El Ojo del Lago - October 2020

Saw you in the Ojo

1

Saw you in the Ojo

3

 DIRE C TOR Y 

Index...

FEATURE ARTICLES

PUBLISHER David Tingen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Victoria A Schmidt

EDITOR EMERITUS Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez Tel: (01376) 765 3676, 765 2877 Fax: (01376) 765 3528 Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Reyes Diana Parra Morales Special Events Editor Carol D. Bradley Proofreader Sally Asante Theater Critic Michael Warren Book Review Panel Margaret Van Every Margaret Porter Clare Gearhart Roving Correspondent Dr. Lorin Swinehart

Sales Manager Bruce Fraser Carmene Berner ADVERTISING OFFICE Av. Hidalgo # 223, Chapala Mon. thru Fri. 9 am - 5 pm Sat. 9 am - 1 pm Tel. 01 (376) 765 2877, 765 3676 Fax 01 (376) 765 3528 Send all correspondence, subscriptions or advertising to: El Ojo del Lago www.chapala.com elojodellago@gmail.com ojodellago@prodigy.net.mx Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: 376 765 3676, Fax 376 765 3528

34 COVER STORY Herbert Piekow writes about “A Uniquely Mexican Holiday” by exploring the history of Dias de los Muertos.

8

“Nonni Hits the Dispensary” by Karen Shiebler

18 “From Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-Leggety Beasties and Things That Go Bump In The Night, Good Lord Deliver us!” Lorin Swinehart gets in the spirit of the season, by sharing some experiences to stimulate your imagination.

20 “Portal to your Own Path” Xill Fessend writes a review of Susa Silvermarie’s book of poetry, “Poems for Flourishing.”

22 “Shipping and Handling Not Included” Humorist Tom Nussbaum explores his television shopping obsession.

24 Jaltepec undergoes changes.

26 Judy Dykstra-Brown writes about “The New Intruder” in her life.

28 Fragment of the Memoir Infancia (Innocence) In his first submission to the Ojo, J.A, Garcia Torres shares part of his memoir.

32 In “ChangeMakers – Creating Success for Girls” Margaret Porter introduces us to a new organization at Lakeside that helps young girls find their way to success.

48 “A Government for the People” by Michael Coss. An Opinion Article.

49 Barbara Hildt writes an opinion piece on “No More Losers.”

50 “An Academy Award Actress and Ajijic Readers’ Theatre,” by Don Beaudreau writes an article in which he traces some little known history about “Gone With the Wind.”

52 “A Woman in Ajijic” by William Mesusan explores the daily life of a woman in Ajijic circa 1946.

PRINTING: El Debate El Ojo del Lago aparece los primeros cinco días de cada mes. (Distributed over the first five days of each month) Certificado de Licitud de Título 3693 Certificado de Licitud de Contenido 3117.

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

Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Gobernación (EXP. 1/432 “88”/5651 de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva 171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de 1994.

Distribución: Hidalgo 223 Chapala, Jalisco, México.

All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions expressed 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.

4

COVER STORY

VOLUME 37 NUMBER 2

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Cover by Roberto C. Rojas R.

COLUMNS THIS MONTH 6 Editor’s Page 10 If Pet’s Could Talk 12 Bridge on the Lake 14 Vexations and Conundrums 16 Mirror to the Universe -Progressive Projection 30 Lakeside Living 40 Mexican Grace 46 Profiling Tepehua 55 NCA POETRY AND PROSE 38 All That I Can Be

by John Thomas Dodds 47 Read the Signs

by Judy Dykstra-Brown 47 Mistaken

by Catherine A Mackenzie

Saw you in the Ojo

5

COLUMNIST

Editor’s Page

By Victoria A. Schmidt

D

epression and anger are little-discussed side effects of COVID. We would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to have had a least a small bout of depression during this time.

As independent people we were not prepared for this in any way. Now, I’m not talking politics in this piece, I’m talking about human nature. We have never gone through anything like this. Before, we could get up in the morning and choose our day. We could go anywhere, do almost anything we wanted to do. Suddenly we were invaded by a rapidly spreading, invasive and potentially lethal virus.

It changed everything. For every inhabitant on the planet. Overnight, we were faced with decisions we never had to make before. Is it as bad as they say it is? Is it real? Are people overreacting? Each day seemed to bring more bad news. Do we stay?

Do we go?

Then came the lockdown. Suddenly other people were making decisions for us. You can go here, but not there. You have to wear masks, use hand gel, and distance yourself from strangers. It was difficult for those making the rules, and difficult for others to follow the rules.

We started the lockdown thinking it wouldn’t be for long. And now that it’s six months later, the questions

6

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

keep coming and we are still under restrictions. The public is pushing to “get back to normal,” while the governments are trying to push ahead.

But the problem is that the virus keeps on. Different doctors and scientists are researching this elusive virus. New symptoms are being discovered, testing is still developing, and we all anxiously await a vaccine.

But when there is one, can we trust it?

These issues cause problems, physical, psychological, and economical. I cannot cover all these issues in one editorial. But I want everyone to realize as we move forward, while these issues DO affect everyone, we all deal with the challenges differently.

Some become angry and rail at their circumstances; their normal behavior may change to less understanding and more aggressive.

Others may become depressed and more resigned. And don’t forget, depression is anger turned inward. For those who live alone, loneliness may be the most challenging side effect.

And for those in the more vulnerable groups, the elderly and medically compromised, running errands and keeping appointments have become very real danger zones.

Older people living alone seem to have more difficulty caring for

themselves. Especially if they don’t cook, are financially challenged, or have memory problems. There are people getting sick, not because of the virus directly, but because they forget their medications. Having friends “check in” with them via telephone is not enough. Their decline may be slow. We need to check on each other physically. If you have an elderly neighbor who is living alone, help them. Check on them, see if they are getting out. Ask them if they are eating and staying hydrated. I know several cases of people who have been hospitalized as a result of their health deteriorating because they “decompensated.” One passed away from heart failure brought on by the absence of basic care.

Rest is a necessary component of basic health care. Make sure they are getting enough sleep. And don’t forget, if the person is sleeping too much, it can be a sign of depression.

There are many therapists in the area who will take on clients, although waiting lists are common. But the best way to defeat depression is to establish a daily routine. Get up, get cleaned up, eat a good breakfast.

Go for a walk and get some fresh air. Spend time with your pets if you have them. Call your friends. Be sure

to take your medications. Straighten up your house, make lunch . . . and eat it! Read, watch TV, spend time on the computer. Play games. Work on a long-unfinished project. Make sure you keep regular doctor and dental appointments. These types of activities are normal, and a routine will aid you in preventing depression. In our house we switch the TV to comedy to shift the focus from the doomand-gloom broadcasts that run 24/7.

These activities benefit the solitary elderly as well as those who are younger and partnered.

We can get through this if we are responsible about taking care of ourselves, and we can try to be there for each other. Practice safe visiting when you check on your friends and neighbors. Take along an extra mask in case they’ve misplaced their own, maintain distance, and wear your own mask while visiting. In other words, create a win-win environment for yourself and your friends, and we’ll all be around to welcome the brighter day when it arrives. Eventually. And it will.

Victoria Schmidt

Saw you in the Ojo

7

Nonni Hits the Dispensary

By Karen Shiebler

B

ack in the olden days, when I was young and we called it grass, I rarely indulged in recreational marijuana.

But times have changed, and Nonni has joined the growing list of aging potheads.

Thanks to a few conflicting but minor ailments, I am now a fibromyalgia patient who can’t take any over-the-counter pain medications.

Nor can I drink alcohol (hello there, aging liver!). I am trying to cut down on the medication that helps me to manage the fibromyalgia discomfort, which means that at the moment the only part of me that

8

doesn’t hurt is my right earlobe.

Enter the magical joy of the Medical Marijuana Card. Ta-da! Safe and happy pain relief (I hope).

For the past few years I’ve been the lucky beneficiary of weed guidance from my kids. My sons and sonin-law have helped me to find relief from insomnia by providing me with cannabis-infused butter. They’ve introduced me to the new version of smoked weed, which smells like a dead skunk, burns like a forest fire, and can make you melt into your sofa cushions like hot wax.

Not exactly perfect for this old lady.

Anyway, the other day I had a

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

telehealth visit with a lovely young (as in, probably a sixth grader) nurse practitioner. I didn’t even need any medical records. I just self-reported all of my ouchie booboos, and presto! She certified me!

(No, not that kind of “certified,” although many have told me that I am definitely certifiable.)

She approved me for a Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Card, good for one year.

I then spent about an hour maneuvering the state’s website and paperwork, and printed out my temporary card. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Off to the local dispensary I went.

Well, holy confusion. Luckily for me, the kind, patient young people behind the counter were more than willing to explain things to their gray-haired, befuddled patient/customer. They barely even snickered.

The young man who was helping me explained the differences between the strains of weed. Did I want to be energized and given pain relief? “Yes, please.” OK. Sativa it is. But he warned me that in some people it can increase anxiety. “No, please.” OK, then Indica it is. But that would make me sleepy and sedated.

Eventually he advised a hybrid.

But then we had to talk about THC to CBD ratio. Pain relief and antiinflammatory versus pain relief and high. Or something like that. And don’t forget, there are many other cannabinoids that are helpful for other issues, like inflammation and appetite suppression. We looked at charts. We looked at graphs. We looked at printouts and glossy images. He talked. I bit my lip behind my mask and hoped my eyes looked intelligent.

Eventually, he seemed to feel like he knew exactly the right potion for granny here and jotted down a few notes. All was good. I had pretty much stayed with him so far, and was feeling fairly hip.

Until he started to talk about terpines.

Which sound to me like some type of fire accelerant but are actually related to smell (I think?) and to various types of high but also (maybe) have different health effects.

Anyway, we had to consider our terpine preferences.

By now I was just nodding and sweating. There was a line of people waiting outside, six feet apart from each other, but looking a little surly.

I just wanted to get my goodies and go home.

But my young and enthusiastic pharmacy major friend wasn’t done yet. Now I had to think about how

to take my weed. I could choose lozenges, infused edibles, gummies, sublingual drops, topical rubs, roll on oil, vape, flower or something that was either wax or oil. Oh, and there was even a choice of various “sauces.”

Now I don’t know about you, but when I go to the doctor for a backache, I just want him to write something down on paper and send me to the pharmacy. I do not want to have to decide on my dosage, my route of ingestion or the flavor of the drug.

My little brain was awhirl. I did NOT want to look stupid. I was NOT ready for the teenagers to laugh at me.

Now don’t get me wrong, there were other “mature” people in the place, but most of them looked like they had been using weed every single day since Woodstock. Some of them were apparently using it to help cut down on their meth use.

I kept nodding my head, and saying, “Sure, whatever you recommend.” I kept trying to repeat, “Just make the ouchie booboos go away.”

Finally I thought I was ready to order. I wanted a topical cream, some sublingual drops and one vape for sleep. I pulled out the vape I’ve been using, and told the young man that when I had gotten a new cartridge recently, it just wasn’t staying in the device. Something was wrong.

The 13-year-old working beside him looked at me over her flowered mask. She frowned. “You did remember to unscrew the magnet from the old cartridge and put it on the new one, didn’t you?”

The room filled with giggles and chortles as my face turned purple. I looked around at the experts, several of whom already appeared high, and shrugged my shoulders.

“Who knew?” I laughed, getting into my role as the funny old lady butt of the joke. “You know, we should write a show for Netflix about this situation. We could call it Nonni at the Dispensary.”

Now the laughs were real, and kind and good-natured. “Welcome, Nonni,” my young man barista said.

“Here’s your product.”

Thanks to a “first-time customer” offer, Nonni went home with two vape cartridges, lozenges, sublingual tincture, cream, and ointment. As of right now, everything still hurts.

I just don’t care Karen Shiebler as much.

Saw you in the Ojo

9

COLUMNIST

If Our Pets Could Talk

By Jackie Kellum

P

reparing for a vet appointment.

There are two types of visits: planned and unplanned.

Obviously, one is less complex than the other, because of your ability to plan ahead of time.

The planned visit involves making an appointment, taking your pet, either in a crate or on a leash, and bringing the animal’s health booklet or necessary papers with you. If this is a first visit, bring whatever adoption paperwork or information about the pet regarding how or where you got it. This will help your veterinarian get to know your pet’s medical history, and if they have had vaccinations or not.

If your pet is on any medications, bring those medications with you

10

to the visit. And if your pet has any allergies or any type of sensitivities, inform the vet. For all vet visits, be prepared and write down questions you might have prior to the visit and bring the paper with you.

Remember that in addition to well checks, sick animals also come into the vet office. So it is advisable to keep your pet away from other pets, in a crate or on a leash, as you do not know why that other animal is there, or it might have something contagious. Also, some animals may

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

feel threatened when approached, and may act accordingly.

The unplanned visit usually occurs when your pet is sick. Be prepared. You will be asked a lot of questions. Your vet will have to act like a detective, as the pet cannot express in words how he is feeling.

You will have to provide information to the vet to help figure out what the problem is. To help do this, you can write down your pet’s symptoms and things that you have observed.

This may include: new or not normal behavior for your pet, differences in appetite, urination, defecation, vomiting/diarrhea, energy level, a new limp, body chewing, signs of pain, an injury/accident/attack by another animal, etc. Every piece of information will be helpful to the vet to find the cause of the problem.

While the vet is examining your pet, pay attention to what is happening and what is being said. If you do not understand a word or what is going on, ask questions until you have a clear understanding of your pet’s situation. Hint: if you cannot explain to another person what is going on with your pet, then you do not understand the situation.

After your pet visit, if it was a planned visit (annual checkup or

vaccination), find out when the pet is due back for a follow-up visit, and make a note of this date. If it was an unplanned visit due to illness or injury, have a clear understanding of what is wrong, that is, what is the diagnosis? Specific questions should be asked, including: What caused the condition? How this affects your pet’s general health? What medications are to be taken and the purpose of medicine, any side effects, and any dietary changes to be made? etc. Be sure you know the name of any drugs that the veterinarian prescribed, as well as the dosage, frequency and duration of the medication. Help yourself by researching to learn about this new condition. As with human health for yourself, even when you like and trust your doctor and his care, you still may want to seek a second opinion. Having this concept is not a challenge to your doctor, but may put your mind at rest about what is wrong with you or your pet and prescribed treatment, AND it is smart medicine for all concerned.

Jackie Kellum

Saw you in the Ojo 11

COLUMNIST

BRIDGE BY THE LAKE

By Ken Masson

T

his hand caused headaches for at least one pair when played at the Lake Chapala Duplicate Bridge Club in Riberas. South, holding a powerful 2 suiter, started the bidding with his six-card diamond suit. North replied with 1 heart and South now bid 2 spades. Most players consider a jump shift of this nature to be 100% forcing to game but North wasn’t on the same wavelength and passed.

12

As a result, the partnership played in a part-score while cold for slam, not an outcome you would want to repeat too often!

How did this disaster happen?

It all goes back to some misguided information the partners received in their early days of learning bridge.

Most bridge teachers correctly stress the importance of finding major suit fits but some, in my view, neglect to stress the need for common sense in

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

describing one’s hand. North was of the impression that since her partner didn’t open 1 spade he must have fewer than 5 cards in the suit so she couldn’t understand his introducing the suit at the 2 level.

The South hand is so strong that there should be a play for some game if North can manage to scrape up a response. To my mind the auction should have gone as in the diagram above.

Some players may feel that the South hand is so powerful that it should be opened 2 clubs but I disagree – big 6/5 hands are notoriously difficult to describe after this opening.

When North responds 1 heart, 2 spades by South says that the partnership must play at least in game somewhere (unless they double the opponents for penalties).

North can now temporize with 2 no trump (or 2 hearts if a bit squeamish about not having a full club stopper!) When South next bids 3 spades, his distribution becomes much clearer: a 5 card spade suit with longer diamonds and at least game-going values. North now has a simple raise to 4 spades.

But South is not finished yet - he has loftier aspirations in mind. His 5

club bid shows first round control in the club suit and says, in effect: partner, my hand is really terrific, take another look at yours and see if you feel slam may be on. Holding the heart ace, spade king and diamond queen, North should have no hesitation in jumping to the small slam in spades.

The play in six spades is easy: win whatever is led, draw two rounds of trumps and watch that each opponent follows both times. When they do, just keeping cashing winners and let East take his good trump at any time.

Admittedly, hands of this nature do not show up all that often but when they do it is a good idea for both partners to bid in harmony so I suggest you discuss this deal with your partners.

If the South hand in question had small cards instead of the diamond ace and the club king, then I would have opened 1 spade and continued as though my distribution was 5 spades and 5 diamonds.

