El Ojo del Lago - September 2010 by El Ojo del Lago

Saw you in the Ojo

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

Saw you in the Ojo

Richard Tingen

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

FEATURE ARTICLES

COVER STORY

Kay Davis writes about a trip that all Lakesiders simply must experience—a jaunt up to nearby magnificent Mazamitla. It is in an area called “The Switzerland of Mexico” and with the greatly improved highway now finished, there’s no reason to put the trip off any longer.

8 Cover by Dani Newcomb

14 LOCAL PROFILE C Jordan English takes a look at Jim Cook, a relative newcomer to our fair shores, who has created a wonderful blog to showcase his adopted country of Mexico.

COLUMNS THIS MONTH 6

Editor’s Page

Balloon in Cactus

Bridge by Lake

Uncommon Sense

Joyful Musings

Thunder on Right

44 HUMOR

Wondrous Wildlife

Don Edwards finds humor in the most unlikely of places: Afghanistan. His solution for this never-ending war will appeal to anyone who’s ever tried to set up their own small business.

Faith and Fables

Anita’s Animals

Stay Healthy

Hearts at Work

Lakeside Living

Magnificent Mexico

Animal Shelter

Gringas & Guacamole

New Lease

Child of Month

Welcome to Mexico

LCS Newsletter

24 MUSIC—AJIJIC STYLE Micki Wendt has (secretly) experienced a long series of impromptu “neighborhood concerts” that have left her very glad to be living in Ajijic.

50 FICTION Bob Tennison spins a cautionary tale about a young lady who goes to Hollywood only to discover that the legendary “Yellow Brick Road” is not what it used to be.

62 BOOK REVIEW Victoria Schmidt takes the measure of Joyful Musings, a collection of vignettes written by our own Joy Dunstan, (who writes a popular column for us) and finds that the book is funny, philosophical and quite touching; in other words, it’s terrific.

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

COVER STORY

PUBLISHER

Index...

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

LAKESIDE LIVING

 D IRE C TOR Y 

34 MAGNIFICENT MEXICO

VOLUME 27 NUMBER 1

Saw you in the Ojo

By Alejandro Grattan Dominguez IT’S A FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT WORLD

n 1963, producer-director Stanley Kramer made a movie called It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which was a bad, bad, bad movie, a pastiche of soggy sight-gags which featured several AARP personalities, including Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Milton Berle, Andy Devine, Jonathan Winters and The Three Stooges. But what struck me most in recently watching (not all of it) the film was that almost every leading cast members was . . . grossly overweight—a sight which prompted me to do a little research on obesity. The results are not encouraging. As our planet has gotten more populated, its inhabitants are growing larger. Waistlines are expanding so rapidly that health experts have coined a term for this epidemic: globesity. Today, one in three of the world’s adults are over-weight and one in ten is obese, according to the World Health Organization, which also believes that number of chubby adults will balloon to 2.3 billion by 2015. The reason: increased modernization and a world-wide explosion in the availability of highly processed foods. But of course some countries have a higher percentage of fat people than others. Here are a few of the countries with the dubious distinction of being in The Top Ten Weightiest Countries. At Number 10—The United Kingdom, where 61% of the population is over-weight. The heaviest man in the world is a 48-year-old Brit who checks in at 980 pounds. Brits are among the bottom third of European nations in exercise. A government official recently said, “We are in danger of being known as the best in the world for watching sports.” At Number 8—Israel, where 61.9% are over-weight and where the number of obese people has tripled since the 1970s. Jewish women with college degrees have the lowest level of obesity, while Arab women with a basic education have the highest. At Number 4—Germany, where 66.5% are over-weight, making the country the fattest nation in Europe. The usual suspects are of course

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

beer, eer fatty foods and lack of physical activity. As with most of the rest of the world, Germans are suffering from easy availability of junk food and more sedentary jobs and lifestyles. At Number 3—The United States, where 66.7% of the population is over-weight. In the 1960s, only 24% of the people were overweight. Today, two-thirds of Americans are too fat. The reason—overproduction of oil, fat and sugar, the result of farm subsidies in the 1970s that made it much cheaper to manufacture products like high fructose corn syrup. And coming in at Number 1—Samoa, where a staggering 93.5% of the people are too chunky. Prior to WWII, this was not the case. Since then, the country has really started to throw its weight around, especially as witnessed by the inordinately high percentage of professional football players from Samoa. Mexico is rather well down on the list of the World’s Fattest Nations, though given its wonderfully delicious albeit fattening foods, this defies prevailing logic. One reason could be the trend in Mexico over the past few decades to much greater interest in participatory sports and exercise. Well, having filled this column with the required number of words, I’m now off to make my weekly visit to my weight scales where I fully expect to be mugged by rather distressing news. Alejandro Grattan

A BALLOON IN CACTUS By Maggie Van Ostrand

Help Wanted!

ears ago when all I could afford were old jalopies, the family joke was I needed to marry an auto mechanic. Nowadays my ideal mate would come with a degree in engineering, carpentry and plumbing as something always seems to be going wrong around the house. Allong with these requirements, handsome would also be nice. It’s called general maintenance and I’m sure my abode is no different than anyone else’s except, I have two left thumbs when it comes to such things. I have had a squeaky front door for weeks even though I have repeatedly oiled it with vaseline and hand cream. That should have taken care of the problem, don’t you think? The other day I tried to hang a picture and ended up with a five inch hole in the wall and the darned thing still looks crooked to me. The oven door is stuck and don’t even get me started on the bathroom sink that is stopped up most of the time. Just when I had given up all hope, my problem seemed to be solved. A new neighbor moved in next door. He seemed pleasant enough, could tell his right from his left and I even saw him working on his motorcycle the other day. I should have known this wasn’t going to work out. When I offered him a soda if he would tack down a piece of carpet the cat had pulled up, he asked if I had anything stronger. An hour later the vodka bottle was finished but the repairs never were. I then decided to head down to my local hardware store. Surely there would be someone there who could give me some pointers on home repairs. Alas, the lad that was assigned to assist me looked to be about nineteen years old and treated me like his dear, old Grannie. “This is a hammer. Can you say hammer?” Back to square one. A tried and true method my Mother taught me years ago works some of the time. When her washing machine would conk out she would walk away from it for about

an hour. Lo and behold when she returned it had repaired itself. I have been trying this with my vacuum cleaner but three weeks later it still makes a grinding noise. Most days I find the humor in my plight but on others I am tempted to stand on the corner with a sign that reads, “Wanted, Jackof-all-trades” but with my luck my neighbor would apply. I have stopped asking all the men I meet if they are good with their hands as I seem to be giving the wrong impression. Today is a new day, the sun is shining and I am filled with hope. Son #l is stopping by and I have my “honey-do” list at the ready. But first, I am told, we must meet up with a friend for lunch and then it’s on to WalMart for kitty litter and before I know it, the day is gone. We laugh, we visit and not a darned thing is done around the house. Oh well, there’s always next week. And so my life goes, the peanut butter lid refuses to budge, a bulb is out in the living room and the ceiling is twelve feet high and the front door still taunts me. “Wanted - must have a very long ladder and a can of WD40 would be helpful. Semi-handsome would be nice.”

Saw you in the Ojo

Magnificent Mazamitla By Kay Davis

t started with a travel article on day trips you simply must do. Maybe it is truly one of those places you don’t want to miss, and maybe someone wants to promote tours. We didn’t know which, but when the weather is particularly hot here, a mountain retreat sounds inviting. We were already in the car, having just had Sunday brunch out. So we headed west toward Jocotepec, and soon the south shore presented its luxuriant green hills and pastures, blue skies and distant white clouds with the quiet of a Sunday anywhere in Mexico. It seemed that, in a matter of minutes, we had entered another world. Perhaps we had, for the south shore uses less English. Nonetheless, we entered this distinctly Mexican world with a sense of excitement. What new experiences awaited us this day? The kilometers rolled easily past us as we approached Tuxcueca, the turning point. This is well marked with a signpost pointed south towards Mazamitla. The road twisted and turned as we climbed in altitude, enjoying the view of Lake Chapala, along with the mountain valleys and pasturelands. We also saw teenaged boys herding small clusters of cows. Here we were into dairy country, its fields populated with cows, horses and some bulls. At one point we saw a road sign warning us to be cautious because this was a poblado, or inhabited area. When we came around a turn, we noticed a large cluster of greenhouses. There were cows grazing in the fields alongside. Soon we came to the first major pueblo, La Manzanilla de la Paz.

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

What struck me most was that it is a sizable town with its own bull arena for charrerías, which are riding and roping exhibitions using horses and bulls and testing the skills of the vaqueros (cowboys). But even beyond the village itself, the town limits are stretched along this twisty highway. The extended area is entirely of farms and ranches. The name implies that this “knob” of the mountain is a peaceful place. Soon we were getting close to Mazamitla. My husband checked the time and the distance. He had estimated the trip would be close to 100 km (60 miles) and would take about two hours each way. And so it was. We followed the traffic and discovered a serious bottleneck through the downtown area. We identified some pleasant looking restaurants, a large central church, and many tiendas (shops) along every street, offering anything a shopper might want and spotlessly clean. When we saw teens with cell phones, we knew this was a prosperous area. Since the cobblestone streets run parallel to each other, crossing in a grid, they tend to have steep areas as narrow as our own streets in Ajijic or Chapala. Some care is needed when driving off the main drag for cars and trucks are often parked along

the sides, and steep streets made of cobblestones can be slick in the rain. Some of these have been wisely paved with two concrete tire lanes to provide smooth driving and grip. One such street runs up the back end of town to an area we quickly discovered is the starting point for “extreme sports” activities. The lay of the land ahead appeared to offer a wooded area, the Parque Publico la Zanja. Another street at the south end of Centro heads southeast where, according to the map, we would have found the trail leading to the Mazamitla 30-meter (95 foot) waterfall, but it was starting to rain, and we had brought no hiking clothes or rain protection. Here is what awaited us. Instead of seeking the waterfall, we scouted the Villas Mazamitla Hotel. We had seen a brochure on this new hotel and wanted to see for ourselves. It is a lovely spot just outside town, set in a large stand of pines. There we found individual cabins made of knotty pine décor with fireplaces, jacuzzis, terraces and a private fishing lake. The wonderful aroma of pine makes breathing a pleasurable experience. The well-appointed cabins are large enough for a family of four, or two couples. Some will suit a group of six. For two, the cost is 1,250 pesos per night, but to add another two people, the cost rises little, to just 1,350. Bring an extra blanket or two per person. Dining is via the Quinta del Bosque for a truly exquisite meal of grilled steaks under the shade of pine trees, or in town at La Troje, popular with the locals. There is also a very rustic place called the Hotel Cabaña Colina de los Ruiseñores. What a kick this place is, like something from a movie set! The rooftops rise above other rooftops, like mushrooms on an old tree. Pine needles grace the pathways, and there is a children’s play area, com-

plete with a small play house and swings. This hotel is quite basic in its provisions but clean, and we saw several families with small children playing happily at ping pong and other ball games. The cost is a mere 200 pesos per couple per night. Earlier I mentioned restaurants we had passed as we drove through town. There is El Pueblito (the small town), recommended by one couple, or El Tiburón Blanco (the white shark), offering seafood as their specialty, La Troje, mentioned above, and there are others too. There is much to recommend Mazamitla, whether you go in for horseback riding, extreme sports, fishing, shopping, sampling the foods and liqueurs of the various areas of Mexico or simply going for a walk before settling in front of a cozy fire. Set at roughly 7,000 feet above sea level, the town of Mazamitla is sometimes referred to as “the Switzerland of Mexico.” The name of the town comes from the Nahuatl word for “the place where arrows are made for hunting deer.” Mountain lions, deer and golden eagles can still be found among the pine and oak-covered hills. Come and see for yourself.

Saw you in the Ojo

BRIDGE BY THE LAKE By Ken Masson

veryone knows that to make a contract of 3 No Trump you need to take 9 tricks. Nobody ever said they have to be the first 9! Another truism in bridge is that more mistakes are made at trick one than at any other point in the play of the hand. A little more care in planning the play in the illustrated deal after seeing the dummy could have saved declarer from an unnecessary failure In this deal, played at the Lake Chapala Duplicate Bridge Club, South opened a perfectly normal 1 Diamond. West took advantage of the vulnerability to make an aggressive weak jump overcall of 2 Spades. North was full value for his 3 Heart bid and East passed. South, with a double Spade stopper closed the bidding with the reasonable call of 3 No Trump and West led the Jack of Spades, the recommended lead from this holding. Declarer won the opening lead in hand with the Spade Queen, laid down the Heart King followed by the Heart 5. When West followed low to the second Heart, South called for the Jack, hoping the Queen was with West. Alas for declarer, East won the trick and promptly switched to his remaining Spade, trapping South’s King and allowing West to cash 5 tricks in the suit. On the run of the Spades, East signalled that he liked Clubs and when West switched to a Club the defence was able to come to a total of 7 tricks, defeating the contract by 3 tricks. In the post mortem, South saw that the contract could have been

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

made! The weak jump overcall by West was in fact the clue that South needed for it showed a probable six card suit and between 6 and 10 points. Therefore, East was likely to hold 2 Spades and at least some of the defence’s high cards. It was imperative to keep East off the lead as long as he had one Spade left. The way to do that was to duck the opening lead. Note the deadly affect of this simple measure. If West continued Spades, South could win and take the Heart finesse with assurance that East would not be able to return a Spade to his partner if he won that trick. The only possible way that East could get to West’s hand was if the latter held the Club Ace, unlikely on the bidding and in which case the contract would have been hopeless from the start. Also noteworthy on this deal is the fact that 4 Hearts could not make with accurate defence. EastWest were always entitled to one spade, one heart and two clubs to put the major suit game down. 3 No Trump was indeed the best contract and all that the declarer had to do was duck the opening lead to make it. Questions or comments: email: masson.ken@gmail.com

A Particular Blue By Michael Warren A Review by James Tipton

ichael Warren, who is best known to Lakesiders for his theatre reviews in El Ojo del Lago and for occasionally reading some of his well-crafted poems at local poetry venues (and recently at Open Circle), has just published his first collection of poetry…a “first” collection that at the same time is also a “Collected Poems”…titled A Particular Blue. Michael in A Particular Blue offers us some finely-tuned poems, written over several decades, that demonstrate a deep love of language, and a very admirable competency with sound, image, structure, things which when absent leave us with only a pretense of poetry. When a poet, like Michael, who has worked with sound, image, structure, for most of his life, stands on the shore of his own self and casts his net out over of the world of his experience, he pulls in honest-to-God (and honest-to-Life) poems, more than four-dozen of them in this fine collection. Some of the most touching are about grief and loneliness, like the lovely final sequence of four sonnets, “Sonnets for Marianne,” which begins, “So sweet, so soft, her final breath/I hardly knew the air had moved--/she gave a sigh, life became death,/flesh became dust, loving loved.” The second sonnet of that series reminds us of the Michael we admire and enjoy—the urbane, thoughtful, reserved, but always well spoken, and often witty: Sometimes I turn a corner, half expect to see her there, or think to tell

a joke, an observation, when we next shall meet—and how she’ll laugh, how well appreciate that thought, that pun. Michael and Marianne moved to Mexico more than ten years ago, and so, as we would expect, Mexico slips softly into some of the poems. Here are the opening two lines of “Jacaranda”: “Purple on powder blue, it’s hard to tell/where jacaranda ends and sky begins”. Blue is the primary color on this poet’s palette. In the title poem, “A Particular Blue,” Michael realizes that “Few/colours could be so old.” In “You” he sees “fish flying up a hill of blue water,” and in “Sundown” “The sun disappears into a blue hill….” The poems in A Particular Blue are written by a mature poet, a man who has thought about words for a very long time, and who has adeptly filtered his own life through language, refining it down to some rich and finally indefinable essence that we call poetry. A Particular Blue is available in Ajijic at Coffee & Bagels, Diane Pearl Gallery, Galería dos Lunas, and Mia’s Boutique.

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UUNCOMMON NCOMMON CCOMMON OMMON SSENSE ENSE By Bill Frayer billfrayer@gmail.com

Why Do People Believe Weird Things?

n my former life, I was a professor at a community college. I have had a longstanding interest in rationalism and critical thinking. I was active in the “critical thinking movement” in education. This was an effort to transform education from the “lecture and regurgitate” model of learning to a pedagogy which insisted that students learn how to think and reason, how to decide for themselves what to believe. Our goal was to teach students how to learn, how to think, not what to think. So that’s my bias. When I attended a college graduation in Maine one spring, the commencement speaker was an eminent educational reformer. The first words from his mouth were as follows: “The purpose of a college education is to teach you to be a good crap detector!” It shocked the audience a bit, but I think he was right. The purpose of being an educated person is to be able to decide what to believe and what’s just a bunch of crap. Why do so many otherwise intelligent people believe so many weird things? An example: I have met a number of people who really believe that George Bush ordered the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. They point to “evidence” that he was in cahoots with the Saudis, that scientists claim that the towers were sabotaged, that he needed a crisis to revive his presidency, etc. Now I just don’t find this plausible. I may be proven wrong, but from what I’ve read so far, I doubt it. Some people believe that eating a

Bill Frayer

particular Chinese herb will singlehandedly prevent illness and extend their lives. Others believe that your dead relatives are trying to communicate with you, that wearing a takionic headband can improve your thinking, that psychics can predict the future, and that planning their lives around astrological configurations will bring them prosperity and happiness. These are some examples of what I consider to be “weird” beliefs people have. If I haven’t alienated all my readers by now, I’ll consider why I think such beliefs persist. First, I think the world is a confusing and scary place. Bad events may affect any one of us at any time. So because we fear the unknown and the randomness of events, we are always looking for ways we can stay in control. As a result, we are vulnerable to those who claim to provide easy solutions to problems which may, by their very nature, be insoluble. If I believe I can avoid problems by looking at the configuration of the stars, then that’s comforting. If I convince myself that I can avoid a random illness by ingesting a particular herb every day, then I will feel safer. The root of our anxiety, I think, is fear of the randomness of life. We look for ways to “control” our lives. We are susceptible to claims that promise to protect us from illness, unhappiness, or loss. We look for explanations which make us feel in control of our lives. The reality that we often have little or no control, or that our loved ones are gone forever, is a frightening prospect. The problem is that instead of basing our beliefs on clear evidence, we sometimes base them on what we want to be true. We want to control our health and make ourselves happy. Unfortunately, most of these so-called solutions are ineffective. Conspiracy theories are popular because they explain, and assign blame. In reality, we cannot control many things in our lives. We need to become good “crap detectors” and make sure when we decide what claim to believe, that we first carefully examine the evidence.

