El Ojo del Lago

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El Ojo del Lago July 2009


Saw you in the Ojo

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Richard Tingen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alejandro Grattan-Domínguez Tel: (01376) 765 3676, 765 2877 Fax: (01376) 765 3528 Associate Publisher David Tingen Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Jazmin Eliosa Special Events Editor Kay Davis Associate Editor Jim Tipton Contributing Editors Paul Jackson Henri Loridans Feature Editor Jim Tuck (Honorary) Staff Photographer Xill Fessenden Staff Writers Mildred Boyd Ilse Hoffmann Floyd Dalton Fred C. Dobbs Sales Manager Tania Medina (045) 33 1140 3570 tania.medina@mac.com Office Secretary Iliana Oregel ADVERTISING OFFICE Av. Hidalgo # 223, Chapala Mon. thru Fri. 9am - 5pm Sat. 9am - 1pm Tel. 01 (376) 765 2877, 765 3676 Fax 01 (376) 765 3528 Send all correspondence, subscriptions or advertising to: El Ojo del Lago http://www.chapala.com ojodellago@prodigy.net.mx Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: (376) 765 3676, Fax 765 3528 PRINTING: Quadrimag S.A. de C.V. El Ojo del Lago aparece los primeros cinco días de cada mes. (Out over the first five days of each month) Certificado de Licitud de Título 3693 Certificado de Licitud de Contenido 3117.

FEATURE ARTICLES

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Harriet Hart writes up one of Mexico’s most fascinating cities, a fascination due in large part because Zacatecas has striven mightily to preserve its old-world charm.

8 Cover by Fessenden

13 MEDICAL NEWS Dr. Miguel Cordova checks in with an article of keen importance to most expats here at Lakeside—Falling Down: causes, treatment and prevention.

COLUMNS THIS MONTH

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Editor’s Page

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Op-Ed

20 LOCAL COLOR

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Bridge By Lake

Margie Harrell writes about the sights, sounds and smells along the carretera, Lakeside’s own version of Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard and New York’s Broadway.

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Uncommon Sense

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Thunder on Right

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Planting for Future

24 HISTORY

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Joyful Musings

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Lakeside Living

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Magnificent Mexico

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World of Ours

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Wondrous Wildlife

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Hearts at Work

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Havoc in Motion

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New Lease on Life

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Paw Prints

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Welcome to Mexico

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LCS Newsletter

Hank Shiver writes about the relationship George Washington had with the leading religious clerics of that important epoch in US history. It’s not what devoutly religious people might want to hear but neither is it what anti-clerical folks will be crazy about, either.

32 HEALTH TIPS Julie D’Costa writes about “reverse aging,” a topic on more of our minds as we all keep getting older.

54 POETRY Prof. Michael Hogan (author of the celebrated The Irish Soldiers of Mexico) is one of the few writers who managed to publish a few books of his poems in the mainstream press in the US.

Reserva al Título de Derechos de Autor 04-2007-111412131300-102 Control 14301. Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Gobernación (EXP. 1/432 “88”/5651 de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva 171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de 1994. Distribución: Hidalgo 223 Chapala, Jalisco, México. All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher or the Editor, nor are we responsible for the claims made by our advertisers. We welcome letters, which should include name, address and telephone number.

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COVER STORY

COVER STORY

PUBLISHER

Index...

El Ojo del Lago July 2009

LAKESIDE LIVING

z D IRE C TOR Y z

34 MAGNIFICENT MEXICO

VOLUME 25 NUMBER 11

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By Alejandro Grattan-Domingez

The Day the World Held Its Breath

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his last June 6th marked the 65th anniversary of DDay, a day in which the future of the entire world literally hung in the balance. To honor the men who fought and died in the invasion of Normandy, the presidents of the United States, Britain, Canada and France gathered at an American cemetery on a bluff overlooking one of the four beaches onto which 150,000 Allied warriors would storm over the course of June 6, 1944 and in the days that immediately followed. The invasion would mark the beginning of the end for Hitler’s onceinvincible Third Reich, but it came at a huge cost. Nine thousand Allied soldiers were killed the first day and within a month there would be another 120,000 dead and wounded. But these men had both history and unity on their side, and of the many unforgettable moments that marked the battle was how thousands of men who had been wounded refused to allow themselves to be taken away from the front lines. What drove many of those courageous men, thousands of whom were teenagers just out of high school, was best summed up by a young American major with a flair for poetic language: “Many of us sensed that we had come to the hour for which we were born.” The logistics of that invasion have never been equaled, either before or since. The Allied Armada included 5,000 ships, 250,000 vehicles, several portable piers, thousands of planes and 20,000 paratroopers, all in support of an initial battle that was won ultimately on the beaches, one grain of sand at a time. These men had vowed that freedom would not be pushed back into the sea. Within that commit-

ment, they were carrying the hopes of one age and the dream of all ages. Upon the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the invasion, Presidents Obama, Brown of England and Stephen Harper of Canada all made memorable speeches. But perhaps the most touching was the speech by France’s President Sarkozy, who went out of his way to thank the United States for the huge contribution it had made to the liberation of France. Centuries earlier, France had been the American colonies first great ally and had sent over one of its best military technicians, General Lafayette. During the First World War, when the American Doughboys (of whom my father was one) landed in France, General “Blackjack” Pershing had paid homage to America’s debt of gratitude by saying: “Lafayette, we are here.” The somber backdrop for the recent anniversary was the American Cemetery, where over 5,000 men have been laid to their final rest, a sight which prompted reflection not only on D-Day but on World War II itself. It has been called the “last just and great war.” Historians can argue about that but what is indisputable is that America has never again been so united. At the site of another great battle, President Lincoln expressed it best when he said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Eventually, the United States would lose more than 250,000 men in that heroic war. But those five thousand men buried in France seemed to be speaking for all the other brave men in whispering that we should always have the same overwhelming reason as we had in WW II before we ever again send men off to die.

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Alejandro Grattan


By Maggie Van Ostrand

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ohn Steinbeck penned his famous book, Tortilla Flat, in 1935, and apparently never considered Hollywood’s casting choices when it was made into a film in 1942. If he had, he would’ve fallen flat himself, either from laughing or from astonishment. Steinbeck’s classic is the sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant story of a group of Mexican amigos living in Tortilla Flat on California’s Monterey Peninsula. These friends are allergic to work, preferring to live in idyllic poverty. They are as lazy as they are impoverished, and use their wits to obtain food, shelter, women, and countless jugs of wine. The group’s wily leader is Pilon, a crafty fellow who cleverly manipulates his shiftless friends into doing whatever shady deals will bring him the greatest personal benefits. Pilon is played by blue-eyed, redheaded Spencer Tracy, who speaks what sounds like a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and his native Milwaukee, as decreed by MGM’s Louis B. Mayer. Pilon’s friend and favorite dupe is small-time crook, Danny Alvarez, who has inherited two houses and a gold watch from his late grandfather, and who later falls in love with Dolores Ramirez. Danny is played by John Garfield, famous for portraying boxing champions, truck drivers, and gangsters, and who neglected to lose his New York Lower East Side accent. Wait, casting gets even better when we see Dolores played by none other than blue-eyed Hedy Lamarr, who does nothing to disguise her Austrian accent. Haven’t heard enough yet? Read on. A moth-eaten old vagrant called The Pirate, who lives in a shack with his many dogs, promises St. Francis a golden candlestick in exchange for saving a sick pup. The Pirate is played by blue-eyed Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel and The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz), who was nominated for an Oscar in Tortilla Flat. Must’ve been the tearjerker scene where all the dogs look up to see a vision of St. Francis coming down from heaven. In case you think that’s not peculiar enough, Brooklyn born Connie Gilchrist, who usually played Irish

washerwomen types named Hattie, Mollie, or Mrs. Feeny, was cast as the popular wine seller, Mrs. Torrelli. Rounding out oddly cast fringe players are Russian-Armenian character actor, Akim Tamiroff wearing very dark make-up and sporting a heavy Slavic accent and, of all people, Sheldon Leonard. He’s straight out of a Damon Runyon short story and known for playing deadpan New York hoods. Allen Jenkins, another Damon Runyon character actor, plays Portagee Joe with a Brooklyn accent, and Henry O’Neil, who usually played district attorneys, doctors, and generals, shows up with a brogue as Father Juan Ramon. To be fair, perhaps some of this eccentric casting was caused by the absence of better-suited actors who had gone off to fight in World War II. But that doesn’t explain Hedy Lamarr. Where was Dolores Del Rio when we needed her? (She didn’t make a movie between 1940-1943 so presumably she was available.) Too bad director Victor Fleming is no longer around to answer this question. Even if he were, since he directed Frank Morgan in both this film and The Wizard of Oz, the question should really be “Was one of The Pirate’s dogs played by the same Cairn terrier who played Toto?”

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THE MAGIC OF ZACATECAS By Harriet Hart

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unday morning when we pulled up to the Pemex on the lakeside libramiento there was already a line up of three circus trucks containing one lama, two tigers and a lion cub. Was this a sign that today’s trip to Zacatecas was going to take a bizarre turn? The gas jockeys were smiling. I imagined they were tickled by their sneak preview of the big top. An hour later we were stuck in Guadalajara while a marathon ran past; the next five hours we drove a scenic but winding road which we shared with a cow, her calf and dozens of aspiring Formula One drivers. We made a detour that took us to the centre of Villanueva on market day. When we reached the outskirts of Zacatecas we breathed a huge sigh of relief only to become instantly and hopelessly lost. We missed every single giant blue and white sign pointing to Centro, drove straight past our destination and had to backtrack ten kilometres. I whimpered like a lost puppy in the passenger seat while Paul cursed Mexican signage and hurled F sharps at the windshield before we found the cathedral and then our hotel. That evening in Zacatecas we were treated to a music and light show featuring a giant contraption suspended high above our heads by a blue industrial crane. Acrobats, drummers and bell ringers dressed in Venetian costumes rode this human music box that twirled and played against the cathedral, a pink stone confection glowing against the night sky. I recalled my childhood ambition to be a trapeze artist when I spent hours hanging upside down from a backyard swing, training to be a trapeze artist like Gina Lolobrigida in the movie Trapeze. La Finca Los Mineros is a small hotel two blocks north of the cathedral. Our room was on the interior courtyard and won my personal award for the quietest Mexican hotel room we’ve ever slept in. Despite the comfortable king-size bed and the peaceful atmosphere, we slept fitfully. Paul spent the night composing poisonous letters to our investment broker while I tried to

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justify spending what money we had left on a river cruise down the Danube. We were both awake before the 42 cathedral bells called the faithful to Mass. When we walked past the municipal palace there wasn’t a trace of the previous night’s music box: no giant blue crane, no contraption with swings for the trapeze artists. “Carileon Celestial” had vanished. We began our tour of Zacatecas with the Museo Rafael Coronel. Housed in a former Franciscan mission, it is now partially in ruins thanks to Pancho Villa. What remains is a pink birthday cake of a ruin. The setting, the building, the 3000 masks on display and the tiger swallowtail sipping from a puddle on the walkway to the entrance all combined to intrigue us. This must be the finest collection of masks in the world, all scowling, grinning or leering down from their positions on the stone walls. There was room after room of them—pigs, cows, rabbits, tigers, devils and conquistadores. These masks were worn in dances and fiestas, meant to frighten and delight. Next were the puppets. Did these matadors and picadors, these mariachi bands and military men on parade, these souls burning in the fiery pit all entertain crowds on the streets of Zacatecas in days gone by? We rode the cable car to the summit of the Cerro de la Bufa to take in a panoramic view of the city. At the summit we popped into the Capilla del Patrocinia, the church where a miracle-performing Virgin is supposed to preside, but she did a disappearing act, leaving just an empty glass case behind. The hike down to the centre of town was not for the out-of-shape or caffeine deprived. Lunch restored our strength suf-


ficiently to visit another museum, Museo Zacatecano. Here the extraordinary work of the Huichol Indians was enough to make me want to experiment with peyote myself. Drug induced visions decorated the walls and visions of another kind, Christian ones, could be seen in a room containing hundreds of retablos depicting saints and martyrs, virgins and the Holy Family. My head filled to overflowing with blue deer and peyote blossoms, the Eye of God, saints and martyrs. I stumbled out onto the street. Sure enough, the real world of getting and spending was still out there, the citizens of Zacatecas were chatting on their cell phones or hurrying down the sidewalks to appointments or romantic liaisons. We returned to our hotel to recharge our batteries and those of the camera. After a late siesta it was back out onto the streets. In front of the legislative assembly an enthusiastic crowd was gathered to watch the “Rhapsody of Giants,” a young couple on stilts, flirting, twirling and waltzing, not easy things to do when you’re wearing hoop skirts over your stilts. We went for an early dinner at a nice little spot where the waitress gave us an English

menu and then babbled at us earnestly in Spanish. When we left the couple on stilts was still dancing. Our second day began with another museum, Museo Pedro Coronel. Pedro was an artist and collector: works by Picasso, Kadinsky, Chagall, Dali and Miro are on display in a former Jesuit monastery. Coronel must have been a very wealthy man because he also collected pre-Columbian Mexican ceramics, Indian and Oriental artefacts and some fabulous African pieces. Back outside in the midday sun, we walked to the Alameda Park and on to the Mina El Eden, until recently a working silver mine. Here were figures of miners being hoisted down rock faces in cages; mining was brutal work. According to our guide as many as eight miners were killed daily at the height of production and the average life span of a miner was 26 years. This World Heritage City was built on the backs of the wretched. After lunch we limped to one last museum, Museo Francisco Goitia. What a perfect place. The rose garden made me stop to smell the roses, twice. The building once served as official residence of the

governor and contains the works of Francisco Goitia and several modern Mexican painters. There were two traveling exhibits, one in honour of Alfredo Zalce, who painted the mural in the municipal palace in Morelia, and one titled “Presencia y Evocacion,” portraits from the National Art Museum. Our last stop was to see the renowned Quinta Real Hotel built around the former bull ring with a view of the city’s original aqueduct. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the bullrings in the world could be transformed into hotels? The drive home was harrowing. The night before we watched The Fallen, a movie starring Denzel Washington, in which a good cop is possessed by demons. The same thing happened to Paul half-way through Aguascalientes. He began cursing Mexican signage once more: the signs hidden by trees, the ones obscured by orange construction signs and the ones that were just not there. He even swore at our map that put Aguascalientes on the page fold. We made good time and rolled into Ajijic to be greeted by big blue circus tents. We were home. I wondered where the lions are.

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BRIDGE BY THE LAKE By Ken Masson

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en Masson has been playing, teaching and writing about bridge for 35 years. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Ken has been living in Toronto since 1967. He and his wife and bridge partner, Rosemarie, are now in their third year wintering in Lakeside. One of the challenges of teaching bridge is persuading students of the power of distribution and to count dummy points when they expect their partner to become declarer in a suit contract. To calculate dummy points, a player allocates one point to a doubleton, 3 points to a singleton and 5 points to a void in a suit other than trumps. Once they have accepted this principle, I find their bidding and results improve enormously. In this month’s hand, played on one of the popular Internet bridge sites, North opened in first seat with 1 club. East passed and South responded 1 heart. West passed and North rebid 2 hearts. That ended the auction.

West led the diamond Ace and, seeing a singleton in the dummy, switched to a trump. East took the Ace and continued trumps but now declarer was in control, losing only one more trick to the spade Ace to emerge with 10 tricks. This was not a successful hand for North South as they stopped in a part-score while game was available. So what went wrong? The fault lies mainly with North who failed to see the value of his singleton diamond. When South bid 1 heart, North’s hand instantly became stronger and he should have added 3 dummy points to his 13 high card points for a total of 16 points and thus his rebid should have been 3 hearts. With 9 high card points of his own, South would most likely have gone on to game. To test the validity of dummy points, take the spade 2 from North’s hand and make it the diamond 2. Now, North would still open the bidding but when South bids 1 heart, North’s hand is only worth 14 dummy points and so he only rebids 2 hearts. Thus a hopeless heart game would be avoided. Questions or comments: email: masson.ken@gmail.com

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THE DIAMOND FORMATION By Michael Cook Reviewed by Margie Keane

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poem by Michael Cook which appears on the back cover of his book, The Diamond Formation, describes the story within the covers perfectly. Actually, it is more a journey than a story, a journey filled with many emotions, some funny, some sad. Michael came to Mexico from Cottingham, England and lives in Jocotepec. He is a member of writers groups in Ajijic and Chapala and has been published in El Ojo del Lago as well as various publications in England. Cook says his book is about four post-menopausal women, but it’s so much more than that. There are four women in his story; four women with completely different tastes, temperaments and desires, yet they have one common thread binding them together: the search for a fulfilling love, a feeling of self-worth. The author gives the reader the choice of taking on the role of one of the characters, thus becoming an active part of the story, or you can just be an observer. I chose to be a part of the story. It’s rather eerie. Cook states that he wrote this story from his feminine side. He has done a remarkable job of portraying the feelings and emotions of each of the women. The fact that Cook was a psychologist is evident as his expertise in this field is seen throughout the book. He has a very lyrical writing style, often lapsing into rhyme, sometimes sounding Shakespearean, always brilliant. His poetry that appears randomly

throughout the book is so beautifully written, so sensual, it almost detracts from the story line, leaving this reader wishing for a book of his poetry. In the book the “narrator” asks you “to take his hand and let him lead you.” Take it and follow him through exciting, sad, sensual, sometimes brutal passages. It could be a life-changing experience. (The book sells for 200 pesos and is available at Smokie’s—the bookstore in Bugambilias Plaza and at La Perla.)

