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Saw you in the Ojo
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D IRE C TOR Y PUBLISHER David Tingen
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Victoria A Schmidt
EDITOR EMERITUS Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez Tel: (01376) 765 3676, 765 2877 Fax: (01376) 765 3528 Graphic Design Roberto C. Rojas Reyes Diana Parra Morales Special Events Editor Carol D. Bradley Proofreader Jan Manning Theater Critic Michael Warren Book Review Panel Margaret Van Every Margaret Porter Clare Gearhart Roving Correspondent Dr. Lorin Swinehart
Sales Manager Bruce Fraser Carmene Berner ADVERTISING OFFICE Av. Hidalgo # 223, Chapala Mon. thru Fri. 9 am - 5 pm Sat. 9 am - 1 pm Tel. 01 (376) 765 2877, 765 3676 Fax 01 (376) 765 3528 Send all correspondence, subscriptions or advertising to: El Ojo del Lago www.chapala.com elojodellago@gmail.com
Index... 16 COVER STORY Herbert Piekow celebrates independence days explaining the many versions of the Mexican Flag.
8 Janice Kimball shares her heroine experience when she was diagnosed and sent to “Polio Ward.” 12 “Fading” Bernie Suttle puts his unique viewpoint on the process of aging. 18 Yolanda Garza Birdwell shares “My Love for Ajijic and The Lake Chapala Society.” 24 Carol Bowman pleasures us with the memories of adolescent strife. 32 Speaking from experience, Donna Mansfield discusses “Caretaking will bring you down to the level of your own incompetence.”
Photo by Mario Negrete
COLUMNS THIS MONTH
6 Editorial 14 Vexations and Conundrums 20 Profiling Tepehua 22 Ramblings from the Ranch
36 Dr. Lorin Swinehart examines the “Life and Times of the Legendary Voyageurs.”
28 Lakeside Living
42 “Centro Educational Jaltepec Spotlight on Success” as Presented by Carole Baker.
34 Unsung Heroes
44 Patricia Guy Tells us about “Celebrating Día de la Independencia 2021.”
40 Verdant View
46 The Energy of Lakeside Queen D. Michele shares her views.
Ave. Hidalgo 223 (or Apartado 279), 45900 Chapala, Jalisco Tels.: 376 765 3676, Fax 376 765 3528 PRINTING: El Debate El Ojo del Lago aparece los primeros cinco días de cada mes. (Distributed over the first five days of each month) Certificado de Licitud de Título 3693 Certificado de Licitud de Contenido 3117. Reserva al Título de Derechos de Autor 04-2011-103110024300-102 Control 14301. Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Gobernación (EXP. 1/432 “88”/5651 de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva 171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de 1994. Distribución: Hidalgo 223 Chapala, Jalisco, México. All contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher or the Editor, nor are we responsible for the claims made by our advertisers. We welcome letters, which should include name, address and telephone number.
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COVER IMAGE
VOLUME 38 NUMBER 1
El Ojo del Lago / September 2021
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COLUMNIST
Editor’s Page By Victoria A. Schmidt
Make time while you have the time
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’m talking legal matters here. The recent death of my husband reminded me that my will is out of date. I need to update my medical power of attorney, and take care of all that necessary paperwork that has been driving me crazy since he died. May I pass along some wisdom? If a doctor does not honor your Power of Attorney, get another doctor. It could mean the difference between life and death. Your USA will won’t help you here in Mexico if you own property. And don’t ask me. Find a Mexican attorney and ask them. Go through your own pension programs and insurance policies NOW. They all seem to have web sites and will help you understand your insurance. Is it term life, whole life, a group policy? It makes a difference. Today I am reading through my policy and changing my beneficiaries to my son and his wife. Make sure you have your own Mexican Power of Attorney who knows what you want in case you cannot speak for yourself. And make sure it is someone you trust to follow YOUR wishes, not their wishes. Discuss your wishes with your doctor so that he/she is aware of your feel-
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ings. Choosing the right doctor for you is the most important decision you will make here in Mexico. For those of you who have reached the point where you need assisted living, talk it over with your doctor. What will you need? Do you just need supportive care? Do you need hospital care? Make sure the place you are looking at has the ability to provide that kind of care. Don’t ask me. Ask other friends, families and doctors who are more familiar with the care givers in the area. This is true north of the border as well. Also, make sure the patient-to-care ratio is adequate. And ask the owners of the home for the certificates of the nurses. Some nursing programs are well established and take years to complete. Others are six-week programs. When inspecting a home, make sure you check out how clean it is and how often they do laundry. Look at the patients and see the quality care they are receiving. Make sure the cook can follow special diets. Do they advertise game days, events, etc. Ask them what they are and how often. I have found exemplary examples of impressive care at Lakeside. I have found examples I would recommend. Again. Don’t ask me, go do your research on your own. Because no one knows your needs but you. Some of the places have waiting lists. So, don’t put this off. Also: when you have selected a place, make sure you have a contract and read it through carefully. Let your family and friends know of your plans. Once you’ve made your move, have them check in often. There is the advice for the taking care of yourself. Victoria Schmidt
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THE POLIO WARD University of Michigan 1957 PART ONE By Janice Kimball
