian ballet building with a statue of Apollo is on the ruble.

If you’re going to use grand structures and symbols on your currencies, history has it that pyramids topped with a giant eyeball is the way to go. Also, certainly, the Russian ruble can’t become a security reserve because the bills are in cyrillic letters and look more like the writings on crashed alien spacecraft than money denominations.

Further, to be a reserve currency, it also helps if people know what your country’s currency is called. For example, if I wanted to invest in money market funds or speculate on the currency going up or down from an up-and-coming country like Zambia, I would have to know to invest in kwachas, and hope that the kwacha gathers economic kwacha steam, by which I mean Warren Buffet packs his portfolio with kwachas, and goes on telling everybody if you’re not in kwachas, you’re going “to lose a billion dollars” (Buffet thinks everybody loses money in that bracket).

Besides their importance for speculative investments, understanding this business of exchange rates or “currency fluctuations” (as we experts like to call them) is also vital to the traveling consumer: Consider this, “What would your Russian Rubles be worth in the U.S.” At one point, Russia had a banknote of 500,000 rubles. One bank note. Try handing that to a New York cab driver--or, a clerk at an abarrotes here in Ajijic. If our Russian visitor wanted a Bimbo snack here, he would have to purchase the entire store, because there’s no way he’d ever get change.

Okay, I exaggerated. I checked it out and discovered that you could buy a Bimbo snack here with an old Soviet 500,000 Ruble banknote because (by current equivalences) the banknote is worth about 200 pesos. But you still probably wouldn’t get change.

One last yet vital economic point.

You mustn’t forget that currency values can fluctuate considerably from day to day. One day, 50,000 Iranian “Rials,” for example, might buy you a deluxe sailing ship and the next day, a

box of baking soda. That’s how tricky this stuff is.

What about the latest recommendation to invest in gold via home storage, you’re asking. This doesn’t solve anything: you can’t spend gold, unless your name is Blackbeard. I suppose you could hand a waiter an IOU written on a napkin and say, “Hey, that’s backed by my gold reserve and I promise, whenever you need it, it’s there in my vault.” But good luck with that.

Now, here’s the amazing solution for currency fluctuations, based on the brilliantly conceived actions of the aforesaid few small nations: If all currencies responded as China used to do, by devaluing their currencies all at the same time, every product or service everywhere in the world would have to come down in price. The playing field would be level and bottomed out for sellers and traders and everyone could afford their Cherrios again.

The only other crazy thing any country could do, in order to counter that, would be to apply a favorite financial plan perfected by North Korea: “forced labor.” (Yes, it’s been everywhere, I know, but most of humanity has put it behind us.)

The downside here? Regrettably, ministers of finance from countries who adhere to the rules of the International Monetary System can’t devalue their currencies on a whim. This wouldn’t be fair to the rich people who already paid big bucks for certain currencies at freely-traded, market prices in true capitalist fashion; and capitalism, as we all know, is always totally fair to everybody, even the rich. So, as always, our problem is the rich. They screw up everything—even Bimbo prices.

What to do? If you wish to purchase a box of Cheerios these days, you have to sit down with a financial advisor and devise a financial plan.

Ed Tasca

Saw you in the Ojo

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TIME WARP %\ &KXFN 3DWWLQLDQ

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e left our house in upstate New York for the Buffalo airport some 70 miles away in a thunderous rain storm and a luminous sky. It was 5:45 am. The wind shear was angry and relentless as we fish tailed towards the neon lights of the big city. The faulty windshield wipers and the low tire light on the dashboard had me mentally preparing a guest list to our funeral. We were hell bent for metal because we had to get back to Mexico within 60 days since leaving in order to satisfy our visa requirements. We were in our 59th day of procrastinating.

Snarling along the rain drenched, twisting county roads to the airport took forever. The oncoming trucks splattered additional rain onto the already

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overworked faulty wipers. As the trucks whizzed by, their induced wind gusts that followed rattled our souls and seemed to lift the car from the pavement and rearrange our inner plumbing. Fortunately out of the storm the airport sign was suddenly in front of us and the funeral guest list was mentally erased.

To our surprise, there were virtually no line ups at check-in or security. In fact, very few people were around anywhere.

It seemed like a Hollywood film set for “White House Down”, too unreal to be true. There was no filming going on, just an emptiness caused by media hype that persuaded timid travelers to stay home.

We were late in boarding our NYC bound plane and then waited on the tarmac as La Guardia was in a “no ground-

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

ing” lock down. No clear reason was given, just indistinguishable aviation jargon which we surmised was weather based.

We finally lifted off 40 minutes later for a 90 minute flight. Within 50 minutes we were on the ground and by some miracle, arrived at the originally scheduled arrival time. The math just didn’t add up.

The only way the pilot could have pulled this off was to take the Canadair CRJ commuter aircraft to Mach 2, a speed just below that of sound.

The closest I’ve been to Mach 2 is my friend’s 1967 Mach 1 Mustang. Ford’s Mach 2 never made it past prototype into production. Did our aircraft actually do Mach 2 or were we subjected to a Star Trek time warp capsule? Ah, what the hell, have a drink and let the math puzzle pass.

Our next leg was from La Guardia to Atlanta. A deja vous crept over the aircraft as we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes. This time, no aviation jargon as to why the delay, just silence from the intercom. I think I would have preferred the meaningless aviation jargon, gives me something to mumble about. Our original flight time of 3 hours and 12 minutes to Atlanta, took 2 hours and 27 minutes.

Once again we arrived at the originally scheduled time. How can this happen?

Perhaps two Mach 2’s in the same day?

The airline explanations to the un-

suspecting non aviation public ran the gamut of tail winds, atmospheric vortexes, aerodyne lift vectors, full throttle and uncrowded skies. It’s all mumbo jumbo to me. I’d prefer to have had Dragnet’s Joe Friday on my flight who often said: “Just the facts, ma’am, errrr, Captain.”

Since Joe no longer walks this earth, I’ll stick with the Star Trek time warp explanation that I grew up with when I was a kid: “Beam me up, Scotty.”

Chuck Pattinian

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COLUMNIST

,035,176 %\ $QWRQLR 5DPEOpV DQWRQLR UDPEOHV#\DKRR FRP Châteaux du Clos Lucé & Chenonceau Château du Clos Lucé. If you thought that Leonardo da Vinci is buried in his native Italy, or that his famous Mona Lisa arrived at the Louvre as a spoil of war, you’d be wrong on both counts.

It was the artist himself who, in 1516, brought his paintings Mona Lisa, Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and St. John the Baptist with him to France. /HRQDUGR¶V KHOLFRSWHU PRGHO DW &KkWHDX GX &ORV /XFp The Château du Clos Lucé, where he lived until his death three years later, is now a museum that displays over forty models of his machines.

The king of France bought the now-famous paintings from Leonardo’s estate, and the Mona Lisa hung in the royal palaces at Fontainebleau and Versailles before it was moved to the Louvre after the French Revolution.

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That these paintings today sit in The Louvre is remarkable, because Leonardo almost never made it to France.

While Da Vinci had long-standing invitations from French kings to move to France, he accepted only when his patron Giuliano de Medici died in 1516.

Although paralysis in one arm had rendered da Vinci unable to paint, King Francis I welcomed him warmly and installed him in the Chateau Clos Lucé, adjacent to the king’s own Château d’Amboise.

Their friendship was so close that Leonardo’s chateau was connected to the k i n g ’s by an /HRQDUGR¶V PHFKDQLFDO PRGHOV DW under&KkWHDX GX &ORV /XFp ground passage.

Leonardo repaid Francis’s hospitality by designing and constructing grand engineering projects.

He also brought with him his mechanical lion, which was able to walk a few steps and open its chest to present the king with a cluster of lilies.

Legend has it that a 67-year-old Leonardo died in King Francis’s arms.

Château Chenonceau. This Loire Valley château has an incredible history marked by historical notables, a long succession of owners, and ongoing threat of destruction by revolution and war.

The best -known of the Loire valley châteaux, the Leonardo bust at current version was completed in 1522, and is an archi&KkWHDX GX &ORV /XFp

tectural mix of Gothic and Renaissance.

Henry II gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, after seizing the property for unpaid debts in 1535.

It was Diane who commissioned construction of the signature bridge which joins the château to the opposite river bank.

She also ordered the planting of gardens laid out in four triangles. *DOOHU\ EULGJH DW &KkWHDX &KHQRQFHDX Henry II’s widow and regent Catherine de Medici appropriated the chateau as her residence upon her husband’s death.

She added a new series of gardens, and enclosed and dedicated the river bridge as a gallery.

Upon Catherine’s death, the château, again encumbered by debt, passed to her daughter-in-law Louise, wife of King Henry III. Henri IV, France’s first Boubon king, paid off Catherine’s debts in order to acquire Chenonceau for his mistress, Gabrielle d’EstrÊes.

The Bourbons, however, used Chenonceau only as a hunting lodge until the Duke %HGFKDPEHU &KkWHDX &KHQRQFHDX of Bourbon sold the castle’s contents in 1720. Much of its collection can still be seen today at Versailles.

In 1733, the estate was bought by a wealthy squire whose wife, Louise, hosted literary salons which attracted notables including Voltaire and Montesquieu.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for a time the owner’s secretary and his son’s tutor, wrote part of his book Émil at Chenonceau.

The widowed Louise saved the château from destruction by convincing the French Revolutionary Guard that “it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles.â€?

In 1864, heiress Marguerite Pelouze acquired the château and commissioned its complete restoration.

The cost of the renovation drove &KDSHO &KkWHDX &KHQRQFHDX her into debt, and the château was bought by a Cuban millionaire who sold it in 1913 to renowned chocolatier Henri Menier.

During World War I, the chateau’s bridge gallery was used as a hospital ward.

Bombed by the Germans in 1940, it later served as an escape route across the river from Nazi-occupied France to Vichy France.

The original windows in its chapel were destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944.

The Menier family restored the chateau in 1951, and owns it to this day.

Antonio RamblĂŠs

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COLUMNIST

UUNCOMMON NCOM MM MON CCOMMON OM MM MON SSENSE ENSE %\ %LOO )UD\HU ELOOIUD\HU#JPDLO FRP The Politics of Fear

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ranklin Roosevelt’s famous quote, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” is as true today as it was in 1941, perhaps more so. In the wake of the recent ISIS terrorist attacks, we seem to be on the brink of making the same error of overreaction we made after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Barbaric attacks by the so-called Islamic State have now reached outside of Iraq and Syria and are causing destruction, death, and terror in the West. And the politicians in the United States and, to some extent in Europe, are acting in a predictable fashion.

The massive diasporas of Muslim immigrants combined with the terror attacks in Paris, Beirut, Kenya and the downing of the Russian airliner flying back from Egypt seems to be creating a perfect storm of intolerance. Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been accepting many Syrian refugees into her country, is growing increasingly unpopular and may lose her leadership post. Rightwing parties are growing in strength by fomenting fear and xenophobia throughout Europe.

In the United States, Republican governors, presidential candidates and members of Congress are appealing to people’s fear of terrorism, conflating it with a fear of Muslims in general, to restrict or end any program to resettle Syrian refugees in the US. Of course, there is another reason for this grandstanding: fear sells well. People usually vote based on emotions, not logic. And fear is the mother of all emotional appeals. If people are afraid, that feeling will often trump the most persuasive argument.

I am sure all readers of this magazine can recall numerous conversations about your decision to live in, or even visit, Mexico. Because of the sensationalized media reporting, many people are very fearful of coming to Mexico, even though such fear is largely unwarranted.

Here’s the problem: fear leads to very bad decisions. Consider the in-

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%LOO )UD\HU

ternment of Japanese during World war II. Consider the unwillingness of much of the world to accept Jews in the years leading up to World War II. Consider the passage of the Patriot Act following 9/11, compromising so many of values of freedom and privacy the United States holds dear.

Consider the 2003 US invasion of Iraq which was sold under false pretenses based on unwarranted fear. Arguably the environment created by the aftermath of that ill-conceived war has led directly to the formation of ISIS today. The irony is striking!

In reality, both Western Europe, Canada, and the United States need young immigrants desperately. These countries all have aging populations with low birthrates. All are approaching a situation where there will be too few young people to support an aging population and complete the work that needs to be done to upgrade the infrastructure for future generations.

Unfortunately, fear is difficult to counter. Solid arguments pointing out that Muslim refugees are fleeing the same people we also fear usually fall on deaf ears. All it takes is one loud Donald Trump, Marie La Pen, or other demagogue to persuade voters not to take the chance. No matter how well-reasoned arguments are to the contrary, fear often wins out.

Of course, one factor which counteracts fear is personal experience.

The more Muslims settle in the west, the more Christians, Jews, and humanists will get to know them. When people come into regular contact with Muslim people, they will soon see that most are peaceful, devout people who want the same things we all do: peace, prosperity, and opportunity.

But in the meantime, irrational arguments will prevail.

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THE WAGES OF SIN AND IG GNORANCE E %\ -RKQ :DUG G

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ecently P Playlay-rpris-boy Enterprisunc nced d es announced ng to o that they are going m change their magazine format from prien en marily nude women n ng to a super clothing d ds. catalog on steroids. now theyy It’s a pity. I know ith so many man are struggling with enemies of nudity – feminists who say it is exploitation of women, despite the fact that the women who pose for playboy do it of their own volition, other magazines like Hustler, Penthouse and Club (which show slightly more of the female

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an m anatom anatomy with less photo-shopph less ping), ping), religious z alots and panze zealots dering politicians. p dering h I hope they succeed succeed with their new fortheir mat, be ec mat, because they tried ied to open the tried orld’s mind mind d to to nudity n dit n world’s not being a nasty thing, which, in the Fifties everyone below a college education seemed to believe. Hugh Hefner was a pioneer of amazing bravery and insight, although I am amazed he was never burned at the stake by insecure and stupid women

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

with low self-esteem and sexually frightened men who can’t stand the idea of a sexually emancipated woman. These self-appointed bastions of morality didn’t like the classy nudes he offered in his publication out of jealousy, fear, low self-esteem, and various other selfserving agendas.

I still believe there is a niche for the “beautiful and classy” magazine. Now it is either: dressed up, or “look at my cervix, damn you!” And that’s just not how it should be.

Nudists understand the difference. I had a friend who ran a nudist resort in Northern Georgia—if you can believe that! It was familyoriented, so kids ran around nude with adults. It was not a sexual thing, just a health and freedom thing. After the first 10 minutes of being there, even non-nudists had stopped staring at breasts, etc., because it is human to want to see the reaction to what one says, and that is only readable in the face, not the rest of the body. Even kids that were at crotch height, would look up into faces and say “Can I have 25 cents to play the video game?” or “When’s lunch?” or something equally benign. I did a TV show segment on this resort.

The human body only becomes fascinating when it is hidden away and only revealed at specific times.

Deprivation leads to depravity. If we walked around stark naked all the time, only covering our noses, which could only be revealed during sex, people would see noses as a sex object and you’d hear people exclaiming: “OMG, the wind blew and her veil lifted slightly… I nearly lost it when I caught a glimpse of her right nostril!” “No way! You saw her right nostril? You lucky bastard!”

My grandfather, Salvatore. was standing on the street corner in Cefalu, Sicily 1918, when my grand-

mother Maria-Madalena started to cross the street in her long “modest” clothing. She lifted her dress ever so slightly as she stepped off the pavement, so that the hem would not drag in the street mud.

He caught a glimpse of her ankle and followed her home to woo and finally marry her.

Women have an instinct about this. They don’t think about it consciously, but they know instinctively that if they hide certain appendages away, only revealing them for sexual activity, the scarcity becomes extremely important in the courtship ritual. The problem is: it also results in harassment, sexual abuse, molestation, rape, etc. A more sexually open society, one that does not deprive or label a natural need as wicked, does not suffer the horrors that a sexually repressed society suffers.

The number of serial killers who do it because “women are evil, they are selling sex, they are enticing me to do this wicked thing” is enormous. The sexual predators are mostly a result of religious/sexual repression. Imagine what people would do for any other physiological need – say, water, or food, or sleep… they would do almost anything to get what they need physiologically.

Playboy didn’t invent desire.

It was there all the time. Whether you believe God “made” us, or you believe we’re just Mother Nature’s play things, the hormones are there, the need is there, the physiological desire is there.

I am so sick of religion, government, self-appointed purveyors of morality, all trying to deny the existence of these natural needs. In the Sixties, when Scandinavian countries legalized porn – all the sexual crimes but one, dropped by close to 90%! The one that didn’t was voyeurism or peeping Tom-ism and that dropped by about 50%.

The fact that legalizing porn would create an atmosphere where some young woman would not have to experience the trauma of being raped seemed not to compute with other governments… so the predatory activity continues.

I am not saying legalized pornography is the answer, I am saying that a less sexually repressive society will result in less morbid fascination, which is the root of that particular evil. Thank you, Hef, you did a good thing.

John Ward

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A Part Of You

I picked up your robe today How many times had I said to you Throw that thing away.

But you refused to Said it suited you fine.

I looked at all the holes burned in From cigarettes, the nap worn, The hem uneven, but you were stubborn.

Many times I started To throw it out anyway Not believing you couldn’t part with anything so tacky.

I guess I wanted to be rid of the robe and you, Your hateful words, your ugly moods.

But looking at it today it seems A symbol of our final years, Its quality faded like our dreams, The hem as uneven as your temperament The spots – all the bitter tears Shed during interminable arguments.

You’re gone now.

I sorted your clothes Boxing them for the Good Will Jackets, shirts, ties - all Will be worn by faceless people.

Your robe?

I held it close to me Wishing we could retrace our years Knowing this was not to be, Too late for us – too soon for tears I hung your robe back in the closet.

—Margie Keane—

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

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Article 5: Universal Declaration of Human Rights “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

-- oOo --

In Solitary dedicated to Albert Woodfox, a member of the Black Panther movement who, of 43 years in a Louisiana prison, has spent 40 in solitary confinement for a murder he says he did not commit .

I wake to dismal morning light, Reflected bars criss-cross my well-tramped floor.

The minutes, hours and years in this my home of forty years a blur. I have melted into time Marked only by the daily penciled lines crossed through by sevens, The unchanging minutiae of the blemishes on my walls No longer seen - my inner blemishes of more concern.

I have no human contact. Twenty-three hours each day I’m locked within a cube, six by nine by twelve to be exact.

One hour a day I soak in the seasons: The sticky heat, the chill and rain And try to remember when once I splashed in puddles And threw a stick for eager mutt, Or fanned myself on shady porch, while radio played And children laughed.

I tramp and tramp, tick hours away, Wait and dare to hope I’ll hear the clink of locks no more; Then I will choose the time to sit in solitary silence, My unbolted door a gateway to the living world.

Three times they said they’d let me go.

Unwilling to release my tortured soul, Three times they blocked that road.

Is it revenge or a quota to be filled?

Unbroken here I lie in my small cell, And wait and wait.

Is this God’s will?

By Gabrielle Blair

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

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COLUMNIST

FRONT ROW CENTER %\ 0LFKDHO :DUUHQ Rumors

By Neil Simon Directed by Paul Kloegman

R

umors ran successfully on Broadway in 1988/89, and Christine Baranski won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. It’s described as a farce, but (as you might expect from Neil Simon) there are a lot of clever lines, so I would say it’s a comedy with some elements of confusion. The scene is the luxurious home of Charlie Brock, the Deputy Mayor of New York, and his wife Myra. It’s their fortieth wedding anniversary, and they’ve invited four couples – their closest friends – to celebrate the occasion.

Unfortunately, the hostess is not around, the maid and the cook have left without preparing any food, and the host is upstairs bleeding profusely. Apparently he’s been shot.

What is going on? Well, nobody knows and the Press mustn’t find out, so the eight guests have a hilarious time running around while inventing more or less plausible explanations.

An excellent cast did a great job with the play, and kept up a terrific pace throughout. Collette Clavadetscher was suitably frantic as “Chris” and had some very funny telephone conversations, while husband “Ken” (played by director Paul Kloegman) runs up and down stairs shouting instructions. The next to arrive are “Lenny and Claire” played with style by Dave McIntosh and Candace Luciano. Lenny is hungry,

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

which probably explains his ill humor because there’s no food, and I particularly enjoyed his unsuccessful battle with a bag of pretzels.

Meanwhile Claire is delightfully laid back amid all the confusion.

When they discover that their host has shot himself in the ear lobe, she calmly remarks that she also has holes in her ears – not a problem. Then we meet “Ernie and Cookie” – a very affectionate couple, who use terms of endearment all the time, Poopie, Snoopie, Honeypie, etc. Zane Pumiglia is very natural as Ernie, the friendly analyst, while Georgette Richmond is great as Cookie (who has a cooking show on TV) and incidentally has a bad back. She says she’s fine unless she’s sitting or getting up. Finally Al Kirkland Jr (who did well in his first part at LLT) comes on as “Glenn” who is running for State Senator and may possibly be having an affair on the side. Sharon Lowry is wonderfully bitchy as his wife “Cassie” – she certainly makes the most of her lines as the spouse from hell. Towards the end of the show, Fred Koesling comes on to the confused scene as “Officer Welch” a cop investigating a traffic accident, together with newcomer Alice Poltrock as his sidekick.