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By Joy Phoenix

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tress has been acknowledged as America’s number one health problem. Authorities now believe that up to 90 percent of all illness is stress-related. Yet stressful situations don’t cause longterm problems. Our inability to manage the stress is what results in long term health problems. We have not been taught how to deal with our stress; instead we are told ‘work harder’ ‘work smarter’ ‘take a pill’ ‘have a drink’ ‘relax and forget about it.’ So the stress gets suppressed into the body, where it begins to manifest as pain and disharmony and disease, doing its best to draw attention to unresolved issues. Clearing stress as it arises, instead of storing it in the body, is nothing more than common sense. You can take measures right now to avoid being a statistic. Following is a simple and amazingly effective visualization that helps clear stress from the body. If your stress had a place where it lived in your body, where would it be? If it had a color, what color would it be? Does it have a shape or a form? Is it liquid or solid or vapor? Does it make

a sound? Imagine your stress as clearly as you can, then take it out of your body, and place it in front of you. Mentally take a step away from it. Now focus an intense beam of white light, directly on to the colored shape that is your stress and imagine it evaporating, hear it dissolving, observe until nothing remains, and then take a deep breath. Go back in to your body and see what color and shape it is now. Repeat the process until it’s completely clear. When nothing of the stress remains, irradiate the area where the stress in that beautiful light. Now choose the most marvelous emotion you can think of to take the place of that stress. You can choose anything; love, laughter, happiness, strength, peace, joy. If this emotion had a color and a shape, what would they be? Imagine it as clearly as you can, and then place this form in your body where the stress used to live. Make it grow until it fills your body. Now make it ten times bigger until that emotion fills and surrounds you ten feet in every direction. Take three more deep breaths. Stretch. Have a big glass of water. Repeat the entire process any time you feel stressed. (Ed. Note: Joy is a stress management specialist certified in more than a dozen different holistic health modalities. She travels the world teaching alternatives to drugs, chemicals and surgery. Her website is www.experiencejoy.com. She can be reached at 044 322 129 1128.)

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FALLS By J. Manuel Cordova, M.D. mdjmcordova1204@yahoo.com (376) 766-2777 (part I)

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serious fall can change your life forever! Falls are more common in people over age 60 and have not always been recognized as a serious health problem. Research studies show the frequency and consequences of falls reveal their multifactor origin and demonstrate that they can be prevented by addressing the factors that increase a person’s risk of falling. Approximately 35-40% of people age 65 and over fall in any given year. Half of the people who fall will do so more than once and the incidence rate increases steadily after age 60. About 50% of people over age 80 fall in a given year. Falls are attributable for 87% of all fractures and over 95% of hip fractures in this age group. The second leading cause of brain and spinal cord injuries in older adults is the result of a fall. In the year 2005, there were over 350,000 hip fractures in the U.S. Women are more likely to fall than men, and more than half of all falls occur in the home. Many of the visits to emergency rooms for patients over the age of 60 are related to falls and approximately half are admitted to the hospital. Falls are associated with the increased risk of nursing home placement, body function decline and continued fear of falling. Accidental injuries, including falls, represent the 5th leading cause of death in persons over age 65. FACTORS: Vision impairment, muscle weakness, reaction to medications, balance and gait abnormalities,

impaired thinking, arthritis, neurological disorders, Parkinson’s disease, recent hospitalization, osteoporosis, under weight, fragility, etc. The primary risk factors in nursing homes include inappropriate use of medicines, inadequate use of cane or walker, nutritional deficiencies and inappropriate physician support by a qualified Geriatrics Specialist. Falls may result in serious soft tissue injuries, fractures, lacerations and head trauma. The injury rates are higher in institutional settings by as much as 10-25%. CONSEQUENCES OF FALLING: Falls are very costly for older persons, both in terms of health care dollars and in the loss of physical function and independence. The treatment cost of a hip fracture in the United States was recently estimated to be over $20,000 for care alone during the first year following the injury. Falls account for approximately 20% of the restricted activity days in retired people; more than any other single health condition. Older people who have suffered an injury from a fall may require restricted activity for several months or longer because of residual physical impairment. The fear of falling again also creates a psychological impairment. At least 50% of those who fall have fallen as a result of ‘fear of falling’ which then leads to long-term restriction of activities. Injuries from falls are a major factor in determining nursing home placement.

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UNCOMMON COMMON SENSE By Bill Frayer

When Expert Opinion is Questionable

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recently encountered a medical challenge which caused me, for a time, to commit a common oversimplification error, appeal to authority. Let me explain. One day, while my wife was back in the United States, I was struck by a headache, which worsened as the day went on, and accompanied by vertigo and nausea. I decided to take it easy and see if the symptoms would subside. After another day at home, the symptoms were worsening, so I saw see my doctor. He took a blood test, pronounced that I had a virus, and sent me home to rest with several medicines. After two more days, I was having trouble keeping anything down, including the medicines. He admitted me to the Ajijic Clinic for two days to get some IV fluids, as I was becoming dehydrated. The next few days were still not good, and a friend of mine, whose physician son-in-law was visiting, came by to see me, and announced that I needed a head scan. I called my doctor, and told him this. He told me a head scan was unnecessary. I trusted him and didn’t question his diagnosis as I probably should have. Finally, one of my good friends insisted me that I needed to be checked out by another doctor, and I reluctantly agreed. My story ends well, for as a result, I was taken to Guadalajara for an MRI, and they discovered the source of my problem: a brain hemorrhage! It was treatable, and I have recovered and have been pronounced healthy again. Now, why didn’t I question my

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Bill Frayer

doctor sooner? It took ten days of misery before I finally got a head scan. I assumed my doctor knew best and willingly went along with his opinion, even though the evidence I had was contradicting his diagnosis. I was making a classic oversimplification error: appeal to authority. I was accepting his diagnosis as fact on the basis of his expertise. I knew better, but was too close to the situation to see it clearly. Of course, we must use the advice of experts. After all, they presumably know more than we do about their areas of expertise. The problem arises when we accept an expert opinion as fact without examining it. Medical opinions are a good example. Even though physicians are experts, their opinions should not be blindly accepted as fact. Good physicians will be very open about this, and consider their opinions as tentative. After all, they are making diagnoses based on incomplete evidence. Remember those “experts” who assured us that Iraq had WMDs? They were widely believed, based on their experience and knowledge, and they were spectacularly incorrect. Go figure? We see experts disagreeing with one another on television. We need to ask who is paying this expert. It is not surprising to find a climate expert who works for Exxon-Mobil claiming that global warming is not caused by greenhouse gasses. Similarly, we would


expect an expert like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to claim that President Obama’s economic stimulus measures are reasonable and will be effective. We must listen to experts, but not without question. Asking good questions and remaining skeptical will help us to ascertain if the authority is unbiased and likely to be correct. I learned that lesson the hard way! Next month, I’ll look at an equally common fallacy: appeal to tradition.

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THUNDER ON THE RIGHT By Paul Jackson paulconradjackson@gmail.com

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ritish Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher—a lady I interviewed on two occasions—made three statements that are legendary in nature. The ‘Iron Lady’ told President Ronald Reagan that Soviet leader and reformer Mikhail Gorbachev was a man “with whom one can do business” and this led to the end of the Cold War, the bringing of democracy to the Soviet Union, and the freeing of hundreds of millions of people in the Kremlin’s Eastern Europen slave state. Thatcher, who can hardly be described as a Sociaist, also talked about the “ugly face and unacceptable side of capitalism.” In today’s terms she would be referring to the reckless and ruthless activities of Wall Street and American and worldwide banks that have tumbled the world into the economic chasm it is now in. And if any Democrat - Liberal - in the U.S. today talks piously as to how Republicans and Conservatives were the pirates on Wall Street and other financial sectors, they are being hypocritical. There were as many Liberal rogues in this awful scenario as Conservative rogues, perhaps even more. And, said Thatcher—and this is very, very pertinent right now— sooner or later the Liberal-Left runs out of spending other people’s money. Sadly, in this era, that point has not been reached, and the consequences of President Barack Obama’s astronomical deficit spending sprees are frightening. Going back to the Roman Empire there has not been a single time in history

Paul Jackson

when a government that piled on huge debts didn’t bring about runaway inflation, the utter debasement of its currency, and soaring interest rates. We all know now that the deficits Obama and the Democratic administration are going to run will be triple those of President George W. Bush. Indeed, some projections are they could well be four times as large as any other deficit in American history. How do we know that? Because Obama and his officials have told us. This being so, if Democrats criticized, chastised and condemned the Bush administration for its deficit spending, why are they not criticizing, chastising and condemning the Obama administration for planning to run up deficits that will be three times higher—likely four times higher—than the previous administration. Again, hypocrisy. At the very least, deficit spending means a government is passing on its debts to future generations—your children and grandchildren—to pay off. Imagine, if it were the law that a father’s and a mother’s credit card debts were passed on to their children and those parents simply lived it up, dumping all those debts into their kids’ laps, what would happen. There would be outrage at those parents. Yet there is no outrage at Obama’s plans to do just that. Democratic Washington is leading the U.S. into an abyss. How bad will it be? One perceptive individual, Marc Faber, whose economic predictions in his ‘Gloom, Boom and Doom Reports’, have been carried in the most prestigious financial publications and websites in the world, talks about a complete collapse of the American dollar and hyperinflation akin to that of Zimbabwee where the currency is absolutely worthless and poverty and misery is epidemic. I tremble at what this fiscal madness may bring about, and you should, too.

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Planting For The Future By Judy Baehr 766-2695 jdbaehr@aol.com www.greatgreens.org

Leaving a Legacy

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n TV recently, a sweet bright young thing got a glowing look on her face and said that when the earliest known great natural disaster wiped out all life on earth, it was only 150 million years before life appeared again. She seemed cheered by this discovery, as though we should be reassured that we aren’t doomed to be a failed planet after all, no matter how many great disasters hit. I found this very depressing. I might not mind, if I did not think that life on earth is going to hell in a plastic bag (hand baskets are out) faster than we can figure out what to do. But lately, I’ve begun to think that the future for humans is going to be scary and short. My biggest worry is the food supply. If Monsanto disappears in a cloud of radioactive gas or drowns in the water from the polar ice cap (both attractive thoughts), where are we going to get our seed to grow our produce so we can survive? Those hybrid seeds created by the big agro companies do not reproduce, and they interbreed with reproducing varieties so those don’t reproduce either. Here we are in a fertile area of the highlands of Mexico, where you can just put a stick in the ground and it will sprout. But what if we don’t want to eat sprouted sticks? If we can’t get hybrid seed, what will we grow? I am very angry at Monsanto for luring the Mexican government into supporting genetically modified seed

that threatens native varieties of corn. My frustration is that no matter what diatribes I write, my influence is nil, and native corn in Mexico is headed for oblivion. I’m mad as hell but I can’t figure out anything to do. Finally, after much huffing and puffing, I’ve thought of a way to make my point. When I die, I will have my body cremated, but I will have my remains buried in a deluxe all-steel impermeable coffin that will be filled with seed corn to be discovered by archeologists of the future, whatever their buggy-looking glutinous bodies from outer space may look like. It will be my legacy, and just maybe organic agriculture will win in the end. In the meantime, if you share my frustration, support ACÁ and traditional farming. Their heirloom varieties are raised for taste, not for large scale production and distribution. They reproduce seed themselves, just as farmers in Mexico have been doing for generations, by saving the best seed of the strongest growing and best-tasting plants. ACÁ’s Great Greens are at SuperLake and the Lake Chapala Society, or stop at the ACÁ demonstration farm and Eco Center in Jaltepec (M-F 9-5, Sat 9-1). Email acaecotalks@ gmail.com to get on the list for future organic market tours in Guadalajara.

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PEACE IN AMERICA By Anthony Bogart

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’m thinking about a river. A river that runs through every person in the world. It’s the river of the heart and the heart’s desire. It’s the pure essential truth of what each one of us is and can achieve. Americans think of themselves as fighters, always ready to fight for what we love and against that which we deplore. We have become the expression of the violence. The true nature of our hearts has become hidden behind a mask of menace and hostility. Our whole way of life in America has become an expression of the mask we wear. In the end, though, our cruelty and capacity for rage is not what characterizes the nature of the American heart. It is forgiveness that returns us to the river of our own hearts. Without forgiveness we will annihilate ourselves in endless retributions. Without forgiveness there will be no hope, without hope no art or music. Without that dream there would be no love. For every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love and we love because we can forgive. On a global scale, we can and must forgive the violent attacks of September 11th 2001. We must forgive ourselves for losing faith in democracy, diplomacy and the free market. We don’t need to steal resources from other countries. We don’t need to manipulate the electoral process at home to be safe and free. We don’t need to build a wall at our borders to isolate ourselves. We do need to reconnect to the

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river of the heart’s desire, to connect our hearts to the heart of nature and the incredible diversity of the human community. The pure essential truth of who we are and what we can achieve is a global community at peace with ourselves and each other. There is enough land, resources, money and for human beings to live with liberty and justice for all including the Islamic nations, China, Korea, Iran, Russia and all of South America. America can recall her menacing troops from the 130 countries where they are now stationed around the world. America can reduce its military spending which is now greater than the combined military expenditure of all other nations and redistribute that wealth in the service of universal health care, sustainable agriculture and energy and education. The dialogue between cultures can be conducted through non-violent communication not by the crude and wasteful means of the obsolete and ineffectual technology of war. Take off the mask of menace and hatred and fear. Step into the river of the heart so that the truth of our essential loving nature will find expression in our capacity to recreate our country as a reflection of the highest vision of our true and essential selves.

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ALONG A L O N G THE T H E CARRETERA CARRETERA By Margie Harrell

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ith ever-changing mountains on the right and beautiful Lake Chapala on the left the views from the highway into the sleepy little village of Ajijic are spectacular at any time of the year. The vistas seem to beckon all who pass by to stop and stay awhile with the risk of never wanting to leave again. The English translation of carretera is highway but that is much too drab a word to describe this magical stretch of road, an entrance to a new and exciting life for many. Like a time capsule the carretera reflects the way of everyday life in this part of Mexico. Soon after I arrived I purchased an old Volkswagen coche that was in desperate need of new upholstery - any upholstery. Where to find such a service in a small town? Not to worry, friends soon directed me up to the carretera and there he was in the back of a taco stand, a friendly old gentleman who did an outstanding job for me. Days later when I returned to pick up my car I was amazed to see he had included new floor mats at no charge to me. Only in Mexico. Each morning as I headed out for my daily walk I would invariably end up on the carretera in search of wonderful hidden treasures. I was never disappointed. The smell of fresh baked bread would greet me along with many diet tempting creamy desserts and always many baskets of gorgeous flowers everywhere. Over the years shops and restaurants would open and close creating a constantly changing scene to explore. Perhaps a live concert at the auditorium or the latest movie from Hollywood. Art classes a short block

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away or just relax at Salvador’s restaurant to watch the passing parade. One day Señor Montezuma came to visit me and I was in desperate need of a doctor but being new in town I wasn’t yet familiar with the local medicos. Up the hill on the carretera there he was just waiting to cure me and a microbiologist to boot. As I left the farmacia next to his office I felt I was already well on my way to a speedy recovery. The high point of the week is always the Wednesday open-air tianguis where everyone in town congregates to purchase their fresh vegetables, fruits and miscellaneous other items of which there are many. It is also a great spot for meeting up with new amigos as a slight breeze wafts through the brightly colored canopies. Should you buy more than you can carry a taxi is always close at hand for a few pesos. A quick stop at the post office and on to my bank completes a morning’s errands to be followed by a lazy lunch at a roadside cafe. Progress has crept onto the carretera with its many traffic lights which only seem to signal it is time to slow down and smell the roses, literally. It has been over 500 years since the first settlers arrived in the village but despite the changes it still manages to look much as it did then. It’s more than just a place to shop, it’s a new adventure every day......along the carretera.

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Joyful Musings By Joy Birnbach Dunstan, MA, LPC, MAC

Wouldn’t a Do-Over Be Nice?

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y son’s favorite books when he was young were those in a series called Choose Your Own Adventure. These action-packed stories gave the reader numerous opportunities to decide what happens next. You start reading, and at the end of a passage you are given a choice of what you would like to happen next in the story. You would then turn to a specific page depending upon what you had chosen. There were countless possibilities, and you could read the book over again creating a different adventure each time. If you chose a particular option and didn’t like the way it worked out, you could go back and choose the other path. Ah, if only real life worked like that! Now that I look back at it, maybe running away from home at 16 wasn’t such a great plan. Wouldn’t it be great to go back and choose “If you want to seek out a wise mentor who can listen without judgment and find a way to get along with your difficult family, turn to page 32.” Or perhaps instead of marrying that incredible someone after a whirlwind two-month romance, you could go back and choose “If you want to break up with this loser and go to dinner with a group of friends to celebrate, turn to page 76.” We can never know if that road not taken would have resulted in any better outcome, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the chance to find out?

But life just doesn’t let you do that. There’s rarely a chance to go back for a “do-over.” Like your virginity, it’s a one-shot deal for most decisions. Some people seem blessed with an uncanny knack for thinking things through and making good decisions. They look at an option from all its possibilities and see all the potential outcomes, and make a choice based not just on what felt right at the time, but a sound long-term decision. Or maybe they were just lucky. Over the years I’ve realized it’s not so much taking the time to foresee all the ramifications of a decision as much as it is the recognition that with every choice we make, there is a corresponding choice to let something go. Letting go often means saying goodbye to options and alternatives that will no longer be available once we have made our choice. The letting go can be the hardest part. Joni Mitchell knew that when she sang, “Something’s lost but something’s gained in living every day.” In our youth, all things seem possible, time appears limitless, and we feel invincible. We only notice what we are choosing and take little notice of what we are letting go. After all, there’s always tomorrow. The real wisdom is in recognizing the difference between an either-or decision and a now-orlater one. Over the years, most of us come to realize there isn’t that much time. Don’t let yourself become frozen by not making choices. A lifetime spent sitting on the fence is not rewarding. Reality makes it impossible to have or do all things; we have to select what we want and move always forward, never back. Make your choices wisely and with deliberation. Remember: most of them are for keeps. Editor’s Note: Joy is a practicing psychotherapist in Riberas. She can be contacted at joy@dunstan. org or 765-4988.