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

Saw you in the Ojo 13

A Knock In The Night

M

y husband was out of town, and I was home alone. Our narrow street, more a lane, was private, meaning the few homeowners were responsible for its maintenance, and retaining the historical integrity of the neighborhood. There were no modern amenities on the street, such as street lights or utility poles.

At night the dark was so intense that one couldn’t see to walk even

14

steps without risk of falling.

I was doing some tidying up, around 8:30 p.m., when there was a knock at my front door, with the heavy brass lion’s head knocker, so large it could have worked on a castle. Very loud.

I froze. I expected no one. The porch light wasn’t on, so I couldn’t see who was there. Dare I question who was calling? Should I pretend no one was home? If it was a thief,

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

the person might break in, and here I was by myself, defenseless.

The knock became more insistent, three hard, hollow raps. I opted to call out, “Who is it?”

“Dorothy,” a female responded.

I didn’t remember a Dorothy, wondered if this was a trap. Perhaps she had male backup, and this was a ruse.

“Dorothy who?” I asked.

“Dorothy, Bob the carpenter’s girlfriend,” she clarified.

Oh, now I remembered! We had our eaves replaced a long while back. Why on earth would she be here, and at night no less? I took a chance and opened the door to her lone, slight frame. She was about fifty, and harmless looking. I invited her in, and quickly locked the door and turned on my hall light.

She began to speak in intense, soft tones. “I hope it’s not a problem that I’m interrupting you. I’ve been wanting to come and talk to you for a while. The news is sad. Bob died a few weeks back.”

I invited her to sit and I turned on a lamp. Her face was blank, frozen in a state I couldn’t begin to understand.

“Bob thought he had the flu. He was admitted to the hospital, and within three days he was dead. He had been pushing through cancer, never letting on how he must have felt.”

I told her how sorry I was that he was no longer with us. He was such a character.

She went on to tell me how important our historic home job had been to him. They would drive by some days so he could remind her how proud he was of doing the work on a home on the historic register.

“His family barred me from the private funeral,” she shared. “They erased me. As though he and I hadn’t shared seven years of life. I think it was because of his first wife.”

This tidbit was the brick of her conversation.

I gave her a hug. What a mean thing to do to someone who had obviously loved this man. I thanked her profusely for coming by personally to deliver the news and told her I’d share it with my husband when he returned. She left as swiftly as she had arrived.

I sat and recalled Bob. He was about seventy, always cheerful, efficient and had a meticulous work ethic. Once, at the end of a long day, I asked him about himself. “I have a lovely young lady friend, Dorothy, and we go out dancing. We love to dance!”

I asked what kind of dancing they liked. I pictured something sedate, a waltz perhaps.

“We do country dancing, but we really like to dance the Irish jig.”

Wow, what energy he had!

When I told him that Michael Flatley’s “Riverdance” show was coming to Houston, he became animated. “I would love to take my Dorothy to that show! I’ll get tickets.”

The next time I saw him I asked if he had the tickets yet.

“We won’t be able to go,” he answered forlornly. “Those tickets cost seventy-five dollars a ticket, even sitting in the far back.”

That night I convinced my husband to buy the tickets and give them to Bob with his next payment, in gratitude for his fine work.

Later he eagerly explained that he and Dorothy arrived three hours early to see the performance. He said it was one of the most exciting things they had ever done.

Now I appreciate the huge significance of some of the small things in life, a gesture of thanks, knowing a person’s passion, answering that scary, unexpected knock in Katina Pontikes the inky night.

Saw you in the Ojo 15

COLUMNIST

Mirror To The Universe —Progressive Freedom

By Rob Mohr “To undertake a journey on a road never before traveled requires character and courage: character because the choice is not obvious; courage because the road will be lonely at first.”

—Henry Kissinger

K

issinger, with forward vision, was reflecting on the state of the world in better times. The game he played was four dimensional, each move inspired by spiritual undercurrents which shaped a Progressive World Order, and he was the master player. Yet today, many playing the world game are looking backward and blind to what lies ahead.

In recent history, the European Union with twenty-seven member countries has won economic and social gold. While China, and the East Asia coalition, and Brazil’s South American coalition, have emerged as aggressive future champions. Disastrously, America’s blindness has caused her ejection from the game. Focused on military power, tariffs, internal economic

16

strength, and cultural prejudices, the United States has remained blind to the importance of regional and world unity.

If the United States, Canada, and Mexico were in a regional economic and social union, they collectively would be a leading economic player in the world today.

Mexico, currently the sixth fastest growing economy in the world, would have been a powerful ally for both the U.S. and Canada.

Estimates show that the combined GNP (gross national product) of the three countries would be 25% to 50% higher than the sum of their current individual GNP. Their union would have eliminated border issues, excessive waste of money maintaining separation, and encouraged amnesty.

Because of America’s lack of foresight, economists and political insiders, like Mi-

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

chael Cox, believe that within thirty years America’s international role will be significantly diminished.

Multidimensional Freedom, unleashed by the progressive world order, uniquely addressed hard truths. Intuitive, spiritual insight focused on free trade, democratic systems, international cooperation, and effective multinational institutions, remains an ideal that has recently been abandoned in favor of me-first nationalism, autocratic systems, and the breakdown of multinational institutions that undermine cooperative freedom and the stability gained over the previous forty years.

Today the U.S., China, and the Arab Middle East are aggressively vying for control of the world. Other player nations, including Japan, South Korea, and India, have been damaged by the sudden halt in the free market caused by trade wars instigated by the current U.S. government. As a result, the world is once again forced into conflict zones, with infighting between nations creating real danger for the planet.

“We will have a world order whether you like it or not. The only question is whether that government will be achieved by conquest or consent.”

—Paul Warburg Simon Bolivar’s dream of a Gran Colombia, which included all of South and Central America, President Wilson’s vision for one World Order for lasting peace, and

George H. W. Bush’s and Ronald Regan’s use of Progressive World Order to achieve peace with the Russians, all confirm the crucial need for a democratic structure focused on free trade and international cooperation.

A Progressive World Order remains the way forward for a full and healthy life for the world’s humanity and the environment.

The dream, the spiritual energy required, must come from each of us. With the advent of robots and artificial intelligence (AI), human work in any traditional sense is rapidly disappearing. The economic support for human life will be generated by AI and robots who guide and staff production, trade, medicine, and administration.

This new world-interconnected economy will support health care for all people, quality housing, paid vacations, child care, lifelong free education, and guaranteed income for a healthy fulfilling life. Our creative and spiritual energies will be unleashed in every area of human endeavor.

Once again our lives will be balanced between the physical and spiritual. The cosmos will open up and offer humanity gifts that we as yet cannot imagine. The portal into a secure future is open, if humanity chooses to enter.

Rob Mohr

Saw you in the Ojo 17

“From Ghoulies and Ghosties and LongLeggety Beasties and Things That Go Bump In The Night, Good Lord Deliver Us!” Dr. Lorin Swinehart

I

do not believe in ghosts or other fell presences. I have never believed in ghosts. I place ghost sightings among other imaginary entities that appeal to the naive and hyperemotional: Sasquatch, Nessie, UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, Area 51, Elvis sightings, gnomes and fairies and leprechauns. And yet, twice in my life I have encountered phenomena that defied all reason, all scientific explanation, even one’s sanity.

The first encounter occurred on a June evening, just before dark, as I walked my dog on the quiet streets of my old hometown of Ashland, Ohio. A former teacher of mine had recently passed away during a routine surgi-

cal procedure; one of those incidents that just seem to happen from time to time, leaving the providers saddened and baffled. Up until that time, the lady would walk her little fuzzy dog right past my house every night at about the same time.

On that particular evening, when her untimely demise was still very much upon my mind, I saw the very same person with the very same fuzzy dog walking along the very same stretch of sidewalk, advancing directly toward me.

I have heard of people being frozen stiff with fear, mostly uncles of mine who had served in World War II. That evening, I was frozen with immobility.

What I was seeing simply could not be.

I knew full well that the person walking toward me was dead, had been dead for over a week. In my panic-stricken state, I could not flee in terror in the opposite direction, step off the sidewalk into the street, address the advancing specter in any fashion. All I could do was remain rooted to the spot.

Once the figure reached me, I was relieved to discover that she was the woman’s daughter, who bore a striking resemblance to her late mother and happened to be walking the same little dog at the very same time of the evening. She had come down from a Cleveland suburb to settle her mother’s affairs. So, a story to share with friends, entertain students each year around Halloween, to remind myself that I can be deluded as severely as anyone else under the proper circumstances.

So, a rational explanation. There are no ghosts. All in the imagination. Stories to frighten children with around a woodland campfire in the dead of night.

Maybe.

Several years ago, while my wife, LaVon, and I were spending one of several winters at Kure Beach, North Carolina, I experienced an encounter that I have not resolved in my mind yet. We were renting a large two-story duplex with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

We had gone upstairs to bed, and LaVon was fast asleep. Before drifting off myself, I remembered that I had not set up the coffee for the next morning, which was my habit. So, I descended the steep staircase to the kitchen area, which was separated from the large living room by a counter. As I was fiddling around, filling the pot with water, spooning coffee into a paper filter and whatnot, a huge dark shadow passed slowly along the outside of the counter.

“My God, LaVon. I thought you were upstairs asleep!” I said.

She was upstairs fast asleep. The only “person” in the entire downstairs other than myself was the apparition.

The shadow continued across the living room and vanished.

A few days later, we shared my experience with our nearest neighbor, who explained that the elderly gentleman who had lived in the house before us had recently passed away in a local nursing home. LaVon speculated that he had returned for a short visit before going off to his eternal destination.

As good an explanation as any, I suppose. All I can say with certainty is that I witnessed the specter, that I was wide awake, that I do not drink alcohol, have never experimented with any form of narcotic, and that I was of sound mind and body at the time. I do not know what I saw that night. Perhaps not a ghost.

A year or so later, we attended a seminar conducted by Father Al Durrance, who addresses such phenomena in his book Good Lord Deliver Us. Father Durrance’s conclusion is that ghosts are real, that they can see Christ but are so attached to someone or something in this life that they resist going to him.

I leave my experience to the judgment of others.

Lorin Swinehart

18

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Saw you in the Ojo 19

Portal to Your Own Path A review by Xill Fessenden of Poems for Flourishing

by Susa Silvermarie

I

n these times of chaos and suspense, when our minds are cluttered with uncertainties, there is a need to untangle the onslaught of information, to rest within our being, and to flourish in the essence of who we are. Reading the newly published book, Poems for Flourishing by Susa Silvermarie, I experience her ability to vacate and transcend the negativity of everyday life and to encounter joy. In the end of her poem “Public Bliss,” she says: “Ebullience is me.” This identity remains at the heart of her poetry.

In the introduction, Susa draws upon an impressive list of influences: feminist writers, ecologists, musicians, black social activists, healers, Zen masters, and Shamanic teachers; her 101-year-old mother, and also Conchita, our local TriquI weaver from the Mixteca Baja de Oaxaca. Silvermarie dedicates a photographic insert in her book honoring Conchita. All these influences draw Susa Silvermarie to a unique spirituality, culminating in this most recent selection of poetry. The almost 200-page book is divided into three sections: Selected Poems 2019-2020; Selected Poems 2015-2018, and Earlier Poems. I shall not draw conclusions but suggest that when reading, you dip back and forth from her table of contents to view the evolution of the work presented, and draw upon her inspirations with a personal understanding of your own encountered experience.

I would like to contrast two poems, “Labyrinth” and “Cemetery in Italy,” with my personal responses and thoughts.

The metaphor of weeds in the cemetery is an identification of self-exaltation and joy, and is related to the “walking” meta-

20

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

phor in the “Labyrinth” poem. Both these poems draw on experiences close to the heart of my own personal experiences.

In “Labyrinth,” she refers to a Sipapu of transformation. Sipapu is the Hopi word for a small hole in the floor of a kiva from which the first peoples of this world entered. It is the portal of human evolution.

In this center we peel off our costumes and realize we actually wear the entire world. This apparel is too heavy for any one individual to wear, yet it is real. We each wear some of this apparel in our own way. Though the author does not enter the portal of the labyrinth, she returns through the labyrinth of her life.

This is how the mind of the poet can capture or conjure identification with all life. Her identification with weeds in the “Cemetery in Italy” poem is similar. Trusting life as a weed, she wants us to exalt like a “stunning common weed.”

As an artist, I confront the issues of my life and the world in my unique way. We each find our distinctive conduit. Yet to read her exaltation of life, free of the burdens that confront us today, is to excite a longing to experience our own awe. Poems for Flourishing by Susa Silvermarie is at once a guide though these difficult times, and a portal to our own path.

by Xill Fessenden http://www.xillspace.com Available locally for 250 pesos from the author (susasilvermarie.com) and at Diane Pearl Colecciones; and online in both paperback and eBook via Amazon for your north-of-the-border friends.

Xill Fessenden

Saw you in the Ojo 21

Shipping & Handling Not Included

By Tom Nussbaum

I

fled to Mexico to get away from them and their control over me.

They were taking my money and sanity. They had a chokehold on me. I had to get away. But the nightmare is over.

I am free, free I say, of infomercials. It’s because of those damn, addictive infomercials that I’m broke. Penniless.

Destitute. You know, “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” “Spare change, Mister?”

“Will work for food.”

It’s my own fault. I know that. I’m not blaming the cheery, determined television pitchmen who sell their wares through half-hour infomercials or short one-minute mini-mercials at all times of the day and night. I blame

22

myself for being weak, gullible, financially irresponsible, and a sucker.

It all started when Dan Aykroyd demonstrated that Bass-O-Matic in a spoof of infomercials on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s. I couldn’t resist. Maybe it was the pot I was smoking. Maybe it was greed, materialism.

Maybe it was stupidity. But I called NBC and ordered one. Several days later, a blender mysteriously arrived with a large rubber fish crammed inside. But that fish-filled blender served as my gateway drug into the addictive world of infomercials.

I don’t remember all the items I bought during the next years. I just

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

have flashes of hanging upside down in gravity boots in the bathroom doorway of my cramped efficiency apartment. I vaguely remember aerobicizing, in designer leg warmers, to a Jane Fonda video.

And I have a vision of waking up surrounded by piles of Susan Lucci’s Youthful Essence cosmetic cases. I don’t remember buying them. Why I did is a mystery. I don’t wear makeup.

Except on Halloween and Saturdays. I have a cloudy memory of struggling to get up, stepping over the makeup kits, tripping over a gaggle of stateof-the-art hair driers, stubbing my toe on a George Foreman Grill, falling, and hitting my head on a Suzanne Somers Thigh-Master.

But that fall, apparently, was a wake-up call, because when I came to I found an inner discipline and went for several years without responding to any infomercials. That monkey, I thought, was off my back. Until that fateful Friday night when I saw those damn darling hoodies with the chimpanzees straddling the shoulders. It would have been bad enough had I bought only one, but I purchased one in every color. Even the see-through one. The one that exposed my Kymora Body-Shaper. The body-shaper that restores one’s youthful figure, hides all panty lines, and makes it impossible for the squeezed-in wearer to perform basic physical tasks, like hanging upside down in gravity boots or bending over to put on Mop-Shoes, which, I should point out, failed to pick up the dust on my wooden floors as promised!

I was drowning in my addiction again. Drowning in SuperBeets energy drink. Drowning in imported bubble bath made from Nepalese yak bile.

And drowning in debt. But luckily, my friends recognized my need for help this time and held an intervention for me at my apartment. Well, I should say tried to hold an intervention for me.

They couldn’t get in; the piles of boxed Bedazzlers, Ab Roller Exercise Wheels,

and Ove-Gloves I had amassed blocked the door. So, they went home.

I turned on the TV and wrapped myself in my burgundy Snuggie. I actually liked my light blue more, but I felt when I put my arms through that blanket’s sleeves, it made me look fat.

Before I knew it I had ordered the Bob the Big Mouth Bass wall-mounted wiggling, singing fish. I should not have done that. It was a mistake. But mounting it on the wall was a snap with my Little Giant 24-in-1 Ladder.

Then I purchased Cathy Mitchell’s Red Copper 5-Minute Chef stick-proof, self-washing cookware. And two or three sets of Ginzu Knives. Those were pointless purchases because I hadn’t cooked since I bought the 10-year supply of pre-packaged dinners from Nutri-Crap. Thank God, I have a microwave. Well, actually I have 12.

My next purchase, however, made more sense. I couldn’t resist the Lavender Pillow with its calming scent. But its aroma, it turned out, had a negative influence on me and I awoke at 3:00 a.m. disoriented and light-headed.