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

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

Managing From the Heart

efore I begin this column, I’m proud to announce the release of my first book, Joyful Musings. It is a memoir of sorts about my growing up and learning about life, both north and south of the border. It is available directly through me, as well as at Diane Pearl’s Colecciones and Amazon.com. And now, to this month’s topic. Many years ago I was fortunate to hear an unexpectedly memorable talk from a co-worker at the large organization where I worked. He shared ideas from a then-new book entitled Managing from the Heart. It focuses on developing relationships based upon respect and compassion to achieve optimal loyalty and productivity. While most of you reading this have left the workforce, these principles translate well to personal relationships as well as dealings with fellow volunteers and household helpers like maids, gardeners, and the myriad repair people who help us take care of our homes. These are the five basic principles for managing from the HEART: Hear and understand me. Even if you disagree please don’t make me wrong. Acknowledge the greatness within me. Remember to look for my good intentions. Tell me the truth with compassion. Let’s look at these one at a time. Hear and understand me—It is important for people to feel fully listened to and understood. When they feel this way, they are more ready to hear what you have to say in return. Don’t interrupt or form your response before the other person has finished speaking. Common courtesy says that you hear the person out, even if you think you know where the conversation is going. Rephrasing their statement or question before you re-

spond ensures that you understood the other person’s true meaning. Even if you disagree, please don’t make me wrong—Nobody likes to have their worth as a person questioned or made to feel stupid. People always resent it, and if they don’t get mad, they get even. This principle is especially important here in Mexico where blame is so hurtful it is even avoided in the language. In Spanish, one would not say, “How did you break that bottle?” Instead, a Spanish speaker would say, “How did that bottle break itself?” Acknowledge the greatness within me—People tend to respond positively to anyone who addresses their potential greatness, even if no current evidence of it has yet surfaced. Take the time to share your knowledge or experience without talking down to others. Don’t let cultural differences or lack of formal education fool you into thinking someone is any less capable and deserving of your full caring and respect. Everyone has an innate value and the potential to grow. Remember to look for my good intentions—This means that when someone proposes an idea or completes a task, no matter what you think of the idea or the results, you explicitly acknowledge that the person has positive reasons for what they said or did. Tell me the truth with compassion—This means talking to people rather than at them, and doing it in a respectful and caring way rather than sounding disdainful or condescending. You can say virtually anything to anyone if you say it with kindness and respect. Approach all of your relationships with an open mind and an open heart. You’ll get far more back than the effort it takes to do it. Editor’s Note: Joy is a practicing psychotherapist in Riberas. She can be contacted at joy@dunstan.org or 765-4988

Saw you in the Ojo 13

Jim Cook’s Mexico Adventure By C Jordan English

enjoyed an afternoon with Jim Cook discussing the roots of his photo-documentary travels in Mexico with his lovely wife Carole. He mentioned an urge to retire early while still young plus juggling unaffordable health care Stateside. He had been a union organizer in Oregon. He expressed his affection for the warmth, friendliness, and generosity Mexicans naturally exude along with their sense of freedom. Jim recalled encountering a vaquero in a remote area, and asking if there were any rules about camping. He said the wide-eyed youth replied with astonishment, “Rules, what rules? Do what you want. No one cares.” Jim feels this response typifies the freewheeling live-and-let-live attitude he observes in many Mexicans. On a recent trek to Zacatlan I noted his amiable demeanor with Mexican people. I wondered how Jim’s life had shaped him into the man he is. Start with a Welsh gene pool, and a hook linked to the notorious Captain Cook--yes indeed. Jim has had a long-standing love of history. “In the fourth grade I picked up a biography of Daniel Boone, and became enamored with history. It’s far more interesting than fiction. I’m fascinated with how we are all connected. The story of Mexico goes back thousands of years. You still find the mano and metate in any Mexican hardware store. These grinding implements precede the Aztecs. That’s remarkable.” Jim’s comments elicited a smile from me. Whenever people ask me how far my heritage goes back I’ll say, “As far as I can tell, all the way to the Big Bang.” Jim is engrossed

Jim Cook with the drama of history’s shifting continuum, and it defines his path. He holds a special affection for indigenous people. “I’m instinctively drawn to the cause of the underdog which ties to my strong interest with indigenous people, and their ongoing struggles to preserve their unique culture. It saddens me to see the richness of their world-view fade. I hope my blog captures a sense of this.” “I see how my interest with indigenous history emerged while on a camping trip to Sedona, Arizona, when I was thirty. My topography map showed a symbol for “ruins” which turned out to be the remains of an Anasazi village. This sudden opening into an ancient world seized hold of me. Later, when Carole and I came to Mexico, I found myself surrounded by a historical richness deeper than anything I had previously experienced.” Other impressionable events molded Jim’s character and sense of values. “In 1971 I was stationed in Okinawa with the Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer. This experience created a sense of disillusionment with my life, the military, and the Vietnam War. I decided to never again do anything I didn’t deeply care about. This vow continues to shape my life to this day. It brought us to Mexico. Now, I see myself as a photo-journalist and a storyteller who enjoys highlighting the wonders of Mexico. Originally, my blog was a way to showcase my pictures of Mexico to family and friends in the States, and now my blog is viewed by more than 6,000 people each month in 132 countries and territories on every continent, including Antarctica.” Thanks for heading south, Jim. Jim’s blog: http://cookjmex. blogspot.com/

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ear Sir, As expected, the Lakeside Tea Party has not responded to my questions in your July 31 issue about their platform, leading us to believe they really have no answers for the issues facing US voters today. Or, perhaps they are only as coherent as their goddess, Sarah Palin. Not to be deterred, I have more questions for the TP: * Where were all you born-again deficit hawks when George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan each ran up the biggest deficits the country had yet ever seen during their administrations? * Can you name one country in the world that has low taxes, low government and regulations—and a high standard of living? * Now that the TP has its own Congressional Caucus, please state your relationship with the established Republican party. * How would a TP administration treat the Military-Industrial Complex? * How does the TP view the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? * About what percentage of your organization here receive US Social Security, US military or other pensions, disability, or Medicare? * Some TP members have written letters to the Guadalajara Reporter denying that the TP is racist. Anyone who has watched the news in the last year and a half has seen the fanatical, hostile crowds at TP and Palin rallies, often holding placards with very racist pictures and/or making ugly, racist remarks. If you are truly not racist, why are these people flocking to your rallies? Why don’t you publicly denounce them? * What would be the federal spending priorities of a TP administration? What would the US public have to look forward to with your party in office?

* During the US Revolutionary times well over 200 years ago, the economy and lifestyle was primarily agricultural. Half of the colonies utilized slave labor on their plantations. Please explain how hearkening back to those days is pertinent, much less beneficial to the US today. * How do you imagine that the Founding Fathers would handle... modern industrialization, mass media, the internet, mega-corporations, multinational corporations, widespread corporate malfeasance, handguns— which were not yet invented at the time the 2nd amendment was written, and modern scientific advances such as genetically modified foods and animals, gene-splicing, nanotechnology, life-support, etc.? * Has anyone in your group actually ever read “The Federalist Papers?” * Your most recent ad in the Guadalajara Reporter depicts an Uncle Sam sort of character appearing to do sweaty labor like planting trees. You say you want to “rebuild” America. Exactly what is this “rebuilding” going to consist of? And who will be hired to do this sweaty work, and who will pay them, and how much? * Please explain the apparent contradiction of TP supporters living in Mexico, as the TP mobilizes in Arizona to support sealing the Mexican border. Many people are awaiting your timely response. Thanks in advance. Sincerely, Micki Wendt, Ajijic, 766-4106

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THUNDER ON THE RIGHT By Paul Jackson

et me infuriate both the so-called Liberal Left and the Far Right by proposing that Franklin Delano Roosevelt should be regarded as a Conservative icon and hailed as such. I say this after reading for the third time Canadian entrepreneur and historian Conrad Black’s monumental 1,280-page work Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (2005) which has been acclaimed worldwide as perhaps the definitive work on the late president. Black contends FDR pulled America from destitution and saved it from anarchy, hard-line socialism and even communism - at a “bargain basement price” and today’s revisionists who claim his New Deal prolonged the Great Depression and that he sold out Eastern Europe to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at Yalta are utterly fraudulent. Black - an intellectual Conservative, and one of the richest men in both Britain - where he is a member of the House of Lords, and in Canada - once controlled the third largest newspaper chain in the world with 400 titles including the Chicago Sun-Times, the London Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. He is a man of superb intellect. In his work on Roosevelt - every single page enthralling and gripping - he contends that not only was Roosevelt the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln but made the USA into the world power it is. When FDR took over, unemployment was at 33% and the jobless’ only option under President Herbert Hoover had been to beg, starve or steal. By 1940, the jobless rate was down to 10% - about President Ba-

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Paul Jackson

rack Obama’s ‘official’ - but artificial figure today. While Hoover felt it was perfectly OK for the destitute to sell apples on street corners, Black notes Roosevelt put 60% of the jobless at work building thousands of schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, brought electricity and drought control to rural America, planted one billion trees and constructed parks and playgrounds to beautify and enhance the nation, and created social security and other welfare systems that today are the hallmark of every other civilized nation. Roosevelt even had the formerly unemployed building the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown. And FDR did all this while in a wheel chair. (He had lost the use of his legs long before he was elected president.) All the products and materials for his vast and varied ‘make work’ projects were brought from free enterprise companies and corporations, thus keeping them alive. His GI Bill turned a huge number of working-class Americans into middle- class Americans. Isn’t that what Conservatives adhere to - upward mobility for all? By repealing prohibition, Roosevelt rescued one of America’s largest industries - liquor - from the clutches of organized crime. Again, being tough on crime is a Conservative principle. To the claim Roosevelt’s New

Deal prolonged the Depression, Black assesses on occasion - such as in 1937 - Roosevelt - pulled back on government programs to see if the economy was robust enough to survive alone - it wasn’t quite ready. When it was, his New Deal projects were scaled back and finally halted. But for Roosevelt, the Axis powers would have surely won the Second World War. Without LendLease, Britain would have eventually gone down, thereby depriving America of a landing strip and launching pad to invade and rescue continental Europe. Incidentally, the Far Right and Isolationists in Congress would have surely moved to impeach Roosevelt had they realized what a canny piece of legislation Lend-Lease was. It absolutely subverted the law against selling armaments to a foreign power. Thank God for Roosevelt’s ingenuity on that score. Let’s not forget, too, Roosevelt fired the self-serving and sly Joseph P. Kennedy, then American ambassador to Britain, who declared Britain finished and the U.S. should do nothing to try and save it. If Hitler won, so what? In marshalling America’s latent industrial might, Roosevelt built armaments that overwhelmed Germany and Japan, and five million men and women in uniform gave the USA the largest standing army, navy and air force in history. He was surely no leftwing pacifist as the Radical Right of the time liked to suggest. As for selling out at Yalta, a slur promoted by renegades such as Senator Joseph McCarthy, even Republican President Dwight Eisenhower chastised Soviet dictator Nikita Krushchev at the 1955 Geneva Conference, charging Moscow had broken every promise on a free and neutral Eastern Europe that Stalin had made. By war’s end, as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

observed, the Western powers were too exhausted to fight back against Stalin’s betrayal. So Black is right to stress Roosevelt was a Conservative of historic proportions and bemoans that we Conservatives have let the Left kidnap him for their own misguided cause. Indeed, Roosevelt himself on frequent occasions pointed out how he had massaged the free enterprise system back to health and blasted the rich for not recognizing that he had not only rescued the average American from despair but had also saved those who lived in 40-room houses and on 1,000-acre estates. No wonder Roosevelt scoffed to Supreme Court Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter and others, and here I slightly paraphrase, “I am the greatest friend American capitalism ever had, yet they kick me in the guts every chance they get.” The saying, “It took a cripple to teach Americans how to walk tall again,” is bang-on. Conservatives should recognize Roosevelt’s achievements, vigorously fight the nefarious Leftwing abduction of FDR, and proclaim him as one of our saints. paulconradjackson@gmail.com

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Wondrous Wildlife By Vern and Lori Gieger

wildlifemexico@wildtravellers.org 765-4916

Wild, Exotic or Domestic?

fter a recent educational event we were sitting around chatting with friends, one commented on how beautiful Flamita is. Flamita (little flame) is a corn snake, but not your normal corn snake, her unusual red, orange and cream color is the result of genetic manipulation; which is responsible for a wide variety of colors and patterns among pet snakes. As the conversation progressed it was asked so is she wild or domestic? This prompted us to do some research. These color variations are known as morphs. You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find much in the way of physical differences in snakes of the same species when

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it comes to morphs, only the color. These genetic mutation morphs are a result of selectively breeding the snakes for different color traits; this happens at the DNA level. Almost all animals have been selectively bred by humans at one time or another. Dogs and cats are perfect examples. They have been bred for thou-

sands of years to obtain hundreds of different looks, temperaments, color patterns etc. Snakes are just like any other living animal—a variety of factors can be affected by genetics however it has only been seriously pursued for the past 20 or 30 years. Obviously these snakes’ color did not occur naturally and they wouldn’t fair very well in the wild because of their lack of camouflage; so we ruled out wild even though their ancestors are wild, but so is the case with several animals we now consider domestic. Now we come to exotic—an exotic pet is loosely defined as any pet that is not a dog, cat, fish or horse. Others define exotic pets as anything that is wild / not domesticated. However, this is not a precise definition either, since there is not an exact definition of the time when an animal that is tame and /or has been bred in captivity for years crosses the line from wild to domestic, as with horses for example. It seems the term exotic pet is a convenient catch-all phrase used to describe non-traditional pets. Using this definition, many domestic animals would fall into the category of exotic pets, despite the fact they may have been domesticated for thou-

sands of years, such as ferrets and camels. All camels are now considered domestic. I guess in this sense, exotic simply means a bit unusual. Um, I know a few people who could fall into that category; though I believe the polite expression would be eccentric. Still in the curious mode and finding the definition of exotic pet complex and open to interpretation. We decided to investigate the definition of a domestic animal and found it quite interesting; domestic animals officially means an animal of a species of vertebrates that has been domesticated by humans so as to live and breed in docile conditions and depend on humans for survival. Such as dogs, cats, other tame animals or birds and which serve some purpose for its owner. Sitting here admiring Flamita’s immense beauty, and her calm demeanor, as she gently glides across my laptop dusting it off in the process, I say yes, Famita is domestic. She even takes her supper ever so gently from our hand; unlike some of my dogs, after giving them a treat I count my fingers. Note: We would like to thank the Tingens and Paul Raza for their support for the protection of wildlife.

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OF O F FAITH FAITH A AND ND F FABLES ABLES By Bob Haynes bzhaynes@gmail.com

Turn Strong To Meet The Day

everal years ago, my wife and I received a handcrafted prayer card from a good friend. That card has remained firmly affixed to the mirror in my bathroom so that I will be certain that it comes into view the first thing every morning. The words are so calming and reassuring, it is impossible not to feel blessed to have received it. The words nestled, beside a drawing of the Cross and Flame symbol of the Methodist Church, reads: “Every morning lean thine arm upon the window sill of heaven and gaze upon thy God, then with the vision in thy heart, turn strong to meet the day.” It has been a fixture in my house since 2003. In good times and bad times, that prayer has been recited as a part of a ritual I have made receiving it. My morning ritual doesn’t end there however. Next to that prayer

card is a plaque containing still another prayer that has become some much a part of how I start each day. This prayer was written many, many years ago by St. Augustine. It also sustains me and points me toward the day no matter what the circumstance. It is called simply St. Augustine’s Prayer: “God of our life, There are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies gray and threatening. When our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; Tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; And so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to our honor and glory.” In this time of trial, I can tell you that I am reaching out to as many “positive” thoughts as possible and realize even more acutely that my attitude is a great part of the treatment and healing process. While I’ll speak to that subject more next time, I do want to share with you some wisdom about the importance of attitude. First, know that the essence of our being is love and that health is inner peace. Healing is letting go of fear. We can choose and direct ourselves to be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside. And, since love is eternal, death need not be viewed as fearful. Shalom!

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ANITA’S ANIMALS By Jean Sutherland

Keeping the Cat Happy

any of us here long for the days when we could go to the local pet store and buy a nice scratching pole for our cat. The lack of a good pet store has led many of us to invent different ways to satisfy our cat’s need to scratch. Scratching is a natural way for them to leave their mark on the world. Without something to scratch you shouldn’t be surprised to find them using chairs, couches and woodwork. Even if you have one of those fancy store bought scratching poles, many cats quickly tire of them. One of the easiest things to do to keep them happy is to get a small piece of carpeting and start attaching it to different places and surfaces. You can attach it to walls with nails or glue, attach it to a piece of wood that’s slanted or get creative and think of different things that will help to keep your cat amused. Use a number of different things and change them out every month or so. This will keep the cat happy and occupied. Then start attaching articles to the surfaces so that the cat can also play. Feathers, balls with little bells in them and of course, the occasional treat of catnip on the surface. We are lucky here at Lakeside, in that we can get fresh catnip from Great Greens in Jaltepec. Just don’t plant it outside or it will disappear overnight. Consider having a local carpenter make you a cat amusement center. This can be done easily and with the addition of different surfaces, holes to hide in and ledges to jump on, your cat will be entertained for hours.

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Have a carpenter make you a special window ledge for your cat and put up some hummingbird feeders just outside of it. Your cat will be entertained for hours. Nothing is more special to a cat than a great place to have a nap with the sunshine landing on their bodies. A window ledge can be something they will sleep on as well as being entertained. Add a piece of lambs wool or rabbit fur to cover the ledge and you’ll have one happy cat. One thing our cat used to love was a cat video we brought back with us from the USA. She would perch on the table in front of the television and sit there listening and watching the action on the screen. Remember entertaining your cat does not have to be expensive. They can have a lot of fun with just a brown paper bag. Put a little catnip inside it and watch the hijinks that ensue. If you’re going to be out for the day, take some newspaper and make a dozen or so balls from the paper. Crunch them up good and put them in different places around the house. It will help to keep kitty entertained while you’re not home. Last, when the cool winter months are upon us, consider a small heating pad that can be put under their bed to give them a bit of extra warmth at night. If you’re lucky enough to be going to the USA you’ll find a wide selection of heated cat beds. Nothing is more satisfying than a happy cat.

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The T he T Ten e n Tenors Tenors O Off U Upper pper A Ajijic j i j ic c By Micki Wendt

t all started one October Friday around dusk. A bunch of young guys arrived next door, probably after work, and started sitting around drinking, talking, and laughing. As the tequila warmed things up the laughter got more and more hysterical and I went out to my patio to listen, charmed by the way a group of guys could keep themselves in stitches for a solid hour without viewing any electronic media. Then, suddenly they left, and all was quiet. The next Friday, around dusk, I heard the unmistakable sound of a pool cue stick hitting a ball, and pool balls hitting each other, coming from next door. That property was a large undeveloped lot with a small house towards the back where lived a quiet, young Mexican family, whom I had briefly met when I went over there one day to return a kids’ stray ball. I saw that there was also a half-built house in front of the other, more or

less next to my rear casita. Apparently, they had just moved a pool table into the unfinished house. Later, the guys arrived again with the requisite refreshments, and an exuberant pool game commenced, with much laughter, hooting and hollering, or groaning as the case may be. There was a lot of that famous high-pitched grito Mexicano, which seems to come naturally as the tequila being passed around warms up the throat. Discreetly on the other side of the wall, I enjoyed listening in to their cheerful little party, getting sort of a contact high. The next week, they added a

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loud CD player to provide a musical soundtrack to yet another nice little party. Soon, they began singing along with the stereo, belting unabashedly as the game progressed and the tequila kicked in. This was getting to be a regular routine, only better each week, and I was starting to look forward to Friday nights at home. As the weeks progressed, the parties continued. The music was always good, and they would get right down to singing early on, certainly making up in passion what they lacked in technique. As the libations took effect, the music would become decidedly more romantic and traditional, as they lustily belted along, sometimes in harmony. Enchanted, I’d lie down on my patio bench, look up at the stars, and listen in, like a fly on the other side of the wall. What a revelation… here was what drunk young men do when they think there are no women around… I related these events to my maid, admitting that in a flight of fancy, I liked to imagine that they were handsome and serenading me. She replied, “Well, maybe they are.” I stopped and thought…music is a sixth sense in Mexico, and perhaps someone had heard me sing, and decided to return the favor. Who knows? Loud music

can be a way of entertaining your neighbors, possibly, inadvertently or not, sending a subtle message through the air, sight unseen. One night, a little drama ensued. The guys were really going full force when several señoritas crashed the party! As if a trifle embarrassed, the guys scrambled to squelch the intensely romantic, almost operatic music, and switched to some current pop. They stopped singing, and welcomed the girls who hung around and shot some pool with them. They had a nice little party, but I noticed that the dynamic level had definitely dropped. Months went by, and the Ten Tenors became a regular, eagerly anticipated date. Then, as suddenly as the parties had begun, they suddenly stopped. One Friday night, no one showed up. There were funeral bells at the church that night, and I wondered if there was a death in their family – or maybe it was one of them. For another year or so, they never returned, and I eventually moved. I don’t know who these guys were, but I had really grown fond of them. I never heard one rude or angry word from them - nothing but laughter, good cheer, and heartfelt singing, which warmed my corazon and made me really glad to be living here.