Paul Kloegman did a professional job directing this play, and he got the best from a good cast. He also had to stand in as “Ken,” taking on the part in about two weeks, quite an achievement. I don’t always enjoy Neil Simon’s New York humor, but this was a terrific show – thanks to all involved. I must also mention the wonderful set – special thanks to designer Beth Cathcart and her assistant Joan Warren. Leslie DeCarl was Stage Manager and Win McIntosh was Production Assistant. Congratulations to all.

Michael Warren

In This Season of Joy may the angels be with you may the light of love be always a radiant reflection of your smile your shadow forever behind you leaving a path your lover will always follow may the angels be with you and where you walk lay down a soft carpet woven from the wonder of memories of this season you share where you dance to the music of your heart a floor of old and well-worn wood polished to perfection from the footsteps you have laid down together may the angels be with you may they keep you from sadness may they temper the moments you are apart in this season of darkness and light whereveryou rest your head a silk-clad down of possibilities you have yet to dream about —John Thomas Dodds—

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D

ear Sir: Moscow is an unbelievably beautiful city, with something to look at around every corner. We are staying in the heart of Moscow a short walk away from Red Square where we will be walking to in a few minutes. We’ve already seen one play at the famous Vasiliev Theatre. There were children in the audience too who loved it, a dance/drama play telling a mythical East Indian story about good and evil with Katak dancing from India. The theatre was in the round, called the “Globus” theatre rather like the Globe Theatre in London.

Being in Moscow is so differ-

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

ent from being in Evpatoria in the Crimea, which was pretty run-down.

Here people are smartly dressed, and the shops are full of everything in spite of the sanctions. Tina, a Moscuvite relative of Alec’s who met us for breakfast today, said no one is missing much excepting imported cheese as Russian cheese is rather rubbery! I can attest to that.

The city is spotless and there are no bill boards or ads anywhere in the streets or subway. Apparently there used to be during the Yeltsen years, but now the mayor has said their city is too beautiful to be cluttered with ads. I think he’s right. It is so sad that Russia gets such bad press in

the West where Putin is painted as an evil demon with horns. We get a much more modulated, thoughtful and informed picture from here, particularly at the moment of what’s happening in Syria.

We walked and walked yesterday and finally made it, at our slow pace, because we gawk all the time, to the Pushkin State Fine Arts Museum— an exquisite building, inside and out.

We were both too tired to see more than a few galleries all of which very impressive, especially the Schlieman findings from the excavation of Troy, with some astonishingly beautiful gold jewelery. Next week we will be at the theatre almost every night, ballet, opera and drama. We are a pair of culture vultures perhaps making up for the months and months we spend in the wilderness.

It’s quite cold so we’re into winter clothes and I’m glad I brought my hat with furry, pull-down ears. Lots of people still smoke, but now they’re all standing out on the side-walks as smoking is more or less forbidden everywhere. Alec was out there with Tina and she paid him the complement of his “looking like a Muscovite.”

Regards to all my Lakeside friends, Gabrielle Blair

Saw you in the Ojo 25

COLUMNIST

BRIDGE BY THE LAKE %\ .HQ 0DVVRQ

T

he Puerto Vallarta Regional Bridge Tournament in November produced more than its share of interesting, not to mention difficult, hands that often left declarers scratching their heads in an attempt to find the best line of play.

Many pairs who were in game contracts in the illustrated hand went down when the post mortem revealed an unusual but logical play

26

would have brought the contract home.

At one table South dealt and opened his 18 high card point hand 1 spade. North held only 5 HCP but was reluctant to pass and decided his good collection of 10s and 9s justified the response of 1 no trump.

South in turn had to decide whether to make a simple change of suit at the 2 level or to make a game-forcing jump shift. When he went with the

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

latter he soon found himself in a very tenuous 23-high card point game.

West led the diamond 4 which was covered by the queen and king and won by South with the ace. Declarer took time out to consider how best to play the hand. All his bridge instincts said that he needed to start drawing trumps by leading from the dummy towards the king in his hand but this dummy was distinctly short of entries. The only possible way there was if the opponents’ spades were divided 3-3.

So, without further ado, South played the ace and king of spades and ruffed the third round only to have East over ruff with his singleton queen of hearts. With two more trump losers and an inescapable diamond loser the contract was quickly down one.

In discussing the hand later it soon became clear that this was a contract that required declarer to think outside the box. The line of play undertaken had necessitated that the opponents’ hearts be divided 3-3 which only occurs a little more than one third of the time. After mulling it over for some time North, who hadn’t had to play the hand, came up with the solution: play the heart king from the South hand at

trick 2!

Yes, that is a counter-intuitive gambit but as you can see very successful. Although four cards held by the opponents will divide 2-2 about 40 percent of the time, they will be 3-1 50% and 4-0 the other 10%.

There is nothing you can do to be successful if either opponent holds all four trumps in this hand and if they are 2-2 you will likely succeed no matter how you tackle hearts.

But when they are 3-1 you must be careful how you draw trumps.

Three of East-West’s hearts are honours and therefore three out of four times an honour will be singleton.

When that singleton is the queen or jack, the play of the king from South will be successful. Admittedly the queen or the jack will only fall 50% of the time but that is twice as often as the ace, so it makes the play of the king the best chance to bring home the contract. Those who worked it out to make this play were well-rewarded for their analysis.

Easier when you know how!

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

Saw you in the Ojo 27

COLUMNIST

Hearts at Work $ &ROXPQ E\ -LP 7LSWRQ The Corner Grocery

L

ast month I wrote about several incredible journeys on foot, some for thousands of miles, and I wrote about the profound effect these journeys can have on the consciousness of the journeyer. But even the little journeys we take each day, perhaps :LOOLDP 6WDIIRUG 3RHW only to the little grocery on the corner, can have a profound effect, can take us toward the holy land inside of us.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist, has written a short and lovely book titled A Guide to Walking Meditation, in which he writes, “The purpose of walking meditation is walking meditation itself. Going is important, not arriving.� Nhat Hanh suggests that we “Walk straight ahead with dignity, calm, and comfort. Consciously make an imprint on the ground as you step. Walk as the Buddha would.� Again and again he stresses the importance of awareness, and the peace that develops out of that awareness or “mindfulness.�: “In order to have peace and joy, you must succeed in having peace within each of your steps. Your steps are the most important thing. They decide everything.�

Walking is far more important than anything we can say or think: “It is not by preaching or expounding the sutras (scriptures) that you fulfill that task of awakening others to self-realization, it is rather by the way you walk, the way you stand, the way you sit and the way you see things.�

Nhat Hanh is convinced that “We are like sleepwalkers, not knowing what we are doing or where we are walking. Whether human beings can wake up or not depends on whether we can take conscientious and mindful steps. That is why the future of human beings, as well as the future of all life on earth, depends on your steps.� Attend well, therefore, to your steps!

Whether we are walking the length of the Appalachian trail, or around our neighborhood in early evening, or down a hospital corridor, or even climbing the stairs to sleep, we can open up new energies in ourselves, become mindful, become aware, become present, and this requires patience, concentration, sometimes enormous inner effort, perhaps even the energy of an Ernest Shackleton, who simply through iron will and focus, and intelligence refused to let any of his twenty-five men die in their two year trek across the Antarctic wastelands. We have our own frozen wastelands inside of us. Getting through those wastelands, getting “home� to where the heart is, is what we are after.

William Stafford, in his wonderful collection of poems, Allegiances, writes, in a poem titled “How I Escaped,� this line: “I walk what I mean.� And when we begin to walk “what we mean,� then “Light comes inside the brain.� As we begin to walk with more and more mindfulness, awareness, presence, the world itself begins to glow. His poem “Earth Dweller� begins this way: It was all the clods at once become precious; it was the barn, and the shed, and the windmill, my hands, the crack Arlie made in the axe handle: oh let me stay here humbly, forgotten, to rejoice in it all.

In the title poem, “Allegiances,� Stafford begins, It is time for all the heroes to go home if they have any, time for all of us common ones to locate ourselves by the real things we live by.

And so, yes, that short walk to the little grocery on the corner where we intend to buy a few onions and carrots, can, when we are mindful, aware, present, help us to “locate ourselves,� help us to move closer to the Holy Land inside of us.

Then, as in Stafford’s poem, everything in that little store might be-

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

come precious to us…the worn shelves, the hands of the old woman holding out our change, the five packages of toilet paper on sale, the bulb that no longer works in the Coca Cola cooler, the widower just outside the door, smoking his Farolito cigarette as he leans against the lamppost, and… the sudden feeling of our own presence…“Oh let me stay here humbly, forgotten, to reJim Tipton joice in it all….”

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COLUMNIST

PROFILING TEPEHUA %\ 0RRQ\HHQ .LQJ President of the Board for Tepehua

PRRQLH #\DKRR FRP

R

oof tops of Mexico are usually flat (azoteas), with a small parapet enclosing wall, creating a place less visible to the neighbors and not easily accessed by strangers. In the 1920’s in Mexico City a “cuertos de azotea” typically housed workers of the people who lived below.

The hovels of Tepehua have flat roofs, a place for dogs, laundry and storage...or small pot (as in small round container, or not) gardening, raising rabbits or other small livestock.

It is also used by the young men as a meeting place, where the roof affords them privacy to use, buy or sell drugs, and they have a good view of the surrounding area for any approaching danger, and maybe it gives them, as Alfonso Reyes put it “a feeling perhaps, at this height, somewhat liberated from the burdensome human environment.”

According to a nationwide alliance of social organizations, at least 30,000 children are involved with drug related crimes because of economic or social necessity. Are they criminals or victims of abuse?

When children or teens are picked up for drug related crimes they are treated as criminals here in Mexico.

Sociologist Jose Luis Cisneros stated “Children are easy prey for organized crime because they lack opportunity. Socially the children use violence as a way to get respect, something denied to their families.” Morales states, “A youth criminal justice law does not exist.

There is a proposal in congress but even that one has serious omissions.”

Over the last five years 41,515 drug related deaths have been reported, 2.5% were children. The main drugs of choice being cocaine and crack cocaine, heroin in the form of ‘black tar’ and ‘brown

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

heroine’, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Along with the “Club Drugs” which include Ecstasy (MDMA), LSD, Rohypnol, PCP, Ketamine, and GHB. Raves are a venue for MDMA. There are no facilities in the Mexican system for the very young offenders. One Tepehua juvenile case was 12 years old. His Mother an ex-user, could no longer handle his violence when he was using, so he was picked up and sent to the men’s half-way house holding tank.

As stated before by this writer, the Santa Cruz Rehabilitation Center houses its youngest inmate at 12 years old. This is a child in an institution of adult males. He is lucky; they take good care of him.

Other institutions are not so carefully monitored.

A local methamphetamine factory lost their sixteen-year-old son to the very drug they sold on the market, but they are still selling.

This Author watched an arrest in Tepehua on Sunday Dec, 13th. It took four burly Policemen to subdue an 18 year-old youth, high on whatever it was, that gave him the strength of ten men.

Yet further up the hill at the Tepehua Center there was a Christmas party for the children going on; the fun and laughter, the Christmas tree and Santa Claus. Painted faces and happy smiles, games, gifts and pop corn balls, and everyone looking forward to the Christmas store that will be open on the 18th of December at the Tepehua Center, where the barrio people can buy new toys, clothes and other things with vouchers they have earned through the year by volunteering.

A brief respite from the mean streets of Tepehua.

Moonyeen King President of the Board for Tepehua

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COLUMNIST

DEAR PORTIA Advice to the Lovelorn, the Drastically Distracted and the Deeply Disgruntled

D

ear Portia, I am so discouraged!

I made three New Year’s Resolutions, and I have only been able to keep the one about maintaining a ready stash of Snickers Bars.

The other two had to do with rather urgent changes in lifestyle foisted on me by a well-meaning doctor. I thought if I kept my list short, I could succeed with ease. Can I have a doover?

Signed, Resolute Dear Res, Sounds like you’ve been here before, annually perhaps? Try to see it this way: self-improvement is both over rated and virtually nonexistent.

Take a moment to wallow in the wonderfulness of your present self, highlight your supposed short comings and elevate your vulnerabilities into eccentricities. If you like what you find, eliminate resolutions 2 and 3. If not, you might stop all the useless efforting, and sidle up to some new acquaintances that seem to just naturally do what you struggle with.

Imitate them fiercely and relentlessly until you find yourself doing well, much to your own surprise. Changing your entire life might not hurt.

Also, take off your hair shirt, and expose your true self!

Dear Portia, It’s about the noise, THE NOISE! Do you hear me? Too much noise – cohetes, dogs and roosters, musical events… It’s driving me nuts. How

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

The New Portia! do I get it to be quiet?

Done With It. Dear Done, Bad news. You are already nuts.

You moved to Mexico, remember?

Worse news – little known, but absolutely true. The odd interplay of altitude and latitude, plus proximity to water has created a nearly ideal climate in these parts. Natives, brimming with joy at their good fortune, have for centuries celebrated this benefit out loud – with loud sound.

Even Mother Nature’s local creatures do. Change the sounds, tinker with the volume and you’ll wreak havoc with the climate. If you don’t believe me, you can check with the Mexican Delegation that recently returned from Paris, or move behind a quiet strip mall near Dubuque, Iowa. My personal go-to solution is Tequila.

Dear Portia, My astrologer has told me that this year I’ll meet the man of my dreams, be lifted up and off to a cloud of bliss.

I am so excited! I can hardly believe that this could happen here, and at my age. One thing though, what do I do with my husband of 43 years?

Perplexed Dear Perplexed, Ah, what a vast spectrum of possibilities! First off, did you ask if a threesome was what your dream guy might have in mind? Who knows how happy you and your hubby could be?

Then again, you might gift your husband with a lengthy vacation to the Amazon, while you stay here and see what develops. If I were you though, I’d check back with the astrologer for clarification. There’s something a bit spooky if you read the forecast as a Christian metaphor! You may want to try Tarot or Numerology.

Saw you in the Ojo 33

%HEp %\ 0DUJDUHW 9DQ (YHU\

I

had been passing much of the afternoon at a Starbucks in Midtown, answering email as I waited for my ride to arrive at 5:30. I had been homeless all afternoon, as are many who drift into Starbucks seeking refuge from the elements, access to wifi, or perhaps a chance encounter with an interesting soul. I was more amused than annoyed when a well-dressed elderly lady interrupted my concentration and announced that she coveted my hat. The hat was on my head so I wouldn’t forget it. It had been the last of its kind at the Memorial Day sale at Bebé, a shop with pretensions of being French though their wares are from China. Its name has a certain je ne sais quoi for women of all ages who linger forever in their coddled infancy.

“Well,” said she with an authentic French accent, “are you sure it was the last one? There could be more in the back somewhere, don’t you think?”

“No, I doubt it. They were quite clear it was the very last one. I’m sorry.”

She lingered there frozen as though not knowing how to process her disappointment.

“Would you like to sit down and chat a few moments?” I suggested. All the tables were occupied.

“I would buy the hat from you for its original price,” she went on as she took a seat. “I like it so very much, but even more than the hat, I fancy the gold pin on the hatband that says Bebé.” I considered offering her the little pin but decided better of it.

With the air of an intimate friend, she leaned forward to share a confidence. “I have something to ask you and

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

you must answer truthfully.” After waiting for me to nod the go-ahead sign, she proceeded, “Do you think I should get married?”

For a moment I pondered whether she might be asking in jest. “Well,” said I, “we met but three minutes ago. I have no basis for making any judgment one way or another. Only you could know the answer to that. Do you have anyone in mind?”

“No, but I thought you might be able to tell me how to find someone.

I’ve been a widow now for over 20 years. How old do you think I am? Bear in mind that I’m much older than I look.

Go on and guess.”

Taking into consideration her challenge, I said, “OK, I’ll guess very high then. Perhaps you are ninety?”

She was startled and dismayed.

“Eighty-four,” she said with a dismissive sneer that questioned how I could possibly have been so far off.

“Tell me, dear lady, why would anyone your age want to get married?

That’s the first question you must ask yourself. I understand your need for some affection and companionship, but then why put up with everything else? Are you weary of your freedom?

Haven’t you heard it’s better to rent, not buy? Why don’t you just find some bon vivant and have, as you French call it, un arrangement? Then after you’ve had your evening of fun, send him home to snore alone.”

“Arrangement,” she considered out loud as though for the first time. A naughty smile fleeted across her lips then vanished as she mulled it over.

“I really dislike old men. I mean I really don’t like them. I love to tango,” her voice trailed off, off to a distant place and time. Transported to Paris, young and lithe, she was dancing around a ballroom in a scornful man’s clutches to the libidinous rhythms of the tango.

“I was a war bride,” she explained, “very young. I’m Jewish, had been in a con-

centration camp during the Holocaust, lost my parents and brothers. My husband saved me from the aftermath of the war, brought me here to New York, where I’ve lived ever since in the same apartment on Madison Avenue.” I raised my eyebrows. “He was a movie mogul on the east coast just as the industry was starting up.”

Suddenly she reclaimed herself from the past with its intense joys and sorrows and again reeled me into her gaze. Leaning close, she asked as though for the first time, “Do you think I should marry?”

“Well,” I answered, “you know you don’t need to be married to do the tango. There’s a ballroom a block from here where single men are on the lookout for attractive older ladies like you [she cringed] who are sophisticated, savvy dancers with French accents” [at which she brightened up].

Then I thought to probe a bit deeper. “Do you possibly have other reasons to marry?”

She studied her manicured nails and then trapping me again in her gaze sputtered in desperation, “I’m running

out of money. I never expected to live so long.” Tears were welling up.

“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. But it surprises me. You are so elegantly dressed, like a lady of leisure, and you live in the highest rent district of New York.”

“Yes,” she conceded, “but my clothes are fifty years old and the rent is the lowest in Midtown only because of rent controls dating back to the 1940s. I could never afford to rent anyplace else now.”

“Oh,” I ventured, “but didn’t you mention having sons and daughters?”

“Yes, but they don’t like me!”

“So you want a man to take care of you?”

“Yes, but you must not have been listening. I told you I don’t like old men.”

At that, I stood up and laid my hat on the table. “Please excuse me a moment while I use the rest room. My ride will be arriving any minute.”

When I returned, hat and companion were nowhere to be Margaret Van seen.

Every

DEMOCRACY IN THE USA IS DEAD!

A

new study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists. Asking “[w]ho really rules?” researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America’s political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield the most power.

Using data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the two conclude that rich, wellconnected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of, or even against the will of the majority of voters.

TPM Interview: Scholar Behind Viral ‘Oligarchy’ Study Tells You What It Means “The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy,” they write, “while massbased interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent

influence.”

As one illustration, Gilens and Page compare the political preferences of Americans at the 50th income percentile to preferences of Americans at the 90th percentile as well as major lobbying or business groups. They find that the government—whether Republican or Democratic—more often follows the preferences of the latter group rather than the first.

The researchers note that this is not a new development caused by, say, recent Supreme Court decisions allowing more money in politics, such as Citizens United or this month’s ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC. As the data stretching back to the 1980’s suggests, this has been a long term trend, and is therefore harder for most people to perceive, let alone reverse.

“Ordinary citizens,” they write, “might often be observed to ‘win’ (that is, to get their preferred policy outcomes) even if they had no independent effect whatsoever on policy making, if elites (with whom they often agree) actually prevail.”

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A VIE ETNAM WAR BRIEF (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) %\ %HYHUO\ %DQGOHU EJEDQGOHU#\DKRR FRP

W

hat We and Others Might Have Been Spared Had JFK Lived Various timelines are offered for the Vietnam War, a war of mindboggling complexity, a blood bath of valor and brutality, ideals and corruption, determination and banality—a war that revealed Americans at their best and at their very worst.

In its entirety, states historian Paul Boyer, the war lasted from 1946 to 1975. [1] Professor George Herring calls the Vietnam War “America’s longest war,” dating it from 1950, the year after China fell to communism, with the fateful U.S. pledge of $15 million worth of military aid to France to help

36

them fight in Vietnam, to 1975, with the fall of Saigon.[3] A commonly used beginning date: 1959, whith North Vietnam’s first guerilla attacks against the South.

The official American phase: 19641973 dates the beginning of the war from the U.S. Congress response to the debated Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964. The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam March 8, 1965; U.S. military personnel in Vietnam peaked in 1969 with more than 500,000. U.S. forces withdrew in 1973.

The number of American casualties: 211,454 - 58,209 dead and 153,245 wounded (2,489 missing).

[7] The government of Vietnam’s offi-

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

cial estimate for their dead: three million, including two million civilians.

One estimate suggests the total Vietnamese dead and wounded is as high as eight million. Between 1961 and 1975 an estimated 10% of the people living in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos died in deaths related to the conflict.

The U.S. dropped 8 million tons of bombs on Vietnam between 1965 and 1973. This was over three times the amount of bombs dropped throughout the whole of the Second World War and worked out at approximately 300 tons for every man, woman and child living in Vietnam.

[5] The monetary cost to the United States: between 1965-1975: $111 billion, 738 billion in constant FY2011$.[2] “The Vietnam War was convulsive and traumatic,” wrote historian George C. Herring in 1991, “It set the U.S. economy on a downward spiral.