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THOMAS T HOMAS P PAINE—101 AINE—101 By Hank Shiver

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n 1781, Paine traveled to France to raise money for the US Army. During his stay, he became involved in both French and English politics. For a decade, Paine traveled between the two countries, attempting to spread the idea of a democratic republic in Europe. The French Revolution (1789-1799) would change Europe forever. The Revolution would overthrow the church and royalty in France and warn the rest of Europe of things to come. In 1789, the French Constitution was started and contained The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as the preamble of the Constitution. Paine, who spoke no French, was lead writer of the French Constitution which was patterned after the US Constitution. Paine’s defense of The Rights of Man had him convicted of treason in England in 1792. Paine was banned from England for life. Paine opposed the execution of Louis XVI and his family and was jailed for it. He was ahead of his time in opposing capital punishment. Paine’s Godchild, the USA, still has the death penalty. He supported suffrage in France and the US, and he lost on both counts. As late as 1982, the States influenced by the Religious Right voted not to give women equal rights with men. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands…” To the Conservative Christian, this means that a woman is never to be equal to man. While in jail, The Age of Reason was written. This was and is the most controversial book ever written about the Jewish/Christian Bible. It includes over 400 contradictions, 300 slams at women, and 900 cruel and violent passages in the Christian Bible. Paine became the most hated man in the Western World. Paine’s opinion of the Old Testament was, “Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible [It should be remembered that by the word “Bible”

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Paine always means the Old Testament.] is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon, than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my own part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel. Paine wrote, “It is not then the existence or the non-existence, of the persons that I trouble myself about; it is the fable of Jesus Christ, as told in the New Testament, and the wild and visionary doctrine raised thereon, against which I contend. The story, taking it as it is told, is blasphemously obscene. It gives an account of a young woman engaged to be married, and while under this engagement, she is, to speak plain language, debauched by a ghost, under the impious pretence, (Luke: 1:35,) that “the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.” Notwithstanding which, Joseph afterwards marries her, cohabits with her as his wife, and in his turn rivals the ghost.” Paine was given passage to the US by his friend, President Thomas Jefferson, aboard a US ship. Jefferson was lambasted for doing this. Paine was demonized by the Christian community and men who befriended him or renewed their friendship with him were threatened by religious leaders. Paine would have never walked into Rick Warren’s church, nor submitted to a religious test by Warren as McCain and Obama did during the presidential campaign. It is time for America to return to her roots. (Ed. Note: We welcome all opposing opinions.)

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PET PEEVES By Karen Greenbury

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hat is it with scented products? It’s become overwhelming and thoroughly annoying to those of us with decent olfactory capabilities. How do the hypersensitive among us cope? Imagine if your business was wine or cheese, or if you were a dog, cat or truffle pig. How could you live a normal, productive life? Do they all go around with clothespins clipped on their noses until they need them for something serious? Can anyone explain to me why I’d want to use “strawberry” shampoo, followed by “gardenia” conditioner, followed by “honey & sunflower” soap, “raspberry & almond” body wash, “kiwi” shave gel, and “papaya” foot scrub? These, of course, would be used in conjunction with my “brisk ocean breeze” deodorant, “exotic cinnamon” toothpaste, “perky peppermint” mouthwash, “tangy citrus” toner, “lush avocado” moisturizer, “organic almond oil” eye cream, “tropical coconut” sunscreen, “intensive cashew” body butter and “deep penetrating wintergreen” lotion (on the medicinal side, but can’t call it a salve or ointment - declassé) for the calloused feet. Not to mention the “protective magnolia” spray for blow-drying my hair, culminating in a shot of “juicy watermelon” hairspray or a glop of “spiky durian” gel for styling. Given the prevalence of fruit, vegetable, herb and spice products out there, can “eau de pork chop” be far behind? After all, not everyone’s a vegetarian. Although my “chia body-builder for hair” theory doesn’t seem so impossible any more (remember Chia Pets?). Might be the latest, greatest, trendiest eco-product to emerge, and I’m not sure they even have a scent. But I digress; we’ve only talked about phase one. Proceeding from where I left off, I can only hope nothing I’ve used so far clashes with the “summer meadow” laundry detergent and “cotton cloud” fabric softener I use, when I ultimately put my clothes on. Should I surmount all these challenges, it still might be better not to entertain at home after all the prep work; it’s possible my “rainforest” air fresh-

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ener/deodorizer will sabotage my efforts, especially when combined with the “fresh pine” scent of my antibacterial floor cleanser, the “cedar” oil for my woodwork and the “baby powder” fragrance of the toilet paper in my bathroom. Scented toilet paper? Am I the only one who finds this ludicrous??? And yet I still buy perfume. Although it’s more like promising a kidney or my firstborn, considering what I pay for the one I like. This is what I want in terms of fragrance; this is the image I want to project – exotic, slightly mysterious, rich & sensuous. I have flowers in my garden. I want to have their scent wafting in as I drift off to sleep watching moonrise, and the stars rotating across my window. The dusty, earthy smell that comes with a little rain is magical, life-giving; I don’t want it obscured. I want the real, fresh smell of ozone from an electrical storm, the slightly musky smell of animals, the fragrance of blooming lime trees, jacaranda, primavera, tabachines, grass… green things. Not fakes, not chemicals. Moreover, beyond the obvious problem with this concatenation of aromas, I have to wonder about all those chemicals used to create them. Can it possibly be healthy? I know my cat doesn’t think so, and I trust her more than whatever advertising team created these fantasies/ fakes/travesties. She (the cat) puked yesterday after I tried a new brand of floor soap. She lost her dinner all over my new bedspread. I admire her for it. Too bad more of us couldn’t express our discontent more directly.

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PNEUMONIA—Should P NEUMONIA A—Should You You Be Be Vaccinated? Vaccinated?

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t is that time of year again when we are reminded to get our influenza vaccination (flu shot). Now another vaccination, “the pneumonia shot”, is being recommended. While it is obvious that this is to prevent pneumonia, the serious ramifications and complications of this infection are generally unknown. Facts to consider when deciding whether to get the vaccination. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common type of pneumonia infection. A bacterial pneumonia called pneumococcal (new-mo-kok-al) or streptococcal pneumonia is responsible for 90 % of all cases of pneumonia in adults. There are many reasons for pneumonia to develop. For example, it might occur after a respiratory infection such as a cold or the flu, especially if one is in a weakened condition or has a compromised immune system. Serious complications occur if the bacteria invades the blood stream causing bacteremia and/or the tissues and fluids of the brain and spinal cord causing meningitis. Pneumococcus infections affect hundreds of thousands of people each year. Despite the use of antibiotics, there is still a mortality rate in the tens of thousands, mostly over 65 years of age. The U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention highly recommend vaccination for people:

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65 and over. With conditions that caused a weakened immune system such as cancer; diabetes; lung, cardiac, liver or kidney disease; organ transplant or alcoholism. The best way to protect against pneumococcus bacteria is through vaccination which offers protection against 23 types of streptococcal pneumonia responsible for the vast majority of cases. Some adults experience mild side effects. Most common are swelling and soreness at the injection site which usually resolves in less than 48 hours. A few adults have reported fever and muscle aches. There is a small risk that serious problems could happen, but allergic reactions are rare. One single dose works for most people, giving life-long immunity. High risk people, including those with weakened immune systems, may need a second dose. The literature on this differs so it is best to discuss this with your physician. You can check with your individual physician about availability and cost. While the effectiveness of the vaccine in prevention of pneumonia is not conclusive at this point, there is data to support that vaccinations lessen severity of symptoms, reduces hospital stay, and mortality. Mary Anne Molinari, RN, MN, GNCS-BC

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TIMES T IMES A ARE RE T TOUGH! OUGH! By Bill Franklin

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he KKK has been attracting all the wrong kind of people. Apparently the Klan has been so demonized that it’s getting tougher to get the high caliber thugs they’re accustomed to getting. Their image has been tarnished and so, due to a bad press, (probably liberal and biased), they’ve been getting the type that gives thuggery a bad name. The KKK has standards and they aren’t being met! Have we sunk so low that we can’t even find people good enough to be in the Ku Klux Klan? There aren’t enough underthe-rock dwellers out there? Maybe what they need is a better understanding of how to put the cool back into creepy. Hitler knew how to do it. People loved him. Except for his mustache which I think brought a certain amount of embar-

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rassment to his upper lip (if upper lips could talk, I think his would say something like “Think handlebar, why don’t cha?”) and the barber shop quartet haircut, (which made it look like a bartender was leading the Western World) Hitler brought some cool to his particular penchant for thinning out the population. So how might we help the Klan maintain its standards? After all, the Klan has a tradition to uphold and we need to consider their uniforms. Keep the sheets. They still

have that creepy thing going and creepy is as creepy does. If the sheet fits, wear it. And boots, these boots are made for walking and kicking. With great sheets and cool kicking boots, the battle is half won. So what could be the problem? Are people showing up in paisley sheets? Are the black boots being discarded for tennies? How can we get guys to sit around in the woods and think of bad things to do to good people in what from a distance would look like a pajama party? And how can cruelty be made palatable in a world where young people are more hopeful than hateful? I say we dress everyone up in sheets and then have them meditate on ending human suffering. And of course I wouldn’t just stop with the Klan. I’d go dress up with the Taliban just when they start pushing women around. I’d put on my Taliban costume and sit in front of them and meditate on ending suffering. I guess it’s the Gandhi or Woolsworth sit-in thing. But this time we dress up like the enemy (to take away his symbols of distinction) and start teaching by example. Works every time.

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REVERSE AGING AND ALKALINE WATER By Julie D’Costa dcosta.julie@gmail.com

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arlier we defined reverse aging as the removal of residual acidic waste products from our cells. Having a definition gives us choices, additional ways to choose youth over aging. We can choose to drink liquids that are alkaline as one way to help in this process. Acidity and alkalinity are measured on the pH scale (0 to 14) in which the values below 7 are acidic, those above 7 are alkaline and 7 is neutral. Acidic water has more H+ ions than OH- ions. Conversely, water with more OH- ions than H+ ions is alkaline water. We think of water as being H2O, but this ratio exists only when the pH is Neutral (7). Alkaline water has fewer H+ ions than OH- ions and so contains more excess Oxygen atoms. Acidic water has more H+ ions and fewer Oxygen atoms. Our bodies work constantly to maintain human blood at a pH of 7.3 to 7.45. The more acidic we are, the harder our bodies have to work to maintain this homeostasis. Blood with a pH of 7.45 contains 64.9% more excess Oxygen atoms than blood with a pH of 7.3. There is a big difference in the amount of excess oxygen available between these two samples of blood. It makes sense to opt for higher oxygen levels whenever we can. Following is a chart of the pH levels of familiar liquids. Consider the relative amounts of oxygen in these drinks. Cola (one brand) 2.5 Beer (one brand) 4.7

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Typical bottled water 7.8 Alkaline water 10.00 Soft drinks are extremely acidic. In order to neutralize one glass of cola it takes 32 glasses of high alkaline water. One glass of cola added to 10 gallons of water with a pH of 7.4 (slightly alkaline) will lower the pH of 10 gallons of water to 4.6 (very acidic). Our bodies contain about 10 gallons of fluid. Just imagine the impact on your body and how much harder it must work to maintain homeostasis. Considering alkalinity and oxygen levels in our water just adds to the importance of treating our water effectively. For example, chlorine (an acid) is frequently used to treat water. It is an effective disinfectant, but is harmful when ingested in large quantities. Not only that, it also combines with hydrocarbons (organic materials) in the water to form carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbons. Think of tea, or of vegetables cooking in water. This is not a healthy combination. What does this mean in terms of “reverse aging”? If aging is the accumulation of old waste products within our body, and these waste products are acidic, our goal must be to help the body to dispose of more acidic waste products. Since waste products are carried out by the blood and disposed of in liquid form, drinking the right kinds of liquids, including water, can be helpful. The best kind of water for this function is acid-free alkaline water, which neutralizes harmful acids and disposes of them safely while it does not leach out valuable alkaline minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium. The above information is taken from the book Reverse Aging by Sang Whang, based on his study of the research from Japan, Germany, and Korea.

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Phone: (376) 765-3676 (Ojo office for message – I’ll call back) Email: kdavis987@gmail.com Events are listed by date, like a calendar: past events, then those planned for the future. Some organizations offer multiple events or dates, and these items appear at the end of the column. The “greening” of our hills has brought us, along with the rain, a sense of relief with cooler temperatures and a joy in seeing the hills alive with color again. It also inspires hikers to climb the trails so they can look for waterfalls and petroglyphs. If you are planning to do so, please take care. There are precautions you should take. And always keep an eye out for wildlife. While we do have some waterfalls close in and high up, petroglyphs may require a day trip and a climb. There are some at Tuxcueca on the south shore and some above Mezcala, east of Chapala. If you go to Mezcala, you might also choose to tour the museum in town and/or take the boat trip to the island to see the history closer up. This month we have a double-hitter with CASA, the Culinary Arts Society of Ajijic – a meeting in late May and one in June. Generally their monthly meetings are late in the afternoon, but in May the smells that greeted arrivals reminded them of CASA May Winners (Sweet Muffins or Bread) brunch. Linda Brown of Los Artistas Bed and Breakfast was the May speaker, talking about the challenges of keeping breakfast interesting and satisfying for B&B guests. In the first category of Sweet or Savory Brunch Dishes, Alice Hutson won first place for her Brie and Thee Strata. Corbett Merchant won second place for his Fritatta Roll, and Cheryl Davis won third place for her Mexican Breakfast Casserole. In Sweet Muffins or Bread, Evelyn Cronin won first place for her Banana Crunch Muffins. Kenee Campo won second place for her Hawaiian Sweet Bread with Tropical Butter. Third place went to Lydia Cortex for her Orange Date Nut Bread. In People’s Choice, Cheryl Davis won for her Mexican Breakfast Casserole, and Chris Bublin won for her Tropic Orange Sticky Buns. For the June meeting, CASA enticed all with the smells and tastes of Oriental cooking, spiced with a presentation on the appeal of fusion dishes. In the first category of Asian or Oriental Entrees, Mary Ann Waite won first place for her Asian CASA June Winners Grilled Shellfish. Monica Molloy took second (Puddings and Mousses) place for her Crab, Pork and Shrimp Rolls, and Louise Drummond took third place honors for her Chinese Chicken Salad. In the second category, first place for Puddings and Mousses went to Marianne O’Halloran for her Turkish Coffee Pudding. Second

place went to Wayne Palfrey for his Chocolate Walnut Mousse and third place went to Karen Rowell for her Chocolate Frangelico and Hazelnut Mousse. Greg Couillard, chef at the Number 4 restaurant in Ajijic, told what brought him to Fusion cooking and how he incorporates it into every dish he prepares. He also talked about his new line of spice rubs and chutneys, which will be available locally. People’s Choice first place went to Corbett Merchant for his Sweet and Sour Pineapple Pork. People’s Choice in the second category again went to Marianne O’Halloran for her Turkish Coffee Pudding. Patrick Winn closed the meeting by welcoming new members, and he encouraged the group to bring guests who would also enjoy learning about and eating good food. Those interested are invited to come as guests. For more information on CASA and joining the group, call Patrick at 766 4842 or he can be reached by emailing patriciowinn@hotmail.com. On June 14 some of the group of Los Cantantes del Lago, founded by Millicent Brandow, set their guests on fire at St. Andrew’s Anglican

Los Cantantes Performers, plus John Jones and Noé Raygoza Church in Riberas del Pilar. The concert was for the benefit of the Los Cantantes’ Central Mexico Tour 2009. Joining Millicent were Timothy G. Ruff Welch, music director of Los Cantantes, Amy Friend, John Jones, Mac Morison, and Amaranta Santos, along with Noé Raygoza, well known local performer who provided some of Elvis Presley’s biggest hit songs. The group did the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Broadway musicals and opera. Amaranta Santos nearly brought down the house with her rendition of “Granada”. Don Wiedeman provided excellent sound. It was a magical afternoon, punctuated by enthusiastic applause. The Ajijic Writers Film Forum ended the season with Chicago (2003) on June 23, 2009 at the Plaza Jardin Restaurant and Theater. Proceeds help fund a scholarship program through Los Niños Millicent Brandow, de Chapala y Ajijic for a creative writing student. originator of Los The program will continue in the fall. For informaCantantes tion call Victoria Schmidt at 765–5858. See more about Victoria under “The American Legion” within this column. July 23 at 3 p.m. Miss Sydney Gay and the Amazing Axtell Puppets will be performing at La Bodega. This is an original show created by singer-actress Sydney Gay, aided and abetted by her motley crew of engaging life-size puppets. Her puppets are famous in 27 countries as “Make the World Laugh” creations. The show is charming, full of spirit and humor. Drinks and snacks are free; show starts at 3:30. Stay for dinner and dancing with Deejay Cindy Paul. Cover charge for dinner is $100 pesos. The American Legion post #7 schedule for June: July Sundays, all month – 12 – 3 Miss Sydney Gay with an p.m. Legion Grill (burgers, beans, sal-