I became ill and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I turned on my TV. The next thing I knew, I had bought a Bamboo Bra. OK, I bought a case of Bamboo Bras. Obviously, I don’t need bras. Well, except on Halloween and Saturdays But that was my final infomercial purchase. As a result of that horrible experience, I now become ill whenever I smell lavender or see an informercial. I believe it took that trauma to cure me of my addiction. I haven’t bought a single infomercial item since.

I could go on, but I have to stop because Danny DeVito will be selling his Limoncello on The Home Shopping Channel in a few minutes. I have to buy a 10-year supply to wash down my Nutri-Crap dinners.

Tom Nussbaum

Saw you in the Ojo 23

Centro Educativo Jaltepec Staying Connected

The challenges have been unique for the teachers and staff and students at Centro Educativo Jaltepec, located on the mountainside at Jocotepec. This is the only technical university in all of Mexico offering a degree in Hotel & Hospitality Management, promising to “transform young women for life.”

Teachers and staff are currently living and working in the middle of a construction zone, managing the many different levels of students who are now studying from home, continuing to meet the needs of the conference center attendees, and all the while they are trying to look after themselves and stay safe.

Maintaining Academic Standards

In terms of online classes for the Jaltepec students, the instructors have been trained to teach using the most advanced technology available, the goal being to continue the studies and practices to maintain the standards of Jaltepec. The parents are also involved and are receiving their own training through workshops.

Currently, teachers are implementing “cooperative learning” which is based on “free improvisation teaching.” This is a method-based teaching practice that includes collaborative and distance learning. Using this technique strengthens connections between students and encourages participation and discussion as well social skills while reinforcing knowledge and self-learning.

Teachers follow their students closely during online classes and practice. Assessments are also shared with parents in their now-important role to provide a good study environment in order to encourage success.

Construction Project

The demolition of the school has started again and the construction project will continue while following pandemic protocols. The student residence, the kitchens, laundry facilities, and all the teaching laboratories have all been demolished. The plans for the complete renovation went on hold at the beginning of the pandemic but things are well underway again. Currently it’s estimated that the process may well take two years.

24

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Saw you in the Ojo 25

New Intruder

By Judy Dykstra-Brown

M

y closet rattles. One door is slightly ajar.

Something is being batted about on the floor inside. A paw is visible now and then when it comes close to the bottom edge of the door. Once a nose with white whiskers peeks out, then shoots back in like a jack-in-the-box.

My tiny new kitten was a street waif. She arrived complete with sticky streaks on her underside and chin. She arrived with fleas and one sore eye—the green one. The other eye is blue. There is a perfect fish outlined in white on a charcoal colored patch on her back. Her very long ears are a pale peach color and her head is big on an extremely thin body.

Already after four days, she is starting to acquire a small pot belly from regular meals. The vet says she is four weeks old, but her body is so tiny and weightless that she seems more like a large mouse than a cat. I fear stepping on her and in fact have, but when I did, she made not a peep and her bones seemed to spring back like a sponge.

Her long eye whiskers were singed back almost to hair level in an unfortunate encounter with the gas burners on my stove. She is so fast that she leaped up on the counter before I could stop her. In similar fashion, she had walked across the bubble wrap Jacuzzi cover that floated on top of the water, so light that she made it from one side to the other without sinking. Another time, she leaped from the back of a chair to the top of the high metal display case, where her claws made little ingress into the metal and where for a few seconds she clung from the edge like a mountain climber before falling to the tile floor five feet below.

Five minutes later, her head peeked up from the opening at the top of the shade of the lamp on the telephone table. This house is her new world, and she is the Magellan of cats.

Two weeks before, I had found my cat of 15 years floating lifeless in

26

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

my pool. It was horrible. I had seen the cat born and his burial seemed a reversal of the birth process. We buried him in the garden wrapped in his favorite silk sari from the end of my bed, and with the mouse-shaped doorstop he loved to bat around the house. I buried with him my intention not to have any more pets for a while. None could replace him.

Then, two weeks later, a mouse had streaked across the street in front of me and entered the store I was about to enter. Upon closer examination, the streak had been a tiny kitten that had vaulted into a huge display basket of scarves, and it hadn’t taken too much encouragement by the shop owner to get me to promise to stop back before we left that night to see if the kitten had been claimed by an owner or adopted by someone more determined to have a cat than I was.

Every animal I’d ever had in my life had come to me by accident or by its own volition, so when this placeless cat appeared, I had by habit accepted the karma and now she sleeps each night on my chest or on the pillow by my right ear. I am slightly allergic to her, and although she doesn’t flinch when I cough and sneeze, when I get up for a drink of water, she meows. This word perfectly describes the sound she makes. She is loud.

The sound of her echoes through my high-ceilinged brick-and-stucco house. “Meow, meow, meow, meow,” but somehow it seems to belong here—to fill out the silence that might otherwise only be filled by the sounds of the television or the computer or the stereo—sounds that do not breathe or jump up to the arm of my chair or respond to a reassuring pat or the sound of the can opener. With the appearance of this newest little intruder, once again, my house has beJudy Dykstracome a home.

Brown

Saw you in the Ojo 27

Fragment of the memoir Infancia (Innocence)

By J.A. Garcia Torres

C

hapala is like a strong and leafy tree. Like a yellow amate, its branches expand, grow, touch the sky, peck at the clouds; its roots sink, stick, twist; they sneak into the water, into mother earth, they latch on to the entrails of Tlali Nantli, to her matrix which is also her womb and cradle. Her lake is an inexhaustible source of life, pure fertility where the sap and cord of all things that are made to grow abound.

There are ancient families and there are new ones. In their veins they carry coca blood from our Nahuatl ancestors and also, inevitably, blood from the grim conquerors,

28

those who had come striding from afar, destroying everything in their path, imposing themselves with a stubborn religion; with killer microbes, with daggers and primitive harquebuses. Those men had their faces red from the sun and cracked by the winds from afar. From their wiry beard, the spit that lubricated a new language dripped, full of words such as gold, corn, and land. They wanted everything for themselves. A rotten smell escaped from their boots, and from their nags’ horseshoes, a spark of agitation and fear.

A race never before seen had come to that beautiful place, superior to the natives in malice but not

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

in spirit; their sagacity was greater but not their essence. With a roll of good intentions, they subjugated them with religions and the scourge of a distant kingdom represented by friars, soldiers, and courtiers of a crown from the Old World. The place was invaded by Spanish devils dressed as saints who stuck their tail until they populated its valleys, its hills, its mountains. Wherever they felt the heartbeat of the land, they settled. With the help of the Indians they enslaved, they dug wells in the courtyards of the houses they built; and placed knockers on the shutters with a crossbar that they never secured. They raised walls with adobe and stones they took from the mountain, then built roofs with wooden beams, palm leaves, and tiles they made with clay.

Pigs that the men in helmets had brought from afar grew fat in their pens, while they made feeding troughs to the nags the old Franciscan friars rode and built corrals where they raised cows and goats.

All who came to ChimaloacĂĄn found peace and plenty to do. This wetland had a unique climate capable of offering fruits of the earth in abundance with a fertile flora, a generous land, and an aquatic fauna to ensure sustenance for generations.

The people who lived there were healthy and happy people with a peaceful mind; the men were strong and the women fertile, so the place of the shields, as the Indians called their village, grew rapidly through the years and centuries until it became home and final destination for a people that was slowly molded until it became what it is now.

With the passage of time, miscegenation produced a new nation, the bronze race multiplied, invasions from other parts of the old continent brought other cultures.

Modernity arrived bringing railroad tracks to the shores of the lake. The steel horse snorted progress in the

midst of a Mexico that had recently been cut in half by invaders from the north half a century ago, and now it was beginning to divide amongst its own people. A civil revolution was in the making as a result of a rebellion against the dictatorial yoke that was trying to dispossess los de abajo, the underdogs, the peasants, of what little they had left, which was the land they cultivated to sustain.

It didn’t take long for boats to navigate the high tides of the lake and for cars to start moving from Nueva Galicia to Chapala. The industrial revolution, although late in the new continent, brought changes, among them a class society and a sense of superiority towards the darker race whose genuflection was not in perpetuity.

It is risky to narrate centuries in a couple of paragraphs. However, this is not a treatise on history nor a chronological document. The tree Chapala is, has gradually been taking shape, it has been growing, expanding, shedding its skin, evolving and sharing its shade with whoever comes to it. A spirit of life and happiness abounds in its core, in its trunk strength, and in its roots the wisdom that is recycled into new leaves that sprout from its robust branches. Each leaf is like the tile of a huge vault that protects those who find refuge under its thick foliage. In its branches there are always birds, their song is a perpetual concert of joy and uproar.

The joy of the people, then, is innate, their traditions a witness that they are relieving to the new generations so that their genuineness persists, and their culture is strengthened. That is why people who come fall in love, many stay, others promise to return.

From Innocence, a memoir (to be pubJ.A. Garcia lished) Torres

Saw you in the Ojo 29

Carol D. Bradley

Email: cdbradleymex@gmail.com Phone: 33-2506-7525 “There is but one solution to the intricate riddle of life; to improve ourselves, and contribute to the happiness of others.”

Mary Shelley Open Circle Open Circle, under the new auspices of The Lake Chapala Society, is making plans to cautiously resume live presentations on the spacious LCS south lawn November 1.

Care will be given to protect the health of all attendees through limited seating distanced 6 feet apart, obligatory use of masks, temperature checks on entry, and hand sanitizers. Because seating will be limited to around 100, a reservation system may be necessary. More detailed reopening plans will be forthcoming soon.

Chairs socially distanced on the LCS south lawn. A raised stage is set up for the speaker.

We’re opening on November 1 with Kassandra King speaking on Alzheimer’s Disease, a subject of great interest to all of us and presented by an expert.

November 1.

A World with Alzheimer’s Presented by Kassandra King, BA, NHA, RCFE Kassandra’s presentation will bring new perspective to Alzheimer’s based on observations of how “losing touch” with “agreed upon reality” can, at times, be a relief for the person experiencing cognitive change.

Kassandra’s interest in the geriatric population began as a volunteer at a young age. She enjoys the wisdom of elders and uses her natural abilities to connect with persons who have cognitive impairment. With a BA (University of North Texas) and post-graduate certification in long term care administration (Texas State University), Kassandra worked as a licensed nursing home administrator at multiple care facilities.

As Public Policy and Education Director, Kassandra served at two chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association. The term “new normal” is present throughout the guidance from her published book Getting REAL About Alzheimer’s – Dementia through Engagement, Assistance, and Love (Plainview Press, 2014).

Due to technical difficulties with the Open Circle YouTube Kassandra King channel, online presentations are not available. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Back Stage Theatre and BRAVO! One of the first business casualties of the global pandemic was live theatre, and it is greatly missed - all the more so with the economic destruction involved, to both commercial and individuals’ interests as a result.

Never ones to avoid a challenge, Roseann Wilshere of the Bare Stage and BRAVO! Theatre’s Jayme Littlejohn put their heads together. As a result, until their individual productions can resume, they have joined forces to host two actors’ workshops being given by the award-winning comedian, actor and teacher Jo Romero, from the Actors’ Temple in London, England.

Romero is an award-winning comedian, actor and teacher with more than 25 years of extensive experience in the performing arts - most recently coaching in LA, London, Paris and New York. She will be bringing her unique style of teaching that encourages students to take risks, step into the unknown, work from their instinct and play!

The workshops will allow performers of all levels to fully immerse themselves in the process and learn some valuable acting skills. They will cover a lot of ground, including the difference between ‘showing’ feelings and really feeling them; how to access strong internal emotions and how to rid yourself of self-consciousness while being watched.

30

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Romero will also cover how to act with spontaneity and instinct, moment to moment and how to become a more interesting and dynamic actor with a broader casting range, amongst many other valuable insights.

Romero will run two 40-hour face-to-face group courses on the Sanford Meisner Acting Technique at the BRAVO! Theatre, Riberas del Pilar. The class size of both groups will be 14-16 people and they will take place at 9-1pm on 9-20 November for Group 1 and 2-6pm on 16-27 November for Group 2.

Fees are $5,900 pesos per course but both groups qualify for an early enrollment discount with fees reducing to $4500 pesos for fully paid up bookings prior to 15 September 2020. Registration is by email at <mymytickets@gmail.com> Now that restrictions are gradually being lifted here in Jalisco, at Bare Stage tentative plans to reopen are being laid and cautiously firmed up. Production decisions are still reliant upon the evolving Covid situation, but the outlook is becoming more positive.

“We have many plans on the go, and hope that Bare Stage will be able to resume its former monthly events, as soon as it is safe, but we will not expose our patrons to Covid to pay our rent!”

Said Artistic Director, Roseanne Wilshere.

Because of Covid-19 all theatres must now comply with essential safety measures. Bare Stage has obtained its Chapala Municipality permit to open and is limited to a maximum of 35% audience capacity, no bar or snacks, and everyone present must wear a mask. There can be no exceptions.

While patrons’ fingers remain firmly crossed and organizer’s lips zipped regarding details of future productions, all being well we may yet see Bare Stage productions again before Christmas.

Keeping the Music Playing Although the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra has been unable to rehearse or perform since March, due to the Covid 19 restrictions, it has been active behind the scene recently in an initiative to raise much needed funds for Musica para Crecer.

Based in San Juan de Cosala Musica para Crecer, also known as Orquestra y Coro Filarmonica Infantil de la Ribera de Chapala, was formed in 2013 with the aim of providing under privileged children between the ages of 5 and 18 in the Lake Chapala area the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and sing, all within a setting of encouragement, positivity and a sense of community belonging.

Under the guidance of Coco Wonchee (President) and Daniel Medeles (Artistic Director) Musica Para Crecer has been an unqualified success with over 150 students enrolling in the organization’s programs and performances. A number of these students have appeared in the ranks of the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra.

Regrettably extensive Government support was recently withdrawn due to budgets that were drastically reduced in Federal and State education/cultural programs throughout Mexico.

In an effort to keep this important organization going and replace the funding the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra’s conductor, Michael Reason, organized a GoFundMe campaign and invited orchestra members and supporters to contribute and spread the word about donating to this important cause.

The campaign quickly got noticed and hundreds of Lakeside residents and many people from Mexico, the US, Canada and Europe generously donated to the fundraiser. The campaign closed on August 31 and the sum total raised was in excess of $50,000 pesos!

“The generosity of all the donors will enable Musica para Crecer to continue their important work in providing a musical education for the young people of this region” said Reason.

Reason continued by saying that “The importance of cultural activities in any community is paramount to the health and well-being of our society. This is why Musica para Crecer is such an educational treasure.”

Michael Reason (Conductor, Lake Chapala Community Orchestra), Soco Wonchee (President, Musica Para Crecer) and Daniel Medeles (Artistic Director, Music Para Crecer).

Saw you in the Ojo 31

ChangeMakers, Creating Success for Girls

By Margaret Porter

T

he newest program at Lakeside to benefit girls ages 15 to 18 is ChangeMakers Lake Chapala. The program offers girls a chance to grow personally and sharpen leadership skills as they grow into adulthood. The program helps with personal confidence, pride in their culture, health and wellness, continuing their education, envisioning a career, and community service.

Through the leadership of Monica Masini Aguilera, program coordinator, the girls meet weekly to immerse themselves in learning and sharing experiences in the central program “Young Roots.” Participants are also provided the opportunity to participate in a weekly Breath & Balance class, to become part of a community garden/huerto in San Juan Cosala under the guidance of Francisco Nava, and, as an elective, they may join ongoing ESL classes through an existing program in San Juan Cosala.

Soon, Masini Aguilera will guide each participant on an individual plan toward attaining her life goals and career plans.

Masini Aguilera is aided by a group of mentors called “inspiradoras,” who are Mexican women from the professional, business, and social services fields. Providing overall guidance and financial support is the board of directors, members of the foreign community.

The program was started in San Juan Cosala at the outset of the pandemic– nothing was going to stop them! Plans are to start new groups in Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan this fall, following all the safety guidelines.

If you’re interested in volunteering or financially supporting ChangeMakers Lake Chapala, con-

tact janquarton@gmail.com.

We also invite you to visit our website https://changemakerslakechapala.org/, and find us on Facebook and like our page.

Here’s what a few of the members say about the program: Jimena Since I joined ChangeMakers, I am a much more confident woman in the things I do, and/or in myself. Participating in this program has helped me to meet women who, like me, are determined to change the environment where we are, and to realize our dreams. In the same way, I have discovered that I am capable of things that I did not know I was capable of.

The most important thing is that I am learning how to lead my life and know who I am. In a personal aspect, it has helped me to be a better daughter, friend, and family member, to be a person more aware of her actions, with more optimism when doing activities.