It left America’s foreign policy at least temporarily in disarray, discrediting the postwar policy of containment and undermining the consensus that supported it. It divided the American people as no other since their own Civil War…It battered their collective soul.”[3, 1991] Filmmaker, author and Vietnam vet Oliver Stone stated in a recent interview: “A recent poll showed that 51 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds now think that the Vietnam War was worth fighting, see the Vietnam War as an American interest. Those people our age, about 70 percent say the Vietnam War was a mistake or even worse.”

The distortion of history is not surprising in a nation that English writer and political activist George Monbiot says makes “a virtue of ignorance.” He writes: “In the most powerful nation on earth, one adult in five believes the sun revolves around the earth; only 26% accept that evolution takes place by means of natural selection; two-thirds of young adults are unable to find Iraq on a map; two-thirds

of US voters cannot name the three branches of government; the math skills of 15 year-olds in the US are ranked 24th out of the 29 countries of the OECD.” [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [4] As Gore Vidal once mourned: “We learn nothing because we remember nothing.” ______________________ Sources/Vietnam Brief [1] Boyer, Paul S. Ed. The Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford Companions). Oxford University Press, USA (July 4, 2001).

[2] Daggett, Stephen. “Costs of Major U.S. Wars.” Congressional Research Service, 201006-29. www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/ GetTRDoc?AD=ADA524288 [3] Herring, George. America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. McGraw-HillHumanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 5 edition (September 4, 2013). __“America and Vietnam: The Unending War.” Foreign Affairs, Winter 1991. __VIDEO: Why We Failed in Vietnam. Washington and Lee University. http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wlh3b2xX_A8 [4] Monbiot, George. “The Triumph of Ignorance.” Why morons succeed in US politics. Monbiot, 2008-10-28. http://www.monbiot. com/2008/10/28/the-triumph-of-ignorance/ [5] Simkin, John. “The Vietnam War.” Spartacus. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VietnamWar. htm See also, John Simkin’s excellent history educational website, Spartacus Educational, and Simkin’s takes on JFK, Allen Dulles, Robert McNamara, Bay of Tonkin.

[6] Stone, Oliver. “Oliver Stone on 50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination & the Untold History of the United States.” Democracy Now/ Alternet, 2013-11-06. http://www. alternet.org/investigations/oliverstone-50th-anniversary-jfk-assassination-untold-history-united-states [7] Wikipedia. United States military casualties of war. http:// e n . w i k i p e d i a . o rg / w i k i / U n i te d _ States_military_casualties_of_war (ED. NOTE: Beverly Bandler’s public affairs career spans some 40 years.

Her credentials include serving as president of the state-level League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands and extensive public education efforts in the Washington, D.C. area for 16 years. Bandler attended Sarah Lawrence College (‘59) and has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Washington University-- ‘82)

Saw you in the Ojo 37

+DQJHG 0DQ There’s a hanged man outside in my yard, he swings in the wind like a black fruit and I feel his weight falling into the void.

On a moonless night he’ll come to my door with an end of knotted rope around his broken neck, and he’ll ask to come in to dry his old cracked boots.

And when I let him in like an old friend to warm his veined hands, I’ll look into his eyes as he tells me of his soul – my brother in crime.

By Michael Warren

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or us at the Ranch, we love to look back on the dogs that have left the Ranch and found happy loving homes. One of these was Keno. Before volunteering at the Ranch I didn’t get the attraction to pit bulls. I felt they were dangerous and just plain ugly, until the pitties at the Ranch convinced me I was wrong.

They are so quick to give affection and loyalty, and love to receive the same I soon realized that those little pittie faces were really beautiful. The deal is sealed; I now love pitties.

But not Keno. Although probably the most beautiful pit I’ve ever seen, he didn’t rush to the front of the pen for pets and attention –instead he charged the fence with a fierce bark.

The workers at the Ranch would take him for walks, but most of the volunteers passed right by his pen.

In April a couple contacted us about adopting a dog. They had recently been robbed and wanted a guard dog. Keno was definitely NOT the first dog we considered as a match

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

for them but the husband immediately zeroed in on Keno. The wife however was not happy, this was not her type of dog. She too was fearful of him. She actually cried when they took this terrifying dog home.

Now seven months later, she feels Keno is the “Dog of a Lifetime” and she loves this sweet boy with all her heart.

They hired a trainer to work with them to tame that intimidating bark unless it was necessary. Keno’s intimidating appearance deters people from entering their property uninvited but his loving dedication is what makes them feel safe. He and their shih tzus get along very well and the little dogs have actually blossomed with their new big brother. There was some concern if the cat would be safe, but it turns out that Keno realized immediately the cat rules the roost. And at night, big, scary Keno settles down to sleep with a cuddly stuffed animal.

For the dog of your life time, contact us at adoptaranchdog@outlook. com

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veryone wants to be cowboy,” said Rosalind Freed now one of a new breed of ranchers in Arizona. I flew over to visit Ros and her husband Ted Freed. They are now launching their Lakewood Ranch for horse lovers in the Chino Valley, two hours from Phoenix and an hour from Flagstaff.

It’s where the Old West meets the new with its big, beautiful scenery.

Amongst the cactus and the canyons, in the high desert, where we rode Rosalind’s magnificent Quarter Horses, the Old West still breathes its magic. From the age of ten, inspired like so many of us, Ros was glued to the silver screen on Saturday morn-

ings at her far from salubrious local cinema in Crewe, Cheshire, England.

“That glorious cowboy country was pure paradise to me a—completely unreal and out of reach,” said Ros, a passionate pony owner at the time. Yet like so many of us, riding in British weather is sometimes to be endured, not enjoyed, because of the love of our horses.

Today we find her with a new life and a dream come true. She is learning to ‘Cowboy Up,’ their term for squaring your shoulders and getting on with the job. Ted and Ros are to breed from the famous Quarter Horse Driftwood line, established in the 1940’s. The Quarter Horse to

the cowboy in the USA is what the Ford Mondeo is to the executive in the UK but far more romantic. They are working animals with style, stamina, nerve and no nonsense. My horse Thunder had push button responses, a good straight reverse and instant break horse power.

Yet this is still the land of the real live cowboy, riding the hundreds of thousands of acres of cow country in the hot dry Arizona sun. Anything else but the real thing is laughable.

But the couple’s new ranch is different and part of a new wave. It’s the result of drought on the one hand and a flood on the other.

I am forced to admit from experience that what America does today, the UK does tomorrow. The term here is ‘Horse Adventure’- light years away from the bucking bronco. Remember, this is the New West speaking now. Here the horse is used as a focus for a whole range of different therapies for so many aspects of life-team building for dysfunctional families, drug abuse, learning difficulty and more. It’s mostly done on the ground, working on the lines of the famous “Horse Whisperer,” Monty Roberts. People are at once enabled and empowered by working with horses, which strangely re-

stores confidence in so many ways.

In the UK, Riding for the Disabled works in the same lines for physically and mentally disadvantaged people but in America, as always they push new frontiers. The idea is to allow visitors ‘the whole horse experience’ and perhaps for many to realise the dreams of youth in later years.

“I love Hollywood for the hard riding galloping cowboy image but it scares off the late starters and the older returnees. Our new motto is (SSAS) ‘start, stop and steer.’ This way we get people to ride before they realise it. When you can do that in the forgiving Western saddle, then a five-mile trail ride is nothing. It’s all at a relaxed walk any way. And what’s more it’s medically sound too. Riding does wonders for hip problemsthe movement of the horse, with the rider’s weight off their own legs loosens joints and puts a smile back on the face,” said Ros. Maybe that’s why we saw John Wayne still riding the range well into his third age!

Rosemary Grayson

Saw you in the Ojo 39

My Grandmother’s Cellar %\ 5RJHU -RKQVRQ

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he cellar was open, but my cousin Joey ducked in even when we had been told to stay out. Of course we were supposed to stay out of the silo and granary too, but that hadn’t stopped us. We were at our grandparents’ farm where we all gathered every Fourth of July. Anyway, I followed Joey on a dead run.

It was dark and I do not know what happened but suddenly my head hurt big time. Things were spinning. There was now no roof on the cellar, in fact the cellar walls were silver, shiny and very smooth. How strange! I had fallen, maybe tripped, over a bed of white geometric

40

shapes about the size of baseballs and they were not too comfortable as I lay there. I could hear familiar family voices coming from above where the roof should have been.

Grandmother was talking and she sounded as if she were giving a lecture or instructions. The whole cellar, that I found myself in, would move first one way and then the other, not unlike a ride I had been on recently at the fair except that I was not strapped in this time and it was not very long before I wished I had been. If my head hadn’t hurt so bad it probably could have been a cool experience at least up to this point.

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Without warning, a shiny, silver spear plunged into the white shapes just missing my head.

Frightened, I rolled away from it quickly and looked up to see where the spear had come from, but it had disappeared as quickly as it had come. After looking up I had also figured out I could not be in my grandparent’s cellar, it was more like the size of half a silo in height and it was round. Suddenly my cellar took off in a straight line as I was thrown against the rear and just as suddenly I stopped and was thrown against the opposite wall. I was covered with the white shapes above the chest and just then the spear shot in and out again. This time I heard my mother’s voice above the roof opening.

“I don’t know, mother, this would be hard to get used to.”

I was obviously under attack by someone and my family was nearby. I could hear them. Why weren’t they helping me?

Then my dad’s voice, “Come on, gimmie that,” and the whole inside of my cellar got very dark and was suddenly covered by something that look to me like a canvas dome.

“Honey, you’re not supposed to hold it that way,” I heard my mother

say. I heard my father grumble at that, but it got light again and the canvas dome disappeared.

How I survived the spear this time I am not sure, because it came in at an angle and probed all around before it went out again and I heard my dad mumbling the whole time.

Apparently mom’s sister, my Aunt Alice, also Joey’s mom, was there and after another jolting start and stop I heard Aunt Alice say, “Mother, this is charming. Do you know what it is worth?” I do not know what my grandmother replied because I had momentarily forgotten about the spear as my whole cellar was tipped at a severe angle and I became completely covered by the white geometric objects. I struggled with swimming motions to get uncovered and as the spear came in more slowly this time I thought it looked a little more like an oar from a row boat. I still would not want to be hit square in the head by it and it still looked like it was made of metal.

Then my cellar was accelerated, sort of bounced and reaccelerated before it stopped. I heard my Uncle Frank say, “No thanks. Where is the dang peppermill?” When I stopped this time I looked up and saw three chimneys with fire coming out of the top of each of them. I wondered if I was going to have to deal with a spear and fire.

I was now in the middle of the worst shaking I had received so far and the spear had already come in and out three or four times rapidly when I heard my Aunt Alice from far away holler, “Joey, that’s enough.”

Another rough start and stop and I saw a huge eyeball over the roof of my cellar and perhaps the biggest shock of all, my own voice.

“Grandmother, there is something in here and it’s moving around.”

“Oh dear,” and I could hear her quickly move to where my voice was coming from. My cellar tipped and the spear stirred up all the white shapes around me. Completely covered with white, geometric chips, I went for a very fast ride in one direction. The cellar was then turned completely up-side-down and I felt cold water all over my face.

That’s when I regained consciousness. The whole family was there and someone had thrown cold water on my face. Apparently I had fallen and hit my head hard going into my grandparents cellar and while unconscious I had re-experienced grandmother showing off her antique salt cellar at dinner, but I had just experienced it from inside the salt cellar. That’s one Fourth of July I will not forget.

Saw you in the Ojo 41

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—President Assad (who is bad) is a nasty guy who got so nasty his people rebelled and the Rebels (who are good) started winning.

—But then some of the rebels turned a bit nasty and are now called Islamic State (who are definitely bad) and some continued to support democracy (who are still good).

— So the Americans (who are good) started bombing Islamic State (who are bad) and giving arms to the Syrian Rebels (who are good) so they could fight Assad (who is still bad) which was good.

—By the way, there is a breakaway state in the north run by the Kurds who want to fight IS (which is a good thing) but the Turkish authorities think they are bad, so we have to say they are bad whilst secretly thinking they’re good and giving them guns to fight IS (which is good) but that is another matter.

— Getting back to Syria. President Putin (bad, as he invaded Crimea and the Ukraine and killed lots of folks including that nice Russian man in London with polonium) has decided to back Assad (who is still bad) by attacking IS (who are also bad) which is sort of a good thing?

— But Putin (still bad) thinks the Syrian Rebels (who are good) are also bad, and so he bombs them too, much to the annoyance of the Americans (who are good) who are busy backing and arming the rebels (who are also good).

Now Iran (who used to be bad, but now they have agreed not to build any nuclear weapons and bomb Israel are now good) are going to provide ground troops to support Assad (still bad) as are the Russians (bad) who now have ground troops and aircraft in Syria.

—So, a Coalition of Assad (still bad) Putin (extra bad) and the Iranians (good, but in a bad sort of way) are going to attack IS (who are bad) which is a good thing, but also the Syrian Rebels (who are good) which

42

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

is bad.

—Now the British (obviously good, except Corbyn who is probably bad) and the Americans (also good) cannot attack Assad (still bad) for fear of upsetting Putin (bad) and Iran (good / bad) and now they have to accept that Assad might not be that bad after all compared to IS (who are super bad).

—So Assad (bad) is now probably good, being better than IS (no real choice there) and since Putin and Iran are also fighting IS that may now make them good.

America (still good) will find it hard to arm a group of rebels being attacked by the Russians for fear of upsetting Putin (now good) and that mad ayatollah in Iran (also good) and so they may be forced to say that the Rebels are now bad, or at the very least abandon them to their fate. This will lead most of them to flee to Turkey and on to Europe or join IS (still the only constantly bad group).

—To Sunni Muslims, an attack

by Shia Muslims (Assad and Iran) backed by Russians will be seen as something of a Holy War, and the ranks of IS will now be seen by the Sunnis as the only Jihadis fighting in the Holy War and hence many Muslims will now see IS as good (duh!).

—Sunni Muslims will also see the lack of action by Britain and America in support of their Sunni rebel brothers as something of a betrayal (might have a point) and hence we will be seen as bad.

—So now we have America (now bad) and Britain (also bad) providing limited support to Sunni Rebels (bad) many of whom are looking to IS (good / bad) for support against Assad (now good) who, along with Iran (also good) and Putin (also, now, unbelievably, good) are attempting to retake the country Assad used to run before all this started?

(No thanks required. Glad we could clear this up for you.)

Saw you in the Ojo 43

Sandy Olson

Phone: 331-283-8529 Email: sandyzihua@hotmail.com

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Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Bernadette Jones, will be performed this month at the Bravo! Theatre. An almost all female cast is the twist they are bringing to this Pulitzer Prize winning play about a very competitive real estate sales office. There are no changes to the script and there is a lot of $%#@^^&* $ language, so

The cast, left to right: Russell Mack, Patricia Guy, LB Hamilton, Rosann Balbontin, Connie Davis, Greg Clarke, Alan McGill.

Cast members are Kathleen Carlson, Jayme Littlejohn, Kathleen Morris, Barbara Pruitt, Jacinta Stringer, Roseann Wilshere and Ken Yakiwchuk. be warned.

Performances are January 5 – 14, with 3:00 p.m. matinees on January 6, 10 and 13, and 7:30 p.m. evening shows on January 5, 7 8, 9, 12 and 14. Tickets are 200 pesos and are available at Diane Pearl Colecciones, Mia’s Boutique or by emailing mymytickets@gmail. com. The Bravo! Theatre is at Rio Bravo #10.

OPEN CIRCLE Sunday morning finds many Lakeside residents at the Lake Chapala Society and Open Circle, a forum on a variety of stimulating topics. A social hour with coffee and snacks at 10:00 a.m. is followed by an interesting lecture and discussion at 10:30. Here’s the program for the month.

January 10. Ocular Diseases. What You Need to Know about Your Eyes.

Presented by Gabriel Dery, OD. He will teach us what we need to know about our eyes, especially during this time of life, and make us aware of symptoms of eye diseases we may have but not recognize.

A Change Of Venue: This is a PowerPoint lecture that will take place at the Club Exótica inside El Jardín Restaurant in the Ajijic Plaza, at 10:30.

January 17 The Future of Senior Living in Mexico. Presented by David Truly As the world population continues to age, so will the demand for quality, affordable senior housing and care. This lecture focuses on recent trends in senior housing and care around the world and offers insights into the growing senior housing industry in Mexico and the Lake Chapala area. David Truly has a PhD in geography and has studied retirement migration to Mexico since 1997.

January 24 Annual Update on Lake Chapala and Lakeside Villages. Presented by Dr. Todd Stong. He will report on the current and future state of the lake (water levels, fishing, aquaculture, and water quality), as well as the progress of various water-related projects in 10 villages. He will discuss current challenges facing the villagers living about the lake and expectations with the new three-year cycle of village and county governments.

January 31 Understanding the Death with Dignity Movement. Presented by Loretta Downs. She returns to Lakeside to share new information and personal insights about the social revolution to improve care and choices at the end of life, including advance care planning, legalized physician-aid-in dying, euthanasia and dementia decisions. She will make you laugh and cry and you will never look at dying quite the same again.

February 7 Ensemble Contemporaneo. A sextet of musicians from Guadalajara--strings, piano, and percussion instruments--will perform classical and contemporary favorites.

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CLASS DISTINCTIONS IN AMERICA? Come to the Lakeside Little Theatre production of Good People, a Tony award winning play. It runs January 15-24. The director is Lynn Phelan.

It’s a story of a minimum-wage single mother in South Boston, who meets her old high school flame, now a successful doctor living in upscale Chestnut Hill. A reviewer says, “The dramatist’s beady observation of the class divide constantly rings true.”

Tickets are available through the run of the show (10 am to noon), except Sunday, and for one hour before the opening of each show. Tickets also available anytime by email (tickets@lakesidelittletheatre.com);) or via message at the LLT Box Office (376 766 0954).

LET’S HEAR IT FOR EQUANIMITY A special person is coming to Lakeside this month. DaeJa Napier is leading a retreat here in Ajijic titled “Equanimity--Guardian of the Heart.”

DaeJa has been practicing and studying in the Zen and Vipassana traditions since 1974.

Dates for the retreat are January 15-17, held at Guadalupe Victoria #101. The registration is 350 pesos for sangha members, and 450 pesos for nonmembers. The fee includes brunch on Sunday, (but does not include dana/donation for the teacher).

To register by email: daejaretreat@heartofawareness.org. For more information, call Janet Reichert at 766-6069.

VIVA MUSICA There’s an exciting winter and spring schedule for opera lovers. Here are the next “Live from the DaeJa Napier Met” productions at Teatro Diana.

Saturday January 16 The Pearl Fishers by Bizet, an opera of carnal desire and earning with soprano Diana Damrau as Leila Saturday February 6 Turandot by Puccini. This is one the grand operas in the repertoire, with soprano Nina Stemme as the proud princess, and tenor Marco Berti as the prince calyph.

Saturday March 5 Manon Lescaut by Puccini-- a story of obsessive love, with sultry soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufman in the lead roles.

Saturday April 9 Madame Butterfly by Puccini, featuring outstanding soprano Kristine Opolais as Butterfly and Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton.

THESE TICKETS GO REALLY FAST A very popular event here at Lakeside is—go figure—a celebration of the birthday of Robbie Burns, Scotland’s greatest bard. Niños Incapacitados sponsors this fundraiser and it’s a good one. It’s held on Monday, January 25 at 5:00 p.m., at the Hotel Real de Chapala, Ajijic.

Here’s your chance to try haggis. You can wash it down with Scotch, too. Otherwise, choose the delicious turkey dinner and lift a salute to the bard, at the no host bar.

Niños Incapacitados says: “Join us for tributes and toasts, dancing and singing. Come see pipers and kilts swirling, and you’ll learn a little bit about the lad himself.”

Tickets are 375 pesos per person. Guests can reserve a table of 10 or be seated at an open table. Please contact Anne Flaningam at 766-1609 or email aflaningam@gmail.com, to reserve your tickets as soon as possible.

TEE UP AND HELP THE CHILDREN On Monday, January 25, the Lake Chapala Shrine Club will host a golf tournament at Atlas Country Club. This will be a round of 18 holes limited to 72 players (36 two-

continued on page 46

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Saw you in the Ojo 45

somes…men and women welcome!). The format will be a go go/scramble. Registration will begin at 8:30 am and play will begin at 9:30 am, a shotgun start.

The fee is 1,600 pesos (1,400 pesos for Atlas members), which includes a continental breakfast, greens fees, golf cart for two persons, and the awards banquet. Caddies are not included in the fee. Family, friends and all others are welcome to attend the banquet. Individual tickets are 250 pesos.

Registration forms are available at the Atlas Country Club Tournament Office located by the starter’s shack, the Chapala Country Club pro shop or by contacting Denny Strole, 376766-0485 or dstrole@gmail.com. Completed forms with fees should be delivered to the Atlas tournament office or contact Denny Strole.

All funds raised from this tournament will be donated to the Lake Chapala Shrine Club’s Transportation Fund. From 2006 through 2014, the Shrine Club has funded 735 trips to the Shriners’ Hospital for Children in Mexico City, and funded 491 treatments locally at Lakeside and Guadalajara. The total cost during this period was $2,393,410 pesos.

SEE BEHIND THE WALLS… Now see beautiful homes on the next Behind the Walls Home Tours to benefit children at the School for Special Children in Jocotopec. The next tours are on January 28, February 25, March 24 and April 14. .