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y mother was the only grandchild of early 20th century cult guru, Alois P. Swoboda. His instructions on raising children included the mandate that they learn from their own mistakes. It was only in this way, he believed, that a child would develop into an adult with strong character. “I have made the decision to take swimming lessons at Dearborn Pools when they open for the summer.” I told Mother. Public notices were posted throughout that summer: Keep your children home, away from crowded places. If your child has a fever, stiff neck, or flu-like symptoms call your doctor. Do not bring your child into the waiting room. “You may want to reconsider the decision to take swimming lessons, dear. The pool gets very crowded and there’s been talk of a Polio epidemic.” It is strange that I remember that conversation, because at the time, I had no intention of taking Mother’s advice. My brother, Kurt, eight, sat up front with our parents. I lay in the back seat of the car trembling and burning with fever. We were rushing back from Petosky in northern Michigan where we had been on vacation. Mother had called Doctor Vogel, our family doctor, who met us in the clinic’s parking lot. He handed mother a
map through the car’s open window. It directed us to the University of Michigan’s gymnasium loading dock in Ann Arbor, Michigan. By then it was getting dark. We were told to stay in the car and flash our lights at the end of a high fenced alley and that an attendant would come out to meet us. The block-long dock had a line of steel doors three feet off the ground which could be accessed by portable metal stairs on wheels. After the five-hour drive, in the ten minutes it took the attendant to appear, panic mounted. Dad started screaming, “We’re in the wrong place, this isn’t it. This can’t be the place!” The attendant wore coveralls and gloves. He directed us to pull up to a door with a set of portable steel stairs in front. He approached the car, asked our names, and instructed us not to get out. “You were sent from Garden City Medical Center and the patient’s name is Jani?” By this time I was sitting up, eyes wide, wondering what was to come next. “Is this her in back? Can you roll down your window a little, Jani? My name is Tom and I will help you,” he said through the halfopen window. “Can you walk? Do you think you can make it up those three stairs?” I nodded yes. “She needs a wheelchair,” Mother screamed. The attendant ignored her. He opened the back door. “Can you get out all right?” he asked me. With legs shaking I got out and stood beside him. “You will need to do the paperwork to have her admitted,” Tom told mother. “Afterward you can come back through the front entrance and visit your daughter. The office is in another building on campus. Follow these directions carefully,” he said, handing my parents another map. My Parents had no idea this process would take hours, that their whereabouts would be questioned, that their car would be fumigated, and that Kurt would be given an experimental drug to become known as Continued on page 10
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the Salk vaccine and be quarantined from attending school. “Take the steps slowly, I’m right here behind you if you need help,” Tom said. “I’ll push the door open and you can step in.” Never touching me, Tom locked the metal door behind us. I faced a large trash barrel striped with fluorescent tape. Its lid popped open with a press of his foot. “You need to take all of your clothes off, Jani, and put them in this barrel.” “Even my underwear…and my shoes?” I asked. “Yes,” Tom replied. I will keep my back turned.” I undressed and dropped my clothes into the barrel. Rapidly, I stepped onto the stool and sat on the edge of the gurney, grabbing the sheet to hold up in front of my naked body as I heard the barrel’s lid snap shut. “Will you be all right by yourself if I leave? If not, I will stay with you, Jani. Another car is waiting for me outside. The nurse will come in through the other door or the other side within five minutes.” “I’m all right,” I replied. “You’re a brave girl. I believe you will come through this all right.” Then, he exited and locked the door behind him. The room was but a windowless cubicle, probably once a storeroom for basketball equipment. A camera was mounted on the ceiling overhead. The only other item in the room was a refrigerator. Strange, as the inside of the room was kept cold as the inside of one. It was the middle of the night when my parents finally arrived. They took turns looking at me through the thick, one-foot square metal-encrusted window in the hallway door. An attendant instructed them on the use of a one-way microphone to talk to me, but I had no speaker to talk back. “We got here as soon as we could,” Mother cried. “We love you, Jani. We love you. Is there anything you need? I’ll get you out of there as soon as I can. They are going to give you a spinal tap tomorrow. It’s going to be painful. This is my entire fault, Jani. We shouldn’t have gone on the vacation when you weren’t feeling well. I am so sorry, so terribly sorry. Your Dad is here beside me. He is worried about you, too.” Dad’s face replaced Mother’s in the small window. I remember seeing the pads of his fingertips pushing against the sides of the window as if it were a curtain he could push open. He pressed his nose against the window, his mouth agape and tears streaming down his face. Then he col-