Vanessa This new program has helped me in many aspects, but the main change is that I am beginning to accept myself.

Before, it was very difficult for me to accept myself as I am. Now I can also be more at peace with myself. Before, I was very concerned about what others said about me. I asked questions like, “Am I doing it right?” “What do others think of me?” “Am I weird?” Those questions hung around my head all the time, and it’s not like that anymore. Seeing these changes, I realize that this program really works, or at least it is working for me.

I thank God for giving me the opportunity to participate in this project and for putting these great women on my path.

ChangeMakers held a class about communication, lead by Professor and Inspiradora Mariana Almaguer. The participants discussed the function and elements of communication, body language, and expressing emotions assertively.

32

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

“Young Roots” explores the girls’ relationships with their families, friends, and their community. Here, the girls show their homework from the prior class where they drew trees with branches and were asked to show five problems in their community. In the roots of the tree, the girls were asked to draw or illustrate the “root causes” of the problems as they see them. They discussed how problems can have many different causes and how we approach problems from differing perspectives, varying influences that exacerbate the problems, and what potential solutions might be.

Jasibe I have learned so many things and I have had beautiful moments. Starting the activity of the garden created

by Dawna and Rodrigo in San Antonio, I found it super-interesting and fun. I realized that I like plants very much, something that without ChangeMakers I would not have realized. Then we opened the Coxala Garden in San Juan Cosala, which I am really enjoying, and I have learned even more things.

I love Monica’s teachings about our indigenous cultures, to reconnect with them with dances, songs, and new words. I felt very relaxed and more connected with nature and my heritage.

Our Young Roots workshop, where I have learned to value myself as a person, is gratifying to me.

Diana The Young Roots ChangeMakers curriculum is helping me to better manage my emotions and be a better person. I have attended four classes in which I have learned to channel my emotions, also to meet more people and have a good relationship with my classmates.

Gaby My learning in this program has been to accept ourselves as we are.

We don’t need anything to realize that we are beautiful. I have also learned to manage my emotions and learn more about them.

We have to be able to send good vibes and get good vibes. This project has also helped me to become a lot calmer with myself and my dad.

Alondra This program has helped me to get to know myself better in many areas. I currently am working to improve being more responsible with my obligations and activities, and working to maintain

proper physical and mental care, which I must keep balanced. This has caused me to become more observant around me as well as to focus on some topics of interest to me.

I love the trust that exists today with all of the ChangeMakers participants and how we listen to each other, how we see our surroundings, what we want to achieve and how we will do it.

Jazmín Personally, I take more care of myself. I love myself. I don’t feel bad about being the way I am because I learned that being me makes me special because of my essence. I better manage my emotions when faced with a conflict which is what generally disturbed me the most. Now I relax and solve the facts calmly. I no longer say such rude things because I live with many people. I adopt words from others and replace those bad words with kinder words.

I am more interested in the time that it takes to learn something new. I learned to socialize more. I allow myself to laugh and be myself at all times. I am able to say something about myself with positive aspects, and I also recognize my deficiencies. I am working to improve the things that I want to change.

Juliana When I started in the program, I was scared, afraid of not being accepted, afraid of not being able to achieve every objective that was in front of me. As time went by, the opportunity came to go to an organic garden, where I learned a lot about both fruit and flower plants.

I learned to treat the land well and to enjoy nature and most importantly to connect with it. As time went by, each and every one of my insecurities were erased, taking me deeper.

I love being part of this team and I

can say that it is one of the best decisions I have made. Thank you for everything. I hope to continue growing as a person and learning from everyone who is part of ChangeMakers.

Maria Jose I think that at first I felt a little nervous and insecure of myself. I thought that maybe I could not do the things that were required. In reality I did not know how to manage my emotions and feelings. The Young Roots classes have been serving me well, since little by little I have been trying to manage my emotions in a more adequate way and to trust myself.

ChangeMakers Lake Chapala’s program director, Monica Masini-Aguilera, a native of San Juan Cosala, brings a diverse body of education and experience to the program. She has a Bachelor of Science in Education from ITESO University, and a masters’ degree in Education and Management of Knowledge from the same university. She is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and speaks a little French. She has been a school teacher in the third and fourth grades, has taught dance for cognitive and social-affective development, developed and taught social intervention models at the university level, and has been a research assistant in poverty and migra-

Monica Masini-Aguilera tion. She developed a project for the Distrito Federal about Human Rights, and another called “Youth Without Violence Project.” She began her career as coordinator of a community health project and primary school teacher in Chihuahua. One of her passions is dance, and she has taught balMargaret let.

Porter

Saw you in the Ojo 33

A Uniquely Mexican Holiday

By Herbert W. Piekow

M

any people think of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead Celebration as a Mexican holiday.

However, the truth is the Mexican celebration of death is actually an amalgamation of several cultures, but with a uniquely Mexican twist.

Anthropologists and Mexican historians postulate that the rituals honoring the dead began in Mesoamerica between 3,000 to 5,000 years ago as a part of life. The first settlers realized that death is a part of one’s life cycle.

When someone died that person began a challenging journey, and for this adventure to Chicunamictlán and finally Mictlán, the dead, like the

34

living, would need food, water, and tools. Today’s Mexicans place these necessities either on a deceased family member’s grave or on a home altar. Although, today’s libations usually include tequila or cerveza to help boost the spirits along on their journey.

The indigenous peoples set aside time in August to honor their ancestors. November First, or All Souls Day, was easily adapted by native Mexican people upon conversion to Christi-

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

anity. Just as early Christians had adapted the Roman festival honoring the deceased, the first people of the Americas adapted their festivals honoring ancestors with bonfires, dancing and feasting. Once more the Catholic Church adapted existing festivals into their beliefs and practices.

When the medieval Spanish arrived in Mexico they brought their tradition of visiting gravesite with wine and pan de ánimas (spirit bread) to the gravesites. The Spaniards also covered graves with flowers and candles to guide souls back to earth for a visit. Which today’s Mexicans can sometimes carry to creative and excessive extremes, but that is really a part of the beauty and enjoyment of this celebration. Sometimes neighbors and businesses compete to see who can be most creative, or extravagant.

El Día de los Muertos is more than an adaptation of Spanish Catholic and indigenous beliefs and customs.

It is not a Mexican version of Halloween, but is a Mexican celebration of life that pays homage and gives respect to those who have preceded us. UNESCO recognizes that Mexicans celebrate this fact of life in both a truly “Mexican” and unique way and for this UNESCO has bestowed the term of Cultural Heritage to Mexico’s celebration.

Although Day of the Dead, or All Souls Day, is as old as civilization, in Mexico the honoring of the dead continues to evolve, thanks to art and the movies. In the last part of the 1800s the Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada drew an iconic political cartoon mocking the rich women of President Porfirio Díaz’s entourage, these women were portrayed as fashionably dressed skeletons which later influenced Diego Rivera’s mural, Afternoon in Alameda Park, where he included a skeleton in an oversized hat and elegant clothes. He named her Catrina, which is slang for Snooty Rich Woman, and today we call these

well-dressed skeletal dolls Catrinas.

Some people collect these dolls, and many more people dress as Catrinas, to celebrate Halloween, by painting their faces to resemble skeletons while dressing in exaggerated style.

Today the movies spread the message not to take death too seriously because eventually we will all break our earthly fetters. The upbeat Pixar movie Coco showed the fantastic and colorful world of the dead and their yearly re-uniting with the living.

The movie, beautifully illustrated and enhanced with music and vibrant colors and great dialogue, showed that although our loved ones may be gone, they will live with us forever as long as we remember them.

The James Bond movie Spectre also helped spread the Mexican Day of the Dead festivities to a worldwide audience as Bond and his pursuers raced through a colorful parade of Catrinas and other celebrants. The animated movie The Book of Life gained international following because it blended Mexican culture with European fairy tale when the rulers of the Land of the Forgotten and the Land of the Remembered wager for the soul of one young man. However, it is not a Faustian tale, it is a brilliant and truly colorful Mexican story.

Whether you to go the Pantheon to see the beautifully decorated graves and mingle with people remembering their loved ones, put a ghost or jack-o’-lantern on your porch to celebrate Halloween, or not.

Think about covering some boxes with a nice tablecloth, arranging a few family photos, setting out some pan de muertos and buying some marigolds for your altar and pray that someone will do the same when you are no longer here to celebrate a life well lived. Herbert W. Piekow

Saw you in the Ojo 35

Congruence The articles, notes and commentaries that appear monthly in the pages of El Ojo about the experiences of foreigners living in what some of them call Lakeside, overall tend to be well-meant, positivelyminded or at least duly respectful.

One of their best examples are the articles Ms. Victoria Schmidt has written in her columns.

However, it is frequent to also find others that not only criticize but also make a mockery of deficiencies and/or insufficiencies local services or infrastructure can have in Ajijic or Jalisco at large. Significantly, all of these contributions seem to be written by U.S. citizens.

The two articles by Tim [sic] Nussbaum that appeared in the August issue of El Ojo are a case in point that seems to have come to epitomize that kind of contributions. His comments are not only in large part unfounded but, what is worse, also scornful and openly offensive; witness expressions like “… the crap I had to go through to get a damn Mexican driver’s license” and “…the goal of local bus drivers is to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the Number of Passengers Stuffed into a Bus Aisle Narrower than a Guitar String Wearing a Corset”.

36

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Articles and expressions like these deeply disrespect and affront all Mexicans, in particular those who, as my wife and I, live in Ajijic and get to read El Ojo. We lived for several years in the United States (shorter periods in Canada, China and Korea as well), but we never used a Mexican magazine or newspaper to complain about the negative sides of our experience there and less to offend the people of that country whose official language, by the way, we did speak.

The point is that it is dishonest and patently incongruous of U.S. citizens like Mr. Nussbaum to come to live in Mexico, enjoy the pluses and goodies it offers, but at the same time be always complaining about and mocking its deficiencies and shortcomings. What they should do in this case is simply to go back home or elsewhere, nobody is forcing them to live here.

But, should they choose to stay, the least they ought to do is to show a due respect for this country and its people, take it in bundle including those shortcomings, and also show some appreciation for what they are enjoying here, beginning with the warmth and hospitality of what many of them contemptuously refer to as “locals”.

Juan J. Palacios, Ph.D.

Saw you in the Ojo 37

To plant the seed

All That I Can Be

that I am the earth I stand upon,

By John Thomas Dodds

I breathe my air

I live in light and love I admire the flower that I am that grows upon the earth I nurture with my tears of joy

only ever one glass of wine no matter how beautiful the pair might seem together, each crafted individually, exquisitely unique engendered with a particular essence a minion among snowflakes, crystals, stars.

Yet nothing about us uniquely other than one person, an individual cell, a single being, being human, one body, one mind one soul of an old and scarly cat, smugly contemplating tolerance.

Everything we love expresses how we feel about this organ of water and air, this mind of matter and darkness, this exposed soul of a universal want and need.

for as I turn from day to day the wind I create caresses my body.

I am the earth I am all that I see, all that I feel all that I can be.

If we were one light how brilliant would we shine.

The heavens would cease running away and look back upon us as the star over Bethlehem or the light of Mecca.

If we were one surface monumentally varied and etched with the wisdom of ages what a beautiful color our skin would be blinded by the light and sensitive to the touch.

If we were one breath, drawing in everything that has been, nurturing every pore of our being, in an understanding that with a sigh of recognition we are the earth all that was, is, and will be then, and all that we can see is what we imagine love to be

38

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Saw you in the Ojo 39

Mexican Grace This is a regular feature column inspired by the September 15, 2019 Open Circle presentation of stories that manifest “Mexican Grace.”

El Ojo is looking for more anecdotes that relate the many encounters, initiated by expats or locals, that exemplify the special forms of mutual giving and receiving that define the Mexican Grace that brought us to this unique paradise--and that keep us here.

Please email articles of up to 900 words with a Title and your name at the top to both victoriaAschmidt@gmail.com and loretta.downs@gmail.com.

Photos are welcome.

MY ROSA

By Lillian Norma

T

oday I cleaned my whole house.

As I cleaned, I thought of Rosa. Oh, if Rosa could see me now! In all probability, we would argue. How I miss and long for my Rosa and our arguments Rosa is our maid. She just fell into my lap. Or rather, I literally fell into hers. Our house included everything but kitchen items. Because my partner and I love to

40

entertain, I walked to Walmart to purchase a couple of sets of dinnerware, pots and pans, and the like. “And the like” became two extra bags of doodads.

At the checkout, I knew walking home with four heavy bags was out of the question. Luckily, the bus stop was close by. As I edged and squeezed my-

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

self down the aisle of an overcrowded bus, my eye caught a woman motioning me to an aisle seat. Just as I sat, the bus lurched, throwing me sideways and into her lap. “!Lo siento, lo siento!” I exclaimed.

“No importa, señora, no importa,” she said with a smile.

How often I would be hearing those three words in the coming years! “No importa, señora,” she repeated, hanging onto a bag that had fallen with me. I indicated I could manage but she refused to relinquish it. Thus began our first argument. She had the bag. I didn’t. She won.

We tried communicating with my limited Spanish and her limited English. From Walmart to mi casa, we learned she was a maid and I needed one. Cleaning our spacious house was an onerous job so I succumbed to our friends’ suggestions to hire a local and add to the economy of este lugar.

As my house was cerca I rose to get off the bus. She smiled that big smile of hers. “Tengo un cliente in Mirasol. Voy con usted.” She “wrestled” the other heavy bag out of my hand and led the way.

I tried to retrieve it but she smiled and shook her head. “I’ll take one, señora, por favor.” Her grip tightened as she walked away, motioning me to follow.

She had won. Again.

She walked through each room of my house, nodding her approval.

Within ten minutes, I had a maid and she had secured another job. Our new “contract” had her returning the following el miercoles. Miercoles is a favorite Spanish word of mine and it grew even more special each week that Rosa came to work for us.

Routines were established. Each miercoles, she opened the street door, walked up the sidewalk, allowing her eyes to glance inside the living room window. We would see her and came to welcome that glance of hers. It was part of who and what Rosa was to us.

My partner brewed extra coffee every miercoles. “A cup for Rosa,” he’d say.

They exchanged “Buenos días, señor ¿como esta?” and “Buenos días, Rosa.

How are you?” Their smiles warmed my heart.

Our exchange was, “Buenos días, Rosa, y ¿como estás? Tu familia está bien?” She politely corrected me by responding, “Sí, y ¿usted familia?” She won again!

A trust soon formed in this unique relationship. We left Rosa alone and went to the Wednesday market. Her music would blast so she seldom heard us return. We traipsed our dirty shoes across her newly cleaned floors. My chorus of “lo sientos” preceded her “No importa, señora, no importa.”

Every week we walked on her wet floors. Oh yes, they were her floors! “No

importa,” rang in the air as her mop ridded any evidence of our disrespect for her labors. Later, she acquiesced and ate lunch with us, as she was far too polite to beg off to complete su trabajo.

Over the years Rosa became as much of a friend to me as a maid. We valued each other’s friendship and our working relationship changed. Cada miercoles señor greeted her with her cup of coffee. After our usual buenos días exchanges, I led her from room to room telling her what not to do. “Rosa, no es necesario, hoy.” Her look said, “Pero, señora, es mi trabajo.”

“Quizás proxima semana. No need to clean ‘esa habitación porque nadie lo está usando.”

“Pero, es mi trabajo,” she insisted.

A shake of my head indicated it was a waste of time arguing. She would shake her head and walk off.

Each week I invented some reason not to clean something. She soon began to regard me with some suspicion.

Rosa would never “disobey” me, but she got me back one way or the other.

To prove “pero es mi trabajo, señora”, she did something completely different.

The dust-free fans explained why the step ladder was out when we returned from the market.

One day we could not find her. She was under the dining room table “getting rid of possible spiders, señora,” she said with a sly grin. Another day we found her with a plastic bag on each foot as she walked along the kitchen counter cleaning the top of the cupboards. She won every “argument” on this no es necesario, hoy, topic. Week after week we played this game. I invented ways for her not to work so much and she invented ways to do it anyway.

Then came COVID-19. No one went out. No one came in. Self-isolation. Social distancing. El miercoles, I sent Rosa a text, “Lo siento, pero no venga a casa hoy y próxima semana, Rosa.” I sensed her anguish. I knew she was losing some of her jobs as people were advised to return home. My next text was a request for “su dirección, por favor, and I will drop off your pay.” She was worth every peso.

“Graciás, señora, usted mi ángel de la guarda,” was her response. My response? “Por nada, Rosa, graciás a usted.”