Axtell Puppet

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To

be called Hacendado in Colonial Mexico was to be recognized as someone of high social rank and influence. The title meant that you or one of your ancestors had been awarded a few hundred acres of land, complete with peons to work it, for some vital service to the Crown. That the land

sometimes provided a princely income was usually of lesser importance to a proud Spanish Hidalgo than high social status. Since the true Spanish Grandees had little incentive to seek their fortunes in the New World, most of these new landowners were minor nobles or younger sons of the great houses eager for status. Hernรกn Cortez himself was the first to receive such a grant. In 1529, the Emperor Charles V raised him to the nobility with the title of Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca. The estate that went with that title included what is now the entire state of Michoacan, an astonishing area of 1,164,800 acres. By contrast, the world's largest ranch, the King Ranch of Texas, claims a mere 824, 900 acres. Though others started with much smaller grants, any enterprising Hacendado soon bought every available acre he could and then started illegally confiscating the lands belonging to the indigenous peoples. Some of these augmented estates reached the size of a small European country. The Catholic Church, the Jesuit order in particular, owned vast acreages all over Mexico. This continuing growth was not due to any need, or even desire, for increased production. It simply added to the prestige

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of the owner, which grew proportionally with the size of the Hacendado's land holdings. It has been estimated that only about ten percent of hacienda land was ever cultivated. Once acquired, most of this land was left as derelict pasture. Now landless, the natives were forced to labor for the new landowner. They were either peons, who were virtual slaves, or tenant farmers, who could never meet their quotas and wound up owing their souls to the Company store. For, by the eighteenth century, a typical hacienda was a self-contained institution. The ostentatiously luxurious main house and its guest quarters were only for show. For the working people there were stables, a general store, a chapel, a school, equipment stores, servants' quarters, granaries, corrals and a forge. Clothing was produced at the hacienda from cloth woven on the premises. Haciendas played host to a variety of activities from baptisms, weddings, and celebrations of saints' days to fiestas, charro (cowboy) parties and contests, bullfights, and harvest festivals. Due to the lack of hostelries in rural areas, total strangers who stopped by for the night or the week could expect to receive a hearty welcome. The Hacendado and his lady had various responsibilities as community leaders. He might


be called on to act as judge, and she was the ministering angel to the sick. Chief among her simple remedies was Mescal, which was used internally to treat every ailment and externally for injuries. This "kindly Master and his lovely Lady" image is true only for those who actually lived on their estates. Many left their holdings in charge of an overseer while they lived in Mexico City or even Paris. In such cases, living conditions declined even further for the peons. The overseers might beat and torture them and claim feudal rights over their wives and daughters while the absentee owners, who showed up only occasionally, remained blissfully unaware of what was being done in their names. Depending on the region haciendas usually concentrated their efforts on one particular product. In Zacatecas, for instance, it was mescal, in Morelos, sugar, in Hidalgo, pulque and in QuerÊtaro, cattle. Around the haciendas, and administered by them, were smaller ranches which supplied grain and other seasonal crops. Besides its main crop, each Hacienda produced food, clothing, and housing for its people. Yucatan’s contributions were henequen and pulque. One made its landlord rich and the other kept him happy. The Maya name for henequen is "elsoskil'' and they used its fiber for producing rope, hammocks,

rugs, bags, clothing and other textiles. They also used the living plant for protecting their homes. Early in the nineteenth century there had been attempts to dissolve the haciendas and restore their land to the Indians. From 1876 until 1911 Porfirio DĂ­az, who ruled Mexico as dictator, did just the opposite. He abolished the law limiting the size of individual holdings and made land available to establish new haciendas and increase the size of many existing ones. During his rule many haciendas were given a face-lift, usually in the form of a proud neoclassical style mansion reflecting the new national confidence. But all that soon change and with a vengeance! The revolution of 1910-1920 finished the haciendas. The enlisted troops of Pancho Villa, Venustiano Carranza and Emiliano Zapata roamed the country, burning and pillaging every hacienda they could find and killing anybody, Hacendado or peone, who got in their way. In 1917, haciendas were abolished by law and the lands were restored to the Indians to be owned collectively. Other landowners were subsequently allowed to hold no more than 200 acres. Haciendas today

are often owned by descendants of the original Hacendados. Others have been bought since the Revolution by Mexicans from the city wishing to have a place in the country, and some have become hotels conference centers and museums. Most of those which are now occupied have undergone extensive rebuilding, since the burnings and sackings of the revolution left some with little more that the basic walls. A number of such restored mansions are to be found here in Jalisco and, though most are off the beaten tourist path, each is well worth a visit. Haciendas, Casonas y Estancias del Estado de Jalisco is a tourist organization now offering circuit tours of the more important sites, including luxurious homes that were not strictly haciendas. Two of the more interesting are the

Hacienda el Carmen, near the village of the same name, and Hacienda Sepulveda, near Lagos de Moreno. El Carmen, dating from 1722 and boasting 24 rooms, is by far the largest and most luxurious. It still retains some 400 acres of its former holdings. Sepulveda is older, having been founded in the 16th century, and smaller, with only nine suites. Both provide the full range services of resort and spa. Sepulveda also maintains a stable of horses. The old Hacendados might be surprised to find a swimming pool and Jacuzzi in their extensive gardens or a fully equipped spa in the granary, but tourists should love them.

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ad) July 1 – 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. US Consulate & Social Security July 1 – 3 p.m. Canada Day, special guest – Kathryn Aleong, Cdn Consul July 3 – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Yard Sale July 4 – 12 – 3 p.m. Fourth of July Picnic July 6 – 11 a.m. Legion Executive Board Meeting; 1 p.m. Events Mtg July 7 – 11 a.m. Auxiliary Executive Board Meeting July 16 – 5 p.m. 9th Meatloaf Contest July 20 – 5 p.m. Parrothead Shrimp Boil Dinner July 30 – 3 p.m. Lone Star gathering – be a Texan! Victoria Schmidt, The Legion also publishes a monthly magazine Editor, Roll Call called Roll Call. Since Victoria Schmidt became edifor the Legion tor last September, the issues have focused on Legion charitable events, Mexican history and US military history. But the surprise is the amount of new material, including fiction. Victoria Schmidt is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary and as the Legion parliamentarian, attends all meetings of both the ladies and the men. She participates in charitable work for Mi Bebe y Yo, a group that supports children’s needs. And Victoria is an active member of the Ajijic Writers Group, co-founder of the Chapala Writers Group, and administrator for the Ajijic Writers Film Forum. Take a look at the next Roll Call. July 25, 10 – 4 p.m., the Lake Chapala Society will be having their summer Fiesta. Normal activities will be suspended for the day. Food booths, drinks (including liband LCS 2 place winner for 2008, tions) will be scattered around Victor Romero, with parents and the campus. A judge will award Nancy Creevan, President of LCS winners in the category of Kid’s Art, and their art will be for sale. Those who sell the most win an additional cash award. Come, join the fun. Healthcare week at LCS runs from July 13 –17. Open to all: Mon 10 – 12 blood pressure monitoring Mon 10 – 1 pneumonia shots Mon 11 – 4 hearing testing, aid service Tues 10 – 11:30 diabetic screening Wed 10 – 12:30 skin cancer screening Thurs 10 – 4 optometrist Fri 10 – 11:45 “What to do before Cruz Roja arrives” Cruz Roja provides our community with often life-saving services, often with eye-blinking speed. If you should need help, there are ways you can help them so they can help you better. Some health services may require signing up in advance or may have fees. We are sorry to report the passing of Jean Dressler. Many of you have known her through her programs at LCS, both Talking Books and the exercise class. She was a friend and inspiration to many. Lakeside Little Theater thanks those who contributed to the success of Summer Studio 2009. Graham Miller and his group of directors (Don Chaloner, Fred Koesling, Russell Mack, Ann Swiston, Harry Walker, Michael Warren, and Liz White) led a large and talented cast through the play Passengers. Along with familiar faces, there were new and talented actors debuting. There will be two auditions in August, first for the political comedy Regrets Only, written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Barbara Clippinger. Auditions

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will take place Friday & Saturday, August 7 & 8; four women and two men are needed. Performances will be September 26 – October 4. For scripts & information, contact Trish Conner at 766-5233 or email Barbara at barbclip@ gmail.com. The second August audition is for the classic murder-mystery The Mousetrap, written by Agatha Christie and directed by Roseann Wilshere. Auditions are Friday & Saturday, August 28 & 29, looking for three women and five men. Performances are October 31 – November 9, with no performance on November 2. For scripts & information, contact Diane Jones at 765-2414 or email at dianetheatre@yahoo.com. If you would like to volunteer behind the scenes, the LLT is always looking for people to train in lighting, sound, wardrobe, props, make-up, stage managing and other positions. Contact Don Chaloner at 766-1975 or email at 77dondo@gmail.com. To reserve a seat at all of this season’s line-up of shows, be sure to come to the Season Ticket Renewals & New Sales event in the LLT lobby on September 8 & 9 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Season tickets for six shows is $800 pesos per person, compared to $150 pesos for individual tickets. See you there! Mexican Holidays for July: July 16 Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) is widely honored. Festivities in the Chapala barrio, same name. July 25 Ixtlahuacán (Ixt-lah-wah-caan’) de los Membrillos celebrates fiestas patronales honoring Santo Santiago (St. James the Greater), a popular patron distinguished as the first Christian saint to appear on Mexican shores. Colorful representations in Tonalá feature Santiago battling evil pagan forces (masked Tastoán dancers). Open Circle at LCS on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m.: July 5 Dionne Reid – Bill Sanders Ron Stauth How to add life to your years July 12 Charlie Fagan – Freedom from religion July 19 TBA July 26 Otto Rand, Don Edwards & Robert Croog – on religion Aug 2 Robert Kleffel – a scientific view of happiness In May Ron Stauth talked about strategies for staying healthy in our retirement, and in June Bill Sanders told us about his adventure in traveling the Americas, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. As you see, the topics are eclectic! VIVA! La Musica’s schedule at the Auditorium in La Floresta: July 30 Operatic arias by International workshop participants Aug 27 Jose White Quartet from Aguascalientes Sep 10 Opera The Elixir of Love by Donizetti conducted by Luis Rodriguez Oct 8 Cuauhtemoc García Jazz Flute combo Series tickets $900 pesos for members, $1,250 for non-members or per concert $200 pesos for members, $300 pesos for non-members, except the September opera which will be $250 pesos for members, $350 for non-members Viva will install iron hand rails in the La Floresta auditorium. These much needed safety additions will be ready in time for the scheduled concerts itemized above. Viva also wants to optimize the acoustics inside the La Floresta Auditorium. If you have expertise in acoustics, or know of someone who does, please contact Rosemary Keeling at rosemarykeeling@hotmail.com. Patrons of Viva la Musica will be given preferred seating in the bus on trips to concerts and also at concerts where assigned seating is not available. Viva is considering taking a group to the Mariachi Festival in September at the Degollado Theater in Guadalajara with an overnight stay in a hotel. Please contact Rosemary Keeling if you would be interested in going. Viva is also interested in concerts at the Cervantino Festival, October 14 – November 1. Please contact Rosemary Keeling.


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THIS WORLD of OURS By Bob Harwood bharwoodb@hotmail.com

America Rejoins The World

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ne cannot write objectively on world affairs without commenting on the often negative role America has played on the world stage. But Obama’s America now seeks to constructively re-engage with that world. Climate Change. Over the years I have repeatedly stressed the need for America to join rather than resist the international consensus on climate change as the issue of our time. I have contrasted North America’s dismal record with that of Europe where far higher gasoline prices long since fostered fuel efficient vehicles, high speed rail networks, pedestrian friendly cities and more. I have set out per capita emissions by country to meaningfully compare vastly different population sizes. Europe’s per capita emissions, half those of North America’s, are falling while those of China and India, though rising, are still but a fraction of Europe’s. In a December, 2006, column on Entrepreneurial Environmentalism I predicted the inevitable decline of the “no longer Big Three” after years of resisting auto efficiency and emissions standards as they promoted their gas guzzlers. Now climate change denial has been vanquished. Green industries of the future, alternative energy sources, reduced dependence on oil, improved rail networks are key Obama responses to the economic crisis. America’s mantle of automotive leadership has been lost to other continents as Chrysler and GM go into bankruptcy. The EPA has declared greenhouse gases a health hazard to be regulated unless Congress moves quickly on the alternative of legislation. There is growing acceptance of the need to make advanced technologies freely available to emerging economies to ensure that curbing their emissions does not come at the expense of a long overdue improvement in the lot of impoverished peoples. America is finally providing leadership after years of intransigence. Harper’s minority government in Canada will find it necessary to re-

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align its policies to conform. The next critical milestone will be the UN Climate Change summit in Copenhagen in December. America could play a significant role in achieving a global consensus for beyond 2012. Israeli Palestinian Dispute. More than three decades ago I spent time in Israel and the West Bank. I heard gunfire on Temple Mount, encountered roadblocks in the West Bank, saw bleak Palestinian refugee camps in the desert. Over the years I have written many times on this complex unresolved conflict. In Cairo Obama made a monumental start on rebuilding relations with the Muslim fifth of humanity. In perhaps the most thoughtfully prepared speech ever made by anyone he addressed the Israeli Palestinian dispute at the root of much of our global strife. He drew on his own Muslim roots and he quoted from the Quran. In impeccably balanced language he described America’s special relationship with Israel as ‘unbreakable’ even as he described the plight of the Palestinian’s as ‘intolerable’. He placed the ultimate goal of two viable states living peacefully and securely side by side as beyond debate saying “It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.” He pressed Netanjahu by calling for a halt on settlement expansion in the West Bank and condemned both Hammas violence and Holocaust deniers. The following day he paid moving tribute to victims of the Holocaust at the Buchenwald Death Camp in Germany. The world Muslim community and progressive elements in all camps responded positively. America had turned a page. Bob Harwood

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DEAR D E A R DOGS D O G S AND A N D CATS CATS (The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.)

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he dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king-sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline at-

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tendance is not required. Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door: TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS: (1) They live here. You don’t. (2) If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it ‘fur’-niture. (3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. (4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly. Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they (1) eat less, (2) don’t ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don’t hang out with drug-using people; (7) don’t smoke or drink, (8) don’t want to wear your clothes, (9) don’t have to buy the latest fashions, (10) don’t need a gazillion dollars for college and (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

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Wondrous Wildlife By Vern and Lori Gieger

Wildlife Mexico 911

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ike many others we find ourselves needing to cut back on the services we offer. We often joke and say we’re retired, but we are busier than ever, the only thing that retired was the paycheck. With cost increasing for gas, food, medical care etc. required for the wildlife we rescue, we find ourselves needing to make changes. In the past we gladly made house calls to remove/relocate wildlife such as opossums etc. from private homes free of charge. We will no longer be able to do this. Wild animals try to avoid contact with pets and humans so often when we arrived to remove an animal it was long gone. However, regarding orphaned or injured wildlife, if you would like to bring them to us, we will continue to accept them at this time. If we are unavailable or the animal is in need of medical attention, please take it to Dr. José (Pepe) Magaña’s Clinic near Telecable in Riberas or Drs. Ladron’s Clinic, next to the Animal Shelter. We will gladly pick up the animal from them and pay for the medical expenses. We will also continue with our educational programs as we feel they are vital to promote positive change. As most know we are 100% volunteer, and although we are licensed by the Mexican Federal Government and are the only li-

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censed UMA in the Lake Chapala area that can legally take possession of wildlife, we receive no funding from them. For clarification, unlike some other groups and individuals we no longer receive any financial support from Lakeside Friends of the Animals. Those who wish to make a donation to protect / rehabilitate wildlife please contact us directly, 765-4916 or wildlifemexico911@yahoo.com. Spring, our busiest time of year, is also the most rewarding. On a bright note, in addition to approx. 25 baby opossums, we were also able to save a young Harris hawk which fell from his nest, although he was infested with parasites; fortunately he sustained no injuries in the fall. This once weak little bird is now robust and has begun to eat on his own. No doubt he will be releasable, and will grace our skies with his presence. One of our most challenging


rescues this spring was a juvenile cocamixtle, sometimes called a ring tail cat due to their cat like appearance and distinct black and white ringed tail. However, they are actually the smallest member of the raccoon family. Cocamixtles may have the face of angels but they are little devils. The little guy got himself tangled in some discarded fencing which had cut into his flesh; frighten and in obvious pain, he was all teeth and toenails. Once his injuries are healed he will be released, to resume his nightly prowls as he hunts for rats and mice.

Our spring wildlife education/ awareness program was a huge success; with the support and sponsorship Club de Atlas (soccer team) and the endorsement of Profepa it was bigger and better than we could have imagined. We would like to thank Jim Wilson and Jorge Valencia for all their hard work in putting it all together. The posters are now being distributed throughout Mexico. These unique posters suitable for framing make great gifts for animal lovers and soccer fans and are available at Dr. JosÊ Magaùa’s office in Riberas.