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lapsed. “Help!” Mother screamed. Then, their microphone was turned off. I waited shivering on my stainlesssteel gurney, as if frozen in silence to be told my father had fainted. Three days later they released me from the isolation room. Transferred to another gurney with a mattress pad but no pillow, the attendants rolled me into the hallway banked with dozens of the other victims of the Polio epidemic lined against the walls waiting for a bed. Mother visited every day. After my third day in the hallway, she screamed at the head nurse. “I have connections in Lansing. If my daughter is not in a room when I come back tomorrow there will be hell to pay. I will not have her treated like this!” When mother left, the staff made up an adult bed for me that encroached on the entry to the gymnasium, the pediatric “ward,” which must have held a hundred children. This spot, made to accommodate me, was near the entrance next to the iron lungs. The pushing of air into the lungs of helpless children, then sucking it back out in mechanical death-defying beats, ‘Phew-Whooh, Phew-Whooh’ dominated the room. Spatters of conversation could be heard from parents in the northern part of the state and those from the Upper Peninsula, saying goodbye to their children, possibly forever. Cries of terrified children housed in tight rows, echoed up the walls, cries that called out to me and reverberated in my ears even when the ward would become quiet for a time, deep into the night. “If I hadn’t let you go to Dearborn Pools you wouldn’t be here.” Mother confessed. “There were lots of children in the pool, lots of parents thought it was alright for them to be there.” I tried to console her. “We shouldn’t have taken that vacation. We should have stayed home.” “… But I’m the one who said we should go.” I answered, hoping mother wouldn’t be compelled to fix things. “I want to speak to the head doctor. This is my daughter,” Mother barked at the head nurse. “She doesn’t belong here! I want her transferred to an adult ward!” “You will have to talk to a doctor.” the nurse replied. “And where can I find one?” Mother spat with a hiss. “The doctors are all gone for the day.” The nurse smugly replied. To be continued Janice Kimball
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FADING By Bernie Suttle
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t’s starting. I’m eighty-seven, close to eighty-eight years old and I remember a guy I knew years ago but I can’t remember his first name. Know his brother’s and mother’s names but can’t remember his first name. If I go to his family’s restaurant where he is maître D I’ll need to greet him by his first name, but I’ll be damned if I can think of it now. I know It’ll come to me later if I just back off trying so hard right now. It usually does. That’s aging I guess. Beside this fading and some physical limitations, it’s not so bad. Except I’m called, “Sir,” by strangers, but thankfully without the sneer it came with from enlisted men when
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I was a junior officer in the Navy. Today I’m disposing of mementos of some recreational event I’ve been carrying for years and never used. “Free tee-shirt”. Like hell! These items were deemed “Free’’ by some entrepreneur to entice my participation in some event I paid to be in. Back way before I started fading, I guess I would call it during my risk-taking days, I had a misadventure. I had a positive expectation of all of my adventures and took any setbacks as only temporary. I was living in Corpus Christi, Texas and thought a trip to Laredo, Mexico would be nice. I enjoyed visiting Mexico but on the return trip at night in the “Badlands of DuVal county” I had a
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blowout. With no spare tire. I thought such things only happened to other guys, never to me. I pulled the thunking car just off the right side of the tarmac, jacked it up to teetering height and removed the dead tire. I stood by the uplifted car with my wife, reassuring her that all we needed was a ride to the next town. She looked at the nearby road sign, “Freer, Population 217”, and started to whimper. “All I have to do is get the tire repaired and a ride back” I reassured her with confidence. It was dark as the inside of your boot as we stood beside our wounded car in the cold midnight awaiting the good Samaritan who arrived within a half hour. A Forty Ford two-door sedan swerved to a stop in front of my hobbled and hoisted Belair. The driver was a James Dean imitator curled around the steering wheel looking out from under his drooping pompadour with a further drooping centered curl. In the right front seat was a not so innocent looking, pouting Natalie Wood. She had a pompadour too. A revolver lay, prepared for trouble, on the seat between them. Jimmy Dean offered his assistance. “Give ya’ a lift to the next town, ’bout forty miles, where they fix flats. The
gas station is open all night. Catch a ride back here with someone filling up to get through the badland’s lands. You’ll be lucky if your car is still here when you return. This place is full of bandits”. When he finished his offer, he reached under his dark leather jacket to grab a fresh pack of Lucky’s. He bit off the cellophane top of the wrapper and pitched it out his open window. He shook out one of the nails, sucked it into the corner of his mouth, flipped out his Zippo to ignite the cigarette that stayed in the corner of his mouth, not disturbing its permanent sneer until he spat it out the drivers’ window. A high school kid working the graveyard shift at the station fixed my flat. We drove back in the lineman’s truck and found the abandoned car still waiting where we left it. Back then I said I’d had a bit of bad luck. Now I know it was stupidity. Now that I’ve had the medical procedures to put stents in blocked arteries to my carotid and heart I don’t take any risks, even in walking. I note however that fading has occurred both in memory and movement. I rely too much on presumptions. When I put a piece of bread into the toaster I plan, presume that after an allotted time I will have a properly done piece of toast. When the bread and toaster burst into flame I have an emergency. So, it is with so many presumptions like car tires holding their air, not going flat. I have had a wonderful life succeeding in doing everything I wanted: flying airplanes, running 10 K’s, skiing, sailing, managing companies. Now I see myself on a rehabilitation program of walking and doing, with a goal of reaching being my previous self. I think just in time. Just before I start wearing plaid shorts, white socks and black Bernie Suttle street shoes.