So, today I cleaned my house. No one opened the street door. No one glanced in my living room window.

No music was blasting.

No mysterious job got done behind my back.

No Rosa. No nada.

Rosa, please come back so we can argue again. You know you will win!

I miss my Rosa.

Lillian Norma

Saw you in the Ojo 41

Billy’s Dog

By Day Dobbert

B

illy was mute but was without other physical problems; he could hear, and he could communicate—after his fashion. Camarillo State Mental Hospital indicated a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and, though never verified, his having witnessed his father killing his mother. There was speculation that the father may have threatened to kill Billy as well if he ‘told.’ The records held little more of substance.

Billy, in his early twenties, was a resident at L.A.’s Beverlywood Aftercare Center, one of the open psychiatric halfway houses in California emerging in the 70ties when locked institutions were spewing out revolving door patients into a world where they could barely function. I was Billy’s volunteer counselor; I connected with him through a work/study program, affiliated with U.C.L.A and VISTA, President Johnson’s “Volunteers in Service to America,” a one-year, full time commitment. My on-going work with a documentary film company had been suspended temporarily and I leapt at this opportunity to fill the hiatus. I would divide my time between the Center and a four-quarter course at U.C.L.A. leading to a Certificate in Social Services. This tied in beautifully with earlier graduate work at the University of Chicago and recent in-patient hospital volunteerism in the mental health field.

Billy, in his early twenties, was boyish and fit, with a wining smile and expressive blue eyes which sometimes hinted at a sense of humor. His grooming, including a mop of thick blond hair, was exemplary, and he kept his part of his shared apartment shipshape, one of a cluster of converted bungalows which made up the Center.

Yet Billy had a short fuse, a clue as to Camarillo’s diagnosis. There were occasions when, suspicious of male residents’ intentions, he picked fights with them, sometimes violent ones.

Though seldom justified, his acting out seemed motivated to protect the ‘honor’ of the women residents; was

42

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

this something he had been unable to do for his mother?

We offered myriad activities at the Center, but Billy’s self-imposed silence made socializing near impossible. Although he chose to take solitary walks away from the facility, sometimes far afield, he didn’t quite fit Camarillo’s stereotype. He returned for his medications at the scheduled hours, consumed his meals with gusto and never missed his appointments with me.

Such as they were. I never leaned on him and initially worked only at gaining his trust.

He was an attentive listener and communicated appropriately through body language, animated facial expressions and lively gestures; pencil, and paper were always on hand, with reading materials to share. I made it clear that if he didn’t want company on his neighborhood junkets, I would leave him be.

Then things changed. After one of his walkabouts, a buoyant Billy returned to the Center with a small, yellow dog trotting happily beside him. The little stray was a friendly, tailwagging character of indeterminate breed, and it became clear that Billy meant to keep him, for their bonding was immediate. No pets, however, per City health codes, were allowed at the facility; we risked a fine, or worse, loosing our license—and the dog. Billy kept him under wraps, nights secreted under his bed. He scavenged scraps of food from the dining room and slipped them to a grateful animal, and he scrupulously disposed of any telltale poop.

Billy’s exploratories around the neighborhood continued, now with his canine as companion, but he also started spending more time at the Center. Once ignored by his fellow residents, Billy, with dog in tow (but out of Administration’s sight), had become a person of importance, and he lapped up his new-found popularity.

Predictably, however, exuberant barking betrayed them, and I was summoned to the Office.

I was on cordial terms with Brian, the Director, but he shook his head over my collusion with the duo, reminding me that he was accountable to City higher-ups. “But Billy’s socializing!” I exclaimed. “Look how he’s changing. We can’t take the dog away from him!” Brian tried protesting, but I persisted, pointing out that we’d been inspected only weeks earlier. “No inspector’s coming back for another year. Who’s to know,” I said, then added quietly, “Billy loves that animal.”

I won the day; the dog would not be dispatched —“for now,” Brian had emphasized. I left the Office with thumbs up, but Billy, ever mute, understood, if not altogether willingly at first, that Administration’s requirements were provisional and non-negotiable: ~ No dog in apartment. Billy, balked but minimally. He fetched a box from the trash, put an old t-shirt shirt of his inside it, and sheltered it outside by his bedroom window. ~No dog in dining room, no scraps from plates, no licking up spills from floor, no begging in kitchen. Not so easy. How would Billy obtain his foundling’s food? ~ Billy was to create signs for posting in the neighborhood. He was not happy with this one, and a brief lecture by me on the importance of showing ‘good will’ followed.

Billy would finally comply when I suggested that probably the dog had been abandoned, but if not, he could offer to help its owner. Billy’s sign— I would add the Center’s telephone number—read: “FOUND — Little Yellow Dog. He is hungry so I am feeding him. If you want, I can walk him for you. Contact Billy.”

I provided kibble for a limited time, but ultimately food was Billy’s responsibility, and he was flummoxed. His stress level mounted, and he repeatedly reached for his cigarettes. Yet cigarettes would lead to a win-win solution. Part of Billy’s monthly Social Security Disability benefits went towards maintaining him at the Center; the balance was his for pocket money.

“Billy,” I asked, “you’re smoking a lot these days. What’s that costing you out of your SSD?” Billy pondered, then presented a calculation. “Well,” I said, “ how much dog food would that cigarette money buy? Find a pet store on one of your walks and check it out, maybe see about cleaning cages or sweeping floors for extras. Think about it.” I could see wheels turning as Billy ended the session.

For my part, I ran some interference. While my documentary producer travelled the world scouting locations suitable for under-water filming, I searched a nondescript L.A. neighborhood for pet stores—and found

one. I explained to the proprietor, with psychiatric detail simplified, that a nice young man with a speech deficit might be coming in for a ‘talk.’

Time passed, and our plan fell into place—with Billy nicotine-free! The day had come to ask: “You haven’t picked a name for this little guy.” I pointed to his pal who was snoozing nearby. “Some folks are calling him ‘Mutt,’ I teased. Billy rolled his eyes in mock disgust; his buddy was no ‘mutt.’

“What about it? Give me a name.”

Billy gazed heavenward in contemplation. I picked up a pencil and, for no particular reason, scribbled: “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.” Billy craned his neck to have a look. “Every letter in the alphabet appears in that sentence,” I informed him.

Did he care? No. A little smile had told me otherwise.

Billy took the pencil, dramatically x’d out “lazy,” then, “brown fox,” and wrote his own abbreviated version: “Dog jumps quick.” Billy cocked his head towards his animal, and with the name he’d chosen on his lips, called out—called—in a sweet, clear voice: “Dog.” Dog twitched his ears, shook himself awake, then made for Billy at break-neck speed, and, jumping onto his lap, looked up at him adoringly. Billy had spoken; he‘d broken his silence.

END Note: Day Dobbert is a self-isolating ‘single,’ who, in the midst of Covid-19, shares her home with two doting kitties, born in her garden at the height of last year’s rainy season; their starving, feral, but protective mama had sought refuge for herself and her litter amongst thorny bougainvillea foliage. Day cannot imagine how she’d fare in these stressful times without her foundlings’ companionship and believes rescue animals especially enrich the lives of their caretakers. For Billy, she says, Dog’s unconditional love was probably the first he’d ever known.

Saw you in the Ojo 43

Word Salad

By Sally Asante

World “History” part 1

D

ecades ago I had the good fortune to come across linguist and humorist Richard Lederer’s column in a court reporting trade magazine, and have laughed my way to expanded knowledge ever since. Just when you think you have a handle on something, Richard has a way of hilariously turning what you think you know on its ear. Following is the first of a two-part series of examples he compiled of World History as retold by eighth grade to college level students who did a bit of ear-turning of their own: The inhabitants of ancient Egypt buried their mummies and daddies in the pyramids, and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert, which they cultivated by irritation and over which they traveled by Camelot.

The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere, so certain areas of the dessert are cultivated by irritation. Ancient Egyptian women wore a calasiris, a loose-fitting garment which started just below the breasts which hung to the floor.

The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinness, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children, Cain, once asked, “Am I my brother’s son?” Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day and a ball of fire by night.

44

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Montezuma.

Jacob, son of Isaac, stole his brother’s birthmark. Jacob was a patriarch, who brought up his twelve sons to be patriarchs, but they did not take to it. One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, gave refuse to the Israelites.

Pharaoh forced the Hebrew slaves to make bread without straw. Moses led them to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread without any ingredients. Afterward, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments, but he died before he ever got to Canada. David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar.

He fought with the Philatelists, a race of people who lived in Biblical times. Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn’t have history. The Greeks invented three kinds of columns — Corinthian, Ironic, and Dork. They also created myths. A myth is a female moth. One myth says that the mother of Achilles dipped him in the river Stynx until he became intolerable. Achilles appears in the Iliad, by Homer. Homer also wrote the Oddity, in which Penelope was the last hardship that Ulysses endured on his journey.

Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice.

They killed him. Socrates died from an

overdose of wedlock.

In the Olympic Games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the Java. The reward to the victor was a coral wreath. The government of Athens was democratic because people took the law into their own hands.

Eventually, the Romans came along and conquered the Geeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long. At Roman banquets, the guests wore garlics in their hair. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Caesar expired with these immortal words upon his dying lips: “Eat you, Brutus!” Nero was a cruel tyranny who would torture his poor subjects by playing the fiddle to them.

The Romans were overrun by the ball bearings. Then came the Middle Ages, when everyone was middle aged.

King Alfred conquered the Dames. King Arthur lived in the age of shivery, with brave knights on prancing horses and beautiful women. King Harold mustarded his troops before the Battle of Hastings. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and cannonized by Bernard Shaw. People contracted the blue bonnet plague, which caused them to grow boobs on their necks.

Magna Carta provided that no free man should be hanged twice for the same offense. People performed morality plays, about ghosts, goblins, virgins, and other mythical creatures.

In midevil times most of the people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the time was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature. Another tale tells of William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son’s head.

The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of their human being. Martin Luther was nailed to the church door at Wittenberg for selling papal indulgences. He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull.

It was the sculptor Donatello’s interest in the female nude that made him the father of the Renaissance. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible and removable type. Sir Walter Raleigh discovered cigarettes and started smoking. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper.

To be continued ...

(Reprinted with permission.)

Sally Asante

Saw you in the Ojo 45

COLUMNIST

PROFILING TEPEHUA

By Moonyeen King President of the Board for Tepehua

moonie1935@yahoo.com

H

aving followed the lives of two Tepehua addicts for approximately 8 years, male and female, one wonders what the fight is like, as they cling to sobriety for a few years and then they suddenly let go again. The inevitable struggle of getting back up and righting their world for a short time until that release is needed one more time.

Fighting addiction is a physical pain combined with a powerful mental pain. Many of us who have led sober lives or lived in a state of controlled addiction, have wondered what it is like down the rabbit hole.

Charles Ludwig Dodson (Lewis Carroll) described it in the story of Alice in Wonderland. As Lewis Carroll, writer of children’s books, academic extraordinaire, his main addiction was a ten-year-old girl called Alice, one of three sisters and the youngest daughter of Carroll’s friends the Liddell family. Although smoking opium was legal in the Victorian era, Carroll was never considered a user.

It was Carroll’s sexuality that was in question, especially where little girls were concerned. He took various photographs of little Alice in states of partial undress which caused the Liddell family alarm and he was refused further contact with the girls.

In the 1960’s the BBC wrote an exposure suggesting Alice in Wonderland had an underlying drug theme that addicts could identify with - hallucinations of walls closing in, one’s body parts expanding and shrinking, psychedelic bugs and other forms. All the action in Alice takes place in an underworld, an unreal experience. One can never know if Lewis Carroll had hidden meanings in his book.

In England in 1955, psychiatrist Dr. John Todd first described the ‘Alice in Wonderland Syndrome’, also known as the ‘Lilliputian syndrome’, a temporary illness caused by a disorientating neurological condition which affects human conception.

46

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

Many children have it when they have fevers, or sleep walk, but it usually disappears after a few years, depending on the severity. It happens to adults with or without hallucinatory drugs. Was Lilliputian syndrome what happened to Lewis Carroll whilst amusing Alice with a story she begged him to write?

The kind of professional help required to diagnose and treat Lilliputian syndrome (or any other of a myriad of causes of addiction) is simply not available in the rural areas and barrios. There is no professional help for drug abuse, especially if you cannot pay. Watching the two addicts all this time raises the questions: is it really a disease or is it merely a matter of self control and choices? does poverty cause addiction or addiction poverty? is there an addictive personality?

Addiction is an equal opportunity provider with no socioeconomic boundaries. The only difference is money - if you have it you can get help and you have a place to go.

And you can afford your questionable pleasure. There is no place to go for those in poverty. Because every drug of choice is available and outside opportunity is nil in the barrios, young minds can be sucked into a camaraderie, a support group as they go down the rabbit hole together, where they find a security the outside world is not providing.

And as life is all about choices, the wrong choices are inevitably made.

Most people in barrios live under the poverty line, most addictions are with the men, but when a woman is addicted she goes all the way to the bottom of degradation in ways men cannot experience.

There is always light at the end of the tunnel, at least for some, if they look for it. The rest need help from their friends. Please throw a life line if you can. You never know, one day it will be returned just when you need it.

Read the Signs

By Judy Dykstra-Brown Days of wild adventure, pulsing with delights are turning into zombie days that fade to zombie nights.

Nothing on our agendas. No traveling, no dates— our calendars reduced to onerous empty slates.

It does no good to protest. God hears not when we ask.

We merely have to don that necessary mask.

Though every instinct urges camaraderie, Mother Nature warns us that she will wait and see.

Will we clean up our messes? Put out every fire?

Calm her winds of warning before we all expire?

Ban plastic from her oceans, stop digging for black gold?

Cool the global warming and restore the cold?

If we will not listen, she’ll only turn deaf ears to all our present pleadings, to all our future fears.

Oh foolish foolish children, just dealing with effects instead of paying heed to what nature expects.

Mistaken

By Catherine A. Mackenzie Mist masks Memorable memories But moonlight Magnifies The mosaic— Moody, Muddy.

Mortuarial.

Saw you in the Ojo 47

OPINION

A Government for the People

By Michael Carr

A

s an Englishman, I’m not an expert on American history and any examples in here may well be inaccurate and not strictly chronological, but they are used to illustrate an overall point of view. As I understand it, the fundamentals of the Constitution were to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Bill of Rights stipulated that Congress may not make rules to take away freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms, the right to form peaceful assemblies, or to take away lives or freedom of property unfairly.

All of this was justifiable given the religious persecution and government oppression that the early colonists

48

struggled to escape from. According to Kris Kristofferson “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” But I believe our unbridled freedom has lost us a lot, particularly as it relates to moral and ethical standards and concern for our fellow man.

So what have we done with this freedom?

We saw a land with enormous potential from “sea to shining sea.” We went west in a spirit of free enterprise. We cut down forests, tilled the soil and fenced the land to establish farms and ranches.

We imported cheap Chinese labor to build our railroads. In the scramble to establish the biggest piece of the pie we denied the American Indians their freedom and denied untold numbers of Af-

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

ricans their freedom. Our “manifest destiny” spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean and when the dust cleared, we had denied Mexico about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

Then, ironically, we imported cheap Mexican labor to cultivate our crops; which they still do today for below minimum wages, while suffering the stigma of illegal immigrants. It took a civil war to grant African Americans a euphemism for freedom. The Native Americans still struggle to protect their sacred grounds and eke out an existence on barren reservations.

Gold in California and oil in Pennsylvania encouraged more free enterprise, more scrambling for the good life, and the rise of monolithic companies generating vast wealth for a privileged few. By the time anti-trust laws were established the damage was already done. Now we work for companies that continually reduce employee benefits and pensions to increase profits. We are encouraged to secure our futures by investing in 401ks that depend on ever increasing shareholder value that, paradoxically, depend to some extent on cutting more benefits and services. Demands to increase shareholder value encourage unscrupulous corporations and banks to sell bogus investments, derivatives and mortgages without underlying asset value.

The point is that we became so involved in our freedom of choice and entrepreneurial wealth creation that we are now all complicit in this mess by closing our eyes to the truths of inequality and the social consequences. We’ve ignored the shifts in policy that continue to create a bigger and bigger gap between the haves and the have-nots. We’ve watched as the government gave tax breaks to the rich, cut programs to the poor, and refused to raise the minimum wage. In 2015, 43.1 million people lived in poverty with the highest poverty rate among Blacks and Hispanics. Approximately 15.3 million, or 21 percent, of all children under the age of 18 were in families living in poverty. We are the only country in the civilized world that does not provide universal healthcare to its people. Even communist Cuba provides free healthcare and education. We have created a vicious cycle in which the underprivileged, social injustice and the government deficit continue to grow while the middle class hangs on to its fast fading dreams of the good life. With a growing population and diminishing resources we continue to strive for an ever more elusive piece of the pie and create social unrest in the process. The intent behind the Second Amendment has been adulterated to the point where gangs are equipped with AK 47 assault rifles and all manner of automatic weapons. Is it any

wonder that drugs and crime increase in impoverished inner cities and immigrant communities?