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STAY HEALTHY! By J. Manuel Cordova, M. D.t mdjmcordova1204@yahoo.com mdjmcordova1204@yahoo.co m www.mdjmcordova.com www.mdjmcordova.co m 376-766-2777

Medicine Of Tomorrow Is Here Today PART II

onfusion seems to be everywhere when it comes to healthcare. Many times people get very confused because there is so much information from so many sources about remedies, treatments, supplements, cures, the magic solutions, and so on. The internet, of course, is a resource for us all, but remember, anyone can put information on the internet. Sometimes a little information can be more damaging than no information at all. Medicine of the Future that’s Here Today is offering exciting and new options for patients around the world. You, the patient, now have many more choices than you’ve ever had before. In order to make the right choices, however, some of you may need to open your minds to ‘new’ options and start an action plan in order to achieve your very best health. For you, the patient, researching options and continuing education is all part of the process. Physicians from around the world are doing the same thing, researching options and continuing education to find the best cures for their patients. Fortunately, physicians can communicate in a global environment today and open new doors that will

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ultimately lead them to the right answer. FACTS TO REMEMBER: 1. Cancer and other diseases can only exist in your body when your Acid levels are too high and your body pH level is too low. 2. All food and drink is either Alkaline or Acid. An average daily guide for eating should be 75% Alkaline and 25% Acid. 3. You should have your body pH tested regularly. Check with your doctor to find out if testing is available in their office. 4. Many diseases are the result of poor nutrition and/or lack of various nutrients and enzymes in the body. 5. Once a disease is diagnosed, the treatment and remedy will be determined based on the ‘severity’ and ‘how’ your body responds to treatment. 6. The longer a disease goes undetected and untreated in your body, the more difficult it will be to cure. 7. Each person’s digestive system is unique. The impact on your body of Food, Vitamins, Supplements, and Medications are all influenced by your own digestive process. 8. Many people have poor digestion and don’t even know it. Poor digestion does not allow proper nutrients to travel as they should throughout the body. 9. As people age, the digestive tract becomes more delicate and can change. 10. Oral Vitamins and Supplements do not provide your body with 100% of their labeled content. Even the best digestive system is considered to ‘absorb’ only about 40-50%. 11. Some Liquid drops and drinks absorb better than pills. 12. Certain suppositories are more effective than pills from an ab-

sorption standpoint if taken as a medication. An example is EDTA suppository used for detoxing the body. 13. Intravenous Vitamin infusions are 100% absorbed directly into the blood stream. 14. The best test to determine the amount, and type, of heavy metals in your body is a hair test. Sometimes Urinary Tests and Blood tests can detect certain problems, but not all. 15. Certain lipstick, cosmetics, deodorant, toothpaste and hair

dyes are a few products that may contain harmful toxins. 16. If you do not cleanse your body of harmful toxins, they will eventually cause serious health problems. 17. Bad things can hide in your body and stay dormant for long periods of time. If your physician does not order the proper test, it will go undetected. A good Prevention and Wellness lifestyle is best for a long and healthy life!

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MAX M AX B BIRD·My IRD·My L Life ife e Translated by Janice Kimball

oday, I am thee public relations director or of Aztec Art Studios in Ajijic Mexico. I strive to be a good bird as my position makes that at imperative, and have only bitten en a few people. I originally came from an area in Mexico where here wildlife is protected, I understand, somewhere west of Veracruz. I was snatched ched from my mother’s nestt by predators of the human n kind before I even had my eyes open, and indeed, as I recall the prickling, before my feathers began to cover my exposed bony body. I shiver every time I think about it. I thought I would die without my mother’s constant feeding of me, or maybe die from the desolate cold. Maybe, a better description of that time would be to say I thought I was already dead. We were placed in a basket lined and covered with banana leaves, my brother, sister, and I, after we had been plucked from our nest as if we were peaches. I was afraid we would reach the same demise, but we were granted a reprieve. We wound up with what must have been a dozen wide eyed, hopeful children who had been given the responsibility of nurturing us. They enthusiastically scurried around like anxious mothers over our basket, constantly attending us, fighting over the one eye dropper, from which we were fed. The food, which was dropped into our wailing mouths, was not that bad, seeds with mashed bananas, and maybe some ground corn. Eventually our feathers started

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to bblossom, in what I am now told is a delectable no iridescent green. The ir children jumped around ch our basket in wonder at ou our life so frail, as they fussed over us, wallowfusse ing in their success. We began to look at them as beg giant birds, sans feathgian ers. Like young innocents everywhere, we had no every thought of our future, and the children had no thought of theirs either. Our ignorance was a blessing, as we had no control over what was facing us. One flat day, a fat man in a car with a growling motor noisily lurched across the field towards the hut of the man who had poached us. We blinked with our infant eyes, barely half open. He looked us over, his eyes penetrating us with his greed. He talked money with our poacher who was barefoot and sad, while his hungry children, who had nurtured us, clustered, turning away, and heads bowed down in denial of this cruel stroke of fate. Purchased as if we were produce, he placed us in his back car seat filled with other baskets of half developed birds of various sorts and colors. We were driven off with the children running along beside the car in anguish, as if we were ripped from their breast. The bright spot in all this was that the only nurturers we had known in our young bird life would not go to bed hungry that night. The money the children’s father received for us would put food in their stomachs. (To be continued)

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Hearts at Work —A Column by Jim Tipton

“O Brave New World”

ll of us are “the last generation” to live in a certain kind of world. Those of us born around the beginning of the Second World War were, as Michael Gruber points out in his novel Tropic of Night, the last to experience segregation of the races, the last to come to sexual maturity before women’s lib and the “Pill.” the “last to believe that the United States was invariably the good guy, last to get the full load of dead white male culture force-fed into their brains and souls, last to grow up before TV….” I was born January 18, 1942, a little over a month after Pearl Harbor, into a world where trains were still used for transportation, where Morse Code and the telegraph were still used for communication, where bank deposits and withdrawals were still recorded by hand in a little book. The world I was born into had no nuclear weapons, no Sputniks, no violated moon. Mine was the last generation to live without sophisticated computers, although, amazingly, the generation that followed was born into a world that did not yet have email (created in 1972), or the internet (a term first used in 1974), or the world-wide-web, the famous “www” we all bow to daily (which only arrived in 1992). What must my grandparents have felt? My maternal grandfather was a horse-and-buggy doctor. My

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paternal grandfather was a Quaker blacksmith. Both were born before electricity, before radio, before the automobile, the airplane, and even before the Revenue Act of 1913 that established income tax. I subscribe to a half-dozen magazines and I purchase a lot of books each year. I bemoan the loss of the printed word while at the same time I praise (and daily use) the new technology. A few days ago I purchased Tim Leffel’s new book, Travel Writing, as an inexpensive download (254 pages). Five minutes after the purchase I was reading it (and I paid only a third the price of the print version…not including shipping). Leffel warns writers that the old world of journalism is rapidly disappearing and we must, like it or not, learn to live in the new world of journalism. He writes, “We are in the midst of a major transformation, one not seen since the mass adoption of television.” Here are some dramatic events Leffel lists from just last year and this year: • The Reader’s Digest Corporation filed for bankruptcy and Europe’s largest media company— Bertelsmann—reported its first

annual net loss in 30 years. • In early 2010, Yahoo’s market value was more than all the following added together: New York Times company, Washington Post Company, Gannett Publishing (USA Today and 85 other newspapers), E.W. Scripps TV channel company, McClatchy, Media General, and CBS. (And Yahoo is worth a fraction of Google.) • A slew of magazines went under including National Geographic Adventure, Gourmet, Vibe, Far Eastern Economic Review, Town & Country Travel, Hallmark Magazine, Travel & Leisure Family, Travel & Leisure Golf, Best Life, Modern Bride, Plenty, Jewish Living, Nickelodeon Magazine, Domino, Country Home, Teen, and…Goats Across Canada. • Several other magazines went digital-only, including AdWeek, the Hollywood Reporter, and just about every magazine having something to do with tech (except glorious Wired, thankfully). • More than 100 newspapers folded and a few major ones in markets such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, and Boston teetered on the brink of financial collapse. The newspaper industry shed 86,800 jobs in just 12 months. • Britain’s The Independent newspaper sold for £1 plus assumption of debts. • The Washington Post company put Newsweek magazine up for sale after saying it “saw no way to turn a profit” with the publication. • The Condé Nast offices were going through so many budget cuts that there were rumors staffers

had to bring their own coffee stirrers to the office. They cut pay for some articles at Condé Nast Traveler by 20% after ad pages dropped by an unprecedented 41%. • Adult hardcover book sales were down 18% and paperback sales were down 14% in 2009. • The Borders group closed 200 of its 330 Waldenbooks mall stores at the start of 2010. In some towns that meant the closing of the only bookstore since two of every three independent bookstores open in 1990 are now gone. And remember, Leffel’s list is just for last year and this year! Lecturing at a Colorado university last September I asked a young audience of perhaps forty people how many had ever received a hand-written love letter. One lovely hand went up, but then seeing no other hands, quickly dropped back down. Enough of this. It’s time for me to put a favorite founJim Tipton tain pen to work.

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Mango By Bill Frayer Peeling a mango is simple. Doing that one thing, now Is simple, and it is good. So as I peel a mango I anticipate Its sweet tartness And feel my saliva Prepare itself For the first bite. And I am fully With this mango In this moment. I am not thinking About my health Or about problems With my family Or about my next poem. Only the mango. This mango In this mango moment Uneaten.

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Phone: (376) 766-4774 or 765-3676 to leave messages Email: kdavis987@gmail.com PAST EVENTS: The culinary arts society of Ajijic, known as CASA, featured poultry dishes and cheesecakes at their August meeting. At each monthly event, members present in two different categories; then each dish is judged based on taste and presentation. Members then choose People’s Choice. President Patrick Winn introduced Chef Eric, who has been creating wonderful dishes at the new restaurant, Hole in One, filling up tables at the edge of a driving range. He spoke about the efforts CASA winners: Donna Carnall and he makes in presentation of the Diane Pretti food, where he buys meat, and the care he takes in preparation. In the Poultry category, former president Donna Carnall won first place for her Greek Apricot Hens with Curry Couscous. There was a three-way tie in second place: Lee Monaco winning for her Coq au Vin with Rosemary, Sally Myers for her High Street Chicken, and Helen James for her Tagliatelle Chicken with Olives & Sun Dried Tomatoes. Third place went to Michael McLaughlin for his Lemon Herb Big Bird. In the Cheesecake category, first place went to Diane Pretti for her Caramel Praline Cheesecake. This win also made her a Bing winner (three first place entries in one year). Second place went to Joann Nash for her Oreo Cookie Cheesecake, and third place went to Louise Drummond for her Hazelnut Caramel Cheesecake. All who would like to join in learning about, preparing, and enjoying good food are encouraged to call Patrick Winn at 766 – 4842. He can also be reached by email at patriciowinn@hotmail.com, and would be delighted to invite those interested to come as his guest. The July – August LUAU party at Los Olivos was a big success. Lois Cugini won the hula contest. August 21 there was a dinner at the Hotel Real de Chapala in salute to the US Women activists who won the female vote. Susan Sarandon narrated the film, “One Woman, One Vote.” Did you know Luau hula winner how brutally activists Lois Cugini (on left) the were treated? at Los Olivos Yet they endured and won a right to vote that changed not just American perceptions of equality; it changed the world as well. So vote this fall, please. Walking the Mourner’s Path is an eightweek bereavement support program open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one and is willing to commit to weekly session workshops. The purpose is to help people begin to heal. Classes will be through Christ Church Anglican Fellowship Diocese of Western Mexico. Application may be made with Danny or Kay Borkowski. Call (376) 766-2495. See www.mournerspath.com. Local writers are making a lot of news Women’s Suffrage poster lately. We have a talented group and if you

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enjoy reading, you’ll be glad to know that the Lake Chapala Society library is stocking some of them—there is now a glass-door cabinet set up for Local Authors in the rear room. Two of the books bought recently are Hollywood & Vine and Whereabouts Unknown by Alejandro Grattan. Hollywood & Vine is a murder mystery set around a former child star struggling to establish himself as an adult performer. It’s a fastpaced story with underlying complexities that keep a reader intrigued. Whereabouts Unknown is set following World War II. Those missing-but-wanted Nazis are attempting to hide in South America while they are hunted by others, including two victims from one of their concentration camps. Unlike stereotypical characters, these will grab you. The LCS Mel Goldberg, library now stocks six of Alejandro’s seven books. Having local writer and read all of them more than once, I recommend them highly. winner of $1,000 Rob Krakoff had a book signing at the Lake Chapala SoUSD award ciety, announcing Future Shock, a futuristic political black comedy novella. The themes focus on corporate greed—an issue of the present era—and the fate of the average man. Another writer is making a splash lately—Mel Goldberg. Mel entered a competition online with www.sharedpen.com. He won $1,000 USD for submission of the first chapter in his latest murder story. Members voted on which they thought was best. Mel’s winning story opens with a bang, in fact, five of them. I’ve read the second chapter and think it’s even better than the first! So who is this shadowy figure? Mel was born in the Chicago area and taught English Literature and Creative Writing for 35 years before retiring Lakeside with his painter-wife, Bev Kephart. EVENTS TO COME: Noche Bicentenario (Bicentennial Night) is coming September 24, 6 p.m. to midnight at the Old Train Station in Chapala. The celebration is organized by a group called Acciόn Voluntaria as a fund raiser for local area orphanages. Mexicans and gringos alike are invited to this dinner, prepared with traditional Mexican foods. Entertainment will include Mariachi music, singers and more. Tickets are $250 pesos each and can be purchased at Coldwell Banker, Tony’s and Hunter Douglas in San Antonio Tlayacapan. This is a positive step, their working together. But there is much to do to help these kids, and you are needed. If you can contribute, bring what cash you can offer and if you have skills that can help them further, they need that too. All in all, it should be a fun evening. Hope to see you! Los Cantantes del Lago Christmas schedule looks good. The first performance will be December 10 at 7 p.m. at the Auditorio de la Ribera, followed by a second performance on December 12 at 4 p.m. Don’t let the dates confuse you: on December 11 at 8 p.m., they will sing for a CREM benefit at the Auditorio. A small group will also perform at Jaltepec on December 14 at 7:15 p.m. and on December 15 at 12:45 p.m. There will be more on these upcoming shows next month. I can tell you that the group will sport a new look to accompany that fabulous sound. Multiple Events: Mexican Independence The American Legion post #7 schedule for Day celebrants September: Sundays: 12 – 3 p.m. Legion grill burgers Sept 1 – 9:30 – 11 a.m. – US Consulate Sept 3 – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Yard Sale Sept 6 – 12 - 3 p.m. – Labor Day event Sept 11 – 2:30 p.m. – Recognition for Patriot Day ( 9/11 ) Sept 13 – 5 p.m. – Auxiliary event: Fiesta de México (more info below) Sept 16 – 9 – 12 McLegion Brunch Sept 18 – 3 p.m. – Maple Leaf Club: bring botanas to share Sept 30 – 3 p.m. – Lone Star Note: Sept 13 Auxiliary Unit #7 sponsors the 9th Annual Fiesta de México Celebration, co-sponsored by La Bodega Restaurant with cocktails at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. $150 pesos. “Los Pios” from Guadalajara will entertain for your listening and dancing pleasure. This is an adults only event; tickets and seating limited, advance tickets required. Tickets available at the Lake Chapala Society on Saturdays, at La Bodega Restaurant, or at the Legion. Tequila samples from Don Vito will be featured, along with several raffles. This is an elegant fiesta. Tables of 8 or more prepaid tickets may be reserved by contacting Barbara Prince at 765 – 3418. This was a sell-out last year.

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oday, masks are worn mostly for the fun of Halloween parties or the profit of robbing banks. In either case their purpose is simply to conceal the identity of the wearer. The peoples of ancient cultures, however, believed that masks were magical and that by donning one the wearer actually became the god, demon or animal it represented and was, therefore, endowed with all its powers of good or evil. Masks of every conceivable non-perishable material and varying sizes have been found all over Mexico. The earliest we know of were made of clay but it is probable that others made of gourds or even paper have not survived. Jade, as the symbol of life and the most precious substance known, was often used for the most prestigious kings and powerful gods.

Masks were frequently laid over the faces or on the chests of the dead. Though their actual purpose is obscure, at least one, that found in the tomb of a Pakal, ruler of Palenque, seems to have been a true portrait of the deceased. Smaller versions were often worn as ornaments, usually pectorals, and over-sized ones were used as architectural decorations. The Maya, who were especially worshipful of the Rain God, Chac, covered one entire temple facade at Kabah with dozens of his long nosed images. Paintings and sculptures often depict masked subjects and potters applied them to vases and urns. Even one of the charming terra-cotta dogs from Colima wears a human face.

face is typically Olmec (900-400 DC) and surprisingly realistic, even to the pierced ears and the artificially ‘beautified’ teeth in the shyly smiling mouth. The open eye holes and the incised lines on cheeks and chin, once filled with red cinnabar, indicate that, though it must have been uncomfortably heavy, it was worn in fertility rituals involving the Young Maize God.

Volcanic Stone

Alabaster

Pale Green Jade This blue green

Though its provenance is unknown, this mask has been identified as belonging to the Teotihuacan culture (100 BC-AD 400) and clearly shows Olmec influence. The eye holes here, however, were once filled in and it probably served as a funeral mask or a pectoral (note the hole for hanging) for a VIP of the ruling class.

Terra Cotta This polychrome clay mask is also of Teotihuacan origin but unknown provenance (100 BC-AD 400). Though the eye holes are

open, there is no provision for breathing, so it is thought to be mortuary mask to be placed on the face of the dead. The “butterfly” shape of the mouth and the enormous ear plugs indicate that it once graced the burial of a very high ranking personage.

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This striking face, once solidly covered with an intricate mosaic of turquoise and coral with eyes of obsidian and shell, dates from the later pha-ses of Teotihuacan (AD 350-600). Again, the ear plugs are missing, but the geometric lines of red suggest a nose ornament. It was found at Malintepec (Grassy Hill) and the glyph inset in the forehead is possibly that for “grass”

Dark Jade This forbidding face may have the appearance of a green demon but is actually that of one of the more obscure deities of the pre-Columbian

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El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

pantheon, the Bat God. It was found at Monte Alban in Oaxaca and is a product of the Mixtec culture (AD 900-1494). It is less than six inches in height and was probably worn as a pectoral during ceremonies honoring the god.

Gold Also from Monte Alban, this representation of the God of Spring, Xipe Totec is less than three inches high, too tiny ever to have been worn as a mask. It is unusual in that, while most such golden objects were hammered from thin sheets, this one was cast by the rather sophisticated “lost wax” method. Details such as the nose ornament and the intricate looped wire and tassels of the head-dress were separately applied.

Jadeite One of a l a rg e n u m ber of masks

plugs of the Maya elite and may well be an actual portrait of the deceased.

Clay This vase bearing a life-sized mask of Tlaloc was found in a cache of offerings during excavation of the great temple of Tenochtitlan (AD 1428-1521). It still contained shells and the green stone beads which symbolized the life-giving force of the rain god. The typical goggle eyes and long fangs of the image itself are separately moulded and appliquéd on the basic form. The elaborate headdress is unusual in that some elements are actually moulded of amate paper.

Wood

sometimes in a tomb, where they presumably belonged to the occupant, but often separate. These are thought to have been worn by priests while performing rites associated with the Death God, Mictlantecuhtli. This example dates from the Mixtec dominance of Oaxaca (AD 900-1494) and was found in Monte Alban.