Tickets are 200 pesos for the regular tour, 300 pesos for the Christmas tour and 1100 pesos for all six tours. Tickets are available at Diane Pearl Colecciones or at Charter Club Tours at the Plaza Montana. If not sold out, tickets will be available at the Pier. Tours leave at 10:30 a.m.

For more information call Jessie Wynant at 766-1438, Kathy Baker at 766-0420, or Leslie Martin at 766-2274.

OPEN HOUSE AND LUNCH AT JALTEPEC An Open House at Jaltepec Centro Educativo will happen at 11:00 a.m. on January 28. Visitors can listen to a bit of history on Jaltepec, and learn about the academics and scholarship program, and take a tour of the facilities.

To put icing on the cake, so to speak, students will prepare and serve lunch so that guests can see for themselves the quality of education students receive in this Technical Universitario en Hoteleria.

Reservations are a must, as seating is limited. Please contact Linda Buckthorp at buckthorplm@gmail.com or call her at 766-1631.

HIS EX-WIFE RIPPED HIS HEART OUT The January 29-31 production from The Naked Stage is Italian American Reconciliation.

The play is set in Little Italy, New York. It’s been three years since his divorce; and Huey is still stuck on his ex-wife, Janice. She ripped his heart out, killed his dog and tried to shoot him, but he still wants to get her back (for reasons that escape us).

From left to right, front row: Shirley Mercer, Sharon Lowry, Chris L´Ecluse, Florette Schnelle. Back row: Clay McAdam, Jon DeYoung, and Director Pierre Blackburn.

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

For more information and reservations, email nakedstagereservations@gmail.com and, for those who use Facebook, look for their page, The Naked Stage, for breaking news and updates.

PLAYS! OPERA! BALLET! After a fine start last season through its collaboration with London’s National Theatre Live, Lakeside Little Theatre has broadened its Playhouse Series to be a key offering throughout the year. Also, an agreement with London’s Royal Opera House will enable the theatre to present several operas and ballets.

For 2015-16, the Playhouse Series encompasses six National Theatre Live plays, along with four operas produced by Royal Opera House and two ballets produced by The Royal Ballet. All of these are actual performances recorded in stunning high definition before live audiences and shown on LLT’s new 14 x 8 foot screen. Here are scheduled performances in January through March.

Skylight by David Hare, with Bill Nighy, January 30-31 Le Nozze di Figaro opera by Mozart, February 13-14 Romeo & Juliet ballet, created by Kenneth MacMillan, March 5-6 Performances are Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets (200 pesos) for the upcoming two shows can be purchased at the LLT box office every Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until noon.

THEY’VE DONE IT AGAIN They just keep on writing and publishing. These three stalwart members of the Ajijic Writers’ Group—Jim Tipton, Janice Kimball and Antonio Rambles-- are contributors to an anthology that has 22 short stories and essays about life for expats and villages across Mexico.

The title of the anthology is Mexico: Sunlight & Shadows. The award-winning Kindle version and paperback copies are available at Amazon.com.

Starting next week, limited copies will be available at Janice Kimball’s gallery Aztec Art Studios, 232 Carretera Poniente, in West Ajijic, and also at Diane Pearl Colecciones.

WHAT IF….. ….we hadn’t sold that Jim Tipton, Janice Kimball and Antonio Rambles house in San Francisco? ….at age 35 we hadn’t sold that slightly used ’57 Thunderbird to pay for a ticket to Europe? …..we had taken the advice of our nerdy cousin and bought Apple stock before the price per share took off?

Well, what about those and other “what ifs?” Our esteemed Editor-in-Chief Alejandro Grattan once co-wrote, directed and produced a movie at age 25 (imagine that!) entitled No Return Address. But at that stage of the game, who had ever heard of Turner Classic Movies? Now Alex has heard that No Return Address has been sold to Turner Classic Movies. Check it out by going to TCM-No Return Address. He jokes, “I sold out my financial interest so many years ago, it’s entirely possible that I was paid in Confederate money.”

Earlier, his Only Once in a Lifetime had also been sold to Turner Classic Movies. No Return Address is a little black and white story whose script had first been sent to the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV program. Sometime later, the great director himself called to say that the story was not quite right for his series, but if substantially amplified might make a fine little feature film. “The conversation Shauna Dietlien--young star could not have lasted more than a minute or two,” Grattan says, “but it changed my life. “ of No Return Address

Saw you in the Ojo 47

SELF-ESTEEM %\ -RKQ :DUG

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hen Groucho ouch ou cho o sai a d: “I aid “I Marx said: wouldn n’’ t b belong to any club that would have me as a member,” he was, obviously, making a joke, butt g he was also touching siv i e ive on a far more pervasive i i off and insidious characteristic human frailty.

Recently I gave a talk at LCS’s version of “TED” - Open Circle, a venue started and run by the astonishingly intelligent and erudite James Spivey.

The subject of self-esteem is enormous and quite complex. In the allotted time I was able to touch on only a few causes and effects of Self-esteem, both Low and High.

High Self-Esteem is not conceit or arrogance. True high self-esteem

48

is b is ased d on objective selfbased a are aw ene en es Sounds imposawareness. ssiibl ble, e, but b it is achievable sible, by llooking by o at the results of o of one’s deeds and acttivities. ti ivvvi vit it In other words, b bu uiill building a homeless sshelter she he ell for an impoveriished is he ed homeless family shou sh ould d invoke a feeling of should hii h self-esteem, whereas high saying “I am a great actor/director/ musician/manager” despite all evidence to the contrary is more in the realm of conceit, self delusion and arrogance, and usually inspired by a need to offset feelings of low selfesteem.

Low Self-Esteem is the most destructive form of self-esteem. This form runs the gamut from self doubt to self hatred and not only tortures the person who suffers from it, but

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

tortures those around them and denies the sufferer the experience of enjoying a compliment, and of enjoying people of ability and talent.

At one point I had, in my employ, a young woman who was a brilliant ballet dancer. She had danced with the Joffrey Ballet in San Francisco, (Ron Reagan Jr’s alma mater). She wanted to stage the Peter Pan Ballet and I was included in the meeting as I would be paying for everything she needed, props, set, costumes, etc.) I asked her if she would like me to determine if the venue had the ability to “fly” Peter Pan in with cables from the ceiling and she exploded at me saying she was not flying anyone in and that it was her show and she would brook no interference.

When her tirade calmed to the degree that I could ease a word in edgewise I said: “Please calm down. I was just offering to set it up if you wanted it. I am not saying you must, not even suggesting it... Just saying if you want to fly Peter in I will make the arrangements.” Her response was: “This is my show and I do not want any of that “special effects” nonsense in it, so don’t even suggest it!”

Anytime I asked a question, or made any suggestion I was shot down immediately with the admonishment: “This is MY show!” At one point I decided to bring the discussion down to a rational level and I said: “Please listen to me for a second. I think you are a highly qualified, creative talent with a tremendous amount going for you artistically...” and she cut me off saying: “Don’t you patronize me!” I said: “Wait, I am being most sincere, let me finish, I’m still getting to the part where I have some talent. So despite the fact that I truly do appreciate your abilities, I am also fairly creative and I would like to make suggestions which you can then reject completely, or accept if they please you.”

The point is, she could not see the sincerity of the compliment. She was actually unable to feel appreciated

no matter how sincerely I expressed it. Her low self-esteem would not allow it.

Her inferiority complex also caused her to settle for the first jerk that came along—a handsome exploiter who abandoned her with two of their own children and a child his sister had abandoned that she had taken in and fostered—all of this adding to her low self-esteem. The woman was, in fact, highly accomplished, talented, creative, capable and, as her compassion for her abandoned nephew showed, a humanitarian of great empathy. Still her low self-esteem would not allow her to believe she had any value.

One of the worst effects of low self-esteem is described in the saying “Familiarity breeds contempt.” This is where the Groucho Marx statement applies. People refuse to believe that anyone they know can possibly be someone who can achieve great things. This happens all the time and is terribly destructive to creativity, enthusiasm, inspiration, etc. Also it eliminates that sublime pleasure knowing that you are rubbing elbows with great people and your abilities will be commensurately enhanced.

Low self-esteem also results in what is referred to by psychologists as Schadenfreuda, which translates as “obtaining pleasure from the misfortune of others.” Many people enjoy/ suffer this negative pleasure. Because we all naturally compare ourselves to the people around us, if we have low self-esteem we believe we are on a lower rung of the ladder, comparatively. Then, if someone who is thought of higher suffers a reversal, or a loss, or humiliation, it can be very gratifying to us. The person with low self-esteem can say: “See, they’re not so great, so I am not so bad by comparison!”

It is important for everyone, even those who were driven to low selfesteem by a parent, teacher, boss, etc., to see and appreciate their victories of achievement, creativity, ability, skill, kindness etc., and then raise their self-esteem so they can enjoy the fact that they are in the midst of similarly gifted individuals and enjoy their own lives more comprehensively. There will always be someone better at something than we are and there will always be people who are not as good as we are. The thing is to enjoy our own personal space on the hierarchy without resentment or jealousy.

John Ward

Saw you in the Ojo 49

WHY EUGENE HATED RACISTS %\ 0DUJDUHW $QQ 3RUWHU

I

n the weeks that followed his assassination on April 4, 1968, the congregation of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Carlsbad, New Mexico, held a march to remember the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mt. Olive was the black church in town.

Other than ordering ribs from Mr. Dewey, proprietor of Carlsbad’s best barbecue joint, my family didn’t socialize with black people, even as we were aware and supportive of their struggles for Civil Rights via the nightly news.

Yet, there I was, age 10, marching alongside them because my father – Eugene the Liberal – had decided

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to accept Mount Olive’s invitation that white churches join them in the march. Two dozen of us showed up and we all clumped together, the gliding black grief all around us, with lamentations in gospel music that made your heart tremble.

My father wept on the drive home and claimed that he hated “… those goddamned racists!” His cursing did not alarm me, as he regularly employed it, but the force of his tears did, and so the word “racism” became imbedded in me as a great, moral wrong.

Later in life I realized that Eugene’s attitude was unusual, because on all branches of his family tree were perched dispossessed Southern land-

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

owners who had, before the Civil War, enjoyed an enviable standard of living through the toil of slaves. A copy of the 1860 U.S. census shows that my great-great-grandfather was then worth $18,625, a tidy sum at the time; a copy of the post-war 1870 census that shows his fortunes had fallen to $208. An evaluation by a Civil War scholar indicated that he most certainly had lost his land, but that his slaves probably had comprised the larger share of the balance sheet.

Hence the reason the various branches headed west to start anew.

My grandparents ranched in western New Mexico and I regularly visited as a child. Angry remembrances of the aforementioned ancestral plight would often pop up after dinner. Before Eugene could yank me out of earshot, my grandfather would growl something about “… the goddamned Yankees, stealing all of Papa’s wealth!”

Various uncles joined the stale complaint of a defeated South, the results of which had caused them not one moment’s worry – over time, the descendents of all the post-war Southwestern settlers had handsomely prospered.

To be fair, though, the original lot had it rough. By the time my bedraggled kin settled in New Mexico territory in the years spanning 18781890, they had seven members of their clan scalped by Comanches; one young father had his neck broken by a bucking horse; two husbands went for provisions and disappeared; and collectively they lost 10 children to the deprivations of the journey. When they homesteaded among the Mexicans who had been in residence there for centuries, things got better.

My grandmother was a gentlewoman who was educated as a schoolteacher in Silver City, New Mexico, at the turn of the century.

Over the protestations of some, she welcomed children of all skin colors into her classroom. She would later recall, “I had to remind these children

of whipped Southerners that the Mexicans had saved our families. They taught us how to live in the wild— about the natural medicines and how to make red chile. So they were thrice our angels!”

For some of my ancestors, a transformation had begun to take place about the equality of all human beings, regardless of skin color. Later, during the Depression, Californiabound families of all colors and nationalities passed by the ranches that dotted western New Mexico, desperate and hungry, and my grandmother fed them and gave them what temporary work she could. By these examples, Eugene learned that all people were the same in need and want, especially in terms of dignity and meaning; he taught his three daughters the same.

And yet, even he struggled with it on occasion. My older sister Mary was a willowy, golden-haired girl who had a wide circle of friends. One of them was an affable, bright-eyed black teen named James who, like her, had won a full-ride college scholarship in 1972.

At the start of the semester, Mary informed our father that he didn’t need to drive her the four hours to the university, as her friend James had a car and he’d offered. She had accepted.

The day that James stopped by to retrieve Mary – his handsome, burnished blackness such a contrast to my sister’s glowing whiteness, the two of them joking and laughing like old friends – my father silently stood at the window, his hand stuck in the up-motion of a wave.

When they drove out of sight, Eugene turned to us and said, “Well, now. I have thus been faced with the reality of my convictions, and I Margaret Ann have conquered!”

Porter

Saw you in the Ojo 51

DON’T MENTION THE “P” WORD! %\ &DURO $QQ &XUWLV &XUWLV

M

y husband nd hates when he en n I say that II’m ’m ’m thinking about “a new, w, litw, litttle project.” He’s lived through hrrou ough gh several of my projects and nd kknows n ws jjust no usst u what can happen once the he craftsmen craft cra raaftsm ftsmen men e and I get started. Let me share h my mostt recent project with you. It sprang from the previous project of taking out the stepping stones that wove through our yard. What was I going to do with 56 cement pavers? Put in a little patio, of course. That meant hauling sand, pavers, and pebbles to the backyard.

To make this simpler we had to buy a wheelbarrow, of course. That item meant that we couldn’t get into the tool bodega anymore. I mentioned to our gardener that I’d like to put up another bodega for the gardening tools and within five minutes his cousin, who is a mason, showed up.

My husband has a theory … Mexican families hold an extended family member conference every few years. At this conference, they decide who will specialize in which craft and match cell phone numbers for quick service. Anyway, with his cousin ready to work it was on to the new project … a bodega for the tools, wheelbarrow, and lawn mower. I have three theories about Mexican craftsman’s estimating skills now that I’m onto my eighth project: They don’t have the skill of estimating supplies mastered, and therefore you’ll end up with more of almost everything than you need.

They have mastered estimating supplies perfectly and have you order

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

tto oo much to too guarantee that thaatt you’ll keep tha th them after tth hem em employed em mpll mp the th he e current curre cu curr en ent e nt project is done. done one. ne e They esTheyy have hav ave e mastered m timating supplies tii ti li perfectly f tl but want to ensure that the materials store and other local businesses makes enough money to stay in business and that the neighbors can share in the leftovers.

For whatever reason, our mason had us order 400 cement blocks, even though the bodega was being put against the back and a side wall of an already existing structure; plus, the front wall was mostly going to be a pair of large, metal doors. He had us also order one meter of sand and another of gravel. Even after the bodega was completed, our driveway looked like its own materials store. We had almost 300 blocks and mounds of sand and gravel left over, so what’s there to do but put the materials to good use.

The mason stayed on and edged a large flower bed in the front yard with blocks, making lots more space for new plants to be purchased and planted, thus helping out another local business. He then dug up a soggy place in the backyard and created an area for potted plants. This used up more of the gravel and blocks, but meant that we needed more decorative pots and plants. We ensured that the new pot store outside Joco would make it for a while longer. Finally, he’s built block posts for a bench and a couple for bird baths and feeders. Yep, now we needed a large rock for the bench seat and bird supplies. We made news friends when we visited the “rock store” and had them wrestle a 160 centimeter slab into the yard for our bench seat.

Even after all that, we ended up giving away the last of the gravel, sand, and blocks to our neighbors. We currently have a clear driveway … but this will only be for a while, since I am thinking about working with an artisan on mosaic wall decorations. Anyone need some extra Carol Ann Curtis tiles?

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My Personal Archeological Site %\ .DWLQD 3RQWLNHV HV HV

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very old brown row ro ow wn n shoebox sits s tss si in a corner ner o ne off a musty storage ccl closet, lo osset set et, stuffed with relics o off my my romantic history. The box Th he e b oxx o contains loose photos picto os of of m me e on o p ic icic nics or vacations, tanned d and d smil ssmiling, miliing g, hopeful for a glorious life. Sometimes I am next to boyfriends who were place markers, not destined to take on permanent roles in my life story, but very important in the moment. The pictures are scattered among stained letters addressed in varying colors of ink to my younger self, a self with a different name.

A while back I was purging the closet and considered throwing the box in the trash. I pulled out an old letter, vaguely recalling the stage of my life when I received it. I unfurled the yellowing paper and read the former lover’s message. Oddly, it had an entirely different tone than I had remembered.

I must have been very angry with the sender when that letter was sent, because despite the emotions expressed in the letter, gentle, warm emotions, I remember I had not even responded to the letter, had ended the relationship. I didn’t recall the sender caring for me as deeply as the letter indicates when read years later. I harbor no ill will toward him. Years after my marrying, this gentleman had called me to see what I was doing with my life. I informed him of my marriage and kept our conversation brief. I remember my husband sitting near me and watching my face while I took the call, knowing from the context that this was an old

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

boyfriend calling.

Some of the photos seem so distant. I look back as though I am a third party. One photo is of me modeling somewhere in Mexico. I actually looked pretty good in my bikini, the brightly colored scarf fashioned as a skirt on my hips. I remember feeling very selfconscious in that swimsuit, overly concerned with perceived imperfections, shocked that I was asked to be the sole model for a rather large resort crowd.

Now I see the photos and wonder why I bothered to worry.

Another photo is a professional studio portrait of a handsome man, staring back with vivid blue eyes. Here was a lover who was trouble. He charmed and romanced me, only to seem to take joy later in causing me hurt and pain, expertly wielding lies as weapons, infidelities thrown in my face like torches.

I pick up one of his ancient letters and read his sweet words, addressed to a nickname he had created for me. I feel no nostalgic longing now, as I did for a long period after our breakup. I now know that he wasn’t well. Sadly, he probably moved on to psychologically wound many more unsuspecting women. Men like that need to have tattoos on their foreheads, something that warns their prey: “Toxic!” the neon orange tattoos should proclaim. This photo reminds me that pretty packages can contain bombs, and that my younger self had much to learn about the traits of healthy relationships.

I have only opened the box once or twice in many decades. I’d like to open it again when I am eighty years old, to remind me of my youth. The skeletons and artifacts within make old and dim memories come to life, offering proof that my history was real.

For now, I keep it tucked away.

Katina Pontikes

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“

S

isters, I must tell you, the kids are thieves,” Pete shared.

“Oh, no, what is it?” Sister Blanca asked.

“I tell you, Sister, those orphans have stolen my heart.”

Pete Jarveis and his wife Julie are an integral part of the Volunteers at Villa Infantil. They learned of the orphanage through their parish, San Andrés, Ajijic. They, plus others, have gathered together to become an important part of the Villa.

The generosity of benefactors was witnessed after fire and flood threatened the property’s boundaries. The Sisters prioritized the need to complete the security wall along the southern perimeter. To complete the half-finished wall, 83 new panels needed to be constructed at 3000 pesos each. Within six months, the project was done, thanks to donations from as far away as Australia and Zimbabwe and many stops in between. Another example of generosity has been that of Enrique Roviroso and the franchisees of FreshSalads. They met the Villa’s need for a humble car by delivering a Hyundai sedan filled with useful supplies.

Food is an endless requirement, of course. Enter the Tuesday Organic Market: Peter and Georgina donate their excess baked goods weekly; Greg Ochs with Green Go Farms contributes bundles of fresh lettuces; and Perry’s Pizza gives pizza discounts and frequent pizzas to the grateful thirty-two children.

Pete has found his niche in organizing the maintenance of this blessed home, having recruited his ironworker friend, Manuel Castaneda. Their weekly visits handle whatever projects might await them. Every Thursday the kids know to expect this softy and his sidekick. As he gets out of the truck, Pete is swarmed with this pack of “lovethieves.” The kids each vie to be the first to claim his hugs. They crave Pete’s open arms, competing to be held and to rest their heads on his shoulder. The little girls, in particular, love to cuddle up to him, simply to enjoy a moment’s

human touch. Then suddenly each runs off, satiated by this magical exchange of heart.

Then the two handymen begin the day’s projects. This could range from broken toilets to hanging lights, or replacing light bulbs. While the Sisters may have spotted repair needs, Pete is ever proactive, playing sleuth to faucets and drains, furniture and toys.

He and Manuel fix whatever is broken, with Pete often digging deeply into his own pockets. They always sense the gawking eyes of those who have never seen drill bits or safe, sealed lights.

Sometimes Pete might have to teach safety tips to a curious child or “employ” an interested child for a treat of 20 pesos to be spent on after-school treats.

If needing a break, the men will reenergize themselves by playing with the kids. Both men and children might run around playing tag or they kick around a tired, old soccer ball. Both adult and child might compete on the swings to see who can soar the highest. Pete knows he will lose the uplifting event, happily recalling a competitor who yelled out to the gravity-prone man, “Come on, Baby!” Despite her English cheerleading, Pete still lost, as always.

They do learn English rapidly, kids that they are. They love mimicking their expat visitors. And, during their homework time, they enjoy reading from their readers for guests. Most of the time, they are simply tender, innocent messengers, inadvertently teaching patience, gratitude, loyalty and love to volunteers like Pete. Now, if only it didn’t take him a half-an-hour to high-five and hug his way to the car, he might have more time to recruit other generous souls wanting to have their hearts stolen as well.