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By Michael G. McLaughlin

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mprovisational theater descended from Commedia dell’ arte in 16th Century Italy. There were two venues for paid actors: the church and the aristocracy. So theater was limited in subject matter and audience. Church productions were passion and moral plays and performances before the aristocracies were most certainly “class correct”—the servant never got the better of the master. Eventually actors performed any place else they could make a living. Outside the law, outside the church, they were alive in the laughter of the people—and that laughter was their religion and their law. Their topics were neither moral nor politically correct. When the commedia players rolled into town they quickly sought out local scandals, current events, the affairs of state and inserted recognizable names in their material. Satirizing recognizable figures and events was the meat of their performances. Of course the actors incurred the scorn of the church and state and no doubt were jailed for provocative acts, disrupting the peace and corrupting the morals of the people. Sounds like fun, eh? Today modern improvisational actors enjoy much more freedom and say things that are offensive, inappropriate and beyond the pale of good taste sometimes. As I like to say in a show’s warm up “We apologize to anyone who might be offended by tonight’s performance. If we didn’t offend you, I also apologize for the group. We can’t get to everyone.” One of the questions I get most is: “Hey, if you guys are improvising, how do you rehearse?” Good question. Basically we practice at freeing our minds of pre-conceived ideas,

trusting our instincts, not judging what comes out of our mouths and adding to what is created already. Sounds easy? It isn’t. In improvising you are forced to become yourself. It is hard enough that an improvisational actor directs, writes and choreographs his presence on stage, but he or she has another actor on stage that is likewise doing the same thing. They have to cooperate to make the scene work. Unlike drama and conflict, the aim of an improvisational scene is to get along and not argue. The actor must subordinate himself to the demands of his fellow actors, while giving his own abilities full freedom. His task is to control that freedom. Characters are worn very lightly in improvisation. An improv actor can never say, “My character wouldn’t say that.” Your role is to justify spontaneously the action or words of others before you. Now the bad news. Whereas a stage actor expects their performance to be good nine times out of ten, a good improvisational performance is six out of ten. Two out of ten, it’s stinky. Failure is an option for an improvisational actor at all times. But… one is most imaginative and improvises most audaciously when in the heat of danger. But when you hit the punch line and bring down the house with laughter, there is not a greater feeling in the world. You and the audience are sharing the creation at the same instant, both experiencing the intimacy of the moment. You both are in on the joke. A good improv actor needs to be: loud, fearless, apolitical, trusting, chivalrous to the other actors on stage, clever, a good listener and a smart ass. Notice I didn’t say funny. Improvising is not telling jokes or trying to act funny. It will be funny if you trust in yourself and the other actor on stage. Night after night, actors go out alone on stage armed with only their own imagination and creativity and try not to fall off that high wire. Comedy without nets.

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Hearts at Work —A Column by Jim Tipton

“The years thunder by, the dreams of our youth grow dim….”

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have talked with many people in Western Mexico in recent months who have told me that much, and in a few cases most, of their (usually) modest wealth, in only a few hair-raising months, has vanished. Most of us remember The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)-directed by that same John Huston who directed The Night of the Iguana (1964), filmed just south of Puerto Vallarta. The story: in the 1920s Mexico, three miners—Dobbs (played by Humphrey Bogart), Howard, the Old Timer…and the toughest (played by Walter Huston), and Curtin (played by Tim Holt) team up to seek their treasure in the Sierra Madre. After months of hard labor, their future lives are secured, but through a series of unfortunate events that follow a bandit attack, they lose their treasure. When they return to the scene they discover only a few empty bags. The gold dust has blown away in the high winds. Howard’s (Walter Huston’s) response is to just sit down and have a good laugh. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre—a remarkable film about paranoia and greed—was one of the first Hollywood films to be shot largely on a location outside of the US (the state of Durango, and street scenes in Tampico). At the Oscars, Walter Huston took Best Supporting Actor and his father John Huston got Best Director and Best Screenplay. Stanley Kubrick listed it as one of his top ten favorite films. Kubrick’s first classic was a fine crime-noir film and also about paranoia and greed: The Killing (1956). In this film the gains are ill-gotten. Johnny Clay (played by Sterling Hayden) and his associates successfully heist $2,000,000 from the counting room of a racetrack. But things begin to go wrong…the $2,000,000 secret is whispered to the wrong woman. Still, when Johnny stuffs the cash into a used suitcase and races off to catch a plane we think he has it made. The suitcase being carried across the tarmac on a baggage cart falls off, breaks open, and as in The Treasurer of the Sierra Madre, a high wind sweeps up and

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carries off the money. Stanley Kubrick, incidentally, cast Sterling Hayden as the deranged and renegade U.S.A.F. general, Jack D. Ripper, in Dr. Strangelove (1964), and John Huston cast Hayden as Dix, the Irish-American hooligan in another heist movie, Asphalt Jungle (1950). Hayden, himself, was a fascinating story…to be told another time. His agent said Hayden “should have been a sea captain in the 1800s.” In his autobiography, Wanderer, Hayden writes: “To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea…cruising, it is called. “‘I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas but I can’t afford it.’ What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. What does a man need—really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in— and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. “That’s all—in the material sense—and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, the dreams of our youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptJim Tipton cy of life?”

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Havoc In Motion By Jay White

Pearls of the Islands

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girl in a faded navy blue skirt sat on a bench in the Dallas bus depot feeling alone as an abandoned valise. She sat with her knees pressed together and held her ankles together as well so that the toes of her church shoes pointed straight ahead. “Your Uncle Carl and Aunt Minnie will be there to get you, Imagene, but if they ain’t right there, you wait. Don’t go out of the building. Find you a place to set down close to the ticket counter.” Aunt Goldie picked up Imagene’s hand and fixed a critical eye on it and tsk’t her tongue at it. “These fingers are a sight, Imagene--you have just about gnawed them all the way down to the knuckles.” She sighed exasperation itself but after a moment of reflection said, as if in deference to some last whisper of secular morality, “Well, let’s see if I can at least find you a pair of gloves. Women don’t wear gloves like they used to. But I reckon they’s a bunch of things women don’t do no more like they used to, ain’t they?” “Nome,” Imagene murmured, paying attention to her image in the mirror at the end of the hall. Aunt Goldie went to her special drawer in the highboy in her room and brought back a pair of grey kid gloves and Imagene put them on and stood before her aunt as if she imagined herself on display in the window of a department store. “You know what you need?” Aunt Goldie asked categorically: “You need you…a sweet little pair of pearl earrings! I wish I had some to give you.” She felt of the place on her lobe where the pierce had grown up. “I had a pair of pearls when I was your age…oh, not real ones from the islands, of course. But they were just precious. Everybody said so.” “Yesum,” Imagene murmured squinting down the hall toward the image of her nose in the hall mirror. “Put on your glasses, Imagene. I swear you’re going to develop a permanent wrinkle if you don’t quit doing that.” “I just hate my nose.” “Jesus heard that.” The girl dropped her shoulders and sighed, “I know…” “Stand up straight, Imagene, and turn around. Let’s see if your slip slipped any.” The girl turned and walked away stiff-legged and flopped onto the divan

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Jay White

and hugged Aunt Goldie’s yellow satin pillow to her chest—it was a “commemorative” USN pillow with a sufficiently ferocious dragon stamped on it above the words: Tokyo Japan Pearl of the Orient in green glitter mostly fallen away down the cracks between the cushions of the divan and fringed all around in flimsy red thread. Aunt Goldie observed the girl minutely for a moment and said in tones of authentic sadness, “I see trouble, Ima.” “Was my mama pretty?” “Imagene Bailey, I have told you five hundred times you had a pretty mother.” “Did she have a pretty nose?” “My saintly sister…your mama, had a very pretty nose and blond hair and blue eyes just like you and me. It is in the family. We’re Nordic. Where’s your suitcase?” “In the hall by the mirror…. Aunt Goldie? What would you do if I was to run off?” “Shoot myself. You’re not but fourteen years old, Imagene. You ain’t old enough to run off yet. Anyway it’s too late for that—here’s Tim to take you to the depot.” Uncle Tim opened the door and stood in it. “Where is it?” “It’s in the hall and Imagene is ready, ain’t you, hon?” “Yessum.” “Well then, let’s git on down there!” Uncle Tim said with intent. “I got to git back to work sometime this year.” He went into the hall and returned with the bag, then stood there obviously waiting. Aunt Goldie gave Imagene a quick hug and took her back the length of her arms and sang out, “When you come back next summer, I’m going to have you a pair of them pearl earrings for sure, honeybunch--you wait and see if I don’t.” When they had gone, Goldie sat for a moment petting the satin pillow Imagene had hugged. The light in her eyes arrived from a private corner of her existence she sometimes visited. After awhile she hefted herself off the divan and went to stare at her nose in the bathroom mirror, the sight of which life-long enemy started her swollen heart swinging in its cage ponderously as some dark bell sans clapper tolling a dirge.

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A NEW LEASE—on Life! By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Many Are Nutritionally, Not Medically, Ill

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raditionally, the focus has been on ‘cookbook’ health—that one standard diet or prescription benefits all, ignoring the fact that we all have individual biochemical, genetic and environmental variability. What is appropriate for one person can be absolutely detrimental to another. It is this critical point that separates orthodox methods of healing from holistic or complementary modalities such as orthomolecular nutrition, naturopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, and other such approaches. While modern medicine plays a significant role in certain conditions, there is a segment of the population who are beginning to realize that new technology and more potent drugs are not the panaceas they were once thought to be. Many people who frequent doctors’ offices are in fact, nutritionally rather than medically ill. It is these chronic cases that require ongoing costly health care. Myriads of health problems are surfacing, largely a result of our processed, devitalized diets and our ever- increasingly toxic environment. Our ‘fix-me-quick’ society has become far too heavily dependent on doctors and the medical system in general and taking far less responsibility for their own health. It is estimated that as many as 60% of our population suffer from food/ environmental sensitivities and nutritional deficiencies. It is this group who runs from general practitioner, to neurologist, urologist, gynecologist and if all else fails, to the psychiatrist! It is the same group who undergoes extensive medical testing and needless surgical procedures only to obtain temporary relief. Irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, genitourinary symptoms, asthma, anxiety, panic attacks are just some of the ailments that can be relieved, if not cured, through dietary, nutritional and environmental management. Targeting the root causes, rather than using aggressive therapy through

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potentially harmful drugs and procedures is more times than not the key to good health. Why is this not common knowledge among traditional medical and dietetic practices? Nutritional medicine is based on an enormous body of scientific research much of which is gathering dust on library shelves. Diet and lifestyle changes are not financially viable commodities nor can they be patented and marketed like a drug. A second reason for ignoring outstanding results of lifestyle change is our overemphasis on scientific data. Anecdotal or experimental evidence is quickly dismissed. For instance, 200 case histories of human successes are considered insignificant if rats in a laboratory had not borne similar results! A third reason is that we still rely upon outdated and food industry dietetics which never take into account individual biochemistry, intolerances nor the quality of foods we find on our dinner plates. As long as the dietetic industry is backed by processed food giants proper dietary education will never progress. Lastly, the pharmaceutical industry is a major influence on both the medical community and the lay person. There is a drug for virtually every ailment. Doctors are trained in acute care and the patient wants a quick fix. Taking responsibility for our own health is the sane way to handle our bodies. We have only one body that must take us from cradle to grave. Treat it with care and respect. Eat healthy, play lots, and hope to see you in the gym! (Judit is the owner of Change of Pace Fitness Center and is the author of the Canadian best-seller Free to Fly: A Journey Toward Wellness. She can be contacted at 766-5800) Judit Rajhathy

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LETTING L ETTING T THE HE GGARDEN ARDEN GGROW ROW W WILD ILD By Michael Hogan

is something we do in alternate years: bougainvillea branching up over the roof violet and orange bracts falling in a carpet from the back door to the far retaining wall. Morning glories curling up the smooth bark of the plane tree and the mango so heavy with new fruit its branches sweep the ground like a green broom. Always roses: pink and white and yellow defying this year the leaf-cutter ants as we defy years which love to carve their inexorable scrimshaw across our cheeks and dim our eyes in the late afternoon so that we close them finally and drift (our paperbacks forgotten in our hands) to the sound of doves echoing in the dusk as tendrils of white honeysuckle sweeten the air.

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PAW PRINTS ON MY HEART By Gudrun Jones, Co-Founder & President of the Lakeside Spay & Neuter Center

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he is just a little thing, hungry lost and afraid. It is only a dog and so many of her species face the same fate and we are unaware of the plight that goes on around us. This one was lucky, for the little dog was found and is being fostered at the Maskaras Farmacia until someone gives her a forever home. Her hair is starting to shine again and is beginning to feel silky to the touch and her beauty is starting to show; but then to me all dogs are beautiful. When I was outside of the Farmacia taking pictures of her, several people commented on how cute this little blond cocker spaniel was and I hoped someone would take her and give her the love she hungers for. One bystander in particular seemed interested, but then he told me that he was leaving for the USA where he had made a down payment on a dog of a very rare breed. For the world of me I cannot understand people who pay an extraordinary amount of money to get what they call a “rare and unusual breed” of a dog when there are so many needy dogs right here who can be all the things a dog should be. I often wonder what people, who need this kind of animal to make them feel important, would have done if they ever had a child who was not exactly what they had hoped for—just a plain and ordinary child. Of course unlike a dog, for a child to have a pedigree—it needs to have pedigree parents. The dog of the month at the Ranch is Lucky, a black Lab Mix about three years old. He has no pedigree but he is beautiful. Lucky was found wandering the streets in Chapala and was lucky to be brought to the Ranch, then lucky to find a foster home and lucky enough where his foster dad wanted to ship him back to Nova Scotia to give him a forever home there. But his luck has ran out. His foster dad needs a hip replacement and won’t be able to take him on the long walks Lucky loves so much. All he needs is one more shot of luck to find a person who will love him and take him on those long walks where he can romp, be the pup at heart that he still is and feel like the world belongs to him. There are many dogs at the Ranch that should be featured as dog of the

month for they are all looking for a home and are definitely pet material. All it takes is as little time to make them that dog who is right for you. All it takes is a phone call and someone will take you there. 766-3813 The Ranch always has a Wish List. Right now on top of that list is any kind of Tick and Flea prevention, also needed are volunteers, dog food, building materials, fencing, roofing—all the things that you can’t use—we will use. Donations can be dropped at Handy Mail, #159C-2 San Antonio, Tlay., 1 block east of Superlake.

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GOD ON THE LINE By susan q. miller

“ Y ouswercan’t anthe

Y

phone when you’re dead.” That was the first thing on my mind this morning even before my feet touched the floor. No, you can’t answer the phone, but when you’re dead, neither can you dance or sing or touch another human being, that is, unless you’re buried touching another corpse or one of your organs is planted in someone else’s body. What an odd thing to think, even for me. The next thing to cross over my cortex was “God is not calling, you’re not obligated to answer the phone.” Long ago, before the invention of the telephone answering machine, these familiar words were offered by a friend. Since I always hoped She would call, I ran enthusiastically to pick up the receiver every time the phone rang. What prompted my mind to ven-

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ture through this territory in my helpless state of semi-consciousness? What does it mean “You can’t answer the phone when you’re dead?” The most obvious answer to this question is that we must connect while we can. While we’re still breathing we have an opportunity to answer, to respond to a call. Perhaps my friend was wrong. Perhaps God is calling. I’ve heard it said that friends, both those people with whom we share a lifetime and those who pass through in an instant, are angels in disguise. They challenge and inspire, sometimes they criticize or question our motives or our behavior. Unless the lines are open, however, we will not hear or understand the value of the gift they offer. Metaphorically, we must get off the hook—break free of


the old patterns of thinking and acting, pick up our receiver and answer the call. A well-known Spiritual World leader was once asked about his communication with God. He responded by saying that he didn’t hear voices, but he did experience moments of deep conviction. Haven’t we all felt that “conviction,” that sense of “knowing” beyond our typical human understanding? Sometimes in those moments of clarity we “’know” what we must do or say or change in our lives. Will we respond by doing anything or will we try to pretend we have not heard the call? Perhaps this is what is meant by “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Is it possible that what was originally intended for this statement was translated inaccurately? Could the message have actually been “Many are called, but few choose to answer?” Given the current state of our world, are many of us being called to make personal changes in our lives? Do we hear that ringing within what suggests we think and act more responsibly, more globally? Are we being called to speak more from the heart and less from old tapes? My day begins with this sort of

musing. If the telephone that now sets silently on my desk rings, will I answer? Most assuredly, yes! If angels come to me in whatever form and offer gifts...words or insights that require a response or a change, will I receive them gratefully? Will I recognize the messenger or the message or will my ego block the call? The next time I “know,” will I pretend not to know so I can maintain the status quo of mediocrity? Do I really favor laziness? Oh my God, so much to think about on an empty stomach. I guess it’s time to answer my body’s call for breakfast.

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MILITARISM DAY By Kenneth G. Crosby

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he observation of Memorial Day in the U.S. on May 25, when all Americans were asked to stop whatever they were doing and observe a minute of silence for members of the military who have “given their lives to preserve our freedom,� implied that all members of the U.S. armed services who have been killed in the course of military actions have died to preserve the freedom of Americans. The current hugely expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are cited as evidence that Athe price of freedom is not free.@ The presidential proclamation for a National Day of Prayer in May urged all U.S. citizens to pray for the troops, implying that they are fighting for American freedom on the side of God. But U.S. military actions have often been undertaken for reasons other than protecting the freedom of Americans: to acquire territory, as in the wars on Mexico and Spain, to oppose the influence of other nations and forms of government, as in Korea and Vietnam, or to project U.S. power and control resources, as in Iraq and Afghanistan. The false claim that all those killed in military actions have died to preserve freedom reflects an increasing glorification of the role of the military in U.S. life. The U.S. has the most powerful and by far the most expensive military in the world, costing about as much as the rest of the world=s militaries combined and consuming a large share of the nation=s wealth. It has some 250 military installations in some 130 countries around the globe, including in places like Ecuador and the Caribbean resort island of Aruba that have no visible relevance to protecting Americans= freedom. It has just established an Africa command that will undoubtedly seek to establish bases on that continent. It has also established a new North America command that encompasses the U.S. The president of the U.S. has pledged to increase the size of its armed forces and to Amaintain U.S. military dominance in the world@; the military is greatly augmented by private contractors providing mercenary and other services that are motivated to expand military operations to increase their enormous profits; and the neo-conservatives who promoted the war on Iraq to project American power in the world now advocate war on Iran and bombing North Korea. Dwight Eisenhower=s cogent

warning nearly fifty years ago about the dangerous self-serving power of the military-industrial complex has been ignored, and its influence on U.S. life and politics is clearly increasing. The U.S. armed forces and Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other manufacturers who supply them are advertising on TV that they exist to Apreserve American freedom@ through military strength. The number of Amilitary academies,@ public high schools operated by the military in which students wear military uniforms and drill as soldiers, and of Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps units in other public high schools is increasing. The military was the only institution in which a majority of respondents to a recent General Social Survey expressed Agreat confidence.@ The president of the U.S. is increasingly referred to as the commander in chief, not just of the armed forces, which he is, but of all Americans, which he is not. Memorial Day and Veterans Day have become occasions for glorifying the military and the use of military power to advance U.S. economic and political interests in the world. As I watched May 25 observances on TV, it seemed to me that it would more appropriately be called Militarism Day.