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Olympian Envy
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hat a wonderful diversion from the plague! The worldwide Olympic Games are in session, after a one-year delay due to Covid-19. The focus isn’t on illness (though there have been Covid cases at the games), but on exceptional health and physical ability. The sports performers are at the top of the scale of perfection. Rippled muscles, flat stomachs and beautiful biceps are everywhere. In a Hollywood touch, there are lash extensions, multi-
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colored ornate hairstyles and bright lipstick on the women, and some men sport unusual braids and tattoos with fancy footwear. I suppose they want to appear telegenic in order to gain endorsement contracts. I consider my underarms, a bit dangly these days, and search for my three-pound dumbbells, a starter effort at self-improvement. My husband is fond of track and field. He ran track in high school and reminisces of his days of training and
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competition. He is impressed with how much faster athletes are able to complete their distances now. Every year they set new records. He tells me that they have new training regimens, new shoes, new diets and coaching adaptations. My husband is invigorated by all this movement and he walks the house rapidly and goes on outside excursions too. He returns perspiring and invigorated, yet somehow newly stimulated. As he watched the weight-lifting events, he casually picked up his eightpound hand weights and did rigorous exercises to build his biceps and strengthen his triceps and deltoids. The Olympics offer tremendous motivation. Young people across the globe need to watch these spectacles to get them off of their devices and moving. I am spellbound by the gymnastics competition where participants twirl through the air, flipping and twisting before they land and stick perfectly. I practiced a very elementary form of these exercises when I was young. I was exceptionally flexible and could do backbends, front limbers and splits. My mother drove me out of state to meet with a respected coach who was going to teach me aerial maneuvers (no hand to ground contact). The elderly, white-haired woman yielded a stick and was stern in her direction. In a
no-nonsense tone she informed me, “If you can do a limber, you can do it without using your arms!” My recollection was that she tapped her stick to my knees and ordered me to go into the air. I visualized the move and the inherent risks should I land on my head. I refused. Three times. I was relegated to the parents’ seating area where I had to explain to my mother why I would never be a great air performer. Another interesting thing I have witnessed in all the events is the emotion the athletes exhibit. Runners fall uninhibitedly to the ground, flailing and moaning at the finish line. One runner ripped his shirt open at the chest exuberantly when he posted a world record. Volleyball players touch each other supportively after each play, whether they win the point or lose it. Tears are the norm, and I am so relieved that they are not stifled as they so often are in everyday life. Emotional displays can be healthy, as these athletes face tremendous stress in the Olympic competitions. There was a high drama situation which underscored the psychological aspect of competing at this highest level. Simone Biles, the USA gymnast, pulled out of several competitions because she was not mentally on track to do her maneuvers. Her action caused controversy and gossip, but she came back in at the end to win a medal. I have watched all of this excitement, deeply aware that I can hardly squat down anymore without straining to get back up. I’ve developed some arthritis in my hips, so forget doing any fancy moves, as I may end up on the floor, helpless, not celebrating my physical prowess. Perhaps, having watched in awe all day, I will have a nocturnal subconscious viewing of myself taking to the air in a smooth summersault I never executed in my youth. In my dreams… Katina Pontikes
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Understanding the Mexican Flag By Herbert W. Piekow
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his article should actually be called, “Fun Facts about the Mexican Flag” because the story of the Mexican flag is as complex as the country’s history and, in this case history is fun. Research for this article felt a little like the Big Bang vexillology (study of flags) episode where Sheldon talks about Fun Facts with Flags. Recorded use of flags, as opposed to banners, is first recorded about 1,300 BCE and by the Middle Ages flags were accepted symbols of countries, kings, organizations and guilds. By law all vessels engaged in trans-oceanic trade are required to fly the flag of their national registration; it was this maritime act that saw the in-
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troduction of the pirate symbol of the skull with cross bones. The history of the Mexican flag is a bit like the story of the country, complex and multi-layered. The version of the Mexican flag that we see displayed today on all public buildings and proudly carried during civic and national holidays, was designed for the 1968 Olympic Games held in Mexico City. However, this version was not ratified by congress until 1995 or, 27 years after the games. There are sixteen countries that utilize the green, white and red colors on their national flags. Those of Mexico are placed vertically while in the center of the white band we all recognize the Mexican Eagle clutching a snake in its talons. This Mexican symbol also underwent a metamorphous before today’s version. During the 1810-1821 struggle for independence from Spain the Virgin of Guadalupe was displayed by the Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo, who is acknowledged as the father of Mexico’s struggle for independence. He used the symbol as the rallying symbol for the people of Mexico; although the Virgin will always be a recognized representation of the Mexican people, it is both too complex and somehow less appropriate as a national flag on the international stage. The colors of green, white and red on Mexico’s national flag have remained the same since being adapted in 1821.