Website: VillaInfantil.com.mx Facebook: Villa Infantil Guadalupe y San Jose General Inquiries: (387) 763-0928, or info.villainfantil@gmail.com Lunch Bunch and Birthday Bash: lunchbunch.villainfantil@gmail.com

Saw you in the Ojo 55

NORTHERN LIGHTS MUSIC FESTIVAL

—Wins Sponsorship from the State of Jalisco %\ -LP &RRSHU

T

he annual Northern Lights Music Festival each February has become perhaps the largest and most anticipated cultural event in Ajijic. For fourteen years over twenty-five world class musicians have been packing their violins, flutes, and cellos, and trekking to Ajijic. For the last six years their major sponsor Scotiabank, has generously donated their airfares but this year it has turned its marketing efforts more towards sporting events.

The Festival has, however, just recently

56

been awarded a substantial grant from “Cultura Jalisco” for which it is extremely grateful. This has precipitated a name change for the Festival. It will now be known as Northern Lights Festival de Febrero and eventually as simply Festival de Febrero.

The Northern Lights Music Festival has, since its inception, been committed to the development of classical music in Mexico, especially through Mexican youth. Throughout the Festival, Guadalajara’s up and coming musicians attend

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

rehearsals and concerts put on by the Festival musicians. They are given free master classes and view this as an opportunity to study with some of the world’s best musicians. The Festival also brings down an excellent Luthier from Toronto.

During the two weeks of the Festival he adjusts tunes and repairs over 100 instruments for free to the musical community.

The fourteenth annual Northern Lights Music Festival takes place from February 20 to March 4, 2016. The programming this season is outstanding. If any of you saw Tracy Silverman a couple of years ago you will be delighted to know that he is returning this year with his seven stringed electric violin. He just finished a concert at Carnegie Hall with next stop Ajijic! Ben Bowman who is concert master at Lincoln Centre will be here, as will Joel Noyse the principal cellist from the Metropolitan Opera Company.

They will be joined by members of the Manhattan Chamber Players.

This year New York will be well represented. Audiences will be delighted to hear that The Gryphon Trio will be here, a group where tickets in Canada go for more than $100 in Ajijic, only $17.50 US! The Festival is delighted to introduce a star guest vocalist Patricia O’Callaghan. If you look her up on YouTube, you will be very impressed! In fact, the same can be said for all of the attending musicians!

The Fabulous Jazz Saxophonist Richard Underhill is also returning with his outstanding Jazz Band. Richard has won so many awards (22 in all if you count them up on his web site). He has been nominated five times for Juno awards and won two. More highlights include outstanding violinists Sarah McElravy and Stephen Sitarski, and pianist David Fung. Most of these musicians have their own web page so feel free to look them up. I am sure you will be very surprised by their extraordinary level of performance.

A truly remarkable Festival in a truly remarkable town, all for a truly remarkable bargain price. With a total of 15 concerts in the two week period of the Festival. You can take your pick at as low at $17.50 for a ticket or treat yourself to exceptional packages for between $141 and $294 US with a meal, a gala party, champagne, wine and appetizers thrown in! General tickets will be sold beginning Mon. Feb. 2 from 10 am to 1 pm Mon.-Fri. at the Nueva Posada Hotel and Restaurant, 9 Donata Guerra.

For reservations and info on ticket sales: SNLMFtickets@gmail.com or contact Maureen Welch 108-1407 phone between 2 and 4 please. Discount packages are available now through Kelly French northernlights2009@gmail.com, 331626-0717

Saw you in the Ojo 57

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION, COUSCOUS %\ &DURO / %RZPDQ Quarzazate—the Hollywood of Morocco

“

I

’m shocked, shocked, to find out that film making is going on here!”—From the movie Casablanca Of the hundreds of movies, TV series and documentaries that have been filmed in Quarzazate, the Hollywood of Morocco, ironically the movie that is most associated with images of Morocco—Casablanca— is not one of them. When director Michael Curtiz filmed this blockbuster in 1942, the countries of North Africa were mired in the throes of World War II. Instead of shooting the scenes on the intriguing streets of Casablanca, Curtiz had to settle for locations of Flagstaff, Arizona and the sound stages of Warner Broth-

58

ers Burbank Studios.

Mid-point in our three week circumvention of Morocco, we explored this film capital. Starting out in Casablanca, we headed east to Rabat, Me-

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

knes and Fes, turned south to Erfoud, and bobbed by camel caravan into the Sahara. We emerged in the Berber city of Tinehir, then after Quarzazate, traveled over the High Atlas Mountains enroute to Marrakech, and completed the circle back in Casablanca, where a clone of Rick’s Americain Café waited.

Despite a journal full of entries, Quarzazate jumped to the front of stories to tell. Of all the preconceived impressions that I had of Morocco— couscous, head-scarfed women and skull-capped men dressed in long flowing robes, Bedouins, ubiquitous mosques—I never anticipated standing where Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif raced their camels across the desert in David Lean’s 1962 classic, Lawrence of Arabia.

Nicknamed the ‘door to the desert,’ modern day travelers use this largest town in Saharan Morocco, to procure provisions before setting off into an expanse of swirling dunes and multicolored landscapes stretching into desolation. Thousands of years before, Quarzazate served as a crossing point for African traders on their way to Northern Morocco and Europe. But in 1897, Louis Lumiere, French film pioneer, filmed Le ChevrierMarocain here, changing the complexion of Quarzazate forever.

For 115 years, international film makers have flocked to this location to make movies requiring a desert setting. The exceptional natural lighting, eight hours of sunlight caught in the shadows of the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains, the outstretched sand dune hills, and the architectural gems of ancient Kasbahs, make ideal photographic conditions and production crews, which cost a fraction of filming in the US or Europe.

West of town, we hop-scotched across stones that dotted the semidry Draa River bed to cross over to Ait Benhaddou, a picturesque, mountainside fortified city (ksar), which features one of the best preserved Kasbahs in the entire Atlas region. Designated a

UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers a striking example of southern Moroccan earthen architecture. Discarded movie set props littered the landscape.

In fact, we entered the city through the main gate which was specifically constructed for Lewis Teague’s 1985 sequel to Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

We trudged along the village’s adobe walled corridor until we reached the home of a 90 year old woman who has lived in this Kasbah her entire life. She invited us into her earthen floor quarters and directed us up three flights of pitch dark stairs to her sunny rooftop bedroom. From this vantage point, we watched Atlas Studios, one of the world’s largest movie production companies, film a British movie just across the river. The real treat loomed inside. Every wall was plastered with pictures of her and the actors starring in films made on location here. The breadth and depth of the film history this simple woman had experienced came to life.

Among her treasures—Orson Wells, filming Othello in 1952, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956, The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring James Stewart and Doris Day, John Huston’s 1975, The Man Who Would Be King, with Sean Connery and Michael Caine, Sodom and Gomorrah, Robert Aldrich’s 1962 film, starring Stewart Granger and Pier Angeli, Ridley Scott’s gem, Gladiator(2000) with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, Body of Lies (2008) with Leonardo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe, Kingdom of Heaven (2005) with Liam Neesom and Black Hawk Down (2001).

The photos, hung with straight pins around the room, captured an entire era of film.

The scanning of these historical nuggets continued with candid shots of Martin Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) with Willam DeFoe, Omar Sharif, Peter O’Toole and Anthony Quinn, grinning on the set of Lawrence of Arabia, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Mexican director, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu during the filming of Babel (2006), and Oliver Stone standing with Anthony Hopkins on the set of Alexander (2000). The picture of George C. Scott in Patton (1970), took on greater meaning when we stayed at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Casablanca, General Patton’s actual headquarters in WWII. The list grew, my eyes blurred, the images overwhelmed me.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

—Again from the movie Casablanca. Carol L. Bowman

CHILD

of the month

%\ 1LFROH 6HUJHQW &OLQLF 'LUHFWRU Maria de Lourdes (Loulou) H.P.

L

oulou is an 11- months old child from Chapala. She was born premature (8 months) with lungs and heart problems. The problems with her heart were resolved after a few months. She continues to have problems with her lungs and was diagnosed with asthma in September. She also has allergies to milk and needs a special type of milk in her diet.

She is very prone to bronchitis, cold, pneumonia and other lung issues. Her mother came to Ninos Incapacitados when Loulou was one month old. We have been helping with transport to and from Hospital Civil in Guadalajara and also with medication and special milk.

Since February 2015 we have reimbursed the family over 31,000.00 pesos. The doctors told the family that when her lungs get stronger it is possible that she will be asthma free. We certainly hope so for her and her family.

As Clinic Director for Ninos Incapacitados, I thank you once again for this opportunity to present Loulou. We have monthly meetings at the Real de Chapala in Ajijic on the second Thursday of the month at 10:00 am, please join us and learn more about our organization. We have three clinics: Jocotepec, Ajijic and Chapala. Should you want to visit, do not hesitate to contact Barb Corol for Jocotepec (766-5452)

or myself for Ajijic and Chapala (7664375).

Please visit our website: www.programaninos.com

Saw you in the Ojo 59

$ 1RYHO E\ -RKQ 7KRPDV 'RGGV 5HYLHZHG E\ &ODUH *HDUKDUW

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ohn Thomas Dodd’s muse is in overdrive! Last month his book of poetry was positively reviewed in OJO. Now, for those who don’t groove on the distilled language of poetry, John has published his debut novel,” A Long Way from Nowhere.” Here is a work with gritty scenes, snappy contemporary dialog, and adventures that hark back to the Viet Nam era in Texas.

It is a compendium of excitement, wonder, suspense, romance, confrontation, and unexpected resolution. If poetry seems inaccessible, let this novel grab you by the short hairs and involve you in “Luc Barbon’s” hilarious, poignant and kaleidoscopic exploits as he seeks to give meaning to his very existence.

The author’s transition from poet to novelist is equivalent to an artist moving from doing small etchings to painting large and fully colored and textured canvases. His muse must be ecstatic!

The dialogue is quick, colloquial and contemporary, the characters fully formed with amazing unconventional eccentricities, the relationships while sometimes profound and nuanced, also can reflect the Slam-Bam-Thank you-Mam character of life among the twenty-somethings. It’s almost as if the author is now telling us what he really wanted to say, and including all the humorous, improbable and pathetic conundrums that constitute a part of a life well lived.

The structure of the novel is evocative of the picaresque adventure, artfully updated. While a picaro is usually a bit of a cynical rogue and a rascal, Luc has a sort of naïve goodwill, and a deep love for all the women who weave their way through his life. He moves through time, not restricted by the constraints of a plot, but guided by an ineffable desire for connection and a sense of wellbeing and being well. Though his stated goal has to do with academic achievement, his more apparent aim is to understand and experience the ways and meanings of love and relationship.

Rather than formatting the novel in chapters, Luc’s tale is comprised of five books and an epilog. Each book begins with aquote extracted from the upcoming segment. Book 5 begins “They made love that evening as if they were ending a chapter in their lives, a chapter where the tumbleweed once uprooted, can never return to that moment in time. Both silently acknowledged the unpredictability of the wind.”

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Such a creative device not only sets a tone, but manages to comment on the nature of time and connectedness and relationship deepening and enhancing the overall theme.

Since Luc is an American by birth, but a Canadian by heritage and early experience, his sojourn in Texas is truly that of a stranger in a strange land. He moves through the wealthier and seamier sections of Dallas, to a small town in northeast Texas with social conventions and constraints respected by many but worked around by the wealthy few, most delightfully possibly by a fiftyish gentleman characterized as “a walk-in closet gay.” Rather than getting caught up in judgment, Luc seems to have an ever renewing sense of curiosity and discovery as fresh complications and challenges turn up. Fortunately for Luc, it is not uncommon for him to come upon such exotic creatures as a vision with a soft Texas drawl, a “canopy of red hair and a cowboy shirt, its metal buttons barely holding on.”

It takes a poetic vision to conclude a novel leaving the reader awash in a new landscape, and satisfied with fresh insight and understandings, yet all the while yearning for more. It’s as if one just ate a sumptuous desert, and though fully sated, one still harbors the hope that the experience will happen again. Treat yourself to this book! Enjoy the ride, make friends with the out of the ordinary people and be exhilarated by the unexpected. Then take a moment to pray that John continues to write fiction!

(Ed. Note: The novel can be found on amazon.com, and locally at Galleria Sol y Luna and Diane Pearl’s boutique.)

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COLUMNIST

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Riches Redefined defined

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i c t o r ’s d a y starts before daybreak.

Surrounded by dark, he slips out of the house to go to his first job of the day. It’s a simple job, one he inherited from his son: he walks dogs.

Then he reports to his day job, which starts at 7:00 a.m. It is a job he has held for 23 years. A job of manual labor, since his parents could never afford to put him through school; he never learned to read and can only write his own name. Even though he has a bad back, and has had surgery, he still works hard, does physical labor, and never complains; in fact his face is always covered with a smile reaching from ear-to-ear. After he concludes his day job, he goes on to yet another job. And on Sundays, he works as well at gardening jobs.

The USA workweek is based on 40 hours. Mexican Labor laws have a full-time job as Monday through Friday and a half-day on Saturday.

So not only do they work--they work longer hours for less pay. In Jalisco minimum wage is $66.45 pesos per day, or at the exchange rate of the date of this writing, $3.68 USD/day.

I met Victor shortly after moving to Mexico. I came from the USA, and was followed by the voices of the uninformed and the bigoted. “All Mexicans are lazy. They will steal from you. It’s dangerous in Mexico.” Everything about Victor flies in the face of everything you still hear on the USA news.

Unlike many Mexican families, his is small with just two children. And he is so proud because by working all these jobs, he paid for the education of both his children. His son is now in college. His son will be a professional. His chest swells and his eyes sparkle whenever he talks about his son, while his daughter has given him a grandson to be proud of as well.

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

There is no limit to my admiration of Victor who came from such poverty.

While he has had his trials and challenges, he has prevailed.

I believe his riches are greater than those of “the 1%” in the United States.

I have another Mexican friend who came from a wealthier family.

The oldest child of three, she went to college and has a degree in International Business. She worked while she was in college, and as a young entrepreneur she has started three businesses, all successful. Her days are filled from dusk to dawn filling the needs of these businesses. She is young, married, and successful. Her husband makes a good living. Yet they both work extremely hard. They have a difficult time carving out time for fun.

These are just a few of the people I find who don’t fit the media’s view of Mexico.

And after celebrating our ninth Christmas here in Mexico, I can also report that never have I felt fear.

We’ve never been robbed and we live in town and our Mexican neighbors are all fine people and they help and look after us.

I carry great disdain towards the way the USA media paints Mexico.

The people here are warm, polite, loving, family oriented and dependable. Lately, I hear many expats discussing that they feel safer in Mexico, than when they are in the USA. I concur. The last two times I was in the States, I had ugly things happen to me. Do I think Mexico is crime free? No. Do I think the USA is crime free? No. But I do wake up in Mexico every day safe and happy!

Victoria Schmidt

Saw you in the Ojo 63

Y

es, it’s that magical time of year when the Darwin Awards honor the “least evolved” among us . Here Is The Glorious Winner: 1. When his .38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

The Honorable Mentions: 2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his in-

64

surance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself.

He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.

The deception wasn’t discovered for three days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer: $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be

thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Michigan at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash.

The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn’t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren’t available for breakfast. The frustrated gunman walked away.

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street by sucking on a hose, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had and the sick man had been punished enough!

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family.... unless of course one of these above-mentioned individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

Remember: They walk among us; they can reproduce. And they can actually vote. Be on guard!

Saw you in the Ojo 65

The Last Meal %\ -LP 5DPER

E

ddie Pankowski was a member of Delawareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Defender triumverate known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;ski patrolâ&#x20AC;?: Otlowski, Radulski, and Pankowski. He had the dubious distinction of being assigned to represent James Allen Red Dog. Red Dog was a thirty-nine year old Lakota Sioux Indian who had previously been convicted of rape and had committed four murders: one in Montana, two in Los Angeles and later, another in the federal prison at Marion, Illinois.

The six-foot-five, 240 pound criminal warrior was eventually placed in the federal witness pro-

tection program, however, because he had given federal prosecutors valuable information in many other serious cases. As is too often the case, Red Dog committed his fifth murder while in witness protection in Delaware. After nearly decapitating his victim with a knife, he proceeded to rape the sole female witness. Following Red Dogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrest, Pankowski (known to the legal community as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eddie P.â&#x20AC;?) came to his defense.

Red Dog was a cold-blooded killer, for certain, and he was quickly convicted and thereafter sentenced to death in spite of Pankowskiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempts at a spirited de-

fense. No amount of mitigating factors presented to a reasonable jury would have avoided what was an inevitable result.

It was March 3, 1993 and rain fell steadily outside the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware. Midnight was the time set for execution; always midnight. Red Dog, who had waived any appeal of his conviction and death sentence, had ordered his last meal: shrimp, crabs, and lobster from Bailyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, a local restaurant on Route 13, near the prison. The meal had been delivered on a 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122; tray and was enough seafood for a family of six. In keeping with death penalty protocol, a tribal medicine man from Montana was permitted to enter the prison that dreary night to administer the last tribal rites.

Pankowski, a non-smoker, sat in a cell with his client and joined in smoking the peace pipe in an effort to ease his clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on the ultimate consequences. Finally, the Siouxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last meal was delivered to his cell.

As Red Dog began stuffing down the seafood delicacies, his lawyer picked up a fork and joined inâ&#x20AC;Ś. only to help his client, of course. But when Eddie P. reached in for one of

the lobster tails, Red Dog stabbed his hand with a plastic fork, mouthing menacingly, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eddie, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a rapist, a five-time killer, and a Sioux without a soul. If you pick up another piece of my final meal, I will tear your heart out with my bare hands.â&#x20AC;?

Pankowski, hurting from the stab to his hand, slid his own fork back on the tray, smiling nervously at his clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s threat. There was little doubt that the killer would make good on his threat. All of his other threats had been carried out without any hesitation or remorse whatsoever.

When the last meal had been consumed, he was led to the execution chamber, an area about ten by twelve feet. There was a window separating the chamber from the witnesses required to attend.

A curtain closed off the chamber from the witnesses until the warden declared that the drugs should be injected. The opening of the curtain gave those in attendance notice that the killerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death was imminent. Red Dogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final words, as he was led before the witnesses to his lethal injection: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to thank my wife, Bonnie, and my lawyer, Ed, but the rest of you can kiss my ass.â&#x20AC;?

Drugs forged through the Siouxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body quickly and he was declared dead in less time than many of his victims had suffered in his vicious, bloody wake. Fortunately, as it turned out, in spite of Pankowskiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feeble effort to join in the last meal, there was only one execution that night! Pankowski had been spared. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The compensation for a death sentence is knowledge of the exact hour when one is to die. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A great luxury, but one that is well earned.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Vladimir Nabokov, Invitation to a Beheading.

(1934) Jim Rambo

MID-MONTH BONUS! FIRES ,V -DQ 6WHLQEULJKWœV ULYHWLQJ DFFRXQW RI D ¿UH KHUH DW /DNHVLGH DQG KRZ LW EURXJKW EDFN PHPRULHV RI KHU WLPH DV D PRXQWDLQ ¿UH ³ORRNRXW´ EDFN LQ WKH 86 GXULQJ ZKLFK WLPH VKH GHYHORSHG a deep love of the outdoors. The article can be found at KWWS FKDSDOD FRP HORMR LQGH[ SKS PLG PRQWK DUWLFOHV Each PLG PRQWK ZH RIIHU VXSHUE DUWLFOHV WKDW ZKLOH D ELW WRR ORQJ IRU RXU SULQW YHUVLRQ DUH SHUIHFW IRU RXU GLJLWDO IRUPDW &KHFN LW RXW

66

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Saw you in the Ojo 67

COLUMNIST

%\ -DFNLH .HOOXP

L

et’s start this New Year with a positive action!

Buy and put a collar with an ID tag on your dog. Have him wear it all the time. This last year reading most postings of lost dogs has been sad and quite honestly frustrating.

The majority of the posts indicated that the lost dog did not have a collar /ID tags on at that time. Why not?

We never ‘plan’ for our dog to get out and get lost, “he never did it before” - but it happens. Get a collar and ID tag. It’s an easy and inexpensive thing to do. Assist those who you are asking to help you find your dog, by having a collar / ID on your dog.

Another repeat occurrence is learning about pets left behind when their owner has died or become incapacitated. This requires others to scramble to deal with this emergency situation. There is a simple and easy solution. Make your wishes known by going to Anita’s Animals website, and click on the tab called Pet Godparents. When you click on this tab a form comes up that you can complete on-line, print out and post in a prominent place in your house, like a kitchen cabinet. Plan ahead. Make it easier on your pets and those who will have to take care of your family pet when you cannot do it.

Anita has been doing cat and dog rescue in this area for over twenty years. Through these years she has become familiar with many Mexican families, including those with sev-

68

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

eral generations in the home. With this familiarity, she knows who will take good care of their new family pet. Once, such a family who lives on the other side of the lake visited her on a Sunday. They had adopted a family dog from Anita over ten years ago. Sadly this dog had just recently died. They came to Anita to find another family dog. The members of the family consisted of a grandfather, his son and an eightyear-old grandson. The son was encouraging his father to select a younger dog. The grandfather spent some time looking at all the dogs to see which one he wanted. The grandfather saw the one. It was an older German Sheppard. A conversation occurred between the grandfather and son about the choice.