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Welcome to Mexico! By Victoria Schmidt

Life Under the Mango Tree

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ne of the selling points used in discussions about moving to Mexico was the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables year round. This is a big deal when you’ve lived your entire life in a northern climate where the growing season is only three months long. Everything is imported the rest of the year, and imported fruit just isn’t the same as ripe fruit just picked from the tree. Now we live right under a mango tree. Sounds cool and exotic, doesn’t it? OK, to be truthful, we weren’t even sure what kind of a tree it was to begin with. Once we learned it was a mango tree, we weren’t so sure about it. Those tiny buds were the strangest mangos we’d ever seen. One day I saw a man with one of those long picking poles slung over his shoulder. He was out walking, and I wondered where he was headed. I was a little surprised when he walked right by me, and over to our tree. He used his pole to get at the fruit at the very top of the tree. He was welcome to it as far as I was concerned. We certainly couldn’t reach that part of the tree anyway. After this incident though, I asked around and found out that since our tree grew over the sidewalk and its branches reached over the street, that anyone could pick from that part of the tree. I figured that was only fair…but thought they’d have to wait a while, because there just didn’t seem to be much fruit on this tree. Maybe it was sick? Some of the

leaves are spotted. But we know very little about trees, so we just kept watching it. We were surprised and delighted this spring when there was proof that the tree was OK and began to fill with little mangos. Some friends explained to us that these mangos are different from the ones I’d seen in the stores, or that were imported to Minnesota. These are small mangos, and right now, they are green. But we were told they are the very sweet variety. In the past I’d seen many people come to claim fruit from this tree. One morning our mail carrier spent about 15 minutes leaping up and trying to reach the mangos. Others have come by throwing things into the tree trying to get it to surrender its fruit. And now the tree is raining mangos and what I want to know is where are all these people now? The darn tree is dropping fruit like crazy. It’s pelting our van nearly every 15 minutes. There are a multitude of mangos rolling all over our mirador, and we have mangos all over the ground, on the sidewalk and in the street. Cars squash those mangos do leave us with sticky yellow mush all over the street. The leaves from the darn tree clogged the drain so badly that water won’t drain off the mirador! None of these things were mentioned in any of the promotional brochures! I pictured a tree with a few ripe fruit we could pick and eat at our leisure. This tree is a menace! People are tripping over mangos! We’re all tired of picking them up and trying to keep them out of everyone’s way. Not to mention that we’ve eaten enough mangos lately to last a lifetime! Where are all the people who were trying so desperately for fruit now that we need them? Enough is enough! How do you turn this thing Victoria Schmidt off??

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A Warrior’s Worry By Jim Rambo

The President came to visit last week. He’s been with me before And like millions of others who stop by He doesn’t even know my name. They pay homage without knowledge Of me, the man, a devoted husband, once skin and bones. They prefer now not to know. It’s easier that way. No longer a man of ambition, appetites and loves, I’m a symbol to be honored and cherished instead As the son of all mothers and fathers, the golden ones; Whose sons’ blood was shed freely from our nation’s veins. The clicking of shined heels and cleats is unending. The vigil’s the same over head, no matter the weather. Pride and grief remain my uniformed companions Day by day…year after year, here in the quiet of Virginia. My worry is not for myself Or for the role I dutifully fill But for the future immediate; New children, who will march to follow us millions already gone. I long to symbolize peace And quiet among nations. I prefer standing for life and not honored death But it won’t soon pass, I can see But I will forever and full-of-hope remain

The Unknown Soldier

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LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY

News

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

July 2009

President’s Message for July July will be really hopping around LCS. The annual July Fiesta is coming up on the last Saturday of the month, July 25, from 10 to 4. Since we need to use the entire LCS grounds to fit everything and everyone in, all regular activities and services are suspended for the day. Tickets purchased ahead of time are 50 pesos each, but 100 at the door the day of the event. So, plan your social calendar ahead and save some money! Tickets go on sale Monday, July 6, in the LCS services office and with Berta on the patio. This year we have some surprises in store, so don’t expect the “same old fiesta”! Now is also the time to gather nominations for board positions for the new term. We are reaching out to the community and rather than have a Nominations Committee collect the candidates names and resumes and then interview them all with the purpose of selecting a single “blessed” slate in time for the October membership meeting, I have asked the LCS Audit Committee to collect any and all names of members interested in running for office. The idea is to have at least two candidates per office and hold an actual election this year! A few members have already mentioned that they wish to stand for election, but we need more. Get the written requirements from the services office and then return an application and resume in a sealed envelope addressed to “LCS Audit Committee”. Any questions may also be addressed to the LCS Audit Committee either in writing at the services office or via email at lcsauditcommittee@gmail.com. Audit Committee members wear a GREEN nametag when on the grounds, feel free to stop them to talk about what qualities you want in candidates, or anything to do with LCS. While I am on the subject of volunteers, I want to announce three new additions: First, Janice Shriver has agreed to be the new LCS Medical Director. She comes to us with a doctorate in Social Work and long experience managing programs of one sort or another throughout her career. Second and third, the new co-chairs of the Blood Pressure Program are Linda Wright and Annette Reppen, both of whom are retired R.N.’s. Welcome ladies and thank you for stepping forward! A great variety of things need to be done in an organization like this. I hope you will consider joining in! ~ Nancy Creevan, President ~ Volunteer Opportunities Information Desk - Candidates must have lived Lakeside minimum of two years in order to actually experience much of the necessary procedures of living here - getting an FM3, arranging for a phone line, paying water bills and property taxes. Contact person is Barbara Madren at 765-5752 or email bmadren@hotmail.com. Blood Pressure Program - Volunteers willing to work Mondays and/or Fridays from 10 to 12 and, of course, must know how to take blood pressure readings; equipment is provided. Contact person is Karen Schirack at 387-761-0200 or kslcs@live.com. Interested LCS members may fill out the volunteer application available in the LCS office Monday thru Saturday from 10 to 2, for these and any other volunteer positions.

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LCS

News

MONTHLY SCHEDULED EVENTS LCS Board Meeting: 2nd Wednesday at 11:30

INFORMATION SERVICES

• LCS Office, Information desk, library and video library Monday thru Saturday 10 - 2 • Insurance Information AIG Insurance – Friday, 11 - 2 BUPA Medical Ins. – Wednesday, 10 - 12 NY Life Insurance – Tuesday & Friday, 11 - 2 • Immigration & Legal Info – Monday & Friday, 10 – 12 • IMSS - Monday & Tuesday, 10 -1 on the St. Anthony Patio • LINK – Monday, 10 -12, November thru April • Talking Books Library – Thursday, 10 - 1 • U.S. Consular Visit – 1st Wednesday of each month, 12 – 2 and the list sign-up begins at 11:30 on the Neill James Patio • San Javier Hospital Rep. - 2nd Weds. at 11

LESSONS

• Country Line Dancing, Tuesday & Thursday, 10 -11 • Spanish (5 levels) - Beginner class sign-up in office • Yoga – Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, 2 - 3:30

GROUPS

• Alcoholics Anonymous - Monday & Thursday, 4:30 • Chess Players - Wednesday, 2 - 5 • Computer Club (Linux) - Monday, 9:30 - 10:30 • Computer Club (MAC) - First Monday, 12 - 1:30 • Computer Club (Windows) - Monday, 10:30 - 11:45 • Digital Camera Club - Wednesday, 10:30 - 12 • Film Aficionados - Thursdays, in the Sala, 2 - 4 • LCS Learning Seminars - Tuesday, 12 - 2, Sala • Mah Jongg - Friday, 10 -2 • Needlepushers - Tuesday, 10 - 12 • Open Circle - Sunday, 10 - 12 • Scrabble Group - Monday & Friday, 12 - 2:30 • Genealogy - last Monday, 2 - 4 • Tournament Scrabble - Tuesday & Thursday, 12 - 3 • Quilt Guild - 2nd Tuesday, 10 -12

FOOD & OTHER EVENTS

• ACA Fresh Veggies – Tuesday, 11 - 2 in the Cafe • Children’s Art Classes – Saturday, 10 - 12 • Exercise - Monday, Weds & Friday, 9 in the Gazebo

NOTE: Times and offerings are subject to change. Check with the LCS office if you have questions. Send changes to binkcaldwell@yahoo.com.

July 2009 OPEN CIRCLE SPEAKERS July 5

Dionne Reid - Medical break through & how to add LIFE to your years July 12 Charlie Fagan Winning freedom from religion July 19 Joy Phoenix July 26 Otto Rand, Don Edwards and Robert Croog - being Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer and Fr. Teilhard de Jardin muse about religion & creation in Brussels in 1935.

Library & Video News New video titles are in and are available on July 2. Tell No One, Taking Chance, The Wrestler, Last Chance Harvey, Frost Nixon, (Indiana Jones) Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Changeling, Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, Enchanted April, Frida, Somewhere in Time, Marley and Me, Milk, My Mom’s New Boyfriend, Secret Life of Bees, Rachel Getting Married, Happy-Go-Lucky & The Inheritance. The Video Library is beginning to clear out its huge collection of VHS tapes by holding periodic sales. These are tapes which have not been checked out for a few years.

The Grounds - Ponds LCS is looking for a volunteer to be responsible for our two large ponds. This person would hopefully have some experience in maintaining a large pond and be willing to learn what they don’t know through research. Part of this position will be to teach the gardeners (there is a translator available) how to recognize situations before they become problems, when and how to clean the pond and to supervise the cleaning and to assist them as needed. There is an electrical volunteer already responsible for the pumps. Please contact Ken Caldwell by email at kwcaldwell2001@ yahoo.com

www.lakechapalasociety.org

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LCS

News

July 2009

LIBRARY NEWS _ THE GILLESPIE DONATION COMMITTEE REPORT LCS member and Library volunteer, Robert Kleffel, was asked by President Nancy Creeven to chair and appoint members to the Gillespie Donation Committee to review the criteria the Gillespie family indicated be used in determining how the bequest would be used in the LCS Library. The Committee members are Robert Kleffel, Bonnie Kleffel (since resigned), Hebina Hood, Brenda Dawson, Nancy Hagen and Chuck Giles. Sitting in as Board representatives were Karen Schirack and Ken Caldwell. The meeting was held May 5, 2009. It was determined that proposed recommendations to the LCS Board regarding the Gillespie funds are “not to be specific recommendations, but guidelines for the use of funds.” The following recommendations will be presented to the Board: A. Primary purpose: reading material including books, magazines and newspapers B. Furniture and equipment, computer equipment for library use, tables and chairs, electronic reading devices, such as E-Readers, and shelving C. Modification to facilities which could include remodeling of library and expansion of space D. Gillespie FUNDS ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR: operating expenses such as salaries, office and book supplies, utilities, facilities maintenance or repair, cleaning. E. Committee’s recommendations for the Library’s future: 1. Members’ Reading Room: that combines an information and magazine center. The Information Center will have books and magazines devoted to providing current, useful information for Living in Mexico. The specific information should include travel, senior health, local gardening, Mexican food, home and interior design materials for this area. 2. Modernize with technology: Because the publishing of books, newspapers and magazines is going through a dramatic change, i.e., to electronic transmission of information, E-Readers and computers may be necessary in the library for patron use. 3. Facilities Planning: An important purpose of the meeting was to discuss possible changes in use of the facilities, e.g., new entrance to library; possible use of the video library as Members’ Reading Room; additions to the library space. These

recommendations were presented to the LCS Board May 13, 2009. The Board voted to accept the recommendations (with one small change) as contained in the LCS Library Report as well as recommendations presented to the Board on May 13, 2009.

A follow-up e-mail came to the Gillespie Donation Committee from Senior Director Karen Schirack after that Board meeting: “Ken Caldwell and I are sending this e-mail to inform you of the Board’s response to the Gillespie Committee recommendations for use of the Gillespie funds. The Board’s response was enthusiastic and they moved to approve the recommendations. The Committee recommendations regarding the Members’ Reading Room/Mexican Room was applauded by the Board and all are excited. The Board agreed with the introduction and future need of developing technological equipment. Regarding the need for additional space requirements for all involved libraries, it was agreed that space is needed. The decision, timeframe and implementation of this goal require further discussion for all libraries as well as the consideration of the ongoing Strategic Planning for LCS. Also at the meeting of May 13, 2009, the Board of LCS took action on two matters of direct importance to the Library, the Library Administration Committee, and the Gillespie Donation Committee Members. *The Board voted to accept the Gillespie gift and to use if for “The Lake Chapala Society A.C. English Language Library, Book and Equipment Purchase Funds” as stated in the insurance contract and in accordance with the observation of the deaceased’s (Jane Gillespie) brother and estate administrator, Hugh Fullerton. In his words, “ That seems pretty specific, but I would think it would not be remiss to interpret that broadly enough to include library renovation, if that’s what the Society thinks is needed.”

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LCS

News

July 2009

Healthcare week - July 13 to 17

LCS considers this week a community service and the public is invited to participate in any and all services and events. All activities take place in the rear medical grounds of the property. Monday, July 13, from 10 to 1 - PNEUMONIA SHOTS Shots are available for 400 pesos, prior signup necessary in the LCS services office; pay on July 13. Part of the fee is donated to the LCS Wilkes Education Center by Lakeside Medical and Lydia Zamudio, R.N. Appointments on other dates are available, contact Lakeside Medical, #86 Constitucion, Ajijic. 766-2088. (Say you are from LCS and a portion of fee will still be donated to LCS.) Monday, July 13 and Friday, June 17 from 10 to 12 - BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING Monday, July 13, from 11 to 4 - Polo’s HEARING TESTING & HEARING AID SERVICE - Signup necessary outside medical offices before July 13. No charge for testing. Tuesday, July 14, from 10 to 11:30 - DIABETIC SCREENING No prior signup needed. Please eat a high carbohydrate meal 2 hours before testing. Donations accepted to defray cost of testing supplies. Wednesday, July 15, from 10 to 12:30 - SKIN CANCER SCREENING Prior signup necessary in LCS services office. No charge for screening, but any treatment carries a fee, part of which is donated to the LCS Student Aid Fund. Ask about any fees before treatment is given. Donations gratefully accepted. Thursday, July 16, from 10 to 4 - OPTOMETRIST Prior signup required outside medical offices before July 16.

Friday, July 17, Medical Forum 10 to 11:45 in Sala “What to do before Cruz Roja Arrives” Presented by Mary Molinari, R.N. and Lynn Turnbull, R.N. Information we all need to know. There will be plenty of time for questions. Seating is first come, first seated.

LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY 16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco LCS Main Office: 766-1140 www.lakechapalasociety.org Office and services open Monday – Friday, 10 to 2 and Saturday 10 to 2 Grounds are open until 5

LCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS President - Nancy Creevan Vice-President - Open Secretary - Mary Ann Waite Sr. Director 1 for Buildings & Grounds - Kenneth Caldwell Sr. Director 2 for Finance - Rick Feldmann Sr. Director 3 for Services & Activities - Karen Schirack LCS Education Director - Mary Alice Sargent Business Office Administrator - Terry Vidal THE LCS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH PRECEDING PUBLICATION. NEWS ITEMS OR CORRECTIONS MAY BE LEFT AT THE LCS OFFICE OR E-MAILED TO BINKCALDWELL @YAHOO.COM NOTE: THE EDITORIAL STAFF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO COMPLETE EDITING PRIVILEGES. ARTICLES AND/OR CALENDAR EVENTS WILL BE INCLUDED ACCORDING TO TIME, SPACE AVAILABILITY AND EDITORIAL DECISION ON THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION.