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However, the symbolism of these colors has changed. In 1821 the color green represented independence. Today this color symbolizes hope for the nation. While white originally was the symbol of purity for the Roman Catholic faith, today white portrays the unity of all Mexican citizens. Red was for the union of all Mexicans and the Three Guarantees of the Iguala Doctrine, which incidentally was signed in Tlaquepaque. Currently red represents the blood of those who died fighting for their country. During the 1810 Revolution, Mexicans rallied around the banner of The Virgin of Guadalupe. In 1821 the Mexican government adopted the tri colors of green, white and red arranged diagonally with a gold star in the center. This flag was called the Flag of the Three Guarantees. Simultaneously in 1821 the Mexican Empire used a slightly more complicated green, white and red flag with a green star in the center of the white stripe. The stripes were vertical, just as they are today. Then this was changed for the Mexican Empire with a red star and crown in the center in the lower right corner. This second flag of the Empire was used from 1821 through 1823 and for the first time we see the eagle on a cactus clutching a rattlesnake in its talons. However, the eagle was a European eagle, the Mexican eagle was first portrayed on the 1934 flag. The 1823– 1864 variant shows the eagle perched on the cactus with the laurels underneath and for the first time a snake is in his sharp beak. This flag was briefly replaced by the Flag of the Second Mexican Empire, 1864-1867, which is the most elaborate of the Mexican flags. The 1893-1916 flag has a simple eagle with outstretched wings. 1916-1934, the eagle is more filled in and less of a European version; also, both the laurels and the oak leaves are fuller and “tied” with the tri colored ribbon of green, white and red. 1934-1968, saw the now easily recognized Mexican Eagle and snake encircled within a corona of oak leaves. The laurel leaves were added in 1968 in honor of the Olympic Games. The laurel leaves represent victory and prosperity and to awaken spirituality and achievements, while the oak leaves are used as a symbol of the valor of the Mexican people. The 1984 eagle is also depicted on the reverse side and faces right. The Mexican Congress of 1995 stated, “When the National Arms is reproduced on the reverse side of the National flag, the Mexican Eagle will appear standing on its right talon, holding with the left one and the beak the curved serpent.” The president’s flag may have gold laurels instead of green-brown. The symbolism of the eagle devouring the snake is based on the Aztec symbol for Tenochtitlan, now
Mexico City. According to Aztec history it was prophesized that the wandering Aztec would see a regal eagle perched atop a cactus devouring a rattlesnake and that was where they were to construct their city, which became the Aztec Empire. This became an issue because when a priest finally spotted this omen, the eagle was perched on a cactus devouring the snake, as foretold. However, this occurred on a small barren island in a lake. Eventually the Aztecs did construct their principal city in this lake dotted with many small islands which the Aztec linked with easily defensible stone bridges. The legend became the basis for the Aztec Empire and the reminder can be seen on today’s Mexican flag. It is hard to contemplate how this prophesy of a wandering tribe came to dominate the other already established civilizations of Mexico and then evolve into the Mexico we know today. A player on the international stage of economics, entertainment, robotics, agriculture with a diverse domestic population and international trade and yet, somehow united under the banner of a distinctive flag featuring an eagle devouring a serpent. Although there are sixteen countries with green, white and red stripes it is the Mexican bandera that we all recognize with its Mexican eagle, snake and cactus. At this time of year, we see vendors outside local businesses and in our plazas selling Mexican flags of all sizes from small lapel pins to larger flags to be draped from one’s balcony or displayed on a flag pole. Cars parade along the carretera with small Mexican flags stiff from the breeze while many local businesses proudly fly a green, white and red bandera de Mexico at the entrance to their establishment. September 16th is the celebration of Mexico’s Independence from Spain and although due to COVID there will be no “Grito” from local representatives there will be Mexican flags of all sizes being sold. These past eighteen months have been ruinous for independent businesses so, please buy a Bandera de Mexico and proudly wear your pin or display your Mexican flag in support of Mexico and in solidarity that things will eventually get better. It took ten years of fighting for the citizens of Mexico to gain their independence from Spain and even longer for the Mexican flag to evolve, but today we can support our neighbors with a small purchase and with the knowledge of the history of the beautiful and distinctive Mexican Flag. Knowing these fun flag facts we can all shout, “Viva Herbert W. Piekow Mexico.”
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My Love for Ajijic and The Lake Chapala Society From Yolanda Garza Birdwell, LCS Member. August 2021.