The grandfather prevailed. He said to his son, referring to his selection, “He walks slow. I walk slow. We will walk slow together.” The new family member jumped up into their truck with the son, the grandfather and the grandson. Off they went to start a new life together.

For those who have family pets, you know about the ever increasing cost of pet food on our budgets. Effective in 2015 a 16% tax was added to the cost. Imagine your monthly pet food bill, and then imagine this.

Each month Anita needs to buy 230 kilos / 507 pounds of dry dog food, and 135 kilos/ 297 pounds of dry cat food, for her twice a day feedings. This dry food is supplemented with canned pet food or fresh meat.

This amount and the need increases when Anita has pregnant and nursing mothers and when we are in “kitten and puppy season.” Please consider sponsoring an animal for a week by making a donation of food or offering a cash donation.

Your contribution is greatly appreciated. Anita is at the Ajijic Wednesday tianguis each week, and a PayPal donation can be made on her website. www.anitasanimals.com/

Learning to Pay Attention %\ 3K\OOLV 5DXVFK

M

y new renter, Sam, turned up on the first day of October, my favorite month. It’s not just because I’m a Scorpio, but who could forget those incredibly beautiful Ohio autumns?

Each year, surrounded by the blazing colors of the elms, maples, and chestnuts, I would recall the the poet St. Vincent Millay’s words. “Lord I fear you’ve made the world too beautiful this year” Sam paid his first month’s rent, liked the apartment, the peace, the gardens. He seemed a positive fellow, though over talkative and bit strange.

Some of my favorite folks have been a little off center, so I concentrated on our mutual love of nature and animals, and intended to overlook the rest.

On the morning of October 28th, rather than awakening to Mexico’s birthday song, Las Mañanitas, my eyes flew open at 7 to the unexpected din of pounding feet, right outside the wall behind my head.

Jumping up, I threw on a robe and opened the back door. At the far end of the driveway stood Don Pedro and young Juan, both leaning on their brooms and staring, goggle-eyed up at the house. I walked down to join them, then turned to look back in the same direction.

Here came Sam, running barefoot over the bumpy cobblestones, head thrown back, eyes closed and totally naked. I hadn’t seen a naked man in a while, and I’d have preferred a different specimen. He lumbered past us, jumped into the fairly frigid pool, popped out again and continued his run. Obviously Sam was considerably stranger than I had thought. Thank goodness he was my only guest on that day.

The following hours made up my longest birthday ever. Instead of cake and presents I was celebrated and entertained by the arrival of the village police, Civil Protection officials and para-medics in ambulances. None of us seemed quite certain where Sam belonged – not in jail certainly, though he had disturbed my peace, but perhaps a

or by my husband’s unexpected 3 am pronouncements?

When I woke up this morning, though, I understood. I realized that in order to see my life’s larger plan, I must first begin to pay attention.

A sorry fellow named Sam, his orphaned mattress, Mari’s awareness of her neighbors’ needs, a weary hardworking dad relishing a good orthopedic mattress on a Sunday afternoon.

And I? Well, I was threaded and stitched throughout this human patchwork crazy quilt. So, in the future, how can I refuse to believe that my life does fit a larger plan?

hospital, or some institution? Everyone couldn’t have been nicer, but many hours later, as they all departed, Sam was still there, seated in the bathtub. It would soon be dark.

I told him, though the closed door, that I couldn’t allow him to spend another night on my property, so he put on a pair of shorts, a tank top, mounted his small bike and peddled off.

Sam’s left behind belongings were minimal. A few pieces of clothing, his passport, pages with simple, childish drawings, a few pesos. Quickly I packed them up, passing them on to Sam’s lawyer who stopped by a few days later.

But what was I to do with Sam’s largest possession: that enormous, extra-thick, orthopedic mattress? He had insisted on placing it on top of the regular bed, but never returned to pick it up. Months later the mattress was still in my bodega. I asked Mari, my go-to person, what she thought we should do with it.

Fifteen year old Juan helps me mornings before school. Mari now told me that his parents have never owned a mattress. Throughout their marriage, including the births of three children, they have slept on a wooden base covered with a blanket.

As so many times before, Mari had offered the perfect solution. The mattress traveled down the mountain and was installed on Juan’s parents’ bed.

The following Monday Mari took me aside. “Sunday was the soccer game,” she said. “Juan’s father never misses a game, but he didn’t go yesterday. Some people wondered why, but then his wife Conchita stopped me on the street this morning.”

“My husband didn’t go to the Sunday soccer game. He was so happy just resting on the mattress. He stayed there most of the day.”

Yesterday my daily meditation included this centering thought, “I trust that my life fits a larger plan.” I was not convinced. My life seems one of the least planned ever. Hasn’t my path been paved by happy coincidences,

Saw you in the Ojo 69

Grand Canyon Rhapsody/Grand Canyon Requiem %\ 'U /RULQ 6ZLQHKDUW

“

R

ecreational development is a job not of building roads into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the unlovely human mind.”

Aldo Leopold President Theodore Roosevelt said of Grand Canyon, “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and men can only mar it.” Sadly, man’s attempts to mar this natural marvel have never ceased. In the 1960’s, a group of congressmen proposed construction of two huge hydroelectric dams in the canyon, creating a vast lake. It was argued that the canyon would become

70

more accessible to visitors by means of watercraft. Beginning in 1963, the Sierra Club ran a series of nationwide newspaper and magazine ads asking, “Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get nearer the ceiling?”

The public outcry caused the project to be scrapped in 1968. The IRS responded by ending the Sierra Club’s tax exempt status, causing recalcitrant members to actually increase their contributions. At the time there was a huge collective sigh of relief that the canyon had been saved from defilement, but today new threats have appeared. While Grand Canyon National Park itself is protected, the

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

lands of the adjacent watershed, including the Kaibab Plateau with its 1737 plant species and unique wildlife habitat, are not.

Grand Canyon stretches for 227 miles along the twists and turns of the Colorado River. It is 18 miles wide at its widest and descends to a depth of one mile. It is one of the world’s most magnificent and most recognizable natural wonders. While it took 80 million years for the river to carve it out, its sanctity can be ruined in nanoseconds by human misbehavior.

Now, the Grand Canyon Escalade, a 1.4 mile tramway that would carry as many as 10,000 people a day 3200 feet to the canyon floor is proposed on nearby lands owned by the Navaho Nation and outside park boundaries. Such an intrusion, with accompanying noise and pollution, would defile the natural environment, already violated by the Hualpi Skywalk with its helicopter service to the bottom of the gorge. The argument that such a development would provide employment for young Navaho, keeping them home on the reservation, is insubstantial when compared to the havoc such a project would cause.

Near by, The Italian based development company Stilo Group plans to construct 2000 homes on inholdings, private lands predating the designation of parks and forests, within the Kaibab National Forest.

This project, larger than the Mall of America, would include three million feet of commercial space consisting of shops, hotels, boutiques, a spa, a trailer park and a dude ranch.

The same stale arguments offered by proponents of the dams in the sixties have been dusted off and reintroduced, that presently only a few can enjoy the canyon but that the development would cause greater visitation and enjoyment than the National Park Service now provides. In reality, the National Park Service provides multiple opportunities for visitors to experience the canyon. That large

parts of the canyon would be desecrated matters not the least in the eyes of the greedy destroyers.

Demands for new wells to provide water for such a development would threaten the already overtaxed aquifer in an arid region where water is never to be taken for granted. As it is, the waters of Kanab Creek which should feed directly into the Colorado River almost never make it there because they are sucked dry by local communities. Other tributaries, such as Horn Creek and Salt Creek, have been rendered radioactive and unfit for consumption by Uranium mining.

The Grand Canyon Watershed Coalition, consisting of numerous local and national organizations is working tirelessly to persuade President Obama to declare the entire 1.7 million acres of the region the Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument. Past attempts to save Kaibab Plateau and Kanab Creek by expanding park boundaries or by declaring them national monuments have been thwarted by roadblocks created by special interests.

The new monument would facilitate the ultimate goal of a wildlife corridor leading from Yellowstone National Park to Grand Canyon.

Hopefully, it would eventually connect with the Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative’s series of wild lands now being extended across the US/Canadian border.

Kaibab Plateau is an ecologically rich “sky island” that sustains a population of mule deer as well as the rare Kaibab squirrel. Mountain lions and the endangered California condor sometimes appear in the region.

Briefly, it was also the home of Echo the gray wolf, who wandered all the way from Yellowstone, only to be shot by a hunter.

There is a groundswell of support in Arizona and across the nation for such a national monument. If the President is persuaded to sign on the dotted line, we can anticipate a shrill chorus of caterwauling and lamentations from logging, grazing and mining interests, as there was in the aftermath of his designation of New Mexico’s Organ Mountains as a national monument last year.

Thomas Jefferson observed that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Such vigilance is also the price of any good thing, including the preservation of the health and integrity of one of our most beloved national treasures.

Dr. Lorin Swinehart

Dear Sir: Teri Saya’s humorous essay (Oct. Ojo, p. 10) set me off. My wife and I were surprised (and enthralled) when we stumbled on one in Leon en route to Guanajuato in 1994 or 5. Even had a curtain you could draw to conceal the license plate.

Don’t turn on the TV, and it’s a great night’s sleep; the neighbors are always discreet. I always choose a “No Tell Motel” when I travel. They’re the quietest and frequently the cheapest.

Bill Sanders Nube #6, Brisas de Chapala 765-2290

Dear Editor, The Ojo del Lago is a large part of what makes Lakeside feel like a real community. For years you have published the monthly newsletter of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) as part of your community involvement. Many Lakesiders are not LCS members, but are able to keep up with all the many changes LCS is going through, by means of your magazine So at this time, I want to send a big “Thank You” to the Ojo for your ongoing support of LCS. As we enter the new year, we have big plans for adding to the ongoing educational programs we offer to both the expat and the Mexican community. Student aid to university students, the Children’s Art Program which has produced many of the well-known regional artists over its 60 years, both English and Spanish language libraries, Spanish classes for expats and ESL classes for Mexicans, TED talks, and our Foreign Film series are just some of the current offerings, and more will appear as we organize in

the future.

As some of these changes are realized, we hope you will continue to help us publicize what we offer to all Lakeside residents, and we will be happy to keep you informed.

On behalf of the Lake Chapala Society, I want to send very warm wishes for a safe and happy New Year to all the Lakeside community. Just imagine what life would be like here without the Ojo and without LCS. Cate Howell LCS Vice-President Chair, LCS Community Committee Our Editor Responds: Thanks very much for your kind note. I have been at Lakeside for the past 27 years and it was the LCS that made the transition from Los Angeles to Mexico so much easier for me than it might have been. The Ojo has been proud to work in tandem with the LCS for the past several decades, and look forward to doing so for many more years to come.

Saw you in the Ojo 71

CONVERGENCE %\ 3LD .UDXV $LWNHQ

C

onvergence is strange... a little disorienting. It wasn’t like I was a dedicated jogger. I was mostly running off excess energy or tension, depending on the day. Carmel Beach was a great place for it – a long stretch of clean sand in Carmel Bay. When I ran one way, I looked at Point Lobos ahead of me. The other direction, Pebble Beach and the Beach Club shone bright white in the sunlight on the north edge of the bay.

I had tried jogging at Point Lobos, the state park just south of Carmel that Robinson Jeffers called “the greatest meeting of land and sea on earth,” but the paths were

72

dangerously uneven. One could trip over tree roots, rocks, or fall down an incline into a canyon. Plus there wasn’t anywhere to stash my kids.

Carmel Beach, on the other hand, had a grove of bushes at the top nearest Ocean Avenue. They were perfectly safe building sand castles there, protected from the chilly Pacific fog breezes by their hideouts in the bushes, while Mom headed down the beach for a few minutes solitude.

It wasn’t often that I saw anyone else running. A few Frisbee games spontaneously erupted among high school kids; people sat by fires they built in the sand to roast hot dogs

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

(yes, that was allowed in the early 70’s); but mostly people just sat and gazed into the ocean. I jogged by, thrilled with the deep breaths of ocean-fresh salt air and the freedom I felt with the wind blowing my hair and my feet pounding the sand in rhythm with my own heartbeat.

One spring afternoon, another jogger ran up beside me and started chatting. “Hi, do you run here often?”

I looked over to my left and saw a very handsome young man in shorts and a t-shirt jogging in perfect time with my own.

“No, just when I happen to be down here and have the time. How about you?”

“I come down sometimes to get away from the city and I try to jog here every day while I’m here. It’s a great place for it, isn’t it?

“Indeed it is. So you’re from San Francisco?”

“Yes. Carmel is a breath of fresh air in a thousand ways. I love the peace and quiet, the rugged beauty . . .” he said, leaving his thought incomplete. Sometimes the beauty of Carmel’s beach is indescribable.

We chatted about the area; he asked about a restaurant and I told him how to find it . . . small talk. As we approached the point where I headed toward the bushes, I said, “Here’s where I get off. Nice talking to you.”

I waved a quick goodbye and turned up the steep beach incline.

I wasn’t a big football fan, but now and then my husband watched weekend football with friends. He loved the San Francisco‘49ers but would pretty much watch any game that happened on Sunday afternoon. I had no emotion about the game, but I loved football food – popcorn, nachos, beer, and the female chat between wives while the guys were totally focused on the game. I watched, maybe, 30 percent of the time.

One afternoon late that fall, sprawled on the floor with nachos

in front of me and girlfriends beside me, I glanced up to see a close-up of the ‘49ers quarterback, Joe Montana, appear for a few seconds. I jumped up. “Oh, my gawd, that’s the guy I was jogging with on the beach!” I shouted.

“No way,” my friend Deborah yelled back. “No bloody way! You met Joe Montana?”

“Not only met him,” I said, “I jogged from just above Carmel Point to Ocean Avenue with him. I had no idea he was Joe Montana. He just seemed like a friendly guy who wanted to chat.”

Now the guys tuned in. “Oh please,” one of them said, “you jogged with this cute guy for a quarter mile and didn’t even ask his name?”

“No,” I said. “Why would I care? We were just jogging down the beach together casually!”

‘Well,” the guy stuttered, “for Christ’s sakes, you should have recognized Joe Montana. He’s about the most famous guy in California.”

“In football,” I retorted. “I know very little about football, just a few players.”

But I did have to capitalize on my moment of fame. “Furthermore,” I said, “I want you to know I also jogged once at Point Lobos with Franco Harris. I knew who he was.”

Actually it was more like he jogged past me . . . we were only side by side for about two feet as he ran past me and he never said a word, but I didn’t tell them that.

(Ed. Note: Franco Harris was a famous running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, easily recognizable by his AfroItalian good looks, black beard and mustache, then anomalies in pro The Late Pia football.)

Kraus Aitken

, 3DVVHG 0\VHOI 7RGD\ %\ /L] /DUUDEHH

Today I passed myself on the way back to my youth.

Foolishly retracing the footsteps of my failures I braved the muck and mire of mid-life misadventure to avert despair by the experience of having already been there-blinded by passion when I should have known better.

How many wrongs does it take finally to see from a vantage point too late-Today may be the best of all possible endings.

HAVE HAMMERS, WILL TRAVEL!

The students and volunteers of Have Hammers Will Travel (HHWT) / Mr. Hammer built and delivered custom designed dog houses to the four animal rescue groups of the area just before Christmas.

The project was aided by donations of paint from Pinturas Prisa of Ajijic, screws from an un-named donor and individuals’ funding of a single house. Each of the dog houses were assigned a name “Casa --------- after donations or people honored for their work for HHWT. One of the volunteers said “this makes it easier to know where the dogs are housed and workers to interact with them.

This is the first project of this size undertaken by HHWT for the community. This was the brain child of Cindy Thompson, treasurer of HHWT, who has been involved with the animal rescue for years.

Students from age ten to senior citizens were all involved together on this large complicated project. The houses are 24” wide by 36” deep by 24” tall sitting on 4” legs. A slightly larger removable slanted roof is used to cover the houses. The roofs’ angle is so the dogs can still lie on top, something they love to do. A blanket drive for each of the houses was also undertaken.

Contact Cindy Thompson 331-895-6866

Saw you in the Ojo 73

The Ojo Crossword

ACROSS 1 Fuel 5 Healing plant 9 Country house 14 Woman 15 Fix the socks 16 Book by Homer 17 On top 18 Hitch 19 Cramp 20 Small Mediterranean boat 22 Nab 24 Be 25 S.W. Indian tribe 27 6th month (Jewish calendar) 31 Hurtle 32 Madagascar franc (abbr.)

34 Rio de Janeiro 35 Syrian bishop 38 Neither´s partner 40 Sporty car brand 42 Rodeo animal 44 Ball holder 46 Hesitated 47 Large eastern religion 48 Twelve 50 Chances of winning 51 Poem 52 Representative 55 Chew 57 Make over 59 Hindu god 61 African antelope 64 Panther

74

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

66 Gyroscopes 68 Snatch 71 Animal insect 73 Relieve 74 Cut with a saw 75 Always 76 Maintain 77 Eat away 78 Torn 79 Cincinnati baseball team DOWN 1 Shopping center 2 Devourer 3 Mud brick 4 font 5 Spots 6 Round table knight 7 Toothbrush brand 8 Absorb 9 Platter 10 Greek “A” 11 Central Intelligence Agency 12 Owns 13 Admiral (abbr.)

21 Central processing unit 23 Turkey 26 Vase 28 Ancient priest 29 Made public 30 Routes 31 Gripper 33 Oxygen 35 Loathe 36 Groom´s partner 37 Removed the bones 39 Tyrannosaurus 41 Grub 43 Mutt 45 XVIII 49 Lodge 53 Adam´s wife 54 Filch 56 Fall mo.

58 Seeped 60 Figure out 61 Unplayful 62 Smelled 63 Drug doers 65 Yield 67 Time period 68 South southeast 69 Hearing part 70 The other half of Jima 72 Music

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hose who know m me me, e, know that patience h has as as never been, nor will willll wi it ever be, my strong suit. It is is something I have had to work on on my whole life. I don’t like waiting ng g for surprises, Christmas or trips.. I want the answers to questions ns NOW (the Internet has been a real help to me in this regard, although I DO know I can’t believe everything I look up!)

Have you ever received a letter that made you want to write an instant response? Of course now, in the computer era, it is very, very easy to send that response immediately. Unfortunately that is not always a good idea.

In the “olden days” before computers, we had more of an opportunity to carefully consider a response, could write several drafts before finally sending off our missive in the mail. Many times I have written an angry response, only to re-read it the next day and tear it up. In fact I wrote a Letter to the Editor which was published in El Ojo del Lago (the first and only time I ever did so) in response to an article that I felt misrepresented something I strongly believe in, but I wrote and re-wrote it several times before I sent it in.

Now, however, we can read an email and whip out a response within seconds, and just click “send” to instantly respond. Often this does not give us time to digest the information sent or really consider the implications of our response. If I have been upset

hu urrt byy something I’ve reor hurt ceiived, d I make makk it a practice NOT ceived, to respond res espo pond po nd immediately. i to Oh, I y sit at the keyb keyboard and bang out b the key is, I do a response, but NOT send it out – rather I wait a o 24 hours, re-read minimum of it, edit it, an and if I still feel it is api h I send it. propriate, then One of the funniest jokes I have seen recently asked the question: “If aliens came to earth what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about our 21st century technology?” The answer was: “How I carry a device in my pocket that puts me in touch with all the collective knowledge of mankind, and I use it to look at pictures of kittens and get in arguments with strangers!”

It amazes me how many people get worked up and argue with complete strangers on things like FaceBook and Twitter, or even with someone they know via instant messaging. I try not to engage in this, but, should it ever happen, there is something I want you to know: I type 110 wpm. Never get into an argument with someone who types faster than you!

Kathy Koches

Saw you in the Ojo 75

60 years of “People Helping People”

The

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News

www.lakechapalasociety.com

Library News The LCS English Language Library extends sincere wishes for a rewarding holiday season to our patrons and especially to our fellow Lakeside expatriates and visitors who donate books. Thanks to your generosity, this year alone we’ve added approximately 1,400 new titles to the collection. 95% of titles we added have been published since 2000 and because of the diversity of the Lakeside population; many are written by popular authors from other countries.

That spirit of sharing enriches our Library; makes it especially unique. There’s always something to read whether your tastes run from Plato to popular fiction. Through the years the LCS Library has been developed into the only one of its type in all of Latin America that serves English-speaking expatriates.

The Library is fortunate to have a dedicated all-volunteer staff that donates time and talent to its operation, maintenance and development. Those of us who prefer to read printed books are blessed.

Recently the card catalog was uploaded to the LCS web site affording patrons the ability to peruse the collection by title, author, genre or keyword. The database will be updated approximately every two weeks. Fine-tuning a database of thousands of books one-by-one is time intensive, but over time it will offer patrons an area announcing new arrivals .

We hope the online catalog proves interesting and useful especially for readers who can’t come into the Library as often as they might like. Check it out.

If you use the web site to renew books and are using a computer or device with a small screen, be sure to scroll down a bit and hit the “submit” button to insure your renewal request is completed and gets to us. As we continue to tweak the web site, we will move that button to a position more easily seen.