Stone These simple masks of greenish stone are called Mezcala type after the river in Guerrero where they were produced (AD 900-1521). This one was found along with several others in the great temple of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs, like many conquerors before and since, never hesitated

to employ objects sacred to “captive” deities from other cultures in their ceremonies of sacrifice and dedication as a subtle form of usurpation of power.

A grave in Tehuacan, Puebla (AD 1280-1521) yielded an astonishing array of artifacts including three shields, four tablets and thirteen masks. All were carved of perishable wood and elaborately inlaid with turquoise, shell and obsidian. The mask shown here still retains most of the inlay though it has lost its fancy nose ornament and one eye is missing. The huge, menacing teeth and the empty eye socket give it a somewhat piratical appearance

Human Skull from Calakmul, this one was actually found on the face of a dead body. It is of Maya origin and dates from 600- 900 AD. The staring inlaid eyes and the open red mouth with its shell teeth and scrolled moustache give it a rather pained expression. It wears a smaller mask as a head-dress as well as the huge, spool-like ear

Among the most gruesome are the masks with turquoise, obsidian, coral and shell inlaid directly on an actual skull. A number of these have been found,

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For information, call 765 – 2259 or www.americanlegionchapalapost7.org Lake Chapala Society President Howard Feldstein addresses the governing documents: The LCS functions despite four active governing documents that are confusing and often contradictory. Most members remember that last year a very dedicated work group drafted a comprehensive new constitution that required a super majority to pass—it fell short of passage by about 20 votes. The board has recently formed a committee to recommend a final version of this constitution which will then be presented to membership vote at the Annual General Meeting in December. Lakeside Little Theatre news: A memorial for Ektor Carranza will be held on September 10 Ektor Carranza at the LLT where Ektor had created 50 sets over 22 years. Since space is limited, if anyone wants to attend, please contact Pat Carroll (766 – 0954) for a seat. Auditions for LLT’s third show of Season 46: Lend Me a Tenor, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Roger Tredway. Auditions for this comedy about mistaken identities and hijinx of “operatic” proportions are scheduled for September 10 – 11. Four women and four men are needed for this play. Performances are December 11 – 19. For scripts and information, contact Roger at tenorlit@ yahoo.com. Note: This is not a musical. Singing ability is not required. If you would like to volAuditions at LLT for Lend Me a Tenor unteer behind the scenes, the LLT is always looking for people to train in lighting, sound, wardrobe, props, make-up, stage managing and other positions. Contact Don Chaloner at 766 – 1975 or email at 77dondo@gmail. com. Season Ticket Correction: Lakeside Little Theatre’s Season Ticket Renewals and New Sales Event for Season 46, 2010 – 2011 is on Tuesday & Wednesday, September 14 – 15 in the LLT Lobby from 10 – 1. The Season Ticket price is $800 pesos for six shows. Individual tickets are $150 pesos. Season ticket holders who DO NOT WISH TO RENEW, please notify Paula McTavish at mctavish@prodigy.net.mx or 766-0954 (leave message) as soon as possible. Season Ticket Holders are invited to the LLT Members’ Kickoff Party September 18 from 5 – 7 p.m. The Lakeside Little Theatre encourages and welcomes everyone interested in acting, new or experienced, to attend auditions for any of this season’s plays. An Update on Love in Action (LiA): Bazaar Coordinator Mary Anne Molinari has recently begun to “pass forward” clothes that do not sell locally; these have minor imperfections. Recipients include programs organized by Libby Townsend for the Tarahumara Project, Dr. Polo for children at Civil Hospital in Guadalajara; a quilter who makes blankets for needy children; Jean Melnyk of the Little Chapel for people in a mountain village, and Mooney King for the San Juan Church in San Nicolás Village. Many items were sent to help out Atotonilquillo after the disastrous flood displaced 1000 villagers. Thanks to Bob and Sally Salvatore for a table to sort clothing for the Bazaar. Surplus clothing is distributed in the barrio community of Tepehua in

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Chapala. Love in Action hopes to restore the building where LiA began, restoring it to a Community Center for skill-related programs. The goal is to restore community pride and respect in one of Jalisco’s most deprived neighborhoods. The children of LiA would like to thank the many volunteers and donors who contributed to the Pantry Drive last week. And muchas gracias to the Chapala Country Club, Walmart, SuperLake, El Torito and Yola’s Hair Salon for allowing us to set up our “collection booths” at their locations. Drive Coordinator, Bonnie Newman, stated, “In three days the Pantry Drive raised over $12,000 pesos along with two SUV loads of food that we desperately need. This Pantry Drive was so much more successful than we ever expected. We thank the Lakeside community for participating and helping us. I especially want to thank the Mexican community for their involvement which was huge.” For late donations or information, contact Bonnie at 766-0963 or bonniemck@gmail.com You can read more about this facility at www.loveinactioncenter.org. MAS MUSICA (Music Appreciation Society) gets the 2010 – 2011 concert season off to an exciting start with a gratis Gala Kick-off Party for Season Ticket holders on October 15 at La Nueva Posada. The soprano, Jillian Cox, from San Antonio, Texas, will perform opera arias and popular songs as patrons enjoy wine and botanas on the lovely garden terrace of the hotel’s lakeside restaurant, starting at 4:30 p.m. Season tickets will be sold September 7 – October 15 at the Tickets booth at LCS. Prices remain the same as last year at $1500 pesos, $1200 pesos and $1000 pesos. All performances Teatro Diana in Guadalajara will be at the Auditorio de la Ribera in La Floresta. The scheduled season is: Oct. 26 – Flamenco Dance Gala with Antonio Jimenez and his ensemble of three dancers and four musicians Nov. 16 – Jalisco Classical Ballet Company presents a Suite from the “Nutcracker” and several “Pas de Dix o Quatra” - a stunning evening of dance Dec. 14 – Chris Wilshire and his 18 piece Chamber Orchestra will delight guests with unforgettable performances of Corelli, Grieg, Holst, and Copeland Jan. 13 – Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, Guadalajara’s world-class symphony with an “Enchanted Evening in Paris – 1910” Feb. 15 – Bob Milne, Ragtime and Jazz piano virtuoso and historian, is sure to hold us spellbound during this final exciting event of the concert season MAS MUSICA is always happy to welcome new volunteers to help with ticket sales, hospitality and other concert related duties. Please contact Beverly at 765 – 6409, bjely49@hotmail.com. Also, refer to web site MASajijic.com. VIVA! La Musica Season tickets (auditorium, 7:30 p.m.) are still for sale at LCS (10 – 12): Single tickets are $250 pesos for members and $300 pesos for non-members. Add $50 pesos for the opera. Sep. 14 Ensemble Filarmonica: Luciano Perez; soprano, Dolores Moreno Note: this is a Tuesday. Oct. 21 Rigoletto, a fully staged opera, conducted by Luís Rodriquez and directed by Ariel Rios. Bus trips to the “Live from the Met” Opera series – Viva plans to run a bus to each of the 11 operas that are going to be shown in the Teatro Diana this season. These are on Saturdays and tickets will be available for these trips in September. Oct. 9 Das Rheingold (Wagner) Oct. 23 Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky) Nov. 12 Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Dec. 11 Don Carlo (Verdi) Jan. 8 La Fanciulla del West (Puccini) Feb. 26 Iphigene en Tauride (Gluck) Mar. 19 Lucio di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Apr. 9 Le Comte Ory (Rossini) Apr. 23 Capriccio (R. Strauss) Apr. 30 Il Travatore (Verde) May 14 Die Walkure (Wagner)

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The Afghanistan Solution By Don Edwards

he other night, I was reading about the Maccabees. It turns out that Alexander the Great’s conquests included both Judea, today’s Israel, and what is now called Afghanistan. The Maccabees were a family that led a successful rebellion against the remnants of Alexander’s empire. Eventually, of course, the Roman Empire came in, conquered everything in sight and overpowered successive Jewish rebellions over several centuries. Then they came up with a new strategy. Nobody has ever won an insurgency war but the Romans fixed the problem in a clever way. They threw everybody out. No Jews, no rebellion. They spread them all over the known world so they wouldn’t get together in sufficient numbers to cause problems. Thus, the “Diaspora.” That reminded me of Afghanistan. Everybody knows that this country has had an interesting history, in fact not unlike the ancient Jews. Alexander the Great conquered it for a time, then got his ass kicked when he decided to continue on into India. Nobody tried it again until Britain in the nineteenth century. They finally left without success. The Soviets tried and that was the beginning of the end for them, too. Now the US is there. History repeated, same old strategies: try to overpower a ubiquitous, silent and invisible enemy. Like most people, I have wondered if there is a solution, military or otherwise, towards this ancient land of fierce, warring tribes.

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So here’s what we do about Afghanistan. We stop fighting all these tribes just as the Romans did. We adopt the Diaspora strategy. We round up every Afghani, man woman and child, ship them to all parts of the globe just like the Romans did to the Jews. Then we repopulate the country with Americans, announce that it is our fifty-first state, rename it “East Dakota” and take over the poppy growing business. Voila! All problems solved. We legalize drugs and commission our fifty-first state to become the opium producing capital of the world. Like alcohol and tobacco, it is available in every drug store, Seven Eleven and gas station. All the underworld drug cartels go out of business, we tax the product, sell it to other countries for a reasonable profit and eliminate our national debt. What about the bad guys hanging out in the Pakistan mountains that are so much trouble? We stop trying to track down Bin Laden and the boys, set up Seven Elevens on the border, sell the best opium in the world to them at a reasonable price. We get a new market and no more insurgency from them either. It’s way too hard to wage uprisings when you are stoned all the time. Isn’t free market capitalism wonderful?

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THE T HE A ANIMAL NIMAL S SHELTER HELTER REPORT REPORT By Thetis Reeves

ecause of our recent troubles with Chapala officials, which still have not been firmly settled, we continue to keep a low profile, so to speak. That means we must limit the number of dogs we house in order to keep the noise level down. Sadly we’ve had to turn away some lovely dogs that looked like lost pets and to beg the finders to keep them a while longer. Only in a dire emergency do we take a dog in ahead of those on our waiting list. So it was with great dismay that volunteers were met by a large young chocolate lab tied to our doors early one morning. He was traumatized, growling and barking, and it took two volunteers with leads to get him inside. Inu had a note and his history of shots attached to his collar. The note said in literate Spanish that it was not possible to keep him. While we wish the person hadn’t abandoned Inu on our doorstep, nevertheless Inu is with us. He’s calmed down, is content in his pen, and loves food and the person who serves it. He’s about seven months, healthy and friendly, a very rambunctious youngster. He has a deep voice. He’s not a nervous barker, but he must be bewildered by his new surroundings and he does ask for attention. He’s never been properly socialized. New owners who can welcome and manage a good-sized puppy and give him the training he requires will have a great dog. He’s so handsome and nice, we hope

Inu’s stay with us is not a long one. Obviously his previous owner treated him well and cared enough to bring him to us in the hope that someone else will love him. I want to give you all an assignment. We’ve preached about the need to put ID on our dogs’ collars, yet lost dogs are picked up without any all the time. We know you are all true believers: Without ID, a lost pet may never see its home again, despite the many kind people who try to help the animal. The assignment is—and it calls for being a bit pushy—to step up to a person with a dog on a leash but no ID on its collar and say something like, “What a great looking dog. But I don’t see an ID tag. I hope you don’t mind my suggesting that you get one for his collar. We never think our dog can go missing, but it happens. Chances are better that you’ll get him back if there is a telephone number on his tag.” That’s quite a mouthful to convey to a stranger, but consider it a good deed. If the stranger is indifferent, then he’s probably not as nice as his dog and you’ll just have to go your way. You tried. (Our Store is just one of the many places Lakeside where ID tags can be purchased and inscribed.) Cats may not tolerate a tag, but we know most don’t mind a collar. A collar on a lost cat will indicate it has a home and chances are more likely the cat will get picked up and returned if the owner’s “lost pet” signs are seen. We have many kittens at our Cat Center—as we’ve mentioned— tiny ones, medium sized and adolescents. Please help us get each one its own hearth and home.

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ear Sir: I have spent years reading Paul Jackson’s column (“Thunder on the Right”) and there have been times I’ve agreed with him, and times I think he’s missed the mark, but after his column in the August Ojo del Lago, I’m beginning to think he’s just lost his marbles. Glenn Beck? Impeccable research? Please! This is the man who said in a broadcast interview that President Obama has a “deep seated hatred for white people.” He accuses President Obama of being a racist—an accusation so outlandish that even conservative Joe Scarborough (“Morning Joe”-MSNBC) said that Beck was “bad for conservatism.” Glenn Beck, who compares the Peace Corps to the Nazi SS? Glenn Beck who has called Obama a Socialist, a Nazi, a Marxist, a Czar, and our government an oligarchy? Well, make up your mind! Which is it? Glenn Beck? Who says Obama

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chooses to use his name “Barack” because he wants to identify with his Kenya-born father. He was named after his father. It is his name! He uses it because it is his name! Glenn Beck who has been called the “Fear-Monger-In-Chief” because he rants and raves and takes advantage of peoples insecurities and fears. Beck creates an intersection between mainstream and extreme. The Anti-Defamation League has stated that Beck is “the most important mainstream media figure who has repeatedly helped to stoke the fires of anti-government

anger…” and “…have made a habit of demonizing President Obama and promoting conspiracy theories about his administration.” Even Bill Nye, the Science Guy, has had to take on Beck about all Beck’s misinformation about global warming! But my absolute favorite is Glenn Beck’s July 8 tirade about the Robert Byrd retrospectives on TV when he says “Why wasn’t there any video footage of Senator Robert Byrd’s filibuster in 1964 against the Civil Rights Act? Why wasn’t it shown during the memorials?” And he went on to expound about it being a “conspiracy.” No, Mr. Beck. Less than two minutes of actual research would have told you and your staff that there was no video footage, because motion film or video cameras were not allowed on the Senate floor until December of 1974. Even the most erudite conservatives are giving Glenn Beck a wide birth; he is Icarus flying way too close to the sun, Paul. But the fact that you can’t recognize that makes me wonder if your elevator still goes to the top! Alexa Worth La Cristina

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Following The Bluebirds By Bob Tennison

y the time Anna had reached the seventh grade, she was so “star struck” that most of her classmates avoided her. She could be found at the local cinema every Saturday afternoon where she would stay until time to go home for dinner. She spent all of her lunch money on movie magazines holding out just enough money to buy an apple for her school lunch. She became known as “Apple Annie.” High school presented the opportunity she had long hoped for in that there was actually availailable a class in drama and acting. The drama teacher convinced the principal that if he would allow the senior class to present A Streetcar Named Desire, ticket sales would pay for a live band for the senior prom instead of a DJ. Anna was spectacular as “Blanche.” For graduation her parents told her they would take her to Hollywood for Oscar Night. Anna could picture herself as part of the mob outside the theatre, and it wasn’t until they arrived in Hollywood that her father told her he had tickets for seats inside. The night for Anna was all and more than she had ever hoped for or expected. Then a friend of her father told them there would be a job for Anna at one of his theatres as an usher or behind the drink stand when she returned to Hollywood for her training in drama classes, which her parents had promised her she could do after seeing her as “Blanche.” Life for Anna in Hollywood was wonderful. Everyday was busy from morning until night, and she especially enjoyed her job selling tickets in the box office of a theatre right in the middle of Hollywood. Her drama coach arranged for a screen test, and she was signed up for her first acting career in a “B” movie called Lost Love, which turned out to be much more successful than anticipated. Not long after her film debut she received a call from the secretary of the well-known producer, Mervin Birnbaum of Goliath Productions, for an interview the following Friday at nine thirty. Birnbaum’s nickname was “King of the Casting Couch,” and more than

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one would-be actress was known to say, “If you ever go to Birnbaum’s office for an interview, don’t bother wearing your bra and panties!” The morning of the interview did not begin favorably. A storm had moved in during the night and she had to take a cab to his office building. She was shown into his office and served coffee and nervously waited for whatever may happen next Meanwhile, in the luxurious home of Marvin Birnbaum in Beverly Hills, the morning for him, after a miserable sleepless night, was a disaster. He reluctantly arose and went downstairs hoping he would feel better after a drink of Scotch and a cup of coffee. He had not been so alone in as far back as he could remember, with no hired help and a wife who had stormed out in a rage two days earlier and would probably never return. She had been his pride and joy, his fourth and youngest to date, daughter of his closest friend and junior partner. Not only would that friendship come to an end, but he also knew his magnificent career in the movie industry was over. Two days ago his wife had gone to her doctor for a pregnancy exam only to find out she was HIV positive, which could only be traced directly to him. His exam the following day was even more terrifying, as he was told he had full blown AIDS. Her blabbermouth sister, who never liked him in the first place, had probably already called every gossip columnist in Hollywood. He reluctantly went to his office hoping only to occupy his mind with something besides the horrors he was facing, and found Anna awaiting

his arrival, an appointment which he had forgotten. He began by telling her about his next film and asked how she felt about partial nudity on the screen. After being assured that she felt she could handle whatever would be necessary, he asked her to stand, slowly remove her blouse and brasserie, throw her head back and close her eyes as if in prayer. As soon as she complied, he removed a gun from his desk drawer and shot her, yelling, “You young whores have ruined my life!” As Anna lay wounded on the

floor, he could hear his secretary banging on his door, asking what happened. He walked across to the windows, opened one, and stepped out on the ledge. Glancing down at the street fifteen floors below, he looked toward the Pacific Ocean. A beautiful rainbow had formed and the sky was slowly clearing. As he spread his arms, he recalled the voice of Judy Garland singing, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why, can’t I?” He was singing it to himself as he stepped off into space.

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A MONTH IN PERU—Part II By Mel Goldberg

e left Colca Canyon and started the long and bumpy five hour ride to the town of Chivay (pronounced chee-vái), high in the Andes mountains. We seemed to be traveling back in time as our bus rattled over unpaved dirt and rocky mountain roads. I do not know if chewing coca leaves helped, but I never felt any altitude sickness even when we crossed the Pata Pampa Pass at 4825 meters (15850 feet). To put that in perspective, California’s Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental US, is 4418 meters. (14495 feet or 1350 feet lower than the Pata Pampa pass).

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We were in good physical condition and had no problems. My son and I hiked in the area, and Marcia, his wife, who is five feet tall and weights about 100 pounds, jogged up a flight of one hundred stairs. Although the trip brought some discomfort, the scenery was magnificent. At rest stops, a crowd of locals greeted us with alpaca-wool sweaters, gloves, scarves, and all manner of locally made goods for sale. Many of the vendors were children. We saw vicuña, a protected species. Fortunately, I had a good telephoto setting on my digital camera because these animals tend to stay away from the roads. Llama, used

for their fleece, and alpaca, a good source of high protein meat, were common and more accustomed to people. Traveling through small villages, we were amazed that the lives of these mountain people had changed little in five hundred years. Around the town of Chivay and on the ancient terraced land, people still farmed the same way the Incas did. Chivay is a small town and our guide surprised us by taking us to La Caldera, a hot water outdoor pool, where the water enters from a stream heated by the volcano. The heat of the water is determined by the distance from the inlet point, which was about 80°C (175°F). It never became cool but the heat decreased as we moved away from the inlet. We were able to soak and relax in 40°C water (105°F). After a refreshing swim, we continued on to our hotel in Sumbay, where we had dinner at El Chinito Restaurant. The dinner consisted of a large buffet which we found commonly prepared for travelers. Peruvians delight in serving large quantities of food to travelers and the buffet was sumptuous. At dinner we were treated to a costumed folk dance and heard Peruvian folk music, which usually involves guitar, percussion, and Peruvian pipe flute. Often sung in Quechua rather than Spanish, it is a type of music that never gets old because it calls to mind the deep history of the country. City people speak Spanish but Andes mountain people speak Quechua, much different from Spanish. Some examples: Hello in Quechua is allillanchu (a-yeeyán-chew); What is your name is iman sitiiki (eé-mahn seet-e-eékey); Goodbye is ripushayku (reep-oosháy-koo). Quechua, an official language in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador along with Spanish and Aymara, is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of some 6 to 8 million speakers. A few authorities see a relationship between Quechua and some Chinese dialects. A Quechua woman usually wears a hat, locally called a bombin, and tilted at an angle to convey information. Women from Chivay and Cabanaconde (a village, about 50 km west of Chivay), wear hats made of cloth, flannel or wool. After a hat is embroidered, local people can tell if the wearer is from Chivay or Cabanaconde, and the tilt tells them if she is single or married.