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or more than thirty years of visiting Ajijic, it is time to express my appreciation and acknowledge the significant contribution to my life by the Lake Chapala Society. Firstly, the most significant model was the donation of property by the great visionary, Ms Neill James, to establish a space and facilities for us all to enjoy. We must also acknowledge the donation by Ed Wilkes who donated the Wilkes Center to the LCS. It is located at Galeana St., the Wilkes Educational Center. It was set up in March 1999. It is for the Spanish
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speaking community. They have a library of books in Spanish and classrooms where volunteers teach English to the public. In addition to the Scholarship Program for local Mexican youth, the Society also conducts free on-going classes in Computer Training, Cooking, Spanish, English, and Art. The Scholarship fund is set up for educational aid for Mexican students from primary grade through the university. The LCS could not be so successful without the resolute personnel and the considerable number of volunteers. We are incredibly grateful
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for all they do. These are a few of the many features at the LCS: There are yearly health care fairs, a library, restaurant with music, beautiful gardens, information centre, health assessments, the circle lectures, ATM cash machine, cultural events, art classes for children (I have met two young ladies who attended art classes at LCS when children). There are computer classes, scrabble groups, A Music Appreciation Society that sponsors concerts. An Optometrist comes in and offers free eye exams. You can get free skin
cancer check-ups. You can get your Blood Pressure checked. Three years ago, a few of us organised a group of residents concerned about the environment. We had signs printed, reading ‘AJIJIC NEEDS YOU’ ‘PICK UP YOUR TRASH’ ‘CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR PETS.’ The signs were made in Spanish and English. Remember, we all have some skills – if when I can spend more time in Ajijic, I would volunteer to help with English or Spanish lessons for those who want to learn either language. Thanks Again, In Solidarity
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COLUMNIST
PROFILING TEPEHUA By Moonyeen King President of the Board for Tepehua
moonie1935@yahoo.com
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any in the society we live in are going through what is affectionately called the ‘Golden Years’, a term taken from early Greek and Roman poets, meaning ‘when man lived in the pure age’. Hesiod, the Greek Philosopher, introduced the phase in his essay ‘Work and Days’. It is also mentioned in Orvid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ with the concept of ‘four metal stages’ (gold, silver, bronze and iron). According to Wikipedia, the term Golden Years was resurrected in 1959, when the idea of early retirement originated for those 55 and over, and also the offer of luxury retirement areas tempted people for the first time to leave their home base and enjoy living elsewhere. So, the Golden years can be just that. One can choose to reinvent oneself or accept it will be your iron days settling into rust. The prospect of early retirement is appealing more and more to the mid-fifties for whom life outside the workplace has great appeal. That in turn, makes for a hugely active retirement community with energy and brains to share for the betterment of the whole. A vibrant energy emanates from Lakeside organizations such as Rotary, Shriners, Churches, etc. which are predominately populated by retirees in the thousands. It is on the strength of these people, who feel the need to give back to help the host country, that organizations like the Tepehua Community Center can finance the work its volunteers do. The huge retirement community Lakeside has changed the world of Chapala at a rapid pace, supplying work for many people who live below the poverty line, swelling the need for civil servants in all fields, and the outcome is parents being able to afford education for their children that their parent’s generation never had. Stores prosper and hire more staff. Ma and Pa stores are better supplied and all the service trades make a steady liv-
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ing. Covid put a stop to the growth but it can never really go back...it will return in a rush as soon as the bans lift. Many businesses improvised to continue working and some of those improvisations are here to stay. One would have thought charitable organizations would suffer. This author noticed it went on hold for awhile and slowed down, but the help was still out there. As the poor are always affected most by traumas whether it be pandemics or civil unrest, food, clothing and medical attention was still there to be had with dedicated front-liners who stand up and are counted on every occasion, those who are recognized for the heroes they are. It has taken this pandemic for people to realize they are in every town and village. Pandemics also point out the need for sanitation as hygiene is the major weapon against all diseases. Starting with the simple hygiene in the home. Which leads us back to the highlight of Tepehua Today...toilets. Living without one is an unimaginable nightmare, yet millions of people around the globe do. Again, the people of Lakeside are stepping up and donating toilets, sinks, etc., along with monetary donations which are happily accepted. This will be an ongoing task until we make a dent in the act of open defecation that finds its way into our surface water, and eventually into the City water, which is undrinkable. This problem has caught Bill Gates eye, and he intends to redesign that image we have all known since Sir John Crapper built the first toilet in the palaces of England in 1861. Good luck Bill, you will certainly be doing our environment a great favour...as right now we are polluting our own nests. Remember this is not a merry-goaround...life is more like a train with only one stop and no destination. Enjoying the ride is up to you. Enjoy your retirement and make them truly Golden Years.