This year a most generous volunteer has reorganized the Reading Room to include a small used bookstore where readers can purchase paperbacks for 5 pesos and hardbacks for 10 pesos. (A mere pittance plus you don’t have to worry about returning them in 2 weeks.) These books are the result of many duplicate donations, switch-outs for books in better condition than ones in the Library and deletion of ones not read in 5 years due to changes in local reading tastes.

Books not likely to be interesting to our patrons are donated to local schools and libraries. Books in hopeless condition go to a recycling center where local artists use the pages to make a papier-mâché type product that they turn into sculptures, etc. to sell. The covers go to poor people in the mountains to start fires when it’s cold. So you see every donated book finds a home. Thanks for your support of the Library. You make a real difference in our lives.

76

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

January 2016

Lakeside’s 1st Annual International Mariachi Festival Featuring: Mariachi Internacional Guadalajara and Mariachi Estrellas de Chula Vista (from San Diego, Ca.) Concert Saturday, January 9 at 4 PM at LCS, Ajijic - $150 Concert Sunday, January 10 at 1 PM at the Old Presedencia, Chapala - $150 LCS is proud to be part of this new event. It will provide an amazing insight to the Mariachi for those who wander onto our grounds On January 6 and 8. Then be prepared for the concert on Saturday. This event is co-sponsored by the American Legion Post #7.

Featuring world class Mariachis. The two Mariachi’s will be holding workshops on the grounds of LCS and the American Legion in Chapala, teaching each other their skills and crafts. These Mariachis rival the world’s best Mariachi’s. Visit the grounds and observe these masters at work. Don’t disturb them though, they’re preparing for the SHOW! Workshops at LCS on January 6 and 8, and at the Legion January 7.

These are not public workshops, but you may sit back, listen and observe.

)LHVWD /DWLQD D )XOO 0DVTXHUDGH %H 3UHSDUHG DQG 6DYH WKH GDWH -DQXDU\ )ROORZ 8V RQ )DFHERRN www.facebook.com/lakechapalasociety.

We Still Need You

Neill James Lectures

The Garden needs more volunteers to plant, trim, weed, and maintain our beautiful gardens.

The Information Technology Department is searching for volunteers who have experience training others to use specific software programs. Contact lcsitmgr@gmail.com.

Special Events Coordinator is looking for volunteers to greet guests, collect tickets, and help with fiesta decorations.

If you have a bit of flair and are an outgoing person, this may be for you.

The Seniors’ High Tea Project We need more volunteers for this new LCS program scheduled the third Friday of every month.

For more information and applications for these positions and others which may be available, please contact 766-1140 or visit the LCS Service Office from 10 to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Presented from 2 to 3:30 in the Sala every Tuesday except the third Tuesday of the month.

Volunteer Opportunity for the Career Project LCS has launched an exciting new project designed to expand awareness among Mexican youth at local schools about possible career choices through posters and presentations. This is an opportunity for you to get involved with the Mexican education system as well as the Mexican community by: Recruiting Mexican professionals to become speakers, Helping to organize 2 to 3 Career Expos per year, Working with the schools to organize the event, Evaluating those events Computer skills and Spanish helpful, but not necessary.

Time required for this project is about two hours a week.

Set your own schedule. For more information contact: Glorine Barnhardt – glorinebarnhardt@gmail.com

Upcoming Bus Trips At the beginning of each year bus prices in Mexico change.

As of the date of publication, we are uncertain of what those changes may be, so the cost for the bus trips are To Be Determined. Remember: no refunds or exchanges.

Wednesday, January 6 Andares Mall Featuring upscale shopping and fine dining in a pedestrian-only mall. Bus departs promptly at 10 a.m. from the sculpture in La Floresta. Cost TBD. Thursday, January 21 Galerias/Costco Major retailers, restaurants, IMAX and Casino. Super Walmart and Costco are nearby. Meet at the sculpture in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. Cost TBD. Wednesday, February 10 Guadalajara Zoo Includes transportation, show and train ride. Cable car is extra. Food and beverages available., or bring your own bagged lunch. Departs from the sculpture in La Floresta promptly at 9 a.m. Cost TBD. Thursday, February 18 Galerias/Costco Major retailers, restaurants, IMAX and Casino. Super Walmart and Costco are nearby. Meet at the sculpture in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. Cost TBD.

Tuesday, Jan 5, Roger Heath presents “Who Stole the American Dream?” We will view and discuss a video presentation by Hedrick Smith summarizing his book. The middle class in the US and elsewhere has lost ground significantly since the 1970s. The author argues that these losses did not "just happen," but were the result of a planned and coordinated assault by monied interests. To what degree is this true?

Bio: Roger Heath worked as a government economist for more than three decades in Ottawa, before settling in Chapala with his wife June. For some time, he has coordinated the Discussion and Philosophy Groups at the LCS. Tuesday, Jan 12, John Milton presents “Are We Rational?” We will briefly examine whether people, governments and corporations behave rationally, and whether it is reasonable to expect people to be persuaded by rational discourse. Recent theories in economics, psychology and neuroscience question these assumptions and suggest that our innate cognitive biases systematically betray our best interests. This is a revised version of a talk given last year in this series.

Bio: Dr. Milton has taught in Canada, the Middle East, SE Asia, the DRC (Africa) and India, and develops natural language processing systems and online educational platforms.

Tuesday, Jan 26, Michael A. Gilbert presents “Three Pillars of Argumentation.” Argumentation is a common daily activity whose frequency belies its complexity. While there are many ways to approach the ways in which we handle disagreements, decisions, problem-solving and such like, I will present three essential components that form the core of my theory of argumentation, viz. context, audience and ethos. This approach is situated in the essentially social nature of discussions centred on disagreement.

Bio: Dr. Gilbert is Professor of Philosophy at York University where he has taught since 1975. His books include 'How to Win an Argument', the novel 'Office Party', and most recently, the monograph 'Coalescent Argumentation'. His work is focused on Argumentation Theory, and Gender & Transgender Theory. His new book entitled, Arguing with People, will be published this Spring.

Costco Returns Costco will be here Monday, January 25 and Tuesday, January 26 for news about special sales. Open or renew your membership.

Café Corazon Contract Renewed Our new Café Corazon, open for only a few months, has been such a favorite among LCS members and visitors that it has been offered and accepted a two year contract to continue providing their healthy, delicious meals and snacks. Made from locally produced, freshly cooked products, Cafe Corazon offers diners both traditional Mexican and international fare. Café Corazon is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Saw you in the Ojo 77

-DQXDU\ $FWLYLWLHV *Open to the Public ** US Citizens (S) Sign in required (C) Membership card required CRUZ ROJA * CRIV (Cruz Roja) Sales Table Mon-Fri 10-1 CRIV (Cruz Roja) Monthly Meeting 2nd Wed 2-4 HEALTH INSURANCE * IMSS & Immigration Services Mon+Tues 10-1 Lakeside Insurance Tues+Thur 11-2 San Javier Hospital Services Last Fri 10-12 HEALTH & LEGAL SERVICES * Becerra y Galindo Services Thur 10:30-12:30 Blood Pressure Mon+Fri 10-12 Hearing Aid Services (S) Mon+2nd+4th, Sat 11-4 Ministerio Publico Wed Jan 6+20 10-2 My Guardian Angel Mon+Tues 10-1 Optometrist Claravision (S) Thur 9-4 Pharmaceutical Consultation 4th Mon 10-12 Skin Cancer Screening (S) 2nd + 4th Wed 10-12 :30 US Consulate** Wed Jan 13 10-12 Sign up 10-11:30 LESSONS (C) Children’s Art Sat 10-12* Children’s Reading Program Sat 9-10* Exercise Mon+Wed+Fri 9-10 Fitness and Strength Thru Yoga Mon+Fri 2-3:30, Sat 1-2:30 Intmd. Hatha Yoga Tues+Thur 2-3:30 Laughter Yoga 1st Wed 4-4:45 Line Dancing Tues+Thur 10-11:15 Scottish Country Dancing Thur 11:30-1:30 Strength and Balance Exercise Tues+Thur 9-9:50 LIBRARIES Audio Thur 10-12 Book & Video Mon-Sat 10-2 Library of Congress Books**/ Talking Books Thur 10-12 Wilkes Mon-Fri 9:30-7, Sat 9:30-1 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (C) All Things Tech Fri 9:30-11:30 Bridge 4 Fun Tue + Thur 1-5 Conversaciones en Espanol Contact Karl Homan 766-3766 Discussion Group Wed 12-1:30 Everyday Mindfulness Mon 10:15-11:45 Film Aficionados Thur 2-4:30 Genealogy Forum Last Mon 2-4 History Club 3rd Tues 1:30-4:30 Needle Pushers Tues 10-12 Neill James Lecture Series 1st,2nd, 4th, last Tues 2-3:30 Open Gaming (open to the public from 2) Mon 1-4* Philosophy Group Wed 10:30-12 Scrabble Mon+Fri 12-1:50 Spanish/English Conversation Sat 11-12 Senior High Tea 3rd Fri 3-5 TED Learning Seminars Tues 12-1:15 Tournament Scrabble Tues 12-2 SERVICE & SUPPORT GROUPS * Caregivers Support Group 2nd+4th Wed10:30-12:30 Have Hammer Workshop Demo 1st 3rd Mon 10-12* Information Desk Mon-Sat 10-2 Lakeside AA Mon +Thur 4:30-5:30 Memory Loss Resources Thur 11-1 Niños de Chapala y Ajijic 2nd Wed 10-2 Open Circle Sun 10-11:30 Toastmasters Mon 7-8:30 pm TICKET SALES Monday-Friday 10-12 *

78

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Video Library Additions Happy New Year In case you have not heard, we are liquidating our VHS tapes inventory. We have several hundred tapes for sale starting at 5 pesos a tape and dwindling down to one peso each, depending on quantity purchased. No tape player? We have solutions. Drop by the Video Library and check out the variety of things that we have to offer.

New additions for January 2016 Freedom Writers #7088 Taken from a true story about a teacher succeeding in spite of administrative opposition. Hilary Swank The Verdict 7093# Has-been attorney rising to the occasion.

Paul Newman Donnie Brasco #7092 Johnny Depp as a true-to-life undercover hero.

When Harry Met Sally #7103 Just as good the second time around. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan The Nick #7099 et al (series) As upscale care in New York shifts from urban locales in the early 1900s, Knickerbocker Hospital remains in the city to serve a mostly poor, immigrant population. Clive Owen Two Days, One Night #7109 Belgian mother, discovers that her workmates have opted for a significant pay bonus, in exchange for her dismissal. Foreign drama scored 7.4 on scale of 10 Delicatessen #7110 Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants. French comedy – you be the judge.

Primal Fear #7111 An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep. Richard Gere and Laura Linney The above additions are just a few of the new ones we have.

Please see the LCS web page or the bulletin board at the video library for all the new ones and many more of those that we have had for a while.

New Activities All Things Tech discussion group meets between 9:30 and 11:30 every Friday in La Sala. Drop in any time.

Sudden Death: Prevention & Treatment Demonstration/Lecture Basic CPR Class By Dr. Salvador Flores is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 in the Sala from 10-11:00 a.m. Open to the public.

Beginning Drawing Learn how to draw flowers, trees, and plants in four lessons. Professional artist, Zoe Armiger, MFA offers a beginner’s art course in drawing. Sign-up required. Contact Zoe Armiger at 331-464-2886 or zoearmiger@gmail.com Cost $250 pesos. Open to the public. Bring supplies: pencil, sketch pad, eraser. Four Tuesdays from 2-4 p.m., January 5 through 26, in the Ken Gosh Pavilion.

Special offer: free to first two students to sign-up.

Inaugural Senior High Tea a Roaring Success

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December’s inaugural Senior’s High Tea was a great success and great fun as well. Nearly 30 people enjoyed rubbing shoulders and dining on homemade scones with cream and strawberry jam, tea sandwiches and cookies, and of course, a selection of fine teas.

This new LCS program is scheduled as a monthly offering with the date being the third Friday of every month. So, please come and join us Please note that reservations are required - call 766-0216. if you are so inclined, we’d also love to have you come help us out as a volunteer for the event. Either way, see you January 15th from 2:30 - 4:00!

Open to LCS members only. Bring your FDUG DOO ¿OPV VKRZQ LQ WKH 6DOD IURP p.m. No food; no pets. Discussion to follow.

Spanish Classes Lake Chapala Society (LCS), Ajijic, announces its next round of Introduction to Spanish language classes for LCS members.

Intro to Spanish This is a casual class offered for the beginner that covers the Spanish alphabet, simple vocabulary and phrases to use about town for shopping, and other useful information about our Lakeside and Mexican culture.

Classes are held each month starting the first Tuesday of the month and continue for three weeks. January classes start on Tuesday, January 12, and will be held at the LCS campus from 12:00 until 1:30 p.m. Learning materials are provided, and the tuition for the classes is $175. Sign up is available at the LCS office during regular office hours, or sign-up is easy and quick on the LCS website.

Warren Hardy Classes Classes will begin on Monday, January 11 and continue through February. Classes meet two days a week for an hour and a half each session at the Wilkes Education Center (Biblioteca) in Ajijic.

The tuition for the course is $750 pesos. The course textbook is an additional $570 pesos, and other instructional materials may also be separately purchased. For more information about the Spanish classes or LCS membership, visit the LCS website.

During the week of January 4 to 8 the program manager will be on the patio from 10:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. at LCS to answer questions and help with registration.

January 7- Theeb Jordan 2015 In the Ottoman Empire during WWI, a young Bedouin boy embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. Jordan’s official entry for the Academy Award.

January 14 Testament of Youth UK 2015 A powerful story of love and war based on the WWI memoirs of Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. This film’s great cast is led by an astounding Alicia Vikander.

January 21 Einstein and Eddington UK 2008 On the brink of WWI, no one had heard of the obscure German scientist, Albert Einstein. British astronomer, Eddington, realizes the greatness of Einstein’s theories- but then there’s the war!

January 28 To be announced . Once the selections for the Academy Awards are made public, one of the choices will be announced and shown.

Beginners iPad/iPhone Classes – 2016 Registrations for the Beginners iPad classes are now being accepted. Each session consists of 4 classes. If you are interested, please send an email with your LCS membership number to lcsipadclasses@ gmail.com.

Register early as we are limiting the numbers so as to be able to provide individual help. However, we are planning to repeat the classes several times during the high season. Dates for February and March will be announced later.

We will start with the basics including connecting to the Internet, sending and receiving e-mail, connecting to the Apple store and downloading apps.

Over the four weeks we will cover downloading and reading ebooks, music and other media, taking and e-mailing photos.

Other topics will include setting up folders, basic word processing functions, travelling with your iPad. Participants will also be asked what they would like to be covered.

Please note this is a beginner’s to intermediate class. People with more iPad /iPhone experience might want to attend the All Things Tech discussion group that meets between 9:30 and 11:30 every Friday in La Sala. You can drop in at any time.

THE LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY, A.C. 16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco LCS Main Office: (376) 766-1140 Office, information and other services - Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Grounds open until 5:00 p.m.

LCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS. President - Ben White (2016); Vice-President - Cate Howell (2017); Treasurer - Michael Searles (2017); Secretary - Carole Wolff (2016); Directors: Matthew Butler (2016); Lois Cugini (2017); Ernest Gabbard (2016); Fred Harland (2017); Barbara Hildt (2017); Yoli Martinez (2017); Garry Musgrave (2017); Pete Soderman (2016); Joan Ward (2016); Immediate Past President: Howard Feldstein.

Executive Director - Terry Vidal

The LCS Newsletter is published monthly. Deadline for submissions is the 17th of the month preceding publication.

Submit all news items to newsletter@lakechapalasociety.com Note: The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all submissions according to time, space availability and editorial decision.

Saw you in the Ojo 79

80

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

Saw you in the Ojo 81

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- AFRODITA Tel: 766-6187 - GLORIOSA Tel: 766-3372 - GLOSS - Nail Salon Tel: 766-0375

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- FRATS Tel: 765-2505, 765-3946 - LINEA PROFESIONAL Tel. 766-2555, Fax. 766-0066

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

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3DJ - PLASTICA LIFT Tel: 108-0595, 766-3355 3DJ 3/$67,& 685*(5< 'U %HQMDPLQ 9LOODUDQ Tel: 766-5513, Cell 044-333-105-0402 3DJ 5,&$5'2 +(5(',$ 0 ' Tel: 765-2233 3DJ 9$5,&26( 9(,16 75($70(17 Tel: 765-4805 3DJ

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* NURSERY

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* PERSONAL ASSISTANCE 1(:&20(56 ,/6( +2))0$11 ilsecarlota40@gmail.com, www.guadalajarachapalatravelguide.com Tel 01(33) 3647-3912 Cell (045) 33-3157-2541

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- BETTINA BERING Tel. 766-1049, Cell: 331-210-7723 3DJ - CHULA VISTA NORTE Tel: 766-2177 Cell: (045) 33-1892-2194 3DJ - CHRISTIAN E. HARRIS/REALTOR Cell: 333 390-3153 3DJ - CIELOVISTA Tel: 766-4867 3DJ &2/':(// %$1.(5 &+$3$/$ 5($/7< Tel: 766-1152, 766-3369 Fax: 766-2124, Tels: 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 3DJ - CONTINENTAL REALTY Tel: 766-1994, Cell: (33) 1366-2256 Pag: 20 &80%5(6 Tel: 766-4867 3DJ '$0<1 <281* Cell: 331-603-7501 3DJ - DON SNELL Cell 33-1005-9129 3DJ - EAGER & ASOCIADOS Tel: (376) 766 1917, 1918 3DJ )25 6$/( %< 2:1(5 Tel: 33-1338-3346 3DJ )25 6$/( %< 2:1(5 Tel: 106-1237 3DJ )25 6$/( %< 2:1(5 Tel: 314-336-4897M, Canada 780-460-0421 3DJ )25 6$/( %< 2:1(5 Tel. 33-1975-6791, 766-0354 3DJ *(25*(77( 5,&+021' Tel: 766-2077 3DJ *(5$5'2 0(',1$ Cell. 331-121-7034 3DJ -8',7 5$-+$7+< Cell: (045) 331 - 395 - 9849 3DJ - LORENA C. BARRAGAN Cell: (045) 331-014-5683 3DJ /,1'$ )5((0$1 Cell: (045) 333-661-6386 3DJ /8&, 0(55,77 &HOO 2I¿FH 3DJ 035 5($/ (67$7( Tel: (315) 351-5167 3DJ 12e /23(= Cell: 331-047-9607 3DJ 3(7(5 67 -2+1 Tel: 765-3676, 331-323-0893 3DJ 5$8/ *21=$/(= Cell: 33-1437-0925 3DJ - SANDI ALLIN BRISCOE Tel: (376) 765-2484, Cell: (045) 331-563-8941 3DJ - VISTA ALEGRE Tel: 766-4867 3DJ

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* REAL ESTATE $-,-,& +20( ,163(&7,216 Tel: 766-2836 Pag: 22 $/,; :,/621 Tel: 766-2612 3DJ - ALL IN ONE REAL ESTATE SERVICE Tel: 766-1161 3DJ %(9 -($1 &2)(// +RPH 2I¿FH 3DJ

'21'( 0,5$ (/ 62/ Tel: (+52) (744) 460-2713 3DJ &2/':(//%$1.(5 &+$3$/$ 5($/7< Tel: 766-1152, movile: (045) 33-1175-9632 3DJ - FOR RENT Tel: 765-2671 3DJ +$&,(1'$ 305 Tel: 766-3320 3DJ -25*( 7255(6 Tel: 766-3737 3DJ 0$1=$1,//2 9$&$7,21 5(17$/6 Tel: (314) 100-6773 or (314) 109-0657 3DJ - SANTANA RENTALS Cell: 315-104-3283

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Tel: 766-2876 3DJ /$ &$6$ '(/ :$))/( Tel: 766-1946 3DJ - LA HACIENDA DE DON PEDRO Tel: 766-4906 3DJ /$ 0,6,21 Tel: 108-0887 3DJ - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, 766-2049 3DJ /$ 3(f$ '( 6$1726 5,&2 Tel: 766-0281 3DJ ³ /$ 7$9(51$´'(, 48$7752 025, Tel: 766-2848 3DJ /26 02//(7(6 Tel: 766-4296 3DJ 0(/¶6 Tel: 766-4253 Cell: 331-402-4223 3DJ 020¶6 '(/, 5(67$85$17 Tel: 765-5719 3DJ - PANINO Tel: 766-3822 3DJ - PIAN THAI RESTAURANT Tel: 766-2020 3DJ 3,==(5,$ 726&$1$ Tel: 765-6996 3DJ 5,7&+,( Tel: 766-4185 3DJ - RUBÃ&#x2030;Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Cell. 33-1862-6294 Pag: 22 7+( 3($&2&. *$5'(1 Tel: 766-1381

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5(7,5(0(17 5(67 1856,1* +20(6 - LA CASA NOSTRA Tel: 765-3824 3DJ 0, &$6,7$ 1XUVLQJ +RPH $VVLVWHG /LYLQJ Center Tel. 106-2081, Cell. 045 33-1115-9615 3DJ 1856,1* +20( /$.( &+$3$/$ Tel: 766-0404 3DJ - OHANA Tel: (01387) 761-0403 3DJ

* SELF STORAGE - SELF STORAGE-BODEGAS CHAPALA Tel: 766-0661, Tel/Fax: 766-1045 3DJ

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* SOLAR ENERGY - ESUN Tel: 766-2319, 01-800-099-0272

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* TENNIS - TENNIS COURTS Tel: 761-0527

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* TOURS - CHARTER CLUB TOURS Tel: 766-1777 - LYDIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TOURS Tel: 765-4742, (045) 33-1026-4877

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

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* SATELLITES/ T.V. $-,-,& (/(&7521,&6 6 $ '( & 9 Tel/Fax: 766-1117, 766-3371 3DJ 6+$: 6$7(//,7( 6(59,&(6 Tel: 33-1402-4223 3DJ

* SCHOOL - INSTITUTO TERRANOVA Tel: 766-2401, 766-3033

Pag: 22

The Ojo Crossword

* RESTAURANTS/CAFES 5(67$85$17( Tel: 766-1360 $-,-,& 7$1*2 Tel: 766-2458 - BRUNOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Tel: 766-1674 - CASA FUERTE Tels: 3639-6474 / 81 - COLIBRI GARDEN Tel: 765-4412

- EL ANCLA Tel: 106 2011, Cell. 331-361-5044 (/ -$5',1 '( 1,1(77( Tel: 766-4905

- GAUCHO TEQUILA - GO LE CLUB Cell: (045) 33-3502-6555 - HOSTERIA DEL ARTE Tel: 331â&#x20AC;¢410â&#x20AC;¢1707 -$60,1(¶6 &ODVVLF ,QGLD Tel: 766-2636 - LA CASA DEL CAFE

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Saw you in the Ojo 83

CARS WANTED: Small SUV, Private seller... good condition ...Jalisco registered and plated. Price: 90-100 thousand pesos.