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR LCS CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE WWW.LAKECHAPALASOCIETY.ORG

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Service

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

www.tel.chapala.com

DIRECTORY * BED & BREAKFAST

ADVERTISING

- CASA DEL SOL Tel: 766-0050

- EL OJO DEL LAGO Tel: 765-3676

* BEER & LIQUOR STORES

* AIR CONDITIONING SERVICES - SERVICIOS MIC Tel: (044) 33 1529 4279

Pag: 65

* AIR LINES - AMERICANAIRLINES

Pag: 35

Pag: 42

- BETO’S LIQUOR Tel: 766-5420, Cell (045) 333-507-3024 - MODELORAMA Tel: 766-2678, 765-2055 - TEQUILA EL VIEJITO Tel: 33-3812-9092

Pag: 64

* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS - CATHY CHALVIGNAC Tel: 766-1153 Pag: 32 - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 766-5683 Pag: 53 - EL PALOMAR Tel: 01 (33) 3635-5247 Pag: 48 - THE AJIJIC ART HOUSE Tel: 765-5097 Pag: 07, 15, 20, 32

- CABO DO MUNDO - INTERIOR DESIGN Tel: 766-0026 Pag: 19

* BOUTIQUE / CLOTHING STORES

- CAR CITY Tel: 765-2550 - GRUPO OLMESA Tel: 766-3780 - LINEA PROFESIONAL Tel. 766-2555, Fax. 766-0066 - MAZDA Tel: 765-4800, 01 (33) 3344-4499 - RON YOUNG-MECHANIC Tel: 765-6387

Pag: 19 Pag: 26, 63 Pag: 44

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

Pag: 06

Pag: 43

- AJIJIC COMPUTING Tel: 765-4156 - CAFE INTERNET AJIJIC Tel: 766-3626 - NEW WORLD TECHNOLOGY Tel: 766-4343

Pag: 39 Pag: 53 Pag: 24 Pag: 52

Pag: 62

Pag: 13

* HARDWARE STORES Pag: 17 Pag: 15

- FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ Tel: 766-0880, Fax: 766-2440 Pag: 70

Pag: 10

* HEALTH

Pag: 07 Pag: 22

- HEALTH AND BEAUTY Tel: (387) 763 0448 - HYPNOSIS AUDA HAMMETT

Pag: 65 Pag: 14, 18, 58, 61, 62

Pag: 18

* HEARING AIDS

Pag: 08

- GUADALAJARA AUDIOLOGICAL SERVICES Cell. (045) 33-1511-4088 Pag: 65

* DRY CLEANING/LAUNDRY

Pag: 57

* FINANCIAL SERVICES

* FLOWER SHOP

Pag: 54 - CRISANTEMO ROJO Tel: 766-4030

- SUZY’S CONSIGNMENT SHOP Tel: 766-5458

Pag: 47

Pag: 53

* FUMIGATION

- EL TIO SAM Tel: 766-5664 - ELECTROVENTA Tel: 765-2222 - TECNICOS UNIDOS Tel: 765-4266

Pag: 23 Pag: 46 Pag: 28

* HOTELS / SUITES - CASA BLANCA Tel: 766-1500 - HOTEL CIELO ROJO Tel: 31-1258-4155 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, Fax: 766-2049 - MIS AMORES Tels: 766-4640, 4641, 4642 - QUINTA DON JOSE Tel: 01-800-700-2223 - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766 1152

Pag: 29 Pag: 40 Pag: 03 Pag: 21 Pag: 16 Pag: 20

* INSURANCE

Pag: 19

* CONSTRUCTION * BAKERY - BRENDA’S BAKERY BOUTIQUE Tel: 765-2987

Pag: 47

* BEAUTY

66

- GARDEN CENTER Tel: 765-5973

Pag: 50

Pag: 64

* BANK INVESTMENT

- MYSTICTAN Tel: 766-2500

- AJIJIC DENTAL Tel: 766-3682 - C.D. MARÍA LUISA LUIS VILLA Tel/Fax: 766-2428 - C.D. SANDRA ANAYA MORA Tel: 765-3502, 765-5444 - DRA. ANGELICA ALDANA LEMA DDS Tel. 766-5374 - DRA. DOLORES RUSSELL D.D.S. Tel: 766-2881, 766-0075 Cell: (045) 333-108-7727 - DR. ALBERTO DON OLIVERA Tels: 765-4838, 765-4805 - DR. FRANCISCO CONTRERAS Tel: 765-5757 - DR. HECTOR HARO, DDS. Tel: 765-3193, 765-6974

Pag: 11

Pag: 59

* CONSIGNMENT SHOP

- MULTIVA Tel: 766-2499

Pag: 49

Pag: 56

- INTERCAM Tel: 766-5978 Pag: 51 - LAKESIDE FINANCIAL ADVISOR DAVID LESNICK CFP CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Fax: 001(623) 327-1277 Pag: 12 - LAKESIDE MORTGAGE CONSULTANTS Tel: 766-2914 Pag: 41 - MORTGAGES IN MEXICO LLC Tel: 766-5876 Pag: 28 - MONEX Tel: 766-4202 Pag: 71

* COMPUTING SERVICES

Pag: 51

Pag: 12

Tel: 765-5882 - ARDEN MEXICO Tel: 765-3540 - ARTE AMANECER Tel: 765-2090 - RICARDO FERNANDEZ Tel: 766-5149 - TEMPUR Tel: (52) 333-629-5919, 333-629-5961

* GARDENING

- DEL MAR Tel: 766-4278

* COMMUNICATIONS - MAILBOXES, ETC. Tel: 766-0647, Fax: 766-0775 761-0363, Fax: 761-0364

Pag: 48

766-1760 765-4444 766-5555

* HOME APPLIANCES * CHURCHES

- AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Tel: 766 - 4973, Cell: (045) 33-3157- 6536 Pag: 32

* AUTOMOTIVE

Pag: 60

Pag: 21

- LAKE CHAPALA BAPTIST CHURCH Tel: 765-2925 Pag: 60, 63

* AUTOMATIC DOORS

Pag: 49

066 765-2308, 765-2553 766-3615

* DENTISTS

* BLINDS AND CURTAINS

- CUGINIS OPUS BOUTIQUE Tel/Fax: 766-1790 - FIAGA BOUTIQUE Tel: 766-1816 - LEATHER GALLERY Tel: 766-2845

Pag: 45

Pag: 58

* ANIMAL CLINICS/SERVICES - ANIMAL CARE Tel: 766-3062 Pag: 55 - DEE’S PET CARE Tel: 762-1646 Pag: 57 - LAKESIDE SPAY & NEUTER CENTER, A.C. Tel: 766-0821 - PET SHOP Pag: 55 - SALUD ANIMAL Tel: 766-1009 Pag: 63

- PIETRA FINA Tel/Fax: 01(33) 3628-4919, 01 (33) 3677-1713 - PISAFIRM Tel: 766-5008 - SURO & ARCINIEGA - ARQUITECTOS Tel: (33) 3823 7295, 3817 0299 - WARWICK CONSTRUCTION Tel: 765-2224 Cell. (045) 331-135-0763

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

Pag: 32

- ARQZA Nextel: 01 (33) 3700 8329 Pag: 16 - CABO DO MUNDO- INTERIOR DESIGN Tel: 766-0026 Pag: 19,38 - CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING Tel: 766-3626 Pag: 11 - INSTALA Cell: (045) 33 1440 6905 Pag: 61

El Ojo del Lago July 2009

- FUMIGA Tel: 762-0078, (045) 33-1155-7059 - FUMI-TECH Tel: 766-1946, Cell. (045) 333-369-3737 - RW SERVICIOS INTEGRADOS Tel: (33) 3124 6151, Cell: 33 1237 2951

* FURNITURE - AJIJIC ART & DESIGN

Pag: 64 Pag: 62 Pag: 50

- EDGAR CEDEÑO Cell: (045) 33-3106-6982 - LLOYD Tel: 766-0152, 766-3508

Pag: 20 Pag: 26

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

Pag: 08


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

Pag: 44

* MEAT/POULTRY/CHEESE - NATURAL CHEESE Tel: 765-5933 - TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069

Pag: 27 Pag: 61

* MEDICAL SERVICES

* MOVERS

Pag: 09 Pag: 14 Pag: 12 Pag: 17

* MUSIC/THEATER - BALLET FOLCLORICO UdeG

Pag: 33

* PAINT - PINTURAS FMC Tel/Fax: (376)766 3596, Movil: 33 1062 9852

Pag: 41

* PARTY HALL - LAS PALMAS Tel: (376) 766 1569

- FARMACIAS AHUACATLAN Tel: 765-6771 - FARMACIA CRISTINA Tel: 766-1501 - FARMACIA EXPRESS II Tel: 766-0656 - FARMACIA MASKARAS Tel/Fax: 765-5827 - FARMACIA MORELOS

- MICHAEL’S PHOTO STUDIO & GALLERY Tel: (0133) 3122 3976, Cell: (045) 331 229 8972 - PHOTO STUDIO SHERMAN Tel. (376) 766 1000

Tel: 766-3163

Pag: 18

- VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766 1152

Pag: 20

Pag: 30

- IMAC Tel: 52 (33) 3613-1080 - INSTITUTO TERRANOVA Tel: 766-2401, 766-3999

Pag: 47 Pag: 49

* REPAIRS * SECURITY SYSTEMS / WIRE FENCES

Pag: 56 Pag: 12 Pag: 57 Pag: 58

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

Pag: 64

Pag: 64

* RESTAURANTS/CAFES/CLUBS

* PHOTOGRAPHY

- DERMATOLOGIST Tel: 766-1198, 765-2400 Pag: 58 - DERMIKA Tel: 766-2500 Pag: 41 - INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST & GERIATRICS Dr. J. Manuel Cordova Tel: 766-2777, 766-5611 Pag: 42 - DRA. MARTHA R. BALLESTEROS FRANCO Cell: (045) 333-408-0951 Pag: 11 - GYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS Dr. Héctor Manuel Alvarado Soria Cell: (045) 33-3626-7957 Pag: 12 - HOSPITAL ANGELES DEL CARMEN Tel: 3813-0042 Pag: 16 - L. T. “DOC” MCGEE, N.D. Cell: (045) 331-237-6705 Pag: 40 - OCCIMEDGROUP Tel: (01) 33-3825-0000 Pag: 47 - OPHTHALMOLOGIST Dra. María de Jesús Quintero Bernal Tels: 765-2400, 7654805 Pag: 13 - PINTO OPTICAS Tel: 765-7793 Pag: 27 - PLAZA LA MONTAÑA Tel:766-5513 Pag: 27 - RED CROSS Tels:765-2308 Pag: 26

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

* PHARMACIES

Pag: 21 Pag: 28

* REAL ESTATE - 1ST CHOICE HOMES LAKESIDE Tel: 765-2484 Pag: 25 - AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 766-2836 Pag: 14 - AJIJIC REAL ESTATE Tel: 766-2077, Fax: 766-2331 Pag: 03 - ALL IN ONE REAL ESTATE SERVICE Tel: 766-1161, 766-2007 Pag: 05 - ALTERNATIVE REALTY Tel: 766-5575 Pag: 55 - COLDWELL BANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, 766-3369 Fax: 766-2124, Tels: 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 Pag: 72 - CHULA VISTA NORTE Tel: 766-2177 Cell: (045) 33-3841-8867 Pag: 44 - EL DORADO Tel: 766-0040 Pag: 02 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 01 (33) 3640-3108 Pag: 58 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 766-6195 Pag: 54 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Cell: (045) 33-3463-5181 Pag: 59 - FOUR SEASONS Tel: 766-6065 Pag: 57 - GEORGETTE RICHMOND Tel: 766-2129, 766-2077 Pag: 13 - LLOYD REAL ESTATE AJIJIC Tel: 766-0040 Pag: 02 - MICHEL BUREAU Cell. (045) 333-129-3322, Home: (376) 765-2973 Pag: 53 - RAÚL GONZÁLEZ M. Cell: (045) 331-437-0925 Pag: 21 - REAL ESTATE - INSURANCE SALES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Pag: 64 - RIVIERA ALTA Tel: 766-1169 Pag: 30 - TOM AND DIANNE BRITTON Tel. 766-5249 (home) Cell. (045) 33-1 298-5722 Pag: 03 - VILLA OLIVIA Tel: 766-1069 Pag: 57

Pag: 52

- AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 766-2458 - BISTRO LUISA AND THE RABBI Tel: 765-4075 - CAFÉ ADELITA Tel: 766-0097 - CASA WAFFLE Tel: 766-1946 - CHAC-LAN Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - DAVID’S CAFE Tel: 766-2341 - EL BAR-CO Tel: 766-0452 - JOHANNA’S Tel: 766-0437 - GERARD’S Tel: 766-5956 - LA BODEGA Tel: 766-1002 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, 766-2049 - LA VIEJA POSADA Tel: 766-0744 - LAS CABALLERIZAS COXALA Tel: 766-0744 - LOS TELARES Tel: 766-0428 - MOM´S DELI & RESTAURANT Tel: 765-5719 - NUMBER FOUR Tel: 766-1360 - PEDROS GOURMET Tel: 766-4747 - PEPITO’S Tel: 766-2060 - TALENTO Tel: (33)3915 3565 - THE GARDEN Tel: 766-1381 - TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069 - YVES’ Tel: 766-1851

- GRUPO PIX Tel: 766-2085 - S.O.S.E Tel: 765-4921

Pag: 29 Pag: 58

* SELF STORAGE

Pag: 22

- SELF STORAGE-BODEGAS CHAPALA Tel: 766-0661, Tel/Fax: 766-1045 Pag: 29

Pag: 50

* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

Pag: 32

- ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Tel: 766-5961 Pag: 58 - EL BAZAR DE LOS NIÑOS Tel: 765-3147 Pag: 65 - LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY Tel: 766-1140 Pag: 70-73 - LAKESIDE SPAY & NEUTER CENTER, A.C. Tel: 766-0821

Pag: 03 Pag: 31 Pag: 11 Pag: 24

* SPA / MASSAGE Pag: 06 Pag: 26 Pag: 10 Pag: 03 Pag: 20 Pag: 20 Pag: 29 Pag: 14, 60

- AFRODITA Tel: 766-6187 - HYDROPOOL Tel: 766-4030 - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 766-5131 - MONTE COXALA Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - RESPIRO SPA Tel: (045) 33-3157-7790 - SILUET CORPOFACIAL Tel: 766-5867 - TOTAL BODY CARE Tel: 766 3379

Pag: 54 Pag: 53 Pag: 46 Pag: 31 Pag: 28 Pag: 17 Pag: 10

Pag: 21

* THERAPISTS

Pag: 42

Pag: 45

- PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION Tel: 766-5563 Pag: 09 - REHABILITATION & PHYSICAL THERAPY Cell: (045) 33 11515525, Tel: 01 (387) 76 31989 Pag: 28

Pag: 41

* TRANSLATION SERVICES

Pag: 44

Pag: 61

- ELI RANGEL Tel: Tel: 01 33 3335 0863

Pag: 63

Pag: 48

* TREE SERVICE * RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES - LA CASA NOSTRA Tel: 765-4187, Fax: 765-5815 - LA SAGRADA FAMILIA Tel: 762-1425 - PRIVATE ELDER CARE Cell: (045) 33-1343-6179

- CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 762-0602

Pag: 65

Pag: 06

* WATER Pag: 59 Pag: 57

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

Pag: 15

* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT * SATELLITES/ T.V.

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

- COLDWELLBANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, movile: (045) 33-1175-9632 Pag: 56 - FOR RENT Tel: 766-4425 Pag: 62 - RENTAL LOCATERS Tel: 766-5202 Pag: 20 - RENTAL WANTED Tel: (387) 761-0395 Pag: 63 - RIBERA RENTAL CENTER Tel: 765-3838 Pag: 61 - ROMA

- SATELLITE SYSTEMS OF AJIJIC Tel/Fax: 766-1117, 766-3371

* WEAVERS

Pag: 15

- TELARES LOS REYES Tel: 766-5640

Pag: 22

* SCHOOLS - BAILA ARTE ESCUELA DE DANZA Cell: 33 152 06 891 - CLC Tel: 765-5498 - COLEGIO DE AXIXIC Cell: (045) 33-1467-7995