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COLUMNIST
RAMBLINGS FROM THE RANCH By Linda Goldman
Never Say Never
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f you’ve ever had a pet, you know the heartbreak that comes when your sweet friend passes away. The pain can be so great that many of us swear that we will never have another. Our lost friend is irreplaceable! Yoli, owner of the popular Ajijic hair salon bearing her name, felt this way after the loss of her beloved Chumino a few months ago. Chumino had come to Yoli several years before, from the Ranch, one of three little abandoned Pekingese dogs. The three were older dogs and their owner had moved away and left them in the home. A concerned neighbor brought
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them to the Ranch. Two of these dogs found their way to homes in the US and the third of these sweeties was adopted by Yoli. Yoli fell head over heals in love with this dog, who she named Chumino after a much loved dog from her childhood. Yoli would regale her salon clients with the latest Chumino story and
he was beloved by all. When Chumino passed away recently, Yoli was brokenhearted and her salon clients shared in her grief. She said she couldn’t do this again; no more dogs! She even gave away Chumino’s bed and toys. Not too long after this, a young man contacted the Ranch. He said he wanted to see the three small dogs who had been recently posted on our website. The three had been surrendered when their family moved away and didn´t take them. Lo and behold, this young man was a co-worker of Yoli’s from her volunteer role with the Red Cross. He understood her grief but he also believed that she wasn’t meant to be without a dog. So he brought Yoli to The Ranch … and she immediately found her new love. This new dog, a female, was named Chumina! We are all sure that Chumino is very happy that another dog in need has found such a wonderful home. There are so many special dogs at The Ranch looking for their forever homes right now. If your heart is ready for a new friend, please come see us! To learn more about adopting, donating or volunteering, please go to www.theranchchapala.com or email us at adoptaranchdog@outlook.com.
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Queen of the Peaches By Carol L. Bowman
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he young contestants between the ages of 15 and 18 stood on the stage, rubbing their nervous hands back and forth and shuffling their restless feet. The eight girls, including my sister, Ann, awaited the decision as to who would be crowned Peach Queen of Pennsylvania for 1961. These novice bakers had won blue ribbons at their respective rural County Fairs for home-made peach desserts prepared independently. Now at the state level of competition, the local stars presented their luscious, prize-winning entries and the judges slurped, chewed, and savored each one. The winner would represent the Peach Growers’ Association of Pennsylvania at events throughout the Commonwealth. ‘Drum roll, please,’ the announcer commanded to elevate the tension. I sat in the first row with my mom, wondering what all the fuss was about. We’re talking peaches for god’s sake, and I was sure I had seen my mother helping Ann roll out the pie crust dough to perfection that very morning. “Mom, really, what’s the big deal?” I said as I squirmed back and forth in my seat. “She didn’t even make that dessert all by herself.” I silently seethed inside, realizing how Ann’s fake smile complimented her fabricated, flawless character. I called her ‘Miss Goody Two Shoes.’ Mom’s penetrating stare distracted me from my young evil thoughts as I felt the assault from her most disapproving glare. “Carly, this could be your sister’s wonderful moment. You should at least be a little happy for her,” she growled. The drum stopped as I heard the emcee say, “And, the 1961 Pennsylvania Peach Queen is...Ann Seifert.” I watched my mom’s face glow, beaming with a broad, proud smile, her hands clapping wildly, her feet doing a little routine from her bygone tap-dancing days. She portrayed an animation I never witnessed for my
good deeds. As my sister stepped forward from the line of hopefuls, last year’s ‘peach of a girl’ struggled to place a sparkly tiara on Ann’s head, draped a peach colored robe around her shoulders and handed her a dozen peachy roses. *** In addition to this Pennsylvania fruit title, from 1961 to 1967, the girl with too many tiaras had received crowns for Pennsylvania Honey Bee Queen, high school and college May Queens, college Homecoming Queen, even 4-H Posture Queen. Every year, the Seifert clan had to assemble along the town’s Thanksgiving Day parade route, to watch Two Shoes wave her white-gloved hands to her adoring fans from the back of a convertible. During the era of the monarchy, the rise of Queen Ann and the fall of sister Carly, separated by only 22 months in age, took over the household, as night takes over day. An emotional crevice that couldn’t be traversed emerged as one teenager blossomed in the limelight while across the divide the other sibling faded into the shadows. *** Being first born, Ann achieved the most coveted title, ‘Mother’s favorite’. I couldn’t compete and never tried. She perfected that contrived smile, that sweeter than maple syrup one, with caring words dripping from her fake tongue. The instructors at our country high school of only 600 students lofted her to a ‘teacher’s pet’ status. When I came along one year behind her, despite the fact that I had achieved the ranking of a National Honor Society scholar, the teachers referred to me as Ann’s sister. I’m not sure anyone even knew my name. The boys gushed over Ann, hoping to wrangle a date with her or dance with her at the Friday night hops. I sat in the bleachers, wishing for just one twirl. She even had the audacity to finagle two dates in one evening. Ann would tell the first schmuck to come at 7pm, but that she had to be home by 9pm. Continued on page 26