Many Peruvian people have rosy cheeks, making them look healthy. But facial flushing is often a sign of rosacea. At high altitudes, the sun’s rays cause dermal inflammation and damage to superficial blood vessels. The next day we were off on a three hour van ride to the city of Puno on Lake Titicaca, 3,812 meters (12,500 ft) above sea level, and one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. Titicaca is a Quechua word that means puma, an animal with great religious and cultural significance.

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GRINGAS G RINGAS & G GUACAMOLE UACAMOLE By Gail Nott

Three Faces of Me

fter a frightening diagnosis from the dermatologist that I was sporting facial melanomas, I researched my options for removal. The plastic surgeon I consulted reassured me that a face-lift and peel would remove them and the ravages of too many summers in the Florida sun. Not being the brightest crayon in the box, I began to fantasize about all the changes I could make to my face. Lips like Cindy Crawford! I must have a mole somewhere they could transplant. Doe eyes like Naomi Campbell minus the sweat sock pouches; remove the bloodhound jowls. No reality check here. The surgeon agreed with my “want” list, smiling as her fingers moved quickly over her calculator. Mexico is renowned for its low cost plastic surgery and I have always been first in line for a K-Mart “Blue Light Special.” We set the date for the surgery and pre-op tests were scheduled. The clinic was in Guadalajara and I had been told to pack for an overnight stay. Instead of asking for an explanation of the procedure and why it required such a lengthy post op recovery, Cindy, Naomi and I communed. When I woke up, after four hours of surgery, my head was wrapped like a cured ham. The surgeon informed me that I had very little facial fat and could experience a bit more post-op pain than most patients. What, she didn’t notice this before the surgery? While it is always advisable to tell your physician there are particular sedatives or painkillers you prefer, my suggestion is simply state MORE! When my dentist says it’s going to be unpleasant, I beg for Percodan. I hoped for hourly shots of morphine. I received a negative shake of the surgeon’s head. With absolutely no compassion, I was told, “No one else complains.” Through swollen lips that

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

would have suctioned to a sliding glass door, I asked the nurse for a mirror. I had been warned that after a face peel I would resemble fresh ground round. Trying to focus eyes that were little more than slits, I saw the image of a Cabbage Patch doll; a swollen, discolored mass where a face used to be. It had been 24 hours since I had a cigarette or cup of coffee; the surgeon’s life was on the line when she finally gave me post-op home care instructions. I was informed the surgery had gone well, the facelift had been a success. “Houston, we have a problem.” My fantasy face had become a reality due to miscommunication in Spanish and English. There was “no going home again” on this one; I’d gotten what I wished for. Once home, I hesitantly approached the bathroom mirror. I had tubes coming out of my head, a Sci-Fi Medusa. Around my neck hung a drain like a pedometer; it wasn’t measuring miles but the loss of precious bodily fluids. My brain must have drained into the container. How could I have done this to myself? At the first aftercare appointment I yelled out and cried as the elastic bandage was removed. Grandma’s patchwork quilt couldn’t have had more stitches than my head. Each minute stitch had to be removed; some had become buried in my scalp and ears during the healing process. I still carry a few today as reminders of my vanity. I look in the mirror today and there are three faces reflecting back. The first is the one that aged like fine wine from years of life. The second is the illusion of who I thought I wanted to be. Most importantly, the third face is one that doesn’t show the miles but it contains much more wisdom.

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PILGRIMS, PATHS AND PROGRESS

—Toward a Comprehensive Psychotherapy By Theodore Reid, MD Reviewed by David Bryen (For sale at various spots around the Lakeside area)

. Theodore Reid, MD, has taken on the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive psychotherapy in 208 pages. The book begins with his perspective as a medical doctor that traditional Western medicine offers little (help) for those who suffer psychologically. He laments that those trained under the medical system are left with a vapid knowledge of the human condition and what is required for real psychological help. Reid rightly analyzes how the drug companies and their grip on the medical system shape treatment and dominate our ideas of health, and how unfortunately the labyrinthine nature of the human condition has been perilously lost in favor of the high speed, short term, highly pharmacological approach to therapy. Rightfully demonstrating how the profit motive from big pharmaceutical companies twists our whole culture, radically

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t li i h t hhe calls ll compartmentalizing what the “bodymind,” the book cries for a broader and more comprehensive holism in the treatment of the psyche. I am thankful that his “views run counter to ‘current (medical) wisdom’”( pg 10) and this section of the book is reason enough to buy and read this book! In this reviewer’s opinion, his perspective needs to be part of the entire health care debate in our current political climate. In the middle sections of the book, Reid describes his eclectic approach to therapy and describes the different tools, “maps” he employs to give his clients language to describe

their inner experience and bring divergent voices into harmony. Reid values past experiences that shape current psychological functioning, but also includes the importance of cultural milieu and the variety of values that spring from the multiplicity of factors that act on our perceptions of the world. Graciously acknowledging his map is simply one tool, he encourages other therapists to articulate their own. Reid is a champion of long term talk therapy that ought to be augmented by medication when necessary. “A guide for pilgrims having trouble with their path” describes his fifty years as a successful psychotherapist who has walked with thousands. “Pilgrims…” exemplifies his compassion and non-judgmental embrace for the wide diversity of his clients and offers many small vignettes as maps to help others understand the competitive voices that cry for attention and cause our internal and external conflict. Like a good wine, Reid’s vast and seasoned experience has ripened into wisdom and needs a wider audience. With so much positive to say, I nevertheless struggled to understand who his audience would be. This reviewer admires his attempt to present a “comprehensive psychotherapy” and

I wish that more weathered psychotherapists would spend the time and energy to articulate their own comprehensive ideas. The public needs the dissemination of this sort of soulful reflection. In the end, the book suffers from too much breadth and not enough depth. For example, I was glad that he unapologetically included the spiritual dimension an essential component of emotional pilgrimage, but I was disappointed because just like the conventional perspective that instructs therapists to leave belief alone, Reid follows that directive and seems reluctant to offer skills in challenging beliefs that are pathological. What I liked most about the book is that Dr. Reid invites the reader to examine the beliefs of culture and to step into a deeper acceptance of the total integration of the bodymind, not allowing the marketing of pharmaceutical and medical models to dictate what therapy is supposed to be. (Ed. Note: David Bryen, MA, spent his 37-year-career as a psychotherapist, marriage counselor, and spiritual guide in private practice. He now lives in Ajijic, Mexico writing his own gleanings from a fascinating career in the mystery, wonder and shadow of the human psyche.)

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ULYSSES S. GRANT—An Under-Appreciated Hero By David A. Harper

lejandro Grattan’s editorial (Ojo-August issue) on Mark Twain reminded me it was Twain who personally arranged for the publishing of Grant’s memoirs on terms so favorable to Grant and his family as to allow them to live well long after his death. Ulysses S. Grant is the most under-appreciated president in U.S. history. Still today historians are revising previous opinions of him, his place in history and in particular his value to the nation at the time of reconstruction. Throughout his life Grant was dogged by detractors seeking to damage his image, as small minded men often do to giants of humble beginnings. In 1868 he was elected president by a small majority. Four years later he was re-elected by an overwhelming majority. His funeral in New York City saw an enormous outpouring of public gratitude, mourning and affection. Yet ask Americans today what they

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

kn about Grant and know yo will more likely you he remarks referring hear to his time as the succe cessful commander of th Union Forces in the th Civil War. the Butcher and drunk se seem to stick in pe people’s minds. You w will not often hear ab about his clear thinkin and his organizaing tio tional ability. Lincoln ap appointed him Lt. General and Grant set off for Major General Meade’s command. He arrived quietly without aides, and a staff officer there wrote: “This unimpressive little man walked in, slouching and grubby, saying little but asking a few acute questions. So intelligent were his inquiries, and so pertinent his suggestions that he made a profound impression on everyone by the quickness of his perception.” Another staff officer wrote of his skill in writing orders: “There’s one striking thing about Grant’s orders: no matter how hurriedly he may write

them in the field, no one ever has the slightest doubt as to their meaning, or ever has to read them over a second time to understand them”. He wrote his memoirs while dying of throat cancer and in pain. Determined to finish them, so that his family would be well provided for after his death, he handwrote between 25 and 50 pages a day from memory and journals, without editing. The clarity of those pages was often compared to Caesar’s commentaries. Twain himself said that: “Their style is at least flawless, and no man can improve on it.” He kept himself alive just long enough to complete them and died a few days later. In war he was successful where others had failed and for this he was called a butcher because of the casualties his forces sustained in achieving victories. Grant was, by necessity, the aggressor often forced to drive his enemy from their prepared positions. To achieve results, heavy losses were inevitable. His predecessors had stood off to await a more favorable opportunity that rarely came. Grant also suffered from comparison with his principal opponent, the aristocratic General Robert E. Lee who had the reputation of being a tactical genius, always having to

make do with less. In protracted wars all generals will make errors of judgment and Lee also had his. “Pickett’s Charge” at Gettysburg was one of his worst. The Confederate troops were butchered after being ordered to attack a prepared Union position. Lincoln was often approached by Grant detractors who recommended he be replaced. In one response to such urging Lincoln said of Grant, “I can’t spare this man, he fights.” His more famous response to reports of Grant’s drinking was “Find out what brand of whiskey he is drinking and I’ll send a barrel of it to my other generals.” As President, it was Grant’s steadfast doggedness over universal suffrage for the former slaves and his use of the Army against the Ku Klux Klan to enforce it in the parts of the south that caused Frederick Douglass to say “To Grant more than any other man the Negro owes his enfranchisement and the Indian a humane policy.” Lastly and particularly because we live in Mexico, it is worth mentioning that Grant, as a recent West Point graduate, saw his first action in the Mexican War. Of that war Grant wrote, “For myself, I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day regard the war which resulted as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.”

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The Ojo Crossword

ACROSS 1 Disconnected 4 Large Eastern religion 9 Widely known 14 Hiss 15 Regions 16 Looks at 17 Possessive pronoun 18 Goddess 19 National capital 20 Writer Bombeck 22 Tennis’ Graf 24 Sticky black substance 25 Dit’s partner 27 Moose relative 29 Poor 32 Demigod 35 By way of 36 Soars 38 Wanderer 40 Upon 42 Rainbow fish 44 Gab 45 Jeers 47 Pronoun 49 Joke 50 Miserable person 52 Required 54 Exhaust 55 Licensed practical nurse 56 Night bird 59 Kept the fire going 63 Domain 67 Heartbreak 69 Dry stream bed 71 Sports official 72 Put through a hole 73 Natural occurrence 74 Sister for short 75 Done 76 Slender 77 Before, poetically

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

DOWN 1 Double-reed instrument 2 Roman iv 3 Sculpt 4 Held 5 Setter (2 wds.) 6 Spruce 7 Citizen of Denmark 8 U.S. Air Force 9 5th Greel letter 10 Executive director 11 Opp. of right-handed 12 Opera solo 13 Tyrant 21 Flurry 23 ___up 26 Cutting tool 28 Gnarl 29 Tendon 30 One who despises 31 Juvenile 32 Birch-like tree 33 Mental picture 34 First course 35 Volume (abbr.) 37 Car speed 39 10 grams (abbr. for dekagram) 41 Mined metals 43 Docile 46 Supplied with workers 48 Representative 51 Computer part 53 Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbr.) 56 Giant 57 Small bird 58 Told a tall tale 60 Vessel 61 Molten rock 62 Eve’s garden 64 Tactic 65 Native ruler in Asia 66 Niche 68 First woman 70 Pigpen

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

New Study - Belly Bulge Can Be Deadly For Older Adults

kay - time to take out the tape measure yet again! A new study just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine is downright scary. Guys, if your waist measures 40 inches or more and ladies if your waist measures more than 35 inches you have twice the risk of dying over a ten year period compared with your peers who have flat tummies. This is a very serious statistic when it comes to the difference between life and death unless, of course, you don’t value your life. I happen to love mine so keeping my belly fat to a minimum is worth the daily effort. Hopefully you feel the same way. Death from what you ask? Those with bigger waist circumferences were at a higher risk of dying from heart disease, respiratory diseases and cancer. In fact it was the American Cancer Society that funded this study. An increase in weight gain or BMI has less to do with an expanding middle than we previously thought. When your pants or skirt feel tighter or your belt buckle has to be expanded yet another notch, you are heading for trouble. And if you are contemplating surgical removal of belly fat without making lifestyle changes it will not lead to any health improvement whatsoever - so you can forget that idea. The only way to reduce belly fat is . . . yep . . . diet and exercise there are no shortcuts. Eating fewer calories and burning more energy (calories) by doing some form of intense cardiovascular activity is the solution. There are no shortcuts.

A study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism vol. 16 compared two exercise and diet programs. The first group followed a traditional food guide pyramid diet (50-55% carb; 15-20% protein and less than 30% fat.) This group did cardiovascular workouts lasting 30-60 minutes a day 4-6 days a week. The second group followed a higher protein diet which was lower in carbs and fats. Their exercise program alternated between resistance and cardiovascular interval training 6 days a week. The second group lost 20.6% more body fat than the first group which lost only 13.5%. No time to exercise? This is the excuse I hear all the time from people who can’t seem to find the time to dedicate one hour out of a 12 hour day to a fitness program. This does not make sense at all. What does it take to understand that an exercise program is vital to your health quality as well as quantity according to this new study. Numerous studies have proven that losing abdominal fat is one of the most important steps in remaining healthy for life. Abdominal fat - belly fat - is stored energy - you need to burn it off - it really is that simple. On that note see you at the gym! My tape measure is waiting...

Judit Rajhathy

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Joyful Musings By Joy Birnbach Dunstan A Book Review by Victoria Schmidt

oyful Musings is a collection of vignettes from the life of Lakeside author Joy Birnbach Dunstan, whose column of the same name appears each month in the Ojo del Lago. Subtitled “Growing up, selfdiscovery and reflections on life north & south of the border,” it’s not the standard memoir that takes us from birth to the current moment through chronological chapters. Sharing the author’s unique view on her life the book is grouped into three sections: Self-Discovery, Family Matters, and South of the Border. These literary snapshots are down to earth and presented thoughtfully. I laughed at the story of her brother and his hilarious night of sleepwalking and the image of Joy driving through a small Oregon town with a dead goat strapped on the roof of her car. I could relate. Not about the goat…but about suddenly finding yourself doing something you’d never imagined dealing with. Each chapter marks an event or discovery in her life. We learn about the challenges she faced, obstacles she’d met, and things she’s learned. Lakeside readers will particularly enjoy the last section, South of the Border. Dunstan’s writing style is informal, yet she has a way of painting images with language in a poignant way. As she describes her son, she says “The tides of his life roll in and out, perpetual as the ocean, invisible as the

wind. One day I’m packing him off to the babysitter, the next day he’s babysitting for a neighbor. Not so long ago he collected Matchbox cars, then soon he had his own fullsize car he could really drive. You can no more tell the precise moment the tide turns and begins to recede than you can tell when one stage of life evolves into the next.” As a visual person, the only thing I felt the book lacked was some photographs or drawings illustrating some of the points of each chapter. I could imagine some Thurber-esque illustrations that would have been a delightful addition to this book. The format of Joyful Musings makes it an easy read, either straight through or savored one chapter or story at a time. Dunstan’s first book, Joyful Musings is 176 pages, published in 2010 and sells for $150 pesos at Diane Pearl’s. It is also available at Amazon, as a Kindle book for $2.99 USD, and in a paper edition available online for $12.95 USD. A delightful read awaits you.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Our 16th Annual Awards Luncheon will be held this year at the Ajijic Tango on the 21st of September at 12 noon. SHARP! There will be free entertainment, drinks and lunch, as well as the presentation of Special Awards in nine categories: Best Historical/Profile/Poem/Humor/Fiction/ Book Review/Feature/Column/LongStanding Contributor. If you were published in the Ojo anytime since October ‘09 through September ‘10, you are cordially invited to attend the festivities and

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encouraged to bring a guest. As always we will also invite a few special guests. This year we have added an “opening and closing act” which should increase the fun-factor. The awards luncheons have become a tradition here at Lakeside and are the Tingen Family’s way of saying thanks to the many fine writers who have made our publication one of the most widely-read English-language magazines in Mexico. Hope to see you there! El Ojo del Lago

CHILD

of the month

By Rich Petersen

Ulises Saúl Guerrero Velázquez

hat a great name, eh? This is 8-year-old Ulises Saúl Guerrero Velázquez. Ulises lives in Ixtlahuacán with his parents and three siblings. Mom, María Guadalupe, is a housewife and also does sewing and alterations. Dad, Saúl, works as a security guard at one of the fraccionamientos along the Libramiento. Ulises was born with right hemiparesis; in other words, his right side is weaker than his left. While there are many causes of this disorder ranging from a brain injury, head injury, cerebral palsy, or meningitis, in Ulises’s case it is thought he suffered a small stroke during birth. His parents became aware of his condition at around age two and began seeing an orthopedic specialist at the Hospital Civil in Guadalajara. At first physical therapy proved useful, but as the boy grew he required further assistance with a right leg brace, special orthopedic shoes, and a brace on his right forearm to augment his strength there. All the while he continued his therapy at a branch of Teletón, a national children’s rehabilitation center, in Guadalajara. Last year the doctors at Teletón tried a new treatment on Ulise—the injection of Botox in the muscles of his right arm. This new use of the anti-wrinkle agent Botox has been used with several of the children in our Program to relax the tense taut muscles that accompany paralysis. In the photo you can see that Ulises’s right hand is a bit crooked. He is not able to grasp objects as others do, but with his continued therapy and the arm brace, he is making great progress. Niños Incapacitados has paid for his therapy, the transportation to and from his appointments, his orthopedic shoes and brace, plus one-half of the Botox injection. (Teletón pays the other half.) Ulises is a very good student and has learned to overcome his physical limitations to a great degree. His winning smile and outgoing personality are wonderful to see. IMPORTANT NOTE TO OUR SUPPORTERS: Niños Incapacitados is facing a budget shortfall at present and we need your help if we are to continue our work. Medical costs here in Mexico have skyrock-

eted in recent months at the same time donations have decreased substantially. Also, we did not receive as much monetary support from the Jalisco State Government this year. Please do what you can to allow us to continue helping our sick kids here at Lakeside. Our expenses are currently between 80,000-90,000 pesos per month. We are undertaking a major fundraising effort at present, of which you may already be aware. To donate with a check or cash in pesos, you can deposit directly into the Niños Incapacitados account at Multiva. To donate with a check or cash in U.S. or Canadian dollars, deposit directly into the Niños Incapacitados account at Actinver/Lloyd. Also please attend our next regular members meeting at 10:30 on Thursday, September 9 in one of the Sala meeting rooms at Hotel Real de Chapala in La Floresta. Part of each meeting is dedicated to introducing one of “our niños” in order that you can see firsthand how our money and your generosity is paying off in the lives of these children.