It was Plato who said that democracy would not work because, given a choice, the average person chooses what pleases him rather than what is good for him. I happen to believe in democracy but I think our two party system creates a situation where the majority tends to get what is good for them but not necessarily good for society. We the people put these people in power and have watched as politicians strive to retain power by pandering to whatever is popular. As a social conscience develops in the majority we vote Democrat.

As government spending and taxes are increased to pay for social programs we sense a reduction in our standard of living and government intrusion on our freedom of choice. So the majority turns to the Republicans for tax breaks and curtailment of government regulations. The results are good for the party in power but not necessarily good for society as a whole. Increasingly over the last decade, the polarization between the parties, the inability to compromise, and the vetoing of the opposing party’s agenda, has lead to a legislative stalemate and an exacerbation of societal problems.

When I became a US Citizen in 2011, I had high hopes that under Barak Obama we would begin to see the social changes outlined in his book, “The Audacity of Hope,” come to fruition. Instead the intransigence of the Republican party and its avowed intention to obstruct his agenda has lead us where we are today.

Enter Donald J. Trump who cashed in on the Washington stalemate by vowing to “drain the swamp” and “make America great again.” In my opinion his ultra right wing agenda has made a proportion of Americans richer, increased the disparity of income, and it is debatable that the country is more powerful. But by declaring war on immigrants, curtailing the freedom of the press, criticizing the judiciary, appointing right wing judges, creating cabinet posts for his family, and surrounding himself with not so veiled white supremacists, he has all the trappings of an autocrat and is disliked, or even hated, by a majority of the country.

The ridiculous “policy,” or judicial “custom,” that precludes indictment of a sitting president is something the Founding Fathers never contemplated and is akin to the medieval “Divine Right Of Kings.” Putting the president above the law further exacerbates the already volatile situation existing with the underprivileged and we should be wary of some form of revolution.

Perhaps there is no simple solution but perhaps it is time to sacrifice some of our personal freedom for what is good for society. As Obama once stated to Oprah Winfrey, “we are all connected as one

people and our mutual obligations have to express themselves not only in our families, not only in our churches, synagogues, and mosques, but in our government too.” Why can’t we employ a bipartisan commission to resolve issues of national importance like healthcare and the judiciary? Instead of endless partisan scrambling for votes and changing voting rules to suit the situation, we should recognize that only by true bipartisanship can we be sure that government is of the people, by the people and for all the people.

If we must retain a two party system, why not get rid of the electoral

college and appoint a Democrat and a Republican from each state in both the House and the Senate? Admittedly that would have the potential for more stalemate but if legislation is to get passed at least it would force an element of compromise. As for the president, election should be by a simple majority of voters and not by the gerrymandering surrounding the electoral college.

[Ed. Note: The above is opinion, and does not represent the views of El Ojo Delago]

No More Losers

By Barbara Hildt

I

n the highly competitive society of the US, people are conditioned to want to be winners or at least on a potentially winning team.

No one wants to be known as a “loser.”

Only sports teams and players who lost games used to be labeled “losers.”

Showing respect and politeness, even for adversaries was a common norm across the spectrum of different social groups.

Social norms have changed. These days children in the US often witness older youth, peers and adults insulting others with words and gestures. Naturally many imitate what they hear and see.

Calling individuals or groups “losers” has become a common, even acceptable way to speak about others in social circles. How often do teachers and parents tell their kids that calling another person a “loser” is mean, unfair, disrespectful or wrong? Do they know or care that such a put-down can diminish the target’s selfesteem?

People, especially kids, can be humiliated, even devastated, if they are called a hurtful name to their face, especially in front of others. When someone powerful, admired and influential, labels another person “a loser,” even behind her back, this often causes those who want to stay in favor with the name caller to reject and even shun the targeted person. This happened to my child when she was not yet a socially secure teenager.

The whole world is now hearing the bullying president of the most powerful nation calling military heroes and everyone else he doesn’t agree with or appreciate “losers.” Reliable sources, who knew Donald as a child and adolescent,

tell us he was dominated by his powerful, abusive, uncaring father, who constantly denigrated him. To win his dad’s approval he had to demonstrate that he too was willing to say or do anything to succeed and dominate.

Because he now has great power, Donald expects all to bend to his every wish. His children learned to worship him years ago. Now he has millions of supporters who admire him, not for his kindness, but for the grand illusion he created of himself as a successful billionaire business man. He believes he must always win at any cost. He can never allow himself to be a “loser.”

Unfortunately for society, this powerful, ruthless man, who is incapable of feeling empathy, has become an admired role model for many young people. Not a positive role model, but a very dangerous one.

For decades psychologists have been telling us about the lasting negative effects that adults, particularly parents and teachers, have on children they verbally abuse and humiliate. When a young person’s self-esteem and self-confidence is diminished, she may stop trying and give up her aspirations. This is why it is so important for teachers to recognize children with low self-esteem and to try to improve their self-images by recognizing and expressing appreciation for positive behaviors, qualities, actions and efforts.

Barbara Hildt

Saw you in the Ojo 49

The Ojo Crossword

An Academy Award Actress and Ajijic Readers Theatre

By Don Beaudreau

I

ACROSS

DOWN

1 50% 5 Excuse 10 Tool 14 Dunking cookies 15 Dame 16 Put down 17 In __ of 18 One hundred of these makes a shekel in Israel 19 Not pronounced, but written 20 Baseball’s Strawberry 22 Woodsy house 24 Kisses’ counterparts 26 Fresh 27 Hovercraft 30 Vegetable 32 Least nuts 37 Is 38 End 40 Peacock blue 41 Old show 43 Before (prefix) 44 Cowboy boot projections 45 Chances of winning 46 __ cotta (clay) 48 Alternative (abbr.)

49 Sounds 52 A parallel row 53 Caustic substance 54 Rent 56 Dutch cheese 58 Wrote “Absalom, Absalom!”

63 Sundial pointer 67 Volcano 68 Hit hard 70 Display 71 Children 72 Drug 73 Give off 74 Famous cookies 75 Functions 76 Speck

1 Have 2 Opera solo 3 Stare 4 4-H (spelled out) 5 Mixture 6 Time lapse 7 Teen hero 8 Nobleman 9 Mental sights 10 __ mater 11 Apply unevenly 12 Type of pasta 13 Adam’s garden 21 Alaska neighbor 23 Communication Workers of America (abr.)

25 Took a nap 27 Moses’ brother 28 Doctrine 29 Famous composer 31 Heron 33 Sleep 34 Alike 35 Gruff 36 Eat a morsel 39 Eagle’s nest 42 Ship initials 44 Plastic wrap 47 Rubies (2 wds.)

50 Deer relative 51 Detector 55 Rate 57 Electronic equipment 58 Soft cheese from Greece 59 Speck 60 To 61 Young girl 62 Churn 64 Note 65 Leave out 66 Remark 69 Second day of the wk.

50

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

n 1992-93 I was serving as a chaplain in the oncology section of UCLA Medical Center.

One of my duties was to co-lead a cancer support group for patients that the actress Jennifer Jones supported. Ms. Jones had won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 1943 movie “The Song of Bernadette.” She played the part of the young girl who saw visions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France in 1858 and was eventually canonized as a saint in 1933.

Twenty-eight years after my chaplaincy at UCLA, the play “Moonlight and Magnolias” is being produced by Ajijic Readers Theatre (at Lakeside Little Theatre) on October 16-18. It is the somewhat true story of the writing of the 1939 movie script for “Gone with the Wind.”

The three main characters are based on historic figures: David O. Selznick, the producer of the film; Ben Hecht, the screenwriter; and Victor Fleming, the director.

Written by the Emmy Award winner Ron Hutchinson in 2004, the play is usually described as a “farce.” And that is how it is advertised by Ajijic Readers Theatre. Indeed, it is mostly a comic, satiric depiction of the supposed five days it took to rewrite the script for “Gone with the Wind.” It surely has all the elements of a comedy: a rapid, no-holdsbarred dialogue; the sudden switching of characters as Selznick and Fleming act out the roles of Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes, Melanie Hamilton, the slave girl Prissy, and others of the Tara Plantation gang; and in the regular stage versions of it (not a readers theatre production), physical comedy.

Now, if you don’t know anything about the play when and if you go to see it, believing that it is only a “farce”; or if you don’t want to think about the play too much while you are watching it; or, indeed, if some of the lines are deleted by the director in order to keep the play less of a social commentary and more of a verbal slapstick presentation, you will have missed how very

socially relevant the work is today in at least three significant ways: Black Lives Matter, Anti-Semitism, and the Me Too Movement.

Consider the recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout the United States and, indeed, throughout the world. One of the results of this was to take the book “Gone with the Wind” off the bookshelves, and off media streaming devices. But here comes “Moonlight and Magnolias,” billed as a “farce” by Ajijic Readers Theatre, and lo and behold! within the play, racism is used to get a laugh from the audience.

The actual and original movie screenplay that Selznick wanted to produce was even far worse in its racist comments than what was eventually allowed. Fortunately, there are protestations in this so-called “farce,” from Ben Hecht who decries any racist language or violence against Blacks. Hecht even writes some lines for Prissy (the young Black girl who is slapped by Scarlet) that addresses racism. However, these lines are rejected, even mocked by Selznick and Fleming.

Consider Anti-Semitism. This “farce” is set in 1939, when Hitler is gaining more and more power, and Jews are fleeing their homelands. Hecht comments on this to Selznick, a fellow Jew, who tells him that the three of them have a script to create, and that this is far more important than worrying about what is happening on the other side of the world or giving money to Jewish Relief. Hutchinson’s style of writing for the play is to have serious dialogue about the increasing horrors of Nazism interspersed with smart-alecky comments from Selznick, with Fleming having his share of them. The seriousness of the moment is lost somewhat (if not a great deal), smothered as it is in the playwright’s desire to keep the “farce” going.

Then there is the Me Too Movement. In the play, Selznick is playing a stereotypical role as a hard-driving, success-oriented, dominating white male who pushes around his personal secretary, a Miss Poppenghul. Again,

this kind of fast-paced dialogue is, on the surface, somewhat funny. But is it really funny at all? Let me stress this point again: in the light of how the Me Too Movement has impacted today’s society; and how more and more women are telling their stories not just to each other but to the public. Is this something to laugh about?

Which brings me back to Ms. Jennifer Jones, who became David O. Selznick’s wife in real life. Selznick was long deceased when I met Ms. Jones, and her third husband Norton Simon the industrialist, did not have much longer to live.

She herself was in her early seventies, and despite her extraordinary beauty and grace, seemed fragile to me. Still, she lived to be 90 years old.

Much has been revealed in these days about sexually abusive men. Think about the Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein who is currently serving a 23year sentence for rape. But also think about David O. Selznick, who was notorious for sexually abusing women.

He was a man who used his power to create Hollywood stars. He bedded many women on the so-called “casting couch.” He took sexual advantage of them, promising them stardom. And Jennifer Jones was one of them.

And so, Ajijic Little Theatre will be presenting the “farce” “Moonlight and

Magnolias.” I have read the script repeatedly, and with each reading it becomes not so much a “farce” for me, as a timely comment on how much more we have to do to create a world where Blacks, Jews, and Women will stop being marginalized by those who think they are superior because of their color, their religion, their gender, or the power they wield over others. So, yes, go see Ajijic’s version of this “farce,” but hopefully, you will dig beneath the gag-lines, and puncture the over-inflated characterizations. The play is significant in that way. And therefore it is not a farce at all.

Saw you in the Ojo 51

A Woman in Ajijic

By William Mesusan

From the Ojo Archives

“Once we name something, we no longer see it.”

—John Fowles

T

he woman’s day began like most, but would end like no other. A black rebozo, stretched tightly around sloped shoulders, shielded the tiny woman’s body from an unusual January chill. Her most treasured possession, it served as a wrap by day and a bed cover at night. During funerals, it became a shroud. The brown-faced woman felt grateful she owned such a marvelous piece of clothing.

Where is the sun, she wondered? The sky, overcast and dark, seemed unusual.

Perhaps this is an omen, she thought. A strong wind blew into Ajijic on that cold winter morning, in the year 1946. Winds of change also stirred the air of the tranquil little village perched on the northern shore of central Mexico’s Lake Chapala.

At five o’clock that morning, the woman responded to a secular llamada, or summons. A man, mounted on the roof of a molinillo, or neighborhood mill, located west of the main plaza, blew loudly into a European-style hunting horn, signaling for villagers to bring the corn they’d soaked overnight for grinding and making tortillas.

The woman lingered dreamily in dawn’s half-light while madrugadores (early risers) lined up at the mill. She arrived sleepy-eyed, half an hour later, to wait among familiar faces. Surrendering her bucket, she waited patiently while the wet kernels were ground into a moist corn meal. She carried the life-giving masa back home, towards the plaza.

The woman would pass two churches on her way home. What shall I do, she la-

52

mented. Something must’ve been bothering her. Something to do with those churches. Passing a fountain, where women filled jars with drinking water piped down from nearby mountains, she overheard the señoras gossiping and sharing stories with neighbors while their young children frolicked and laughed nearby.

The woman soon became lost in her own thoughts. On the mountain side of the plaza, the Chapel of the Virgin of the Rosary stood like a stone fortress. A quiet, intimate church and the woman’s favorite sanctuary, she often knelt or sat inside, alone or with other souls, losing and finding herself in quiet meditation.

She walked past the plaza’s flowerbordered bandstand; beyond a second fountain. The woman felt a sense of guilt and shame, but continued down Calle Parroquia towards Iglesia San Andrés.

She eyed a clock tower dwarfed by the church’s four bell towers. A novelty that hadn’t yet worn off, it cost parishioners $8,000 pesos (no small sum in the 1940s).

Completed after what seemed an eternity in construction, villagers enjoyed a festive ceremony during which the timepiece was properly blessed.

The new clock worked for one whole day. Then it stopped. A specialist from Guadalajara came to fix it. While working, his hammer slipped and broke the fragile glass façade. Villagers waited patiently for another faceplate. After two years, Ajijic was rewarded with a clock that worked.

The woman laughed quietly to herself.

Apparently, God wasn’t all that concerned with time. She hoped that the Virgin followed suit.

The woman had a vague understanding about Ajijic’s principal church being dedicated to Saint Andrew, brother of Peter the Apostle. Like her widowed father, both men were fishermen. She’d heard that Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped saltier cross, but she had no idea that this gruesome detail of history occurred in the country of Greece.

The original church, San Francisco, was built in 1539. Destroyed by an earthquake exactly two hundred years later, Parroquia de San Andres was constructed on the same site. It took ten years to rebuild.

The woman walked down Calle Parroquia towards a church that faced stiff competition for villagers’ souls. Progresso,

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

the general store, was proud of its walls displaying a huge red, white, and blue Pepsi bottle-cap logo. Cultural imperialism was making inroads into Central Mexico.

An old pickup truck sat out front, equipped with wooden side racks along its bed to protect fruits and vegetables from spilling out. It also sported an extra heavy metal grille, a burrera, used to move obstinate burros out of the way.

Carta Blanca advertised its cerveza in fading, flaking letters. Beyond this sign, in freshly painted script: Restaurante Tránsito. The proprietress compensated for her quirky first name, an obscure reference to traffic, by preparing the most delectable breakfasts in Ajijic.

The woman turned a corner onto Calle Marcos Castellanos and a quick right put her on Calle Guadalupe Victoria. This street was named after Mexico’s first President. General Guadalupe Victoria. Manuel Félix Fernández created this symbolic name for himself during the revolution leading to Mexico’s independence from Spain. Guadalupe, giving thanks for what he claimed was the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Victoria was a testament to victory for the cause of freedom.

The church’s largest bell announced the first call: a single clang, followed by a brief pause, then a rapid series of rings, another pause, and a final single clang.

Mass would begin in half an hour.

The woman felt another deep pang of guilt. Attend Mass or acknowledge her personal desires. Obey her religion or listen to her inner nature. The woman never missed Mass, other than once when she was horribly sick. Her friends and neighbors would wonder why she wasn’t at church. They knew her brother and his family were coming to visit from Guadalajara; but they couldn’t begin to imagine or comprehend the repercussions this visit might have on the woman’s destiny. She had thirty minutes in which to make her decision.