Pag: 59 Pag: 05 Pag: 57

Saw you in the Ojo

67


AA- Meets daily at 10:00 am. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 pm. Marcos Castellanos 51-A. 766-5961. ACÁ- Teaches youths, families sustainable agriculture, Joco and Jaltepec. Meet 14th of month. For more Information 387 763-1568. A COURSE IN MIRACLES- Saturday 2:00 pm 16 Sept #34, Unit 6, 766-4882 No charge. Ongoing. AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA 904 WING- Meeting 2nd Friday of every month in May, June, July & August. From September to April we meet the 2nd and 4th Friday. Contact Don Slimman 765 4141. AJIJIC QUILT GUILD - Meets second Tuesday monthly. Guests & New Members Welcome. ajijicguild@gmail.com AJIJIC SCRABBLE CLUB- Tuesdays and Thursdays noon-3 pm at LCS Ken Gosh Pavilion. Dan Stark 766-0411. AJIJIC WRITERS’ GROUP- Meets 1st and 3rd Fridays at 10 am. New Posada. Coffee. Meeting followed by lunch at the New Posada. AXIXIC MASONIC LODGE #31- Meets 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at 5:00 pm. Contact the secretary at 763-5346 for details. AMERICAN LEGION OF CHAPALA POST- #7 General Membership meets 11 am 2nd Thursday. Tel: 765-2259. AMIGOS INTERNACIONALES- Every Wednesday 6 to 8 pm, Nueva Posada; informal friendly group meet to make new friends. AMIGOS DEL LAGO A.C.- Working to improve the ecology. See www.amigosdelago.org or contact us at info@amigosdelago.org. AMITIES FRANCOPHONES- Meets every 3rd Saturday at 1 pm contact: Roland and Camille at 766-0149. rvanhoudt@prodigy.net.mx. ANIMAL SHELTER- Provide shelter and new homes for dogs and cats. Tel: 765-5514. ANITA’S ANIMALS- Free loving dogs and cats. call (01 387) 761-0500. www.anitasanimals.com. ASA- Ajijic Society of the Arts. Meets every 1st Monday of the month at Nueva Posada, 10 am. BRIDGE AT OLD POSADA- Monday 1:15 check in. Mary Andrews 766-2489. BRITISH SOCIETY- Lunch meeting the 1st Saturday of each month, 1pm at Manix Rest. 765-4786, chapalainn@prodigy.net.mx. CARD & DOMINO CLUB- Wednesday, Friday & Sunday. Call for times. We will teach; make friends! Tel. 766-4253, Cell: (045) 33-1295-6485. CANADIAN CLUB OF LAKE CHAPALA- Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, September through April. Social hour: 3:00 pm, program 4:00 pm. Visit www.canadianclubmx.com. CASA DE ANCIANOS- Provides support for elderly citizens, 765-2497. CENTRO DE DESARROLLO AJIJIC- Provides family planning and reproductive health education. 766-1679. CHILI COOK OFF- Providing a carnival for residents raising charitable funds, 763-5038. DAR- (Guadalajara)- Daughters of the American Revolution, meets monthly Sep. through June. Cell:333-897-0660 or Tel: (376) 766-2284. DAR- (At Lakeside)- THOMAS PAINE CHAPTER meets every 3 Wednesday at 12:30 noon, September thru June. Tel: 766-2981 or 762-0834. EASTERN STAR ESTRELLA DEL LAGO CHAPTER #10- 1st Wed. at 1:00 pm at Hotel Monte Carlo. 766-3785, www.oesestrelladellago.org. E.R.I.C.- Provides support for the construction and renovation of educational buildings. 766-2866. GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS- GA Meeting held every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM in the Doctor’s office at the Lake Chapala Society Charlie K. at cell: 331-445-2136. GARDEN GUILD- promoting the interest in the development of local gardens with an accent on the exotic species available in central Mexico. GERMAN MEETING- 2nd Thursday, 1:00 pm. La Nueva Posada. Call Thea 765-2442 or Hannes 765-3094. GOLDEN STRINGS OF LAKE CHAPALA, A.C.- Rehearsals at auditorio de la Floresta. Tuesday & Friday, 3-6 pm. HASH HOUSE HARRIERS- Every Saturday at 8:30 am at La Nueva Posada. IRISH SOCIETY OF MEXICO- Meets second Monday 4 pm at La Nueva Posada, Ajijic. Contact Brian Cronin, at 765-5071. JUNIOR LEAGUE DE GUADALAJARA A.C.- Av. San Francisco #3332. ligagdl2@prodigy.net.mx, Guadalajara, Jal. Tel. (33) 3121-0887. LAKE CHAPALA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB- Meets every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:15 p.m.. www.chapalabridge.com. LAKE CHAPALA GARDEN CLUB-Promotes an interest, appreciation and better understanding of botanical subjects. 766-2637. LAKE CHAPALA SHRINE CLUB.- Meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1 pm in the Nueva Posada. Perry King at (376) 763-5126. LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY - LCS- 16 de Sep. # 16-A Ajijic, Open Monday - Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. www.lakechapalasociety.org. 766-1140. LAKESIDE COMMUNITY AWARDS- We benefit all the community by honoring lakeside’s most talented. 766-3232. LAKESIDE LITTLE THEATRE A.C.- Balanced theatrical entertainment, English-speaking, 765-5942. LAKESIDE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF- The 4th of each month. Nueva Posada 10:30 am. Call 766-2280, www.lakesideschoolforthedeaf.org. LAKESIDE WILDLIFE RESCUE & REHABILITATION- Rescue & rehabilitation of wild animals. 765-4916. LAKE SPAY AND NEUTER CENTR A.C.- Provides shelter and helps curtail the over-population of animals. 766-3813. LCS EDUCATION CENTER- Provides classes in language and other topics for both Anglo and Mexican community. 766-0499. LCS STUDENT AID FUND- Provides financial support to area students to enroll in university, vocational and high school program. 7660716. LINK- Assisting foreign community. Desk at Lake Chapala Society-Monday, 10 am-noon. LITTLE BLUE SCHOOLHOUSE- Provides financial assistance for students at school for disabled children in Chapala 766-1552. LOS NINOS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC, AC Providing educational scholarships to Lakeside children 376-766-1688, www.lakesideninos.org. LOVE IN ACTION- Shelter for abused and abandoned children. For volunteers and donations. Anabel Frutos 765-7409, cell: 331-351 7826. MAS- Music Appreciation Society. Concerts from fall to spring. Classical music and dance concerts. For info call Beverly Denton, 765-6409. MISION SAN PABLO- Helping 60 orphaned children ages 2-14 yrs, 7662551. Beaupaton@yahoo.com. www.misionsanpablo.org NAVY LEAGUE, LAKE CHAPALA COUNCIL- Meets the third Saturday for lunch at 1 pm, Manix Rest. 766 4750 or 766-1848. NEEDLE PUSHERS- Benefitting low-income schoolchildren. Every Tues. 10 am at LCS. Call Lynne at 766-5116. NIÑOS Y JOVENES CARAVAN- Delivers foodstuffs and used clothing to orphanage in San Juan. Call Reuben Varela, 01-387-761-0828. OPEN CIRCLE- Fostering body, mind & spirit, every Sunday at the LCS from 10 am to 12 noon. 765-3402 or frankdburton@yahoo.com. OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS- Every Tuesday & Friday 12 am at Marcos Castellanos 51-A, in Upper Ajijic. Tel: 766-2575 or 766-1626. PROGRAMA PRO NIÑOS INCAPACITADOS DEL LAGO AC.- Assisting Lakeside disabled children www.programaninos.org , 763-5010. PASOS MILAGROSOS (MIRACULOUS STEPS.)- Helping Handicapped Children Through the Magic of Horses. Saturdays 8-2. www. pasosmilagrosos.com RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS- Meets 1st Wednesday at 2:00 pm at the Sala LCS. New members welcome. ROTARY CLUB OF AJIJIC- Meets every Tuesday at 2:00 pm at Old Posada. Contact Diane at 766-1215. SCIENCE OF MIND STUDY GROUP- Ajijic Center for Spiritual Living. Tuesday 10 am. Call for info: Ann Brandt 765-2037 or email tim@revdoctim.com. VILLA INFANTIL ORPHANAGE- Provides financial support for children. 765-0093. VIVA LA MUSICA - Bus trips to the symphony, summer concert series, call Rosemay Keeling 766-1801. www.ajijicviva.org. VOLUNTEER HEALTH RESOURCE GROUP- Meeting last Saturday of each month at LCS in sala, 10:30. VOLUNTEERS OF THE CRUZ ROJA- Sponsors fund raising events and provides administrative and support services to the Delegation.

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

68

El Ojo del Lago July 2009

All Saints Lutheran Church Worship Service 11:00 am 4600 Avenida Tepeyac, Guad. Tel. (01 333) 121-6741. Abundant Life Assembly of God Carr. 140 next to Mail Boxes etc, Tel: 766-5615. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Services in English and Spanish, 10 am, Riberas del Pilar Bishop Wyvell Tel. (376) 765-7067, Bishop’s residence (376) 766-1532. Church of the Holy Spirit Services Sun. 10 am, Albaro Obregon #119, Chapala Tel. (376) 765-4210. Grace Baptist Church 5th Sun. Evening service 6 pm, Pedro Buzeta No. 970, Guad. Tel. (013) 641-1685. Lake Chapala Baptist Church Mid-week service, 9:30 am, worship service, 10:45 am. Santa Margarita #147, Riberas del Pilar, Tel. (376) 765-2925, 766-5234. www.lakechapalabaptist.com. 7th Day Adventist meet at Madeira 12 in Rancho del Oro, 9:15 am to Noon. Potluck follows. 765-2165. Little Chapel by the Lake Sun. services 11 am, Chula Vista,. Jal, Tel. (376) 763-1551. Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation Santa Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar, Tel: 765-6968. For infor–mation and service times, please call Pres. Elliot Gould. contactus@lakechapalajews.com. Web site: www. lakechapalajews.com. Lakeside Fellowship Sun. worship 11 am, Javier Mina #49 Ajijic, Tel. (376) 766-0795. Saint Andrew´s Anglican Church Calle San. Lucas 19, Riberas del Pilar, Sunday services, 10 am. www. standrewsparish.net. San Andres Catholic Church Services 9:00 am. Ajijic, 766-0922. St. John’s Catholic Church Between Av. Vallarta & Av. Lazaro Cardenas, Guad. Sun. 11am. (013) 121-8131. The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center behind Mateos in Riberas del Pilar (Santa Margarita 113). For additional information call Steve at 766-5507 or email: trudycrippen@ earthlink.net. Check out our website at www.lcuuf.org.


CARS FOR SALE: Platina 2004, 80000 km. Cause departure we sell our car. Mexican Plates, excellent condition, all maintenance done. 3750 USD or best offer. Call: Luc Regnard @ 3337231686 FOR SALE: Grand Cherokee 1995. It has new tires, brakes, shocks, ball joints, almost everything that moves has been replaced. It has current South Dakota license plates. 3,500 U.S. Contact: Larry Knowlton FOR SALE: Toyota Corolla 1999, looks and drives like new. MEXICAN PLATED It has new tires and brakes, and is in excellent condition. Priced $4,000! Contact: Larry Knowlton FOR SALE: Mercedes Benz 1995, air conditioning, 6 CD changer, wonderful sunroof with tilt back, power: windows, locks; alarm, original paint. New radiator, battery, transmission. Call Lauri Jenson cell 331-466-4553 FOR SALE: Atos 2008: 5 speed manual trans, 4 door, cloth inter, as new condition, Mexican plated, great economy, clean as new condition, 5,900usd. Call: Ceri Dando @ cell: 3331394314 FOR SALE: Classic 72 VW Kombi Van runs great. Rebuilt engine, new tires, carb, muffler, brakes, etc. Full length popup camper with screens. $32,000 pesos. Call: Allen Turner @ Tel: (376) 766 2759 WANTED: I am looking for a set of front seats from a 1971 VW bug (High Back) or any other model that I can swap out for what I have now. Other makes OK. Contact: David @ (376) 763-52-48 FOR SALE: New fully enclosed trailer used once.4x8 white with new spare tire. $18,000.00 pesos.765-7494. Pat or Mike.

COMPUTERS FOR SALE: PC Pentium 3Ghz / HD 160Go Desktop computer: 5000MXN or Best offer, 1 DVD burner and 1 CD rom reader Windows XP, Nvidia video card, Speakers, Printer, Call: Luc Regnard @ 3337231686 FOR SALE: HP 2002, 700 Mhz Intel Celeron Processor, 384 MB of RAM, and 30 GB Hard Drive. Microsoft Windows XP Pro, CD Burner. 3,000 Pesos. Call: Belle Arnold @ (376) 765-5773 FOR SALE: Lagunanet Wireless Antenna. Rooftop antenna, brackets, cable and pigtails are included. Contact: John Shrall @ 766-0009 FOR SALE: Multi Task Print/Scann/ Copy New Hp Multy Task (PRINTER/ SCANNER/COPIER) Includes Color & B/W Cartridges. $1300pesos. For more information call Claudia @ 7662612 (1-5) or 7621363 (After 7 p.m.) or e-mail: graccocyd@hotmail.com FOR SALE: Wireless Equipment. Linksy’s (Division of Cisco) Wireless-N PCI Adapter. Wireless-G Range Expander . Never used. Bought in March for $3,828 and will sell at $2,500. Call:

Julie Hensley @ 765-4590 FOR SALE: Digital drums, Casio mod: LD80, Bought 3 months ago. $2300 pesos Call: Cathy Chalvignac @ 766 1153 FOR SALE: 1.84 ghz PC Complete. Comes with Windows XP Pro, AMD 2500+ Processor 1.84 ghz, 756mb of Ram memory, DVD ROM Drive, CD Burner, 17” Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse, 3 pc speaker set. $3000pesos. Contact: Barry Semeniuk.

PETS & SUPPLIES FOR SALE: Cat Condo, 3 levels. The bottom floor is the rec room. Second floor has a comfy bed and several toys. The top floor is the lookout post, $500 pesos.Contact: Lauri Jenson FOR SALE: Large dog bed, with a washable, removable cover, fleece on one side and paw print material on the other. never used only 250 pesos. Contact: Lauri Jenson

GENERAL MERCHANDISE FOR SALE: Great lease available in the Ajijic Plaza liquor license Included Call Kim 331 313 2006 FOR SALE: New printer, new ironing machine, broadtail fur coats, black and gray, new Italian shoes, size 9 ½, walking machine, call 766-1620 FOR SALE: one chrome 4 leg swivel black leather seet stool. $400 pesos. One chrome 4 leg swivel yellow polyester seet stool. $200 pesos. One wooden 4 leg dark stain stool $50p, Bachelor podium bar 3’ x 10” $200p. Call: Heinz Stapff @ 7653587 FOR SALE: sky satellite dish, receiver & remote control. 1,800PESOS. Call: Heinz Stapff @ 7653587 FOR SALE: Rustico Mezquite Wood 6 door dresser 40”H - 59”L- 20”D $9200 pesos. King RanchStyle rocking chair leather seat& backrest 45”H 27”w $8000, perfect for entry way. King Ranch Style round table 26”D 27”H $9000 All Items $20 000 Chair & table $14 000 ALL ITEMS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION !!!! dama.bs@gmail.com. Contact: Damariz Salmeorn FOR SALE: Scooter Suzuki AN 125 Red. Garage kept, New in Oct 2008 still under factory warranty. Jalisco plates. 300 km just serviced. 15000 pesos FIRM. Contact: Steven Bagley FOR SALE: Queen Size Bed, frame, box spring, double pillow-top mattress, wrought-iron headboard, and bedding including mattress cover, blanket, 2 pillows, and 2 sets of sheets with coordinating cases $600 U.S. Contact: Donna Leavitt FOR SALE: Fisheye lens FC-E8 for Nikon CoolPix digital cameras. Originally developed for scientific or industrial applications, Fisheye lenses are now also widely used in advertising, commercial and general photography. $100usd. Call David Tingen @ (376)765-3676 FOR SALE: 3.8 L jar of pickles I have two jars of Vlasic Dill wholes

Kosher pickles available. Due date expires end of month. $50 pesos each Contact: Monica WANTED: Looking for a lockable tool box in good condition. Contact: Monica @ 766 5686 FOR SALE: 5 in one baby crib. Convertible. Blonde wood. Beautiful condition. Includes mattress. You won’t find one of these around here for sale used. $1000 pesos. Call 766-1756 or e-mail bmertenscpa@yahoo.com FOR SALE: Two dressers (4 drawer), and bureau. Black lacquer. Excellent condition.. Best deal around.. Includes king bed frame and two night tables). $5000 pesos. Please call 766-1756 or e-mail bmertenscpa@yahoo.com WANTED: Need used windows, doors, fencing, barbed wire, chicken wire, chain link, metal railings, window security metals, wheel barrel and ladder, any building materials, tiles, sinks, faucets, toilets, wood, rebar etc. Contact: diane ward FOR SALE: Dining room suite for sale. Table is 7’ long comes with glass top to protect the wood. 8 high back chairs upholstered in red microsuede fabric. $900 US. Call Donna at 766-4636 FOR SALE: 2 chest freezers. One new and one used 1,500 & 22,00 pesos Contact: Donald Shelton WANTED: Small receiver/amplifier in working condition, to connect to outdoor speaker. Contact: Kenneth Crosby @ 766-5347 FOR SALE: 21” Panasonic TV With usual features, timer, remote, etc. Works fine but replaced by LCD. 950 pesos. Contact: Kenneth Crosby @ 766-5347 FOR SALE: LADIES RIGHT HAND TAVA MIZUNO GOLF CLUBS GRAPHITE SHAFTS. 5000 pesos. Contact: Kathryn Vine WANTED: many semi-precious and other beads to trade. For crimp beads, bead tips, crimping tool, clasps and other beads. Call 766 2690 or e-mail sylviakarenshapiro@gmail.com WANTED: Need 2 tub or 2 Mr & Mrs style chairs for the livingroom. Contact: Gina Rolfe FOR SALE: Two identical storage/ display cabinets. Have 2 doors on bottom and 2 open shelves on top. Measure 6’3” tall by 36” wide by 30” deep. $150 US each Contact: Donna Kucy FOR SALE: Electronic Keyboard Casio. Include built-in speakers, a headphone/line out jack, and Transpose & Tuning controls. The LK-35 operates on AA batteries or an optional Casio AD5 AC adapter. $150 US. Call: Larry @ 7662227 FOR SALE: Tipador. I have a single bottle chrome plated tipador for dispensing water for sale, $150pesos. Please call me at 765-7196 or email me at gary0131@yahoo.com. FOR SALE: Sony Home Theatre, barely used. 5 Double Speakers, 1/10” Sub Woofer, 900 Watts Power. $5,800.00 pesos. For more details call Claudia: 7662612 (9-5) or 7621363 (After 7 P.M.).

or e-mail: graccocyd@hotmail.Com FOR SALE: Hot Spring 2006 Jetsetter J HydroTherapy Spa. 115/230 Silent heater, extra filters. (cost was $91,000 pesos new) $32000 pesos Call: Allen Turner @ (376) 766 2759 FOR SALE: Fire Engine Red 3 wheeler electric SCOOTER, comes complete with electric lift for your VAN, and 2 sets of aluminum ramps. $3000 usd, e-mail: ssnnkenn7@aol.com or Call: Suzi Klein @ (376) 766 4456 FOR SALE: Frigidaire 16 Cu Ft Upright Freezer in excellent condition. For further information $200 Call Patsi Dunn @ 376-764-0083 FOR SALE: Lipitor #90, 80mg, From California. Can be cut in half to make 180 pills at 40mg each. Not out of date. $750pesos Call: David @ (376) 763-5248 FOR SALE: Car top carrier for SUV. Extra large car top carrier. Moulded plastic. Locks etc. $150, Contact: Corbett Merchant WANTED: used doors and windows, any bldg supplies and gas powered generator, tejas, tiles, plumbing or electrical supplies, economical please!!! Contact: Dusty Ward. FOR SALE: One bathroom comode, raised toilet seat and shower seat, $60usd. Contact: Susanne BirchenoughTur

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