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By Victoria Schmidt

A Visit to a Farmacia

hile standing in one of those endless lines at a pharmacy in Guadalajara, I entertained myself by watching people. This pharmacy is attached to a small laboratory that manufactures a special medication my husband must have. But it is also a neighborhood pharmacy, stocked with basic necessities of a neighborhood pharmacy. Surrounded by Mexican families, I watched the people in front of me--a mother holding her infant in her arms, with her toddler son clinging to her leg. The woman standing with her I assumed was her sister. They chatted back and forth, and the little boy stared up at me with his deep brown eyes as he held onto his mother’s jeans. He was obviously sick. He looked extremely tired, and had a runny

nose which his mom would wipe nose, for him. After what seemed an hour of waiting, they finally had their turn at the counter. The young mother gave over a prescription, and waited. The medicine was brought out. Then there was a discussion, and two containers of baby formula were pulled off the shelf. The cashier rang up the total. By this time, I was at the counter at the next station, and my order was in the process of being filled.

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

I looked at her cash register, and could see the young mother going through her purse, and talking to her sister, who began to dig through her own purse, and to check her pockets. Without knowing Spanish it was clear to me that there wasn’t enough money to pay for the order. One of the containers of formula was returned, and the new total was given. Still there was not enough money. I looked at the mother’s face, and I could see her looking from her infant to her sick son. It was obvious to me that she was attempting the impossible. She was trying to choose between the needs of her infant, and her sick son. She could only pay for one, which shall it be? She turned away from me and spoke to her sister again. People in line seemed impatient. I looked at the cashier, and pointed to the formula and asked “¿Quanto?” “Seventy pesos,” he replied. I pointed to my cashier and then at myself, and he understood immediately. My cashier rang up the order and he put the formula in the mother’s bag along with her son’s medication. He told her the new total and she looked surprised,

and he nodded towards me. I just smiled, said “Buenos Tardes” and walked away quickly, so as not to embarrass her. I didn’t do it to make myself feel better, or to endear myself to a stranger. I did it because I could not stand to see a mother having to choose between the needs of her two children. For me, seventy pesos was a paltry sum, but for her, it was much more. I wondered how often she had to make those kind of choices? How hard it must be when the minimum wage is about $63 pesos per day, and how very little that wage will buy for a family with growing children. We met again in the lot, where she came to me. “Muchas Gracias,” she said. I answered with the only thing I knew to say. “De nada.” I wish I could have said more. As we drove out of the parking lot, everyone in her car waved to us. I think about them often, and wonder how they are doing. And I wonder how many families there are like hers, and who helps them? Victoria Schmidt

AA- Meets daily at 10:00 am. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 pm. Marcos Castellanos 51-A. 766-5961. Meets every Wednesday 8 am for breakfast at La Nueva Posada. ACÁ- Teaches youths, families sustainable agriculture, Joco and Jaltepec. Meet 14th of month. For more Information 387 763-1568. A COURSE IN MIRACLES- Saturday 2:00 pm 16 Sept #34, Unit 6, 766-4882 No charge. Ongoing. AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA 904 WING- from September to April we meet the 2nd Thursday 2pm at La Nueva Posada. Contact Don Slimman 765-4141. AJIJIC QUILT GUILD - Meets second Tuesday monthly at 12 noon. Guests & New Members Welcome. ajijicguild@gmail.com AJIJIC SCRABBLE CLUB- Tuesdays and Thursdays noon-3 pm at LCS Ken Gosh Pavilion. Dan Stark 766-0411. AJIJIC WRITERS’ GROUP- Meets 1st and 3rd Fridays at 10 am. New Posada. Coffee. Meeting followed by lunch at the New Posada. AXIXIC MASONIC LODGE #31- Meets 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at 5:00 pm. Contact the secretary at 763-5346 for details. AL-ANON- Step study, Monday 6 pm, Lake Chapala Society, 16 de Septiembre & Marcos Castellanos Ajijic, Rear Gate. Contact (376)766-5975 AL-ANON- Sat. 10 am, Club 12, Marcos Castellanos 51-A, Ajijic Contact (376) 766-5975. AMERICAN LEGION OF CHAPALA POST- #7 General Membership meets 11 am 2nd Thursday. Tel: 765-2259. AMIGOS INTERNACIONALES- Every Wednesday 6 to 8 pm, Nueva Posada; informal friendly group meet to make new friends. AMIGOS DEL LAGO A.C.- Working to improve the ecology. See www.amigosdelago.org or contact us at info@amigosdelago.org. AMITIES FRANCOPHONES- Meets every 3rd Saturday at 1 pm contact: Roland and Camille at 766-0149. rvanhoudt@prodigy.net.mx. ANIMAL SHELTER- Provide shelter and new homes for dogs and cats. Tel: 765-5514. ANITA’S ANIMALS- Free loving dogs and cats. call (01 387) 761-0500. www.anitasanimals.com. ASA- Ajijic Society of the Arts. Meets every 1st Monday of the month at Nueva Posada, 10 am. BRIDGE AT OLD POSADA- Monday 1:15 check in. Mary Andrews 766-2489. BRITISH SOCIETY- Lunch meeting the 1st Saturday of each month, 1pm at Manix Rest. 765-4786, chapalainn@prodigy.net.mx. CARD & DOMINO CLUB- Wednesday, Friday & Sunday. Call for times. We will teach; make friends! Tel. 766-4253, Cell: (045) 33-1295-6485. CANADIAN CLUB OF LAKE CHAPALA- Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, September through April. Social hour: 3:00 pm, program 4:00 pm. Visit www.canadianclubmx.com. CASA DE ANCIANOS- Provides support for elderly citizens, 765-2497. CENTRO DE DESARROLLO AJIJIC- Provides family planning and reproductive health education. 766-1679. CHILI COOK OFF- Providing a carnival for residents raising charitable funds, 763-5038. DAR- (Guadalajara)- Daughters of the American Revolution, meets monthly Sep. through June. Cell:333-897-0660 or Tel: (376) 766-2284. DAR- (At Lakeside)- THOMAS PAINE CHAPTER meets every 3 Wednesday at 12:30 noon, September thru June. Tel: 766-2981 or 762-0834. EASTERN STAR ESTRELLA DEL LAGO CHAPTER #10- 1st Wed. at 1:00 pm at Hotel Monte Carlo. 766-3785, www.oesestrelladellago.org. E.R.I.C.- Provides support for the construction and renovation of educational buildings. 766-2866. DEMOCRATS- Meets 2nd Thursday 4pm at La Nueva Posada FRIENDS OF VILLA INFANTIL (FOVI)- Provides financial support for children: www.friendsofvillainfantil.org. Contact Lisa Le: (387) 761-0002 or email : lisale888@gmail.com GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS- GA Meeting held every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM in the Doctor’s office at the Lake Chapala Society - Charlie K. at cell: 331-445-2136. GARDEN CLUB- Meets the 3rd. Wednesday 11 am for lunch at La Nueva posada GARDEN GUILD- promoting the interest in the development of local gardens with an accent on the exotic species available in central Mexico. GERMAN MEETING- 2nd Thursday, 1:00 pm. La Nueva Posada. Call Thea 765-2442 or Werner 763-5446. GOLDEN STRINGS OF LAKE CHAPALA, A.C.- Rehearsals at auditorio de la Floresta. Tuesday & Friday, 3-6 pm. HASH HOUSE HARRIERS- Every Saturday at 8:30 am at La Nueva Posada. IRISH- Meet 2nd Monday 4pm for lunch at La Nueva Posada. JUNIOR LEAGUE DE GUADALAJARA A.C.- Av. San Francisco #3332. ligagdl2@prodigy.net.mx, Guadalajara, Jal. Tel. (33) 3121-0887. LAKE CHAPALA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB- Meets every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:15 p.m.. www.chapalabridge.com. LAKE CHAPALA GARDEN CLUB- Gardening at Lakeside with garden tours and meeting 3rd Wed of every month at Nueva Posada for noon lunch and program. Contact sandy_feldmann@yahoo.com. LAKE CHAPALA GREEN GROUP- Sustainable living for a better tomorrow. Meets first Tuesday of each month, September through May. Lake Chapala Society, 3:00. Everyone is welcome. www.lakechapalagreengroup.com. LAKE CHAPALA SHRINE CLUB.- Meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1 pm in the Nueva Posada. Perry King at (376) 763-5126. LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY - LCS- 16 de Sep. # 16-A Ajijic, Open Monday - Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. www.lakechapalasociety.org. 766-1140. LAKESIDE COMMUNITY AWARDS- We benefit all the community by honoring lakeside’s most talented. 766-3232. LAKESIDE FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS- Board meets 3rd Thursday at 2:15 every month. info@lakesideanimalfriends.org. LAKESIDE LAUGHTER CLUB- Will meet again in October. For information call Charlene 766-0884. LAKESIDE LITTLE THEATRE A.C.- Balanced theatrical entertainment, English-speaking, 765-5942. LAKESIDE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF- The 4th of each month. Nueva Posada 10:30 am. Call 766-2280, www.lakesideschoolforthedeaf.org. LAKESIDE WILDLIFE RESCUE & REHABILITATION- Rescue & rehabilitation of wild animals. 765-4916. LAKE SPAY AND NEUTER CENTR A.C.- Provides shelter and helps curtail the over-population of animals. 766-3813. LCS EDUCATION CENTER- Provides classes in language and other topics for both Anglo and Mexican community. 766-0499. LCS STUDENT AID FUND- Provides financial support to area students to enroll in university, vocational and high school program. 766-0716. LINK- Assisting foreign community. Desk at Lake Chapala Society-Monday, 10 am-noon. LITTLE BLUE SCHOOLHOUSE- Provides financial assistance for students at school for disabled children in Chapala 766-1552. LOS NINOS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC, AC Providing educational scholarships to Lakeside children 376-765-7032, www.lakesideninos.org. LOVE IN ACTION- Shelter for abused and abandoned children. For volunteers and donations. Anabel Frutos 765-7409, cell: 331-351 7826. MAS- Music Appreciation Society. Concerts from fall to spring. Classical music and dance concerts. For info call Beverly Denton, 765-6409. MISION SAN PABLO- Helping 60 orphaned children ages 2-14 yrs, Bonnie Shrall - Bonnie@shrall.com #766-0009. www.misionsanpablo.org. NAVY LEAGUE, LAKE CHAPALA COUNCIL- Meets the third Saturday for lunch at 1 pm, Manix Rest. 766 4750 or 766-1848. NEEDLE PUSHERS- Sew dresses, knit or chet sweaters for local kids. Every Tues. 10 am at LCS. Call Gay at 766-2902. NIÑOS Y JOVENES CARAVAN- Delivers foodstuffs and used clothing to orphanage in San Juan. Call Reuben Varela, 01-387-761-0828. OPEN CIRCLE- Fostering body, mind & spirit, every Sunday at the LCS from 10 am to 12 noon. 765-3402 or frankdburton@yahoo.com. OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS- Every Tuesday & Friday 12 pm at Marcos Castellanos 51-A, in Upper Ajijic. Tel: 766-2575 or 766-1626. PROGRAMA PRO NIÑOS INCAPACITADOS DEL LAGO AC.- Assisting Lakeside disabled children www.programaninos.org , 763-5010. PASOS MILAGROSOS (MIRACULOUS STEPS.)- Helping Handicapped Children Through the Magic of Horses. Saturdays 8-2. www. pasosmilagrosos.com RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS- Meets 1st Wednesday at 2:00 pm at the Sala LCS. New members welcome. ROTARY CLUB OF AJIJIC- Meets every Tuesday at 1:00 pm at Hotel Real de Chapala. Contact at 766-3302. SCIENCE OF MIND STUDY GROUP- Discussion group every Tuesday at 10 AM Lake Chapala Center for Spiritual Living at Nicolas Bravo #17 Ajijic; contact Rev. Tim at 766-0920 or tim@revdoctim.com. THE GENEALOGY FORUM- Meets monthly on the fourth Monday in the Sala at LCS, from 2:00 to 3:45. UVA - University/Vocational Assistance (Little Chapel by the Lake a.c.)- Sue Torres, 766-2932 or Lynn Hanson 766-2660. VIVA LA MUSICA - Bus trips to the symphony, summer concert series, call Rosemay Keeling 766-1801. www.ajijicviva.org. VOLLEYBALL IN CHAPALA- At Cristiania park Tues., Thurs., Sat. mornings at 10, 333-502-1264. VOLUNTEER HEALTH RESOURCE GROUP- Meeting last Saturday of each month at LCS in sala, 10:30. VOLUNTEERS OF THE CRUZ ROJA- Sponsors fund raising events and provides administrative and support services to the Delegation.

All Saints Lutheran Church Worship Service 11:00 am 4600 Avenida Tepeyac, Guad. Tel. (01 333) 121-6741. Abundant Life Assembly of God Carr. 140 next to Mail Boxes etc, Tel: 766-5615. Center For Spiritual Living Celebration Service, 5pm Fridays, Nicolas Bravo #17 Ajijic. 766-9020 or tim@revdoctim.com. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Services in English and Spanish, 10 am, Riberas del Pilar Bishop Wyvell Tel. (376) 765-7067, Bishop’s residence (376) 766-1532. Church of the Holy Spirit Services Sun. 10 am, Albaro Obregon #119, Chapala Tel. (376) 765-4210. Grace Baptist Church 5th Sun. Evening service 6 pm, Pedro Buzeta No. 970, Guad. Tel. (013) 641-1685. Lake Chapala Baptist Church Mid-week service, 9:30 am, worship service, 10:45 am. Santa Margarita #147, Riberas del Pilar, Tel. (376) 765-2925, 765-3329. www.lakechapalabaptist.com. 7th Day Adventist meet at Madeira 12 in Rancho del Oro, 9:15 am to Noon. Potluck follows. 765-2165. Little Chapel by the Lake Sun. services 11 am, Chula Vista,. Jal, Tel. (376) 763-1551. Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation Santa Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar, Tel: 765-6968. For information and service times, please call Pres. Elliot Gould. contact us@lakechapalajews.com. Web site: www. lakechapalajews.com. Lakeside Fellowship Sun. worship 11 am, Javier Mina #49 Ajijic, Tel. (376) 766-0795. Lakeside Presbyterian Church Worship-Sunday 10 am; Bible StudyFriday 10 am; Hidalgo 231A, Carr. Chapala/Joco; Riberas del Pilar Tel. Pastor Ross Arnold at 376-7661238, or Norm Pifer at 376-766-0616 Website at www.chapalalakesidepresbyterian.org Saint Andrew´s Anglican Church Calle San. Lucas 19, Riberas del Pilar, Sunday 1 service, 10 am. www.standrewsriberas.com San Andres Catholic Church Services 9:00 am. Ajijic, 766-0922. St. John’s Catholic Church Between Av. Vallarta & Av. Lazaro Cardenas, Guad. Sun. 11am. (013) 121-8131. The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center behind Mateos in Riberas del Pilar (Santa Margarita 113). For additional information call Steve at 766-5507 or email: trudycrippen@gmail.com. Check out our website at www.lcuuf.org.

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

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The

LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY

News

September 2010

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

CHILDREN’S ART PROGRAM

An unofficial slogan for LCS is “People Helping People”. This month the Newsletter will feature articles from volunteers working in education programs that serve the Mexican community. This column focuses on LCS’ Student Aid Program. Student aid accounts for 19% of our spending so far this year. This program has been in place for almost two decades and is overflowing with marvelous stories. We have graduated accountants, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and others. Coralie White sees that our Student Aid Program maintains high standards. She interviews students and parents and insists that GPA’s remain at 85 or higher. So far this year 37 students have received aid from LCS. Three students are graduating this year: Olga Maria Ramirez Lopez, GPA 95.5, Criminology Juan Carlos Lopez Hernandez, Honorable Mention, Medicine Michael David Goldy Jimenez, GPA 90.9, Finance Coralie states, “I am very proud of these three students. They are an asset to our Society. Mexico needs more of these highly qualified graduates to become a more progressive country.” We have four sources of revenue for Student Aid: 1) Membership Dues – Currently 47% of the student aid we distribute comes directly from membership dues with 15 students in this category. 2) Jim Grant Fund – This was a gift to LCS several years ago that provides for four students. The fund will last about two more years and accounts for 11% of our student aid spending. 3) Merali Fund – This gift is from Pandju Merali and the Global Giving Foundation. Mr. Merali once lived in Ajijic. He funds first year female college students entering a science career; with 15 students in the last academic year. The fund accounts for 42% of our student aid spending. 4) Chris Robertson Fund – This is a brand new donor, whose gift is aimed at giving elementary through high school students a helping hand with their tuitions, books, uniforms, etc.. Chris Robertson is a real estate investor in California and Mexico and owns properties in both countries. He has been donating to many organizations over the years and has decided to set up an educational fund through the Lake Chapala Society. We hope Chris inspires other members to support LCS’s Student Aid Program. Just ask Coralie or me for more details.

The Children’s Art Program is a legacy of Neill James that has continued under the auspices of LCS. Children have been creating visual art on the LCS property for over fifty years. Historically, Neill James provided a teacher and the talented children were supported in their development as artists. Some alumni of the Program are professional artists in the area such as Javier Zaragoza, Antonio Lopez Vega, Jesus Lopez Vega, Antonio Cardenas, and Efren Gonzalez. Over fifty Mexican children create personal works of art on the back patio of LCS every Saturday morning and are joined by art volunteers and sometimes family members. Art instruction is available to those children who demonstrate an interest and a readiness for some technical instruction. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for creative endeavors and encouragement to the children. The ultimate positive reinforcement for a child is to sell their work. It is rare that a child will take their work home. They prefer to leave paintings with the volunteers to be sold. Sadly, we currently have no opportunities to sell the children’s paintings, although their cards are available on the LCS patio. The necessary work of inventory, matting, framing and exhibiting is not being done since Mildred and Judy Boyd are no longer here to oversee this work. The monies paid to the children are lower now than at any time in the past five years. Since 2005, the children have received more than $1900.USD from individual sales. Every Saturday Jesus Lopez Vega reads “la lista” that has names and sales for individual children. What we need in order to help the children is someone who would be willing to take over the work that Mildred and Judy started and did for so many years. If you would be interested and want to learn more please contact Lizz Drummond at 7665107 or email: clarkdrum@msn.com. We will soon have small exhibitions of the children’s work for sale hanging in the Library and also in the LCS office. Beginning in September we are inviting everyone to drop by on Saturday mornings at the Art Patio to look at the children’s work and visit with the artists between 11 and 11:30 a.m. You can also buy a painting if you like! Lizz Drummond, Children’s Art Program

The Casi Nuevo Thrift Shop is having a GIANT summer sale – 50% off on a wide selection of selected summer clothing. Friday, Sept. 3 through Saturday, Sept. 18. Come by and enjoy further crazy reductions on already affordable items and you will also be supporting three Lakeside charities: the Lakeside School for the Deaf, LCS’s Community Education Program and Have Hammers…Will Travel. Please keep the donations coming. We accept clothing, housewares, furniture etc. Drop off at the store, Ave. Hildalgo #59 in Riberas del Pilar across from the 7-11 store, or at the LCS drop box. Call 766-1303 for pick-ups. Thank you all for your important support! - Jacqueline Mednick, Thrift Shop Manager

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

LCS News NJ LIBRARY AMNESTY & INVENTORY In preparation for our upcoming inventory we are offering A PERIOD OF AMNESTY FROM SEPT 1 - 15. FINES WILL BE WAIVED FOR ALL OVERDUE BOOKS DURING THIS PERIOD. So, please check your shelves for books you’ve forgotten to return or books you forgot to check out. Simply put them on the desk in the Library or slip them in the book drop near the 16th de Septiembre gate. Also, please check with friends and neighbors who might be unable to come to the Library themselves for books they might have. INVENTORY IS SLATED FOR SEPT 23 - SEPT 26 AND THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED. We are anxious to account for as many books in advance as possible. A number of books show up in the catalog as “in” but can’t be found on the shelves, so your returns and our locating books out of place in the library, will help us define truly missing books and avoid the cost of unnecessary replacements. Thank you in advance for your cooperation for our goal is a library which is organized and easy to use.