The heavy bucket wasn’t her greatest burden.

She passed a leafless tree and then a tall palm that stretched all the way to the top of the church’s second bell tower. She walked along a line of one-story houses long since replaced by Hotel Italo. The woman didn’t comprehend the mysterious talking wires above her head, telephone lines that carried a person’s voice from the village post office all the way to Mexico City.

The woman strode stoically down the middle of a wide dirt street because people seldom used the tile and brick sidewalks. Walls along this street, and most others, were painted brown, two feet above the sidewalk, disguising mud splashed during the rainy season. She saw three figures, each with a dog: two men in the street beside a full-figured woman.

This señora also wore a white cotton dress

and black shawl. The woman smiled and greeted her neighbors with an adiós before continuing on her way, half a block, to a house with no refrigeration. Three hours of sporadic electricity were available, but only at night.

The daily round of village life, her life, was marked by the pit-pat, pit-pat rhythm of tortilla making and the hours she spent in her little vegetable garden with its nearby fruit trees. Simple pleasures bestowed a quiet, self-contained joy.

Her father returned early that day from the lake where he and the other men cast their nets, bringing to shore the famous Chapala pescado blanco, or whitefish, renowned for its delicate flavor.

The old pescador had no way of knowing that the production of whitefish in Lake Chapala would peak, in that postwar year of 1946, at an amazing 149 metric tons before a steady decline set in, the result of increased pollution of the lake, aggravated by unsteady rain patterns, overfishing, and the introduction of predator carp which thrive on the eggs and young of the whitefish.

The woman had much work to do.

Antonio was coming from Guadalajara. The childless woman looked forward to spending time with her two young nieces. The woman wanted to honor their visit and make it a special occasion. She’d teach the girls how to shape masa into small balls and slap them into thin griddlecakes as their ancestors had done for thousands of years.

Two bells clanged, a pause, a rapid clang of bells, another brief pause, and then two bells rang out. Fifteen minutes until Mass. The woman quietly endured the complexity of following two paths at the same time. She prayed to the Virgin for understanding before embracing her natural self.

Then, she decorated her house with fresh-cut flowers from the garden.

The family, reunited for one very special day, hugged and kissed, celebrating the joy of being a family. The woman drank a glass of wine and enjoyed it and she reveled in the laughter of her two young nieces. The family noticed a subtle change in her behavior. She seemed more gregarious, more at ease, and yet more lively.

That night, Antonio, who always avoided his sister, invited the woman to stay with the family in Guadalajara. This was the first of many invitations.

In the spring, the woman’s father fulfilled a long-standing promise to row her across Lake Chapala so she could visit the village of San Luis Soyatlan. That summer, the woman accepted her brother’s invitation. On the bus ride to a museum, in the center of Guadalajara, the woman encountered a handsome bus driver and she fell in love. The woman was married one year later. Her first child was born the following spring.

Saw you in the Ojo 53

Service * ADVERTISING / DIRECTORY

Pag: 46

* ANIMAL CLINICS/PET SHOP - BIO MAXCOTA Tel: 376 762-1486, Cell: 332-115-0076 Pag: 18 - CLINICA VETERINARIA SAN ANTONIO Pag: 06 Tel: 376 766-0808 - LAKESIDE FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS AC Pag: 13 Tel: 376 765-5544 - MASKOTA’S LAKE Pag: 36 Tel: 376 766-0287, 33-3448-2507 - PET PLACE Pag: 43 Cell: 333-1964-150

* ANTIQUES & FURNITURE Pag: 12

* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS - ALFREDO’S GALERIA Tel: 376 766-2980 - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 376 766-5683 - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 376 766-5131

DIRECTORY

- LONAS MEXICO Tel: 376 766-0045, Cell: 33-3956-4852

* ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

- ALFREDO’S GALERIA Tel: 376 766-2980

directory.chapala.com

- RAINFOREST Cell: 331-241-9773, Tel: 376 766-4534

* CANOPIES

- EL OJO DEL LAGO Tel. 376 765-3676

- ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Tel: 376 766-5961

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Pag: 12 Pag: 06 Pag: 25

Pag: 38

- DR. LOWELL BIRCH, Chiropractor Cell: 331-319-1799, Tel: 376 688-1244 Pag: 12, 23, 35, 49

* CLEANING SERVICES - STEAM CLEAN Tel: 33-2385-0410

Pag: 39

* COACHING - TRANSITIONAL DIRECTIONS - Life Coaching Tel: 766-2928, +52 331-435-7080 Pag: 11

* COMMUNICATIONS - ISHOPNMAIL Tel: 376 766-1933 - MACDONALD SERVICES Tel: 415-121-9266

Pag: 03

Pag: 29

Pag: 46

* AUTOMOTIVE * CONSTRUCTION - MULTISERVICIO AUTOMOTRIZ ESCALERA Tel: 376 765-4424, 333-440-2412 Pag: 51

* BANK INVESTMENT - INTERCAM Tel: 376 766-5978 - MULTIVA Tel: 376 766-2499

Pag: 07 Pag: 09

* BEAUTY - CHRISTINE’S Tel: 376 106-0864, 376 766-6140 - EDITH’S SALON Cell: 33-1310-9372 - HILDA WORLWIDE Cell: 33-1717-2784 - NEW LOOK STUDIO Tel: 376 766-6000, 33-3950-9990

Pag: 11

Pag: 29

* BED & BREAKFAST - CASA TRES LEONES Cell: 331-350-6764

Pag: 11

DENTISTS - C.D. SANDRA ANAYA MORA Cell: 331-218-6241 - DRA. ANGELICA ALDANA LEMA DDS Tel. 376 765-5364, Cell: 33-1351-7797 - CHAPALA DENTAL CARE Tel: 376 765-5584, 376 766-3847 - MOJO DENTAL - Dra. Cristina Barreto Tel: 376 688-2731

* BEER & LIQUOR STORES - BETO’S WINE & LIQUOR Cell: 333-507-3024

* BIKES - RIDERS OF THE SIERRA MADRE

Pag: 36

- FUMIGA Tel: 376 688-2826, Cell: 331-464-6705 - MOSQUITO CONTROL Cell: 331-498-7699

Pag: 39

Pag: 27

Pag: 08

Pag: 47 Pag: 31

Pag: 25

* GARAGE DOORS OPENERS Pag: 45 - AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Pag: 28 Tel: 376 766-4973, Cell: 332-213-8933

Pag: 41

* GARDENING - GARDEN CENTER Tel: 376 765-5973

54

Pag: 29

* FUMIGATION

* BUTCHER SHOP - LOS 3 - BUTCHER SHOP Tel: 376 688-4142

Pag: 14

Pag: 36

* BOUTIQUE / CUSTOM SEWING - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 376 766-5131 - SO CHIC BOUTIQUE Tel: 331-762-7838

Pag: 25

* FISH MARKET - COSTALEGRE Tel: 376 108-1087, 33-1173-6144

* BODY SHOP - BODY SHOP AJIJIC Tel: 376 766-5246

- STEREN Tels. 376 766-0599, 376 766-0630

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

- M.D. CARLOS ALONSO FLORES VALDOVINOS Tel: 376 766-5126, 376 766-4435 Pag: 11

- INVESTMENT Tel: 387 763-0782

Pag: 28

Pag: 46

Pag: 27

* LIGHTING - L&D CENTER Tel: 376 766-1064

Pag: 52

* MALL / OUTLET Pag: 02

* MEDICAL SERVICES - ALTA RETINA - Dr. Rigoberto Rios León Ophthalmic Surgeon Pag: 16 Tel: 376 688-1122, 376 688-1343 - DERMIKA Pag: 09 Tel: 376 766-2500 - DR. BEN - CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON Pag: 10 Tel: 376 766-4871, Cell: 333-105-0402 - DR. GABRIEL HERNANDEZ NUÑO - Plastic Surgery Tel: 376-766-5513, 376-766-0866 Pag: 31 - DR. FRANCISCO J. REYES ESQUIVEL PhD Surgical Oncologist 376-766-2500, Cell: 331-110-7351 Pag: 20 - DR. HECTOR G. MIRAMONTES - SPECIALIST IN COSMETIC SURGERY Tel: (332) 203-6398 Pag: 12 - DRA. CLAUDIA LILIA CAMACHO CHOZA Tel: 33-3403-3857 Pag: 27

Pag: 24

* PAINT - QUIROZ-Impermeabilizantes Tel: 376 766-2311 - QUIROZ-Pinturas Tel: 376 766-2311

Pag: 49 Pag: 22

* PERSONAL ASSISTANCE Pag: 44

* PHARMACIES - FARMACIA EXPRESS II Tel: 376 766-0656 - FARMACIA MASKARAS Tel: 376 766-3539 - FARMEX Tel: 376 765-5004

Pag: 36 Pag: 28 Pag: 33

* PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT Pag: 28

* REAL ESTATE - AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 33-3904-9573 Pag: 51 - AJIJIC REAL ESTATE Tel: 37 6766-2077 Pag: 15 - BAUERHOUSE PROPERTIES Tel: 33-3038-1803 Pag: 37 - BETTINA BERING Cell. 33-1210-7723, 376 766-1049 Pag: 19 - BEV COFELL Cell: 33-1193-1673 Pag: 22 - CIELOVISTA Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05 - COLDWELL BANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 376 765-3676, 376 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 Pag: 60 Tel: 376 766-1152, 376 766-3369 - CONTINENTAL REALTY Pag: 33 Tel: 376 766-1994 - CUMBRES Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05 Pag: 47 - DESARROLLOS AAA - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 33-1797-7087 Pag: 47 - JUDIT RAJHATHY Cell: 331-395-9849 Pag: 17 - LAKE CHAPALA REAL ESTATE Tel: 376 766-4530/40 Pag: 59 - LORELI NUÑO Cell: 333-830-3023 Pag: 42 - MAGGIE QUIROZ Cell: 331-807-7313 Pag: 20 - MARGARITA AVILA Cell: 331-268-3927 Pag: 44 - MICHEL POMMIER Cell: 331-399-8267 Pag: 40 - RADISSON BLU Ajijic Resort, Spa & Residences

* MOVERS - BEST MEXICO MOVERS US/CANADA: (915) 235-1951 US Cell: (520) 940-0481 - LAKE CHAPALA MOVING Tel: 376 766-5008 - STROM-WHITE MOVERS Tel: 376 766-6153

Pag: 43

* OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT

- JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ RUBALCAVA Tel: 376 688-2683, Cell: 332-255-2040

* LEGAL SERVICES - SOLBES & SOLBES Tel: 331-520-5529, Cell: 333-676-6245

- RAINBOW NOTARY & NUPTIALS Tel: 904-333-7311

- MALE CAREGIVER - Beto Lopez Cell: 33-1907-6883

- HEALTH INSURANCE Pag: 13 Tel: 376 766-0395, 1-888-449-7799 - LAKESIDE INSURANCE - EDGAR CEDEÑO Cell: 33-3106-6982, Tel: 33-1594-7897 Pag: 18 - PARKER INSURANCE SERVICES Pag: 09 Tel: 376 765-5287, 376 765-4070 - PROTEXPLAN U.S. Toll Free 1-800-608-5743 Mexico Toll Free 01-800-681-6730 Pag: 24 - TIOCORP Pag: 14 Tel: 376 766-4828, 376 766-3978

- CENTRO LAGUNA Tel: 376 766-5514

* ELECTRONICS/ TECHNOLOGY Pag: 43

* HEARING AIDS

* INVESTMENT

- COMFORT SOLUTIONS Pag: 42 Tel: 33-1228-5377 - GENERAL HOME SERVICES - Amancio Ramos Jr. Cell: 331-520-3054 Pag: 28 - MARBLE & GRANITE Pag: 41 Tel: 376 766-1306 - PISOS Y AZULEJOS DE LA RIBERA Pag: 44 Cell: 331-250-6486 - ROBERTO MILLAN - ARCHITECT Tel: 376-766-3771, Cell: 331-340-3758 Pag: 39 - SIKA Pag: 34 Tel: 376 766-5959 - WARWICK CONSTRUCTION Pag: 38 Tel: 376 108-8754, Cell. 331-135-0763

Pag: 43 Pag: 41

- CASA INARQ Tel: 376 766-5397 Pag: 45 - FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ Tel: 376 766-0880, Fax: 376 766-2440 Pag: 58

Pag: 38

* NOTARY SERVICES

- MAQUINARIA Y HERRAMIENTAS PROFESIONALES Tel: 387-763-1232, Cell: 33-1892-2142

* HARDWARE STORES

* INSURANCE

* CONSIGNMENT SHOP - TEPEHUA TREASURES Tel: 376 763-5126

Pag: 11

Pag: 33

* COMPUTERS - LAKESIDE - CompuShop + Repair Tel: 33-2340-7501 / 376 668-1354

Pag: 21

* GRILLS - NAPOLEON Tel: 376 766-6153

* MUSIC / THEATRE / EVENTS - D.J. HOWARD Tel: 376 766-3044

* GOLF - ATLAS COUNTRY CLUB Tel: 33-2257-1919

* CHIROPRACTOR

Pag: 34

EMERGENCY HOTLINE 911 CRUZ ROJA 376 765-2308, 376 765-2553 FIRE DEPARTMENT 376 766-3615 POLICE Ajijic 376 766-1760 Chapala 376 765-4444 La Floresta 376 766-5555

Pag: 18

Tel: 376 766-4525, Cell: 332-255-5972 Pag: 31 - RAUL GONZALEZ Cell: 33-1437-0925 Pag: 03, 41 - VISTA ALEGRE Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05

Pag: 03

* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Pag: 11

- AJIJIC HOMES 4 RENT – Property Management Tel: 33-1520-1980 Pag: 45

- COLDWELLBANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 376 766-1152, Cell: 331-386-7597 Pag: 48 - EAGER REALTY Tel: 333-137-8447, 376 766-1917 Pag: 26 - FOR RENT Pag: 36 Cell: 333-667-6554 - FOR RENT Pag: 51 Tel: 333-496-4868 - VILLAS DEL SOL Pag: 45 Tel: 376 766-1152

* RESTAURANTS / CAFES /BAR - AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 376 766-2458 - GO BISTRO Cell: 33-3502-6555 - LA TAVERNA Tel: 376-766-2848 - MAGNOLIAS Tel: 331-158-3861 - MANIX Tel: 376-766-0061, Cell: 331-065-0725 - MOM’S DELI & RESTAURANT Tel: 376 765-5719 - THE HOT DOG SHOP Tel: 376 766-3807, Cell: 333-662-9990 - YVES Tel: 376 766-3565 - ZARANDEADO PERO FELIZ

Pag: 58 Pag: 06 Pag: 34 Pag: 46 Pag: 49 Pag: 03

- LOS NIÑOS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC Tel: 376 765-7032

- SUN QUEST ENERGY Tel: 376 766-6156, Cell: 333-117-9126

- GANESHA SPA Tel: 376 766-5653, Cell: 331-385-9839 - TOTAL BODY CARE Tel: 376 766-3379

Pag: 43 Pag: 20

* TAXI / TRANSPORTATION - DANIEL’S PERSONAL DRIVER Cell: 33-3662-9990 - OMAR MEDINA Cell: 33-1281-2818 - TAXI-Arturo Fernandez Cell: 333-954-3813

Pag: 08 Pag: 51

- CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 376 762-0602, Cell: 33-1411-0242

Pag: 47 Pag: 44 Pag: 51

Pag: 36

* WATER - TECNO AQUA Tel: 376 766-3731, 376 688-1038

Pag: 25

* WRITING SERVICES

Pag: 29

- PROFESSIONAL WRITING SERVICES Tel: 33-2303-2619, Cell: 33-2389-0302

Pag: 17

Pag: 25

* SPA / MASSAGE

* TREE SERVICE

Pag: 33

Pag: 51

* SOLAR ENERGY

Pag: 47

* RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES - ALICIA’S CONVALESCENT Tel: 376 766-1194, 376 766-2999 - CASA ANASTASIA - Care Home Tel: 376 765-5680 - CASA NOSTRA-Nursing Home Tel: 376 765-3824 - NURSING HOME LAKE CHAPALA S.C. Tel: 376 766-0404 - VIDA BELLA SEÑIOR RESIDENCE Tel: 376-765-4000

* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

Pag: 26

Pag: 49

Pag: 37

* SATELLITES/ T.V. - AJIJIC ELECTRONICS S.A. DE C.V. Tel/Fax: 376 766-1117, 376 766-3371 - SHAW SATELLITE SERVICES Tel: 33-1402-4223

Pag: 49 Pag: 51

Saw you in the Ojo 55

CARS

WANTED: Plated Travel Trailer or RV. Used with a good price. LanaCoffman@yahoo.com WANTED: US Plated 4-wheel drive SUV or Pick Up. I have a family member who’d like to buy an American plated used 4-wheel drive SUV or pick up (for use in the US). I’m aware it needs to go to the US for the purchase to be made there, but this can be handled. Anyone have a good used SUV (or pick up) they’d like to sell? Budget is up to $5,000 USD. FOR SALE: Custom 1992 VW Bug, Green and yellow VW with rear of car customized. Removable for rear included. Good condition and reliable. Easy to get around in and find parking places. Green Bay Packers or Oregon Ducks color scheme. $55,000.00 pesos. Jalisco plated current. More info and photos available just email me.