FOR SALE: SUZUKI. US Plated, One owner, Perfect condition. Price: $3,500.00. Call: (376)-766-1652.

FOR SALE: Like new 2013 Altima Advance w/ navigation and camera. Beautiful car, like new and only 10,000 miles/16,000 kilometers. Original owner. w/ navigation and camera. Key-less entry and ignition.

White w/beige interior. 2.5 ltr economical 4 cyl engine. 15.6 kilometers per liter (40 mpg US.) average! Auto transmission. Leather seats, steering wheel and gearshift lever.

Power sun roof, windows, side mirrors etc.

Auto dimming rear view mirror. Dual and auto a/c and heat. Bose sound system and much, much more. Price: $17,500 USD or equivalent in Mexican pesos. Call Jim at cell (045) 3318528195 Chapala.

FOR SALE: Real Bargain for anybody going back to the USA or here onTemporary basis.

Super 2011 Grand Cherokee Anniversary Model. Only done 26,000 very careful miles by original owner. The Anniversary Model has all the “Bells & Whistles” and then some.

It is Florida plated. If you are interested, I can email the original specification and many photos. I have priced it at least $5/6000 USD below list.

FOR SALE: Miata Special Edition MX-5.

Convertible, automatic transmission, rich Burgandy color with camel top and interior. Wonderful running, trouble free, show stopper car. Low mileage. Made in Japan and cannot be Mexican plated. Price: $5000.

USD or MX equivalent.

WANTED: Looking for U.S. plated. Vehicle should be in operating condition. Price: $1200.00 u.s. dollars.

FOR SALE: 2004 Honda Civic 4-door Sedan, manual transmission, excellent mechanical condition, a few minor dings, all permits up to date, Mexican plated, four nearly new tires, 59,800 km. Single owner.

Tel: 766-0576 FOR SALE: 1992 Volkswagon Combi camper with rebuilt engine, low mileage, solar panel. Excellent shape. Pop top. Double bed below, one bed above. Propane stove. Storage. Two batteries, one operates with solar power. Standard transmission, 4 cylinder engine, alarm. Jalisco plated. Metal cage that attaches to rear of camper for extensive trips. Price: $140,000 pesos.

FOR SALE: Golf Cart. Price: $27.000 Pesos. Call: 765- 6547.

FOR SALE: Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Premium SUV Auto Transmission, 5-speed, 5.7L V8, HEMI, 44,000 km, three owners, plus latest maintenance records. White Exterior, Tan interior, 18 in wheels; two new tires and 75% remaining on other two. Two remotes. Fully loaded – Leather seats, video screen with rear camera, GPS, great stereo system (MW/FM/CD/ DVD/MP3, plus hard drive for saving music) with 6 speakers. Panoramic sun-roof. Seating for 5 people. Auto-open rear door. Pictures on request. Price: $320,000 pesos. Cell: 045-331-382-4771.

FOR SALE: US Plated 1997 Honda Accord. US Plated. Everything works - excellent mechanical condition. Service records and

84

CarFax. Very nice interior but exterior needs paint. Buyer must be a foreign national here on a Temporal or Tourist VISA. Will require new US plates and temporary import permit - which can be done locally without going to border. Price: $1195 USD or Peso Equivalent. Call: 766-2275.

FOR SALE: Nissan Tsubame Wagon. One of the most economical cars for gas and repairs in Mexico. This is like a Tsuru often used as taxis, but the wagon version Tsubame. It even gets better mileage than many newer 4 cylinder cars. Recent repairs: brakes rebuilt including master cylinder, New rubber/bushings in front-end, tires and more.

Actual mileage of vehicle unknown due to a faulty odometer. Price: $28000. Call: 376106-0812.

FOR SALE: 2011 Dodge Journey, 3.6L, V6, 56,000 km, one owner, original factura, plus all maintenance records, always parked in covered garage. Bought at ROCA motors in GDL, 30 June 2011. Cherry Red Exterior, Black interior. Fully loaded – Black leather seats, large video screen with rear camera, GPS system, Bluetooth for hands-free calling Seating for 7 people. Great stereo system (MW/FM/CD/DVD/MP3) with 6 Alpine speakers. 19 in. wheels. Price: $220,000 pesos. Call: 045-331-382-4771.

COMPUTERS FOR SALE: Amazon Fire TV Sticks: voice activated and remote ($70usd/ 996 pesos) $70- voice and remote activated $60- remote activated only Get amazing access(includes Netflix, HuluPlus, Amazon, HBO NOW and more) used with a dns or vpn. We prefer dns un-blockus.com $5 per month. Call: 108-1554.

FOR SALE: Tablet FIRE “7 8G WIFI. If you need help, we will set it for you, no charge.

Price: $70. Call: 376-108-1554.

FOR SALE: IPad 2 32GB 2nd generation.

Good condition with power cord. Colour black. Price: $3,400.00.

FOR SALE: PC Loveno. All in one PC Hard drive 1TB Processor: Intel Core i3 Great ample ergonomic rank Wireless RAM 6GB Ecran 23” LED Windows 7 ultimate, Posibility Windows 10. Price: $8000 Mexican pesos.

WANTED: Used computer in good shape for 11 years old. Price: $2000 pesos $3,000.

FOR SALE: OGIO Newt Tablet Sleeve.

Padded and fleece lined OGIO Tablet Sleeve fits a range of tablets with screens up to 10” with a keyboard. Has a heavy duty zipper. Sleeve Dimensions: 8”H x 12”W x 1.5” D Laptop Pocket: 7”H x 11”W x 1”D. We bought it a few months ago in the US for $19.99 + TAX and never used it. Contact me at ernst_ graf@yahoo.com. Price: $100 pesos.

FOR SALE: Amazon Gift Card - still packaged. Originally U.S. $51.95 (receipt provided) No longer using iPad. Price: $50.00 U.S. FOR SALE: HP Beats Special Edition15 Notebook PC Clocked processor/Procesador acelerado AMD Quad Core A8-5545M Hard drive/Disco duro: 750GB 8192MB DDR3 SDRAM Optical unit/Unidad óptica DVD Windows 8.1Monitor LED HD, diagonal 15.6 inches Touch screen, light keys/Pantalla táctil, teclas luminosas LAN Wireless & Bluetooth.

FOR SALE: PNY 16Gb Flash Drive. Con-

El Ojo del Lago / January 2016

nect, transport and share your photos, music and documents. Comes in its original sealed packaging. Price: $160 pesos. Contact me at ernst_graf@yahoo.com.

FOR SALE: UPS Computer Back up.

Power rechargeable SLA battery. 12V 26Ah. From the US. Price: $950.

FOR SALE: Continuous Ink Supply System AND 6 refill bottles (3 black, 1ea of blue, red and yellow). Compatible with: Canon PIXMA ip1200/ip1600/ip2200; Canon PIXMA MP150/MP170/MP450; HP Deskjet 5438/3900/3918/3920/3930/3930V/393 8/3940/3940V; Lexmark, BENQ, Epson and Brother color printers. Price: $450.

FOR SALE: Apple MacBook Pro. PROCESSOR 065-91342.66 GHz Intel Core i7. MEMORY 065-91354GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRM - 2x2GB. HARD DRIVE 065-9140500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200. OPTICAL DRIVE 065-9145SuperDrive 8X DL. DISPLAY065-9149MBP 15” HR Glossy WS Display. Apple Software iWork065-7672No iWork preinstalled. Price: $8,000 pesos.

FOR SALE: Nintendo Wii. System comes with 8 game discs, remote with jacket, balance board, manuals, cables. Price: $1700 MXN. FOR SALE: HP Officejet Pro 8000 wi-fi printer rarely used. Compatible with Ipad using free HP eprint mobile app. Price: $1900 MXN. Call: 766-1710.

FOR SALE: Projector Lamp for Dell 2300MP. Also used bulb--unknown hours-200 pesos. Price: $850 pesos.

PETS & SUPPLIES WANTED: Help me find my way back home to my loving family. I miss them. lost on dec 9. San Antonio call cell: 55-1452-4708 Email: helpnoodle@ gmail.com 4 years old, around 25 Lbs female, bishon frise mix.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE FOR SALE: Food slicer, food processor.

Hamilton Beach food processor-$300. Rival Food slicer-$300.

FOR SALE: Recreation kayak with lessons.

Yellow recreation kayak with paddle and vest 4 hours of instruction available, learn forward and turning strokes kayak has been well taken care stored in the shade out of the sun. arm problem owner cannot kayak anymore. Price: $6500 pesos.

FOR SALE: Propane Stand alone stainless steel Infrared ceramic sear burner with regulator 18 1/2 L x 12 1/4 W x 9 1/2 H $14,000 BTU. http:// w w w.homedepot.com/p/CharmglowStainless-Steel-Drop-In-Natural-Gas-SearBurner-814-6805-N/100478977.

Sear that steak just like the steakhouse! Price: $3,500.00.

FOR SALE: Beautiful dining room table with six chairs. The table is heavy glass and easily seats 10 people. The chairs are covered in a blue printed fabric. Price: $7800.

WANTED: Wheel chair used ok. A very ill lady that used to work in the pharmacy at the corner of El Torito plaza in Ajijic, she’s name is Lupita had a surgery because she felt and had artritis that makes she suffer when walk needs a wheel chair the soonest the better, please call me if you have and we

can fix how to deliver to her, she lives in San Juan Cosala, thanks for watching this ad.

WANTED: Wii fit plus game disc. Game for my wii system for exercises difficult to find at stores.

FOR SALE: Warren Hardy Spanish Lv 1. Like new. No writing in book. Half price.

Price: $300 pesos.

FOR SALE: Aquarium 20 in. x 10 in. x 12 in high. Includes bubbler pump, accessories, fish food etc. Price: $500 pesos. Call: 766-4105.

FOR SALE: Wanted used exercise bike, working bike in good condition, can pick up.

FOR SALE: Beautiful gold gilded frame 32 in wide 45 in high ... blue dancers by degas. Call: 765-7144 for photo sanbt69@live. com. Price: $1200.00.

FOR SALE: This a swivel rocking chair very comfortable. Price: $900.00. Call: 7657144 photo sanbt69@live.com.

FOR SALE: Coffee table and matching two end tables dark walnut in color. Price: $800.00.

FOR SALE: Colot TV. Magnasonic color tv works great has remote. Call: 765-7144.

Price: $900.00.

FOR SALE: 2 bar stools. 28” height to seat. Woven wicker seat & back, black wrought iron legs, frame. Perfect condition.

Price: $1500 pesos for both. Call: 331-0391685.

FOR SALE: Soft cover travel bag for golf clubs. Black, good condition, all zippers working order. Price: $500 pesos. Call: 331039-1685.

FOR SALE: 2014 Dual Axle trailer, excellent condition only used to come here,15’ deep 6’9” wide 6’6” high, is registered in Mexico. Se Vende Romolque 2014, 4.60 metro largo y 2.10 metro de ancho y 2 metro de altitud. Price: $6,500.00 US or $97,500 pesos.

FOR SALE: Vincent Pumps from Fitzwell. Feature sleek genuine ermine leather with a snip toe, gel insoles. Heel Height: 2 1⁄2 in. Size: 8. Virtually new, spotless. Color: off white, bone-color. Price $170. I bought them last year for $75 USD. Contact me at ernst_graf@yahoo.com.

FOR SALE: Beautiful dresses for the holiday. Size small 3 to 12. Can email pictures for your size all proceeds donated to the Ranch except 20 percent. Price: $300 to $400 pesos.

FOR SALE: 2 older standard definition Star Choice/Shaw receivers. One DSR401($300 pesos) and One Navigo ($200 pesos). Both come with remote and cable for TV hookup. Both are free and clear to be activated. Price: $300 pesos. Call: 766-4105.

FOR SALE: 12ft x 20ft Screen Tent. Like new, Green colour screen tent, used once for a month. Price: $2500.00 pesos.

FOR SALE: Good stuff, reversible/ rechargeable-$750 pesos, quartz heater -$1000 pesos, Dell keyboard-$200 pesos.

WANTED: Looking for a Queen bed, two twin beds or a queen sofa bed. Frames and mattress please.

FOR SALE: FIFA 16 for XBOX 360. Bought from Game planet ($1600 pesos) for husband but he has a European console. Not used at all. Game is compatible with North American consoles (NTSC) only, hence selling. Price: $1300 pesos ONO. FOR SALE: Women’s Golf Clubs-Mizuno.

Driver, Fairway woods 3,5, Hybrids 4,5, Irons 6,7,8,9,PW,GW,SW. Carbite Putter. Price: $4000 Pesos.

FOR SALE: Mizuno Golf Clubs. Right Hand Lady Complete Set. Price: $4000 Pesos.

FOR SALE: Great watch for fitness time/ alarm/heart rate/pedometer etc. Sportline S12. Price: $900 mxn. ph 766-3536.

FOR SALE: Over 5570 grams of gorgeous yarn (mostly 80% wool mixes), 2-3 dozen sets of various gauge knitting needles (including circulars), plus a few assorted accessories, including crochet needles and several pattern books. Price: $500. Call: 765-5085.

FOR SALE: Mayan-style Chairs – Pair, but made from a rich northern wood in Wellfleet, MA (Cape Cod), these are stunning, and they are actually SUPER comfortable. Price: $2,250 pesos.

FOR SALE: 2 Artist High-backed Benches. Beautifully crafted, red and gold with glass inlays. Price: $5,500 Pesos for the pair.

FOR SALE: Original Michael Oban, North Beach Leather jacket. Women’s size XS/S genuine leather, zip front, motorcycle jacket. Excellent condition. Classic style.

Price: $1000 pesos.

FOR SALE: Men’s Genuine leather black motorcycle jacket. Classic cut, excellent condition. Size M/L. Price: $1000 pesos.

FOR SALE: Queen size bedding, sheets, pillow cases, quilts, comforters. All in excellent condition. Price: Different for each item.

WANTED: Looking for 1 or 2 Yoga mats and also two Yoga foam blocks/bricks to buy. Must be in very good to “As New” condition. I must get moving again.

FOR SALE: Italika motorbike. This is a clean, semi-automatic; 110cc 2011 model motorbike with an enclosed cargo carrier on the back, high quality helmet can go

with it. text or call 333-949-8770 or e mail for pictures.schraderlarry@rocketmail.com.

Price: $550.00 U.S. OR PESO EQUAL. FOR SALE: Large Italian made dark Leather Recliner. Quality Leather and mechanism. Better than on market here $8,000 pesos.

FOR SALE: Whirlpool single door, like new large white 3 yr old Refrigerator, Price: $3500 pesos.

WANTED: I lost a brass part for a new Truper sprayer in my lawn and I need someone with a sensitive metal detector who would be willing to come over and find it for me.

FOR SALE: 2013 Suzuki GZ-150 Motorcycle. Black/Matte with lots of chrome. Only 1,050 km. Includes Helmet, leather armored jacket and gloves. Price: $28,000.00.

FOR SALE: Kindle Paperwhite E-Reader.

Perfect Condition. Price: $700 pesos.

FOR SALE: Apple TV version 2. works perfectly. Price: $700 pesos.

WANTED: I need a sat receiver Motorola DSR319RTC or compatible please call or email 766-4456, Cell: 333-104-7455, Ssnnkenn7@ aol.com.

FOR SALE: Lazy Susan. This is for a corner cupboard and is too large for ours. It is 80 cm in diameter and can be as 78cm high, but possible to lower. Price: $500 pesos. Call: 045-331-382-4771.

FOR SALE: Leather recliner; rocker/ swivel - not a wall hugger. Hardly used. Excellent Condition. Price: $7000mx.

FOR SALE: ROCKER/RECLINER, beige soft fabric, great condition. Price: $5500 pesos. Call: 766-1071.

FOR SALE: Kroby hanging light fixture from Ikea. White frosted globe. 12 inch diameter $300 pesos. Call: 766-4105.

WANTED: Wanting a good quality brand name vacuum cleaner with attach-

ments. 110 volt only.

FOR SALE: Set of 8 white Espresso cups and saucers Thun 1704. Price: $300 pesos.

Call: 766-4105.

FOR SALE: This 24 PIECE 1987 Hummel Spice Jar Collection was available exclusively from the Danbury Mint. Each spice jar is crafted of fine porcelain, each portraying a different work of Sister Hummel’s adored art and each hand-embellished with 24kt gold.

Price: $1500 pesos OBO. Call: 766-4105.

FOR SALE: Panasonic KX-TG4024N DECT 6.0 PLUS Expandable Digital Cordless Phone with Answering System, Champagne Gold, 4 Handsets. Price: $400 Pesos.

FOR SALE: Shaw DSR600 HD receiver complete with remote, power cord and HDMI cable. Free and clear to be activated (phone me if you want to verify with serial number). Price: $2400 pesos. Call: 766-4105 FOR SALE: Women’s Cobra 9 wood. Like new, perfect for that high loft 100-120 yard shot. Price: $1000 peso.

FOR SALE: Women’s Solaire Gems 8-Piece C. Includes Driver, 5 wood, 6 & 7 hybrids, 8, P and S irons and putter. Used about a dozen times. Includes a bag (Not Callaway) with easy carry dual strap. Price: $3000 peso.

FOR SALE: Rustico Furniture, entertainment center coffee and end table, excellent condition Call: 766-1071.

FOR SALE: Digital Camera. OLYMPUS E-520; w/40-150mm and 14-42mm lens, Battery Charger, X-tra Photo Card. Price: $3,000 MX. FOR SALE: SODA FOUNTAIN SET wrought iron table 29 inches round glass top, 2 padded seat chairs, Price: $2,000pesos. Call: 376-766-1071.

FOR SALE: Couch, Love Seat, Chair.

Scotch guard on the fabric. Will set price after doing some research but if interested

come take a look and make offer. Needs cleaning and repair works on the skirts, but overall it’s in good shape. Call: 765-4667.

FOR SALE: Wilson Tennis Rackets. This is for 2 rackets, used twice, 2 carrying cases, 2 containers of balls. Price: $800p. Call: 1062103.

FOR SALE: Dish 311 Receiver. We moved into a house with this receiver in place. We do not need it. A search of the web says it is still usable and has not been discontinued by Dish. Best offer gets it. Price: $850 pesos. Call: 045-331-382-4771.

FOR SALE: Nintendo Wii System. Comes with balance board, sensor bar, console, ac adapter, av cable, operations manual and 8 game discs. Price: $1500 MXN. Call: 7661710.

FOR SALE: Rawlings Softballs 4 original packaging. Price: $250 pesos, Call: 765-4667.

FOR SALE: Two matching end tables, black, wicker, each with one drawer and shelf below. 29” high, 17” square, perfect height for my sofa. Price: $300 Pesos. Call: 376-766-4898.

FOR SALE: 29 inch color stereo TV by Daewoo, plus stand/cabinet. Flat screen, 3+ AV outlets, remote, owner’s manual, excellent condition, sound and picture. Cabinet is light-colored laminate wood, holdsTV on top with 2-door storage area below, 23 inches high, shelf for DVD player.

Available in October; can deliver. Price: $1200 Pesos. Call: 376-766-4898.

FOR SALE: Cargo Trailer 6.5 x 10 Feet, this trailer is Jalisco plated!!! Back 45 inches are open-top for better access to contents of trailer. Front 75 inches have metal top for protection from rain. $1,600 usd or $26,500 pesos. Call: 765-3668 in Chapala.

Saw you in the Ojo 85

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El Ojo del Lago / January 2016