THE WILKES EDUCATION CENTER’S COMPUTER LEARNING LAB NEEDS YOUR HELP!! The local Mexican adolescents and young adults will need basic computer skills in order to find good employment in the Mexican work force as it grows to be more in tune with the rest of the world. This is what the Wilkes Computer Lab is planning to teach as a part of LCS’s commitment to the young people in our community. The new school year will begin this September, and we need to be ready to help the young people who want to improve their lives. However, the six stations in the Computer Teaching Lab urgently need to be upgraded to meet fully functional teaching computer standards. Following financial comparison studies by our Executive Director, Terry Vidal and his technical advisors, it was decided that an investment of around $30,000 MN/Pesos will be needed to provide six (6) new integrated computers, monitors and keyboards to enable our prospective students to learn their basic computer skills with the most up-to-date computer technology. Math has always been a fun subject for me so I did some quick mental arithmetic to enlighten my fellow LCS members of how very little we each need to contribute to make such a goal a reality, and in doing so, help to improve the economic future of many of the motivated Mexican youths in our community. The goal of $30,000 MN/Pesos would be met. IF - the 2,500+ members of each gave $12 IF - 500 gave $60 pesos IF - 100 gave $300 pesos IF - 50 gave $600 pesos IF - 25 gave $1,200 pesos Please drop off your donations in the Services Office. LCS thanks you in advance for your generosity and support. Bert Slocombe Coordinator Community Education

September 2010 VIDEO UPDATE THE NEW CATALOGS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN COLOR CODED THREE RING BINDERS: RED all DVDs in alphabetical order GREEN all VHS in alphabetical order WHITE all DVDs listed by genre DARK BLUE all VHS listed by genre LIGHT BLUE all new additions since June 2009 with movie descriptions BLACK recent new additions with movie descriptions and all of the series in our inventory Note: the series have not been cataloged previously NEW ADDITIONS FOR SEPTEMBER – Twenty all told. Here are two of them. THE GHOST WRITER — An unremarkable ghost writer has landed a lucrative contract to redact the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former UK Prime Minister. After dominating British politics for years, Lang has retired with his wife to the USA. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Drama – 7.6 on scale of 10 GOING POSTAL— Based on Terry Pratchett’s 33rd Discworld novel involves a skillful con artist Moist Von Lipwig who finds the tables turned and it’s he himself who is conned into becoming the Ankh-Morpork Postmaster General. Tracy Adams, Gary Ballard, Comedy – 8.0 on scale of 10 ON-GOING NEEDS Donated movies, DVD and VHS, are greatly appreciated. We are indebted to and dependent upon members who are willing to bring prepaid movies back, at no cost to them, when they travel North. Also, when they have visitors headed South, they can act as couriers, you know, when they ask, “What can we bring with us?”

ESL PROGRAM UPDATE The long line of Mexican adolescents, young adults and adults signing up for the ESL classes recently at the Wilkes Education Center is proof positive that our ESL Program is needed. There are 23 classes being offered five days a week ranging from Level One through Level Four. In addition there are 2 English Conversation classes offered on Tuesday and Saturday. The success of our ESL Program is dependent upon the dedication of our volunteer teachers. Our thanks and deep appreciation go out to the teachers. ESL Director, Inez Dayer, states that we urgently need four full-time teachers and a couple of substitute teachers. Most of the teacher vacancies are for teaching Level One Basic English. Qualifications: 1) Ability to share your knowledge of English with receptive Mexican students. 2) A sense of humor and the gift of laughing at your own mistakes when teaching English as a second language. 3) A sense of commitment. 4) An ability to follow (not rigidly) a textbook format. To volunteer please call the Wilkes Center at 766-2940, or Inez Dayer at 766-0253 or email her at: inezme@gmail.com.

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LCS News

TRANSFER your old VHS to DVD A service offered in the Video Library ONLY 50 pesos each!

SEPTEMBER EVENTS LIBRARIES Book & Video M-SAT 10-2:00 Talking Books TH 10-12:00 MEDICAL/HEALTH/INSURANCE Blood Pressure M+F 10-12:00 Cruz Roja Sales Table M –F 10-12:30 Cruz Roja Monthly Meeting 1st W 2-4:00 Hearing Aids M & 2nd + 4th SAT 11-3:00 Sign-up Individual Counseling M-TH 3-4:00 IMSS M+T 10-1:00 NYLife/Seguros Monterrey Insurance T+TH 11-2:00 Optometrist TH 9-5:30 Sign-up Safe Insurance W 11-2:00 Skin Cancer 2nd + 4th W 10-12:00 Sign –up TioCorp Bupa & Plan Seguros M 10-1:00 INFORMATION Ajijic Rotary Club M 10-12:00 Becerra Immigration F 10-1:00 Information Desk M-SAT 10-2:00 Loridan Legal T 10-12:00 Los Niño’s de Chapala /Ajijic F 10:00-2:00 US Consulate 1st W 12-2:00 Sign up 11:30 am LESSONS Children’s Art SAT 9:30-12:00 Country Line Dancing T+TH 10-11:30,Members Only Exercise M+W+F 9-10:00 Have Hammers Workshop M 10-12:15, F 2:30-4:30 Intermediate Hatha Yoga T+TH+SAT 2-3:30 Spanish Conversation Club T 10:30-12:00 No Registration Tai Chi Chuan Exercise W 10-11:00 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AA M+TH 4-6:00 AA Women TH 10:30-12:00 AL-Anon/Al-aTeen M 6-7:00 Beginners’ Camera W 12-1:00 Computer Linux Class F 9:30-10:30 Computer Windows Club F 10:30-11:45 Creative Writers’ Group M 2-4:00 (Closed group) Digital Camera Club W 10:30-12:00 Dimitar Lecture “Art Thru Ages” TH 12-2:00 Discussion Group W 12-1:30 Film Aficionados 2nd+ 4th+ Last TH 2-4:30 Gamblers Anonymous W 12-1:00 Genealogy Last M 2-4:00 Great Books 1st + 3rd TH 2-4:00 (Closed group) Green Group 1st T 3-4:30 Lakeside Friends of Animals 1st TH 2-3:30 Mac OS 1st M 12-1:30 Mac User 3rd W 3-4:30 Mah Jonng F 10-3:30 Masonic Lodge #31 2nd + 4th W 4:30-8, 4th T 3-4:30 Needle Pushers T 10-12:00 Open Circle SUN 10:00-12:15 Scrabble M+F 12-2:00 Singles Group 6 & 13 Sept. 5-7:00

www.lakechapalasociety.org

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

September 2010 WHO WAS ED WILKES? By Arthur Melby Although his name is wellknown because of the Wilkes Education Center, few people today know the man who made this school possible. He donated his house on Galeana #18 in Ajijic in 1990. A measure of this man’s character was that he wanted no publicity about this. He wished to remain completely anonymous. In spite of his noble gesture, this gift was duly publicized in the local press. He did not impose any restrictions or conditions on the use of his house; it was up to the membership of the Society to decide its ultimate use. It was agreed that he would have full lifetime tenancy of the property before the Society took over which it did upon Ed’s death in l997. The conversion of his house into an educational institution was a fitting way to benefit the community that he loved and by so doing preserving his well-respected name. Ed Wilkes was one of the two major benefactors to the Lake Chapala Society. The other was Neill James. This was the last big gift to the Lake Chapala Society in the past fifteen years. Ed paid for the education of many of the children in Lakeside. In one instance, he covered the expenses for the college education of two students. He also donated school supplies. Wilkes was a philanthropist, scholar and well-versed in literature, history, natural sciences and was devoted to classical music. He was gifted with a keen intellect and possessed a photographic memory. He also taught himself Spanish using proper pronunciation and had an extensive vocabulary. Being skilled in woodworking and cabinetry, he had his own workshop. Upon the death of his wife Orel in 1985, he devoted much of his time cataloging books in the library of the Lake Chapala Society. Ed ran away from home at an early age and supported himself in a variety of menial jobs until he was able to enlist in the U.S. Navy. While stationed in Nicaragua during the Marine occupation of that country he contracted tuberculosis. For treatment he was sent to a sanatorium in Louisiana where he remained for two years until he recovered. It was during this period that, to deal with boredom and inactivity, his program of self-education began. He read all of the books in this institution’s library! He was a Civil Service employee for his entire working career. This modest, soft-spoken and self-effacing man was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1905. He died in Ajijic in 1997.

SPANISH CLASSES The next term begins the week of Sept. 6th and goes through Oct. 22nd. Register any day in the Services Office or on Thurs. & Fri., Sept. 2nd & 3rd from 10 am to 12 pm on the Blue umbrella Patio at LCS INTRO TO SPANISH Starts Thursday Sept. 2nd from 12 to 1:30 pm in the GAZEBO Register any day in the Services Office



NEW!! LCS SINGLE’S GROUP A new group for Single people who wish to meet and mingle is being launched by the Lake Chapala Society The kick-off date is Monday, Sept. 6th from 5-7 pm. There will be snacks, and a cash bar for wine and beer

classes, day trips and travel plans and more. For more information contact Pat Doran 766-2228 or check at the Information Desk.

ART APPRECIATION LECTURE SERIES Dimitar Krustev’s Series: “Art thru the Ages” Includes: Egypt, Greece, Renaissance & Modern Art To be held on Thursdays 12-2:00 pm in Sala Sept. 2 - Ancient Egypt Sept. 9 - Ancient Greece Sept. 23 - Italian Renaissance Sept. 30 - Modern Art Oct. 7 - The Figure in Art - The Nude All are Power Point presentations with live narration by international artist, filmmaker and member of the Explorers Club. Dimitar has been a resident of Ajijic for 30 years. If you are interested in art, come and see these informative programs and enjoy meeting the artist.

The group will explore mutual interests, activities, dance

FILM AFICIONADOS Films and discussion 2nd & 4th Thursday in the Sala at 2 pm THERE WILL BE TWO FILMS THIS MONTH ON THE BIG SCREEN 9 SEPTEMBER – THE THIEF, Academy nominated from Russia. 30 SEPTEMBER – MARY AND MAX (Australia-2008) — A truly original film about Mary, a chubby 8-year-old Australian girl, and Max, an obese Middle-aged New Yorker with Asperger’s Syndrome, who become an unlikely pair of pen pals. Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman do the voices in this Claymation film.

For LCS members to get on the Film Aficionado email list to receive notices and reviews of upcoming showings you can email me at: mak1939@gmail.com LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY 16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco LCS Main Office: 766-1140 Office, Information and other services open Monday – Friday, 10 to 2 and Saturday 10 to 2. Grounds are open until 5

LCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS President - Howard Feldstein Vice-President - Fred Harland Secretary - Lynn Bishop Sr. Director 1 - Tod Jonson Sr. Director 2 - Jack Shanks Sr. Director 3 - Wendee Hill LCS Education Director - Mary Alice Sargent Executive Director - Terry Vidal ◊ THE LCS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY. ◊ DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH PRECEDING PUBLICATION. ◊ NEWS ITEMS CAN BE EMAILED TO EVE REID, EEREID39@YAHOO.COM NOTE: THE EDITORIAL STAFF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO COMPLETE EDITING PRIVILEGES. ARTICLES AND/OR CALENDAR EVENTS WILL BE INCLUDED ACCORDING TO TIME, SPACE AVAILABILITY AND EDITORIAL DECISION ON THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION.

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Service

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

www.tel.chapala.com

DIRECTORY Tel: (387) 763 1933 - MARY KAY Tel: 765 7654 - SARA’S BEAUTY SALON Tel: 766-3518

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

* AIR LINES - AEROMEXICO Tel: 01-800-021-4000

* ANIMAL CLINICS/PET SHOP Pag: 57 Pag: 66 Pag: 57 Pag: 68

* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS - BELVA & ENRIQUE Tel: 766-0162 - CATHY CHALVIGNAC Tel: 766-1153 - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 766-5683 - HECHO EN MEXICO Tel: 765-4689 - EL PALOMAR Tel: 01 (33) 3635-5247 - THE AJIJIC ART HOUSE Tel: 765-5097

Pag: 51 Pag: 53 Pag: 44 Pag: 56 Pag: 45

* AUTOMOTIVE Pag: 35 Pag: 54

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

Pag: 47 Pag: 55 Pag: 25

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

Pag: 17 Pag: 58

* DENTISTS

- HUNTER DOUGLAS Tel: 766-0026

Pag: 29

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

Pag: 51 Pag: 03 Pag: 28, 68 Pag: 25 Pag: 26 Pag: 30

- QUINTA DON JOSE Tel: 01-800-700-2223

Pag: 57

* CEILING FANS

Pag: 09 Pag: 73

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

Pag: 06

* CHURCHES Pag: 63

- LAKE CHAPALA BAPTIST CHURCH Tel: 765-2925 Pag: 09, 59

Pag: 21 Pag: 29 Pag: 43

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

Pag: 54

Pag: 29

* COMPUTING SERVICES

Pag: 17 Pag: 15

- AJIJIC COMPUTING Tel: 765-4156 - CAFE INTERNET AJIJIC Tel: 766-3626 Pag: 53

Pag: 67 Pag: 13

* CONSIGNMENT SHOP/ANTIQUES

Pag: 55

- 2ND TIME AROUND Cell: (045) 331-323-0907 - BAZAR BARBARA Tel: 766-1824

Pag: 62

Pag: 07 Pag: 26 Pag: 18

Pag: 35

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

- FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ

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

Pag: 66

* HOME APPLIANCES - ELECTROVENTA Tel: 765-2222 - TECNICOS UNIDOS Tel: (376) 765-4266

Pag: 32 Pag: 12

* HOTELS / SUITES - HOTEL CIELO ROJO Tel. 311-258-4155 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, Fax: 766-2049 - MIS AMORES Tels: 766-4640, 4641, 4642 - QUINTA DON JOSE Tel: 01-800-700-2223 - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766-1152

Pag: 55 Pag: 03 Pag: 48 Pag: 20 Pag: 32

* INSURANCE - EDGAR CEDEÑO - MEXICO PROTECT Cell: (045) 33-3106-6982 Pag: 46 - LLOYD Tel: 766-0152, 766-3508 Pag: 24 - RACHEL’S INSURANCE Tel: 765-4316 Pag: 58

* INTERIOR DESIGN Pag: 25

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

Pag: 14

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

Pag: 31

* MALL Pag: 54 Pag: 69

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

Pag: 75

* MEAT/POULTRY/CHEESE

Pag: 68

- TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069

* GARDENING

* HARDWARE STORES

Pag: 30

* HEARING AIDS

- ELEMENTS Tel: 766-5826

- INTERIOR & FURNITURE -RICARDO FERNANDEZ Tel: 766-4331 Pag: 33 - TEMPUR Tel: (52) 333-629-5919, 333-629-5961 Pag: 52

Pag: 59

- VIDACELL Cell: (045) 33-1335-2660

Pag: 10

- INTERCAM Tel: 766-5978 Pag: 27 - LAKESIDE FINANCIAL ADVISOR DAVID LESNICK CFP CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Fax: 001(623) 327-1277 Pag: 15 - LAKESIDE MORTGAGE CONSULTANTS Tel: 766-2914 Pag: 22

- L & R WATER GARDENS Tel. 766-4386

Pag: 64

Pag: 12

* FINANCIAL SERVICES

- FUMIGA Tel: 762-0078, (045) 33-1155-7059 - FUMI-TECH Tel: 766-1946, Cell. (045) 333-369-3737 - MOSQUITO TRAP Tel: (376) 765 5973

766-1760 765-4444 766-5555

* HEALTH

Pag: 31

* FURNITURE

* BEAUTY

Pag: 11

Pag: 24

* BAKERY

- ANGEL ESTRADA Tel: 766-4666 - ELIA NAVARRO GOMEZ Tel. 766-2323 - JAMES DON SALON

- AJIJIC DENTAL Tel: 766-3682 - C.D. MARÍA LUISA LUIS VILLA Tel/Fax: 766-2428 - C.D. SANDRA ANAYA MORA Tel: 765-3502, 765-5444 - DENTAL EXPRESS Cell: (045) 331-121-6518 - DRA. ANGELICA ALDANA LEMA DDS Tel. 765-5364 - DRA. DOLORES RUSSELL D.D.S. Tel: 766-2881, 766-0075 Cell: (045) 333-108-7727 - DR. ALBERTO DON OLIVERA Tels: 765-4838, 765-4805 - DR. FRANCISCO CONTRERAS Tel: 765-5757 - DR. HECTOR HARO, DDS. Tel: 765-3193, 765-6974

* FUMIGATION/PESTS

* COMMUNICATIONS

* BANK INVESTMENT

- BRENDA’S BAKERY BOUTIQUE Tel: 765-2987

Pag: 11

* CASINO

BAGS

- ACTINVER Tel. 766-3110 - CIBANCO Tel. 766-1642, 766-2382 - MULTIVA Tel: 766-2499 -O&A Tel: 766-4481

- ARELLANO Tel: 766-4696 Pag: 38, 39 - CABO DO MUNDO- INTERIOR DESIGN Tel: 766-0026 Pag: 29 - CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING Tel: 766-3626 Pag: 13 - DDR ARQUITECTOS Cell: (045) 33-1282-7502 Pag: 30 - FMC Tel: 766-3596 Pag: 52 - G+3 Tel: 01-800-8360-444 Pag: 37 - INSTALA Cell: (045) 33 1440 6905 Pag: 20 - TEKNOVENTANAS Tel: 01-800-581-0957 Pag: 45 - WARWICK CONSTRUCTION Tel: 765-2224 Cell. (045) 331-135-0763 Pag: 58

066 765-2308, 765-2553 766-3615

Tel: 766-0880, Fax: 766-2440

Pag: 63

- AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Tel: 766 - 4973, Cell: (045) 33-3157- 6536 Pag: 56

- PRINTED CANVAS BAGS Tel: (33) 1562 0744 & 45

Pag: 66

* BLINDS AND CURTAINS

* AUTOMATIC DOORS

- CAR CITY Tel: 765-2550, 765-4171 - GRUPO OLMESA Cell: (045) 33-3806-9231 - LINEA PROFESIONAL Tel. 766-2555, Fax. 766-0066 - RON YOUNG-MECHANIC Tel: 765-6387

* CONSTRUCTION

* BED & BREAKFAST Pag: 23

- ANIMAL CARE Tel: 766-3062 - DEE’S PET CARE Tel: 762-1646 - PET SHOP - SALUD ANIMAL Tel: 766-1009

Pag: 47

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

Pag: 11

Pag: 63

* MEDICAL SERVICES - ADULT DIAPERS Tel: 766 1256 Pag: 52 - CASITA LA MONTAÑA Tel: 766-5513 Pag: 49 - DERMATOLOGIST Tel: 766-1198, 765-2400 Pag: 57 - DERMIKA Dermatologic Center Dra. Monica Ramos Tel: 766-2500 Pag: 25 - DRA. MARTHA R. BALLESTEROS FRANCO Cell: (045) 333-408-0951 Pag: 19

- HOSPITAL ANGELES DEL CARMEN Tel: (01) 3813-0042 Pag: 08 - INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST & GERIATRICS Dr. J. Manuel Cordova Tel: 766-2777 Pag: 16 - ISILAB Tel: 766-1164 Pag: 32 - PINTO OPTICAS Tel: 765-7793 Pag: 18 - PLASTIC SURGERY Tel: 766-2500 Pag: 51 - RED CROSS Tel: 765-2308 - SURGERY HOST Tel: 766-3145 Pag: 52

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

Pag: 10 Pag: 14 Pag: 12 Pag: 15

* MUSIC/THEATRE - MAS Tel: 765-6409 - BICENTENIAL BENEFIT NIGHT

Tel: 765-2326 - EL DORADO Tel: 766-0040 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: (387) 763-1974 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 766-5124 - FOR SALE BY OWNER - FORECLOSURE SALE Tel: (376) 766-0363 - GEORGETTE RICHMOND Tel: 766-2129, 766-2077 - HACIENDA LA CANACINTA Tel: 766-4971 - LAS CATARINAS Tel: 766-3592 - LLOYD REAL ESTATE AJIJIC Tel: 766-3508 - MIGUEL R. ROMAN Tel: 765-6557 - MYLES & GABY Cell: 331-249-2156 English - PETER ST. JOHN Tel: 765-3676 - RAUL GONZALEZ Cell: 33-1437-0925

Pag: 33

Pag: 51

Tel: 765-5719 Pag: 17, 62 - NUMBER FOUR Tel: 766-1360 Pag: 25, 27 - PANINO Tel: 766-3822 Pag: 19 - SIMPLY THAI Tel: 766-5665 Pag: 51 - SUBWAY Pag: 74 - RISTORANTE DI AURORA Tel. 766-4013Cell. (044) 33 1265 7900 Pag: 22 - TOMAS Tel: 765-3897 Pag: 43 - TONY’S Tel: 766-1614, 766-4069 Pag: 63

Pag: 26

* RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES

Pag: 02 Pag: 30 Pag: 56 Pag: 61 Pag: 14 Pag: 13

Pag: 24 Pag: 59

- LA CASA NOSTRA Tel: 765-4187, Fax: 765-5815 - THE BLUE HOUSE Tel: 766-1256

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

Pag: 50

Pag: 22

* SATELLITES/ T.V.