WANTED: Looking for late model Toyota Camry 4p LE L4/2.5. Under 50,000km.

FOR SALE: 2017 ford figo 40k with factory warranty. My wife and I are moving to Canada so we’re looking to sell our car. Still under warranty until dec 2020. Only has 39,500 kms. We will be doing the 40,000kms service for you at ford. Car is in 8/10 condition. Has a few minor scratches on the body. Looking for 120,000 pesos or cad equivalent.

FOR SALE: 2011 all white Suzuki sx4, most all options,69000 kls. NICE SHAE. Book price $5000 U.S. Will SELL FOR $4500. U.S. E-MAIL artandgail@yahoo.com, PHONE 7660792 FOR SALE: Pontiac G6 Hardtop Convertible 54,000 Km 148,000, Hardtop folds into the trunk. 3.5 liter V6 with automatic transmission. Cruise control. Keyless entry. Leather upholstery. Entertainment system controls on steering wheel. Electric seats. Accident-free.

Perfect paint. E-mail me at bisita@gmail.com or call me at 55 64 26 37 20.

FOR SALE: 2016 mazda cx-3, original owner, well-maintained, 80,000 km, all records, great car! $230,000 pesos (price reduced!) $220,000 MXN Pesos. You will love this car! It’s agile, sporty, the perfect size, and it’s been serviced at mazda every 10k. The car

was purchased by me, in Mexico. The plates are from the state of Mexico. (Estado de Mexico). I live in Ajijic, and can show the car anywhere in lakeside, or in Guadalajara. It’s the highest trim, so it has a sunroof and a backup camera. I have all of the records, and i am the original owner. You can send me a whatsapp if you’d like a test drive: +15136028835.

FOR SALE: Do you want to go back to Canada but don’t want to fly? We have an Alberta plated car for sale. We are looking for a buyer who wants to drive back to Alberta or anywhere in Canada. $72,000 pesos (negotiable) 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe SE 3.3 liter V6 drivetrain AWD, 5 passenger with lots of room to pack items, 200K kilometer, Leather interior, Heated seats, Sunroof, A/C, Cruise Control, Anti-lock brakes, Electronic Stability Control, Excellent Condition.

COMPUTERS

WANTED: I want to buy a Boostaroo headphone amplifier. Please PM me and how much you want.

FOR SALE: Logitech X-230 Multi-media computer speakers with gaming subwoofer.

Excellent condition. 1500 pesos or best offer. contact Dan 376-766-2722, leave message.

FOR SALE: Acer 14” Touch Screen Laptop for Sale!!! Acer Aspire R R5-471T-51UN Ultrabook, Intel Core i5 6200U (2.30 GHz); 256 GB SSD (instant boot); Intel HD Graphics 520 Shared Memory; 14” Touchscreen Windows 10 Home 64-Bit. (Backlit keyboard, camera, microphone, sd card reader, etc) See https://www.cnet.com/products/aceraspire-r14-r5-471t-51un/ for complete specs, Folds completely flat to work as a tablet, Perfect condition EXCEPT for a one single line of the screen is bad (reflected in asking price), $150 USD or $3,350 MXN with charger and case, Respond by email or phone 33 2637 9332 FOR SALE: BROTHER LASER PRINTER, MODEL: DCP L2540DW. This is a great LASER printer, so many features, I can’t even start to list them all. This gets 5 ***** in reviews. It’s a B/W printer, however if you must have a color copy, you can scan in

The Ojo Crossword

56

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020

color and then take that to a stationary store and have it printed in color. Check the price online, and you will find it’s going for a few pesos less than $4,000. https://www.google. com/search?channel=crow2&client=firefox-bd&q=DCP+L2540+DW I will give you a new, unopened toner cartridge. You can get hundreds of pages from a cartridge, depending on your coverage. I will take $2,200.00. If it’s so great, why am I selling it? In Mexico, I learned it’s always good to have a back up, but I don’t need it now. You pick it up in Chapala Haciendas 2. I have the printed manual and you can D/L the drivers online. You can use it USB or Wireless (Hide it in a closet, out of the way).

1988jeopardychampion@gmail.com FOR SALE: Printer Cartridges for a US HP Office Jet Pro 8710. Only for US HP Printer a 2 pack of black cartridges. Paid $60.00 US make offer. Tel: 376-763-5664.

PETS & SUPPLIES

WANTED: I need 2 soft sides, airline approved, pet carriers if anyone has one of two to sell.

WANTED: House and pet sitter available, Longtime resident available for short term house and pet sitting, Jan-March 2021 WANTED: I need a donation of home flea spray, if any can donate this to me, I live in Ajijic, 332 219 3667. Does anyone know where I can get Cedar Oil which is supposed to be non-toxic to pets? I have a 700 peso cat flea collar, but the cat didn’t like it, best for indoors cats. If anyone needs one I can exchange that for some house flea spray.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE

FOR SALE: Kimball Baby Grand Piano.

Recently tuned, played regularly by professional musican, $2,000 USD or Best Offer.

Please Call. 331-298-5737 FOR SALE: Instant On Water Heater, German made instant on water heater. Ready to install. $2000 pesos. Paco WANTED: Mens bicycle. Looking for a man’s bicycle large enough for a 6’ 200 lb male.

FOR SALE: Men’s Set of Barbells, Email: jmm46@gmx.com WANTED: Does anyone have a Bike Rack that is sitting around that they are willing to part with? Mike--331-330-1050 FREE: We’re trying to downsize stuff (to make room for more stuff!) and are giving away some books, DVDs and cassettes. Please note that this is a “take it all or take none,” so please don’t ask for just one particular item.

I’m too lazy to try to do each thing separately.

Anyway, all appear to be in very good condition, but, hey, they’re free! 4 cassettes (with 8 separate episodes) from the radio show “Suspense”, “The Simpsons” DVDs, seasons 1 – 6, 8 DVDs (“White Noise,” “Walk the Line,” “What Lies Beneath,” “The Ninth Gate,” “The Others,” “28 Days Later,” “Wonderland,” and “ Pirates of the Caribbean”), 3 “Princess Sultana” books, The complete “Sookie Stackhouse” collection of 10 books (“True Blood” was based on this series) Please call 7655085 or PM me.

WANTED: Home gym, free weights, benches or any weight lifting equipment wanted. Please send private email or call 3334615442.

FOR SALE: Silver Table Services for sale.

Service for 8, 2 sets: knives, forks, spoons and serving pieces. 1 set Sterling, 1 set silver plate. 1 Antique Silver Oil Lamp w etched glass globe. Send PM. FOR SALE: I have a small, lightly used, Cress sample kiln for sale in Chapala. The inside dimensions are 8 x 8 x 8 inches. It has been used for making beads and small pieces. There is also some utility shelves that

come with it and various supplies like cones, shelves, kiln cleaner, etc. Please call or send me an email if you would like to see pictures.

Cobra 331.993.8523 krugerrentals@gmail. com WANTED: Mexican family looking for walking machine electric and want to stay safe away from crowds. Call 331 065 0725 WANTED: Looking for a Nokia Lumia 1020 cel phone in good condition and reasonable price. Call Norm at 331 431 7264, email ntihor@hotmail.com.

FOR SALE: $8,000 pesos King size bed never been used - includes mattress, box spring and head board. Mexico cell 999-1037532 or Home phone 376-766-4999 Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico Email: stephenrdavis@hotmail.com FOR SALE: Refresh Tears lubricant eye drops 15ml. Please PM me if you’re interested. I have 6 new bottles of Refresh Tears lubricant eye drops; 15ml. Never opened, seal unbroken. Expiry date is August 2021. 425 pesos per bottle; less than half price.

WANTED: I am in need of a set of Adjustable Dumbbells. Contact at jmm46@gmx.com FOR SALE: Guitar amplifiers. Trace Elliot Trident custom shop and Guytron GT100FV Randal switch master 150Up for sale to continue to fund my classic car restoration are 2 rare tube amplifiers. The first is a beautiful trace Elliot custom shop trident H100 head.

Finished in blue Python print and white silk it is one of a kind and one of very few 3 channel tube amps ever made. $2000 USD firm cost over $2700 in 1995 dollars for a stand factory green head plus shipping from the UK. The second amp is a Guytron GT100 FV with a pair of matching 1/4 stack cabs. Sold as a set for $3700 USD (over $5000 USD new plus Tax and shipping) This is the modem FV version of this amp which is one of the most unique circut designs ever made, using a class A preamp section with a class A/B power section it allows you to get everything from a fender blackface to a mashall in one amp at any value level! The Third amp is a Randal switch master 150 a 200W combo solid state amplifier with a very clean channel and a single 12” speaker. A very unique sold state with excellent tones. $500 USD. Contact me at 387-761-0570 Erik.

FOR SALE: Nice old hutch with 2 drawers. Measures 73.5 inches H x 43 W x 12 D. Asking 2500 pesos. Email: allysoncizekova@gmail.com FOR SALE: Moving: Frigidaire top of the line. Gas dryer. Like new – white, 18,000 p each, email for pics. Please call 333-966-5657 FOR SALE: Aynsley Bone China dishes.

12 piece set with serving dishes, best offer.

Send PM. FOR SALE: Nikon CoolPix L24 digital camera - $2,200 pesos OBO, 14.0 Megapixels for superb image quality, 3.6x Optical Zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens for sharp clear pictures, Big, Bright 3.0-inch LCD for easy viewing and sharing, Easy Auto Mode simply point and shoot, Vibration Reduction, Soft Carrying Case – Black, Including extra 16 GB SanDisk Ultra Plus memory card. (Color not as shown) Email: bfoster100@hotmail.com FOR SALE: Shaw HDDSR 600 receiver, Good working condition receiver for sale.

Has remote but it probably needs replacement. $600 pesos, Cell. 3334615442 or PM. FOR SALE: Wii Charge Station, Nyoko Charging dock and 2 rechargeable batteries for the Wii remote in original package (does NOT include the Wii remotes). Includes 2 NiMH rechargeable batteries, 6-foot AC power cord and 2 rubberized battery covers. $600mxn. 332-617-3588 or 376-765-5085.

FOR SALE: 2 New Bar Stools, If you have a kitchen counter/breakfast nook and need

stools, these are just the size! We’re selling 2 dark brown metal stools w/light tan velour cushions. We bought the wrong size by mistake and they’ve never been used. Height: 38”/96.5cm and the cushions are 16”/40.5cm. $400mxn each. 332-617-3588 or 376-7655085.

FOR SALE: Beautiful travertine dining room table for sale. Size: 42”x96”x2” Similar to marble, with matt black base also beautifully crafted. Sits 10. Wooden chairs optional.

Asking 22,000 pesos for table and base only.

Please contact Norm at ntihor@hotmail.com, Cell 331 431 72 64.

FOR SALE: Integra DTR 40.2 AVR and Aircom S7 fan, I have an Integra DTR 40.2 for sale. The unit was factory refurbished when I purchased it a little over two years ago. I also have an Aircom cooling fan if the unit is placed in a cabinet. Price is $4,000 pesos.

WANTED: Looking for a high quality reclining chair is excellent condition. Thanks 3334615442 FOR SALE: I am selling a queen mattress with a semi new base, perfect conditions little use. $5,500 call 333-856-5644 send email: brio_@outlook.es WANTED: Anybody have Wii Fit system for sale? Looking for complete system including balance board. 376-765-5046 FOR SALE: Used, heavy duty Makita portable drill, New battery, works perfectly, several speeds and I think, a hammer-drill setting.

Has charger that works fine and carrying case.

This is a commercial grade drill. $1,200.00 pick up at Chapala Haciendas, #2 1988jeop-

ardychampion@gmail.com FOR SALE: Versatile Kitchen cart, $900 pesos o.b.o Ready for immediate pickup. I’m in Zapopan.

FOR SALE: DUMB TV, 46” Sharp Aquos 1080P LCD HDTV, In excellent condition, owner’s manual and remote control included, 7 input terminals including 3 HDMI, PC (PowerPoint photos), and digital audio output.

Wall-mounting bracket, remote, and owner’s manual included. 5,000 pesos, (376)766-2264 or ajcastleman@yahoo.com FOR SALE: Home Theater / Audio Equipment, SpeakerCraft 125-watt 2-channel amplifier / AV preamplifier (drove home theater plus 22 speakers) --3900 peso, Pioneer DVD and CD programmable carousels (300 discs each) -- 2250 pesos each. Owner’s manual and remote control included for each piece of equipment. Package of all 4 components -- 10,000 pesos or USD $450. These quality pieces simply need a new home. (376)7662264 or ajcastleman@yahoo.com WANTED: Searching for used storage lockers/boxes, for shipping personal goods back to Canada.

WANTED: Looking for set of men’s dumbbells. jmm46@gmx.com WANTED: I am looking for an AIR BIKE like the Schwin Aerdyne or Assualt BIke or something similar. michael jmm46@gmx.com WANTED: Do to increased traffic during the covid crisis, we have space for large antiques and furniture etc for consignment, protect yourself, we will sell it for you and give you the cash you need. We have the traffic,

good lighting, the 17 charities we support are in crisis. Please if you need cash, anything over $150 pesos can be put on consignment. Donations accepted. All items are put under quarantine for 3 days before putting up for sale. If you know some who just recently bought a house, they can sell the furniture they do not want on consignment at Todo Bueno resale and consignment shop next to S and S auto in Riberas. Cell: 331 016 1619 WANTED: Still looking for a basic DVD player with working a remote. Please send PM. FOR SALE: Pair of beautiful bookcases.

Freestanding, architectural and very substantial. Can be configured in several creative ways. Cost $7000 pesos. Sell for $4500. Call 332 257 4889 for photos.

FOR SALE: Beautiful 5 piece bar set.

Classic Mexicana equipal construction. Top quality with burnt red leather. ‘L’ shaped bar, 3 high chairs with footrests and a barman’s stool. Cost $12,000 pesos. Sell for $7000. Call 332 257 4889 for photos.

WANTED: Would like to find a reasonably priced Cast Iron love seat for the garden. Small chairside table would be nice too.

Please Call Molly at 766-0688 -or- Carrol at 766-4338 FOR SALE: One Rheem 13 liter on demand boiler great condition. I bought a new that works with a solar tank. Asking 3000. Please email if you are interested. arrousser3@gmail.com FOR SALE: 32” Smart t.v. many features, free steaming movies y tube, haystack plex

and many more. $2600 pesos, (paid over $4000). Like new end tables (3 drawers) $800 pesos ea. Electric air purifier ,add a little tee tree oil you will receive great fragrance $400 pesos. 2 kopokely chairs,black seats $500 pesos ea. kopokely wall figurines $400 PESOS. Dvd player,recorder,many features, including karaoke,$500 pesos. Translator Spanish to English, plus 40 other languages $100 pesos.

LG smart microwave,many features,only 4 months old.$2500 pesos. (available when we leave). Gateway computer (windows 7), English keyboard induced $2500 pesos. Samsung laser printer $800 pesos. (computer and printer available when we leave). 3 mixing large bowls with lids. $300 pesos. Vacuum cleaner, brought down fro Canada $2500 pesos.

Vita mix blender $3000. Insta pot pressure cooker,(from Canada) $700 pesos (vacuum ,vita-mix, insta pot available when we leave).

Mexican clothes baskets (2) $150 pesos ea.

Assortment of scatter rugs (5) $200 pesos, All wire clothes rack needs repair $50 pesos FOR SALE: Shaw Motorola model 605 HDD for Shaw Direct. Includes cables. Never used. $50 USD or $1100 pesos.

WANTED: We are in need of patio furniture, anything for sale?

FOR SALE: Original Prada Shoes, size 24.5 Mexican, only 1 time was used, price $3,000 pesos. Call to Alma 331-005-3109 FOR SALE: Individual Brass Headboard, Price $2,200.00 pesos. Call to Alma 331-0053109.

Saw you in the Ojo 57

58

El Ojo del Lago / October 2020