Pag: 25 Pag: 40 Pag: 22 Pag: 19 Pag: 33

* THERAPISTS - PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION Tel: 766-5563

Pag: 19

* TOURS - ADVENTURES MÉXICO Mex (228) 816-4055, US (858) 622-1402 Pag: 54 - CHARTER CLUB TOURS Tel: 766-1777 Pag: 09, 11 - GRUPO TURQUESA TOURS Tel: 766-5435 Pag: 67

Pag: 28 Pag: 43

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

* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Pag: 18 Pag: 44

Pag: 06

Tel: 766-5131 - MONTE COXALA Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - RESPIRO SPA Tel: (045) 33-3157-7790 - TOTAL BODY CARE Tel: 766-3379 - VILLA BORDEAUX Tel. (01-387) 761-0494

- COLDWELLBANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, movile: (045) 33-1175-9632 Pag: 60 - FOR RENT Tel: 765-6462 Pag: 31 - FOR RENT Tel: 01 (33) 3122-4676 Pag: 58 - HACIENDA LA CANACINTA Tel: 766-4971 Pag: 51 - ROMA Pag: 16 Tel: 766-3163 - SANTANA RENTALS Cell: 315-104-3283, Pag: 07 - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 766-1152 Pag: 32

* PHARMACIES

* TREE SERVICE Pag: 08 - CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 762-0602

* SCHOOLS

Pag: 69

* WATER

- IMAC Tel: 33-3613-1080 - ITTO Tel: 33-3658-3224

Pag: 55 Pag: 27

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

Pag: 61

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

Pag: 69

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

* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS * REPAIRS/ MAINTENANCE

- FARMACIA CRISTINA Tel: 766-1501 - FARMACIA EXPRESS II - FARMACIA MASKARAS Tel/Fax: 765-5827 - FARMACIA MORELOS Tel: 765-4002

Pag: 67 Pag: 16 Pag: 20

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

Pag: 68

Pag: 63

* RESTAURANTS/CAFES/CLUBS

- ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Tel: 766-5961 Pag: 69 - EL BAZAR DE LOS NIÑOS Tel: 765-3147 Pag: 66 - LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY Tel: 766-1140 Pag: 66-69 - LAKESIDE SPAY & NEUTER CENTER, A.C. Tel: 766-3813

* PODIATRIST - LAKE MED CENTER Tel: 766-0068

Pag: 66

* POOL MAINTENANCE - EQUIPMENT AND POOL MAINTENANCE Tel: 766-1617 Pag: 30 - TECNO AQUA Tel: 766-3730, 766-3731 Pag: 61

* REAL ESTATE - 1ST CHOICE HOMES LAKESIDE Tel: 765-2484 Pag: 49 - AJIJIC HILLS Cell: (045) 331-331-4809 Pag: 47 - AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 766-2836 Pag: 12 - AJIJIC REAL ESTATE Tel: 766-2077, Fax: 766-2331 Pag: 03 - ALL IN ONE REAL ESTATE SERVICE Tel: 766-1161 Pag: 05 - ARELLANO Tel: 766-4696 Pag: 38, 39 - BEV. & JEAN COFELL Home Tel. 766-5332 Office Tel. 765-3676 Pag: 46 - COLDWELL BANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 766-1152, 766-3369 Fax: 766-2124, Tels: 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 Pag: 76 - CHULA VISTA NORTE Tel: 766-2177 Cell: (045) 33-3841-8867 Pag: 47 - CONTINENTAL REALTY Cel: 33-1443-2143 Pag: 61 - DOTTIE SLAIMAN

- AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 766-2458 - ALFREDO’S CALIFORNIA Tel: 765-2245 - CAFÉ ADELITA Tel: 766-0097 - CASA DEL WAFFLE Tel: 766-1946 - CHAC-LAN Tel: (387) 761-0111, 761-0326 - COFFEE & BAGELS Tel: 766-0664 - DAVID’S CAFE Tel: 766-2341 - EL JARDIN DE NINETTE Tel. 766-4905 - GO LE CLUB Cell: (045) 33-3502-6555 - JOLANDAS Tel: 315-351-5449 - LA BODEGA Tel: 766-1002 - LA NUEVA POSADA Tel: 766-1444, 766-2049 - “LA TAVERNA” DEI QUATTRO MORI Tel: 766 2848 - LA VITA BELLA Cell: 33-3476-6577 - LAS CABALLERIZAS COXALA Tel: 766-0744 - LOS OTATES Tel: 766-5051 - LOS TELARES Tel: 766-0428 - MANIX Tel: 766-0061 - MOM´S DELI & RESTAURANT

* SPA / MASSAGE Pag: 55 Pag: 68

- GOLDEN AGE Tel: 766-3989 - LA BELLA VIDA

Pag: 53

SAW YOUIN T HE OJO

Pag: 50 Pag: 03

The Ojo Crossword

Pag: 40 Pag: 46 Pag: 20 Pag: 52 Pag: 53 Pag: 28 Pag: 08 Pag: 03 Pag: 28 Pag: 40 Pag: 40 Pag: 74 Pag: 49 Pag: 32

Saw you in the Ojo 71

CARS

COMPUTERS

WANTED: Want US plated car, had ad before but unable to find car I would like. Contact: Frank Raimo FOR SALE: VW Beetle 1996, made in Mexico, has Jalisco plates, new battery, tinted windows, gets good mileage, 1 tank gets you to Melaque, fairly new seat covers. Asking 25,000 pesos or 2000 USD WANTED: Side roof rails for a 20022006 Honda CRV. Will also consider a full roof rack. Price negotiable. Contact: Kevin O’Byrne FOR SALE: 2001 Mercedez / Benz CLK 430, 2 doors, good condition, price 9,800. USD call: J P Landry @ (044) 333-720-3209. FOR SALE: Manufactured in the US but now has Mx plates, Buick Le Sabre 1998, 6 cylinders, AC, all electric, autotrans, good condition. 60,000 pesos. Call Armando (376) 766 0779 FOR SALE: 2002 Mazda Millenia. Excellent Condition. Full leather package. New tires, new suspension, body and paint in perfect condition. Check out Blue Book, Private Seller....this is a steal! Call Linda 766-0303 or 766-1776

FOR SALE: CCTV System With Four Cameras,160 Gigabyte Hard Drive, Night Vision Type, Low Light Cameras, With Extra Long Cable For EACH Camera, Best Offer Will Get This System. Call: Carlos Montoya at (376) 766-4440 FOR SALE: 200 Watts digital AM/FM Receiver, brand new, still in Box, with remote control. Bought by mistake in the States last month. Contact: Ingrid Hill FOR SALE: “Sony VGN-T160P/L”, Windows XP, wireless, S400 transfer port, USB, Bluetooth technology3, 10.6” display, DVD/CD r/w, PCMCIA slot, carrying case and extra battery. Battery lasts 3.5+ hours. FIRM 350USD. Call: David @ (376) 765-6348 FOR SALE: Easy Cap unit, patch cords and OEM software. Transfer your VHS to your hard drive and then burn to a DVD (if you want). $250 Call: David @ (376) 763-5248 FOR SALE: canon power shot sd 500 elph, camera, cables, recharger and two batteries, used, but still good pic quality. 25 USD. Call: (387)763-1725 FOR SALE: Desktop computer with keyboard. Very good...lightly used with Windows XP Home Edition upgrade (with

certificate of authenticity). Hard drive cleaned by professional, guaranteed. 200 USD. Call: Dennis at 766-5322 FOR SALE: Magicjack, call unlimited to the United States and Canada. Price 60.00 includes one full year of service, renewal for the next year is only 19.95 for as long as you own the magicjack. Call: (376)765-2326

PETS & SUPPLIES WANTED: YEY...I HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW HOME...THANKS.. SPARKY.. I need a home. Abandoned and found in San Antonio. I am young and obedient. I have been “fixed” and I have had my shots. Contact: Pat McQueen FOR SALE: good saddle horse. Fine gelding, has brio, been to high school and can dance, good trail horse - proud cut. Beautiful, intelligent, to good home. 20,000 pesos. Contact: Kerrie Stepnick FOR SALE: Training your puppy or dog? I have two books that might help: PUPPY TRAINING, by Charlotte Schwartz; and NEW COMPLETE DOG TRAINING MANUAL, by Bruce Fogle. 100 pesos for both. Call: James Tipton, 765-7689.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE FOR SALE: Bushnell 7X50 marine binoculars. Compass with night light, nitrogen filled. Never been to sea. 1,600 pesos. Contact: Allan Flaa FOR SALE: magic chef bread maker, 400 pesos. Call: Catheryn Bowman @ (376) 766-5589 WANTED: wanted sit upon Kayak. Call: Catheryn Bowman @ (376) 7665589 WANTED: Used or new small microwave oven. Contact: Alex Golzwarden WANTED: will buy one mens braces in new condition. Call: John Whiley @ 765-3824 FOR SALE: Need to sell our 2nd TV; can’t afford service for 2 TVs. Small TV is 13”. Works great. 42 USD or best offer Call: Barbara Rolens @ (376) 765-4637 WANTED: Good treadmill bells and whistles not necessary. Contact: Jan Manning FOR SALE: Pimsleur spanish audio cassettes, 16 double sided tapes, learn spanish with the pimsleur method. Negotiable but asking 800 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward FOR SALE: Paper Maiche Cockatoo, multi colored, comes with metal perch that you hang. 30” from tip to tail. 250 pesos. Also selling Berol Prismacolor Art Set, nearly new, 60 colored pencils in great condition. 300 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward FOR SALE: Navajo all Wool Blanket for double bed, predominant colors are tan with brown and red. Excellent condition. Asking 850 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

FOR SALE: 2 Rustico end tables, matching but need repainting. Have 1 drawer and a cabinet below with door, 550 pesos for the 2. Contact: Diane Ward FOR SALE: LG DVD player and recorder, plays dvd, cd’s, USB, MP3, WMA, JPEG files, connects to digital camcorders, records TV programs, manual in English/Spanish, nearly new. Asking 750 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward FOR SALE: Quality furniture, MX rugs, refrigerator, Tony Little Gazelle (exercise glider) and more! See photos, description and prices at http://www.orios. com/sale. Contact: Joan Petty FOR SALE: Four Roll-up Exterior Blinds. Made of a heavy fabric suitable for outdoor use. Color blue. Width: 57”, Height: 95”. Price 1,500 pesos. Call @ 766-4154 FOR SALE: Beautiful granite chessboard. 40x40 cms. Would also make great coffee table top. 1200 pesos or BO. Call (376) 766-4869 FOR SALE: Lightly used Craftsman 9.6 Cordless Electric Drill/Driver with new battery and charger. Works great!, 50 USD. Call: Veronica Nielsen @ (376) 765-3446 FOR SALE: Still in box, 9ft Market Umbrella in lovely terracotta color. Wooden post. Used only once, still has retail ticket attached. Good deal. 500 pesos . Call: Veronica Nielsen @ (376) 765-3446 FOR SALE: PM Steele Office reception desk. Almost new, dark wood. URGENT SELL. 5,000 pesos. Call: Erika Gomez @ 331-365-8376 WANTED: I’m looking for an additional oven shelf, new or used. Size is 25.5 wide x 14.75 inches deep (65 x 37 cm). Contact: Donna Vernet FOR SALE: Coffe Table 33 inches X 47 inches. Heavy wood frame with glass top inserts. 100 USD Call: Joe Schmitz @ (376) 765-5138 WANTED: VHS player. Must have working remote and be reasonably priced. Call: David @ (376) 765-6348 FOR SALE: Panasonic, model TH58PZ800U Viera 58” Plasma TV, 1080p, THX sound. One year old and perfect. 1,950 USD or peso equivalent. Contact: Bill Wynn FOR SALE: Cybex Exercycle, Model CR330, in excellent condition. Digital read outs. Price: 400.00 USD or peso equivalent. Contact: Bill Wynn WANTED: Portable propane room heater. Contact: Donald Chaloner FOR SALE: USED But In Great Shape, Low Pressure Gas / propane Regulator valve, Quantitiy TWO (2). 60 pesos each or BO. Contact: Carlos Montoya @ (376) 766-4440 WANTED: Round dining table and queen size bed frame. Contact: Linda Ball FOR SALE: 4- Patriot Dance Lights sound activated multi channel designs.

New Asking 700 pesos (56 USD excellent condition. Call 331-249-2156 or email mylesbeckley@yahoo.com FOR SALE: AKG Acoustics WMS SR 40 PRO FLEXX Ultra High Frequency Wireless Microphone System – Asking 3,000 pesos (240 USD) excellent condition. Call 331-249-2156 or email mylesbeckley@yahoo.com FOR SALE: QSC PLX 3102 Series Professional Audio Amplifier. 2-ohm minimum impedance model with Speakon and binding post terminals -Asking 10,000 pesos (800 USD) excellent condition. Call 331-249-2156 or email mylesbeckley@yahoo.com FOR SALE: 4 - Peavey DPE 215 Full Range Quasi-Three-Way Speaker System Utilizing two 15” of 3” Voice Coil Heavy Duty Cast Frame Woofers and a RX 33 Titanium compression driver for the highs. 5,000 pesos (400USD). Call 331-249-2156 or email mylesbeckley@ yahoo.com FOR SALE: Sony DAV-HDX277WC BRAVIA. S-AIR compatible home theater system equipped with plug and multi-room receiver/speaker. Playable File Format(s): JPEG, MP3 - Input/Output: Headphone, Component Video, Composite Video, HDMI. Call: Mitchell Perey @ (376) 765-7455 FOR SALE: 6’ Step Ladder, nearly new. 400 pesos Contact: Sherry Hudson WANTED: Need BOSE CD Player in new or top-notch condition. The newer the better. Price negotiable. Back in town mid-September. Contact: Paul Jackson at paulconradjackson@gmail.com FOR SALE: Good condition 5,300kms. Custom Dinamo 2009 Chopper 150CC white & red, 18,000 pesos. Call: 333-952-8531 FOR SALE: BRAND NEW American made queen size bed. For details see bragada.com, model Vellaggio. Used one night, shipping charges to Mexico not included for mattresses, springs, frame. Sell 13,000 pesos. (376) 7664365 FOR SALE: Level 1 and Spanish Now! Level 2. These are the popular Barron’s Textbook/Workbook in like new condition. List at 37.94 USD for both. My price 150 pesos or 12 USD for both. James Tipton 765-7689 FOR SALE: The Appeal by John Grisham, list $27.95US; Double Cross by James Patterson, list $27.99US; 4th of July by James Patterson, list 27.95 USD; Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, list 29.99 USD. These are all Hardcover First Editions. Will sell each for 120 pesos or 10 USD. James Tipton, 765-7689 FOR SALE: k Stein Piano, good condition.3 notes need to be tuned. Comes complete with nice black leather adjustable stool. $8950 pesos. Call Stephen Stokes (376) 765-5523 FOR SALE: Complete VW Passat roof luggage rack.Should fit other cars.

Approx. 40”x 40”,102cm x 102cm. Make offer. Call: Jerry at (376)765-4353 WANTED: Need a used 8 foot fiberglass Satelite Dish w/base & LNB bracket. Contact: Jim Watkins WANTED: I would like to buy a Star Choice system, either the dish or the receiver or both. Contact: Dennis James. WANTED: Looking for Breville (juice fountain plus) Lightly used or excellent cond. Call Janice @ (376) 763-5664 or vonage 512-663-8691 FOR SALE: RCA, 6 speaker Home Theatre system with DVD player. 160.00 USD or best offer. Contact: Fred Habacht FOR SALE: White stoneware; 32 piece service for 8. Never used...still in unopened boxes. $60.00 or best offer. Contact: Fred Habacht FOR SALE: Never used disk VIP 222K receiver & 1000 HD HDMI. Cablereceiver is 2 tuners. Price is 250.00USD or best offer. Contact: Fred Habacht WANTED: Need auto upholster to replace headliner in car. Contact: Frank Raimo FOR SALE: IEM Refrigerator used excellent condition. 2,100 pesos. For more info call: 33-1005-3109 WANTED: Starchoice receiver complete with remote control, etc. Call: Mike 766-2829, email: Mikenan@prodigy.net. mx FOR SALE: 9-Volt Batteries Package of 12. 250 pesos. Expiration is 2013. Call: Julie Hensley at 765-4590 FOR SALE: Dish Satellite Receiver. Must sacrifice. Excellent condition. Make offer. Call Alex at 765-3634 FOR SALE: Brand Arbruder, 7mp 14mpmax, 6.6L/ min., 2900PSI, asking 900 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward FOR SALE: Yamaha piano- organ, model ypr-50 in excellent condition, with manual and adjustable chair. 275 USD. Call: 765-3824 FOR SALE: Want to lose weight? I have for sale (very slightly used) a hardcover edition of Fred Pescatore, M.D., THE HAMPTONS DIET. 100 pesos. Call: James Tipton, 765-7689. FOR SALE: Surpassing The Love Of Men: Romantic Friendship And Love Between Women; Sex In History; The Art Of Sexual Ecstasy/The Art Of Sexual Magic; and Best Women’s Erotica 2010. All for only 250 pesos. Call: James Tipton 765-7689. FOR SALE: New Alto Saxophone (Cecilia), never used. Bought in the States a year ago for 4,000 pesos. Will sacrifice for 3,000 pesos. Call: James Tipton at 765-7689. FOR SALE: Iron Window and Protection, approx. 73” wide by 39” height 4-panel window, with the middle two panels that open with screening, and attached wrought iron protection with scrollwork detail. 1,500 pesos. Call Janet at 766-0777. WANTED: Looking for a TV/VCR

combo. Reasonable price. Bigger screen is better, but will take anything available. Must be in good working condition. Call Jill Flyer at 766-3025.

COLLECTABLES FOR SALE: I have hundreds of duplicates of 19th and 20th century Mexican stamps, both new and used, for

sale. (Also lots of Peru and Chile). Call: James Tipton at 765-7689. FOR SALE: Original bold signature of Andrew Jackson on Land Grant, probably 1829, co-signed by George Graham, Commissioner of the General Land Office. Price 4000 USD. Call: James Tipton at 765-7689

Saw you in the Ojo 73

El Ojo del Lago / September 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 75