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Continued on page 24
The second bozo in waiting would sit patiently in our living room, while the ‘ugly’ sister had to entertain date number two until Ann returned from date number one. I couldn’t believe these guys. Teenagers gossiped, blabbed, and bragged. Didn’t these idiots know Ann was taking them for a ride? Something had to give. I needed to become the anti-queen. I needed to go rogue. As a junior with a perfect 4.0 grade point, I decided to ratchet expectations down a bit; How about ‘Teenage Rebel with a Cause.’ I started to challenge the 1963 school authorities and their archaic controlling directives. The outcome of my efforts resulted in weekly principal office visits for disciplinary talks. The outrage spread when school personnel contacted my parents to ‘handle their child.’ Mother was aghast with embarrassment. “How could you do this to us,” she guilted. “Why can’t you be more like Ann,” became the daily lecture. I beamed. When Queenie went onto college, I had one final year to work on name recognition. The senior class trip to the 1964 New York World’s Fair proved to be the catalyst. The fact that several classmates had already attained New York’s legal drinking age of 18 triggered a ratio of one field trip chaperone to every six seniors. Wow, this was something meaty for the Rebel to sink her talons into. I organized assembly riots against this over protective attitude. Eager to engage in any protest movement of the 60’s, most seniors joined-in. I lost that battle and more. My parents endured the humiliation of one last summons to Principal Lerch’s office to discuss their brilliant but rebellious daughter. Mom, with a sickening, satisfied smile and restrained hints of glee, relayed the conversation with Mr. Lerch to me: “Despite having a grade point equiva-
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lent to Salutatorian, Carly has been designated as the third-highest Senior Classman instead, because she has not demonstrated the leadership that defines an outstanding student.” While Mom was relaying the news, my father wore frowns of disappointment that his daughter had destroyed a prestigious title which he could brag about. When he said that he didn’t know if he would attend my high school graduation, an arrow pierced through my fake armor. Meanwhile, Mom was blooming in a mother’s glory, shopping with Ann to purchase a gown for her May Queen crowning at Kutztown University. I heard Daddy complain to Mom about the added expenses of dressing ‘Her Highness.’ With four daughters and an insufficient wage of a union steel worker in 1964, he knew that Ann’s fame meant that the other three girls would be shortchanged. Mom ignored Daddy’s suggestion that she buy Ann’s gown at a second-hand shop. Only the best for Queenie. Meanwhile, I was wearing shoes that Ann had worn and formed to the shape of the Queen’s feet. I guess Mom thought Ann’s mold might rub off on me. Graduation Day came and went. Daddy arrived late and stood in the back of the auditorium. I had declined my acceptance to John Hopkin’s prestigious School of Nursing, knowing my parents could never support the high cost of tuition, my proud father refused to consider a student loan and the Queen was already attending a reduced cost, Pennsylvania state institution. “Why don’t you apply to the college where Ann goes? Mom harped. “It would be so convenient if both of you went to the same university.” Carol L. Bowman
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Carol D. Bradley
Email: cdbradleymex@gmail.com Phone: 33-2506-7525 “Artists don’t choose to be artists, writers or singers,” she said in 2010. “It’s just something you know you have to do.” -Nanci Griffith The Lake Chapala Society hosts Open Circle every Sunday at 10AM, a popular community gathering in Ajijic, to enjoy a diverse range of presentations. For more information and to make reservations, see their website: opencircleajijic.org. The presentations will be on the south lawn, close to the gazebo, the entrance will be by the side door on Ramón Corona, chairs will be socially distanced. Gate opens at 9:30. During this period, we recommend bringing a hat and bottled water, and please remove containers upon departure. Attendance is limited to 80 persons, please make your reservation if you want to attend https://opencircleajijic.org/reservation_form.php Use of masks and temperature checks on entry is mandatory. September 5, 2021 Presentation by Suzanne Salimbene: Keeping Dance Alive: During Covid and Into the Future As everyone knows, the Pandemic has been a disaster for all members of the performing arts, but especially so to professional dancers. The dancers of Ballet de Jalisco have had a particularly difficult time. They have not performed since December, 2019. Assisted by several of the dancers, you will learn how they, like many ballet professionals worldwide, have kept their craft alive and how they are preparing for the future. The dancers will describe and demonstrate first working alone in their homes, then taking classes on zoom, finally back in the studio. Finally, there will be a glance of a very positive future growth for dance in Guadalajara with new opportunities for both dancers and audiences. Suzanne Salimbene is one of the Ballets strong supporters here at Lakeside and will share with you the joy of ballet and how you can become involved and enjoy their performances. September 12, 2021 Presentation by Janus Quartet: Janus Quartet members are young Mexican musicians with a great musical career who have stood out for their great talent. They have performed in music festivals such as; Cadenza Festival by PALCCO, taking part in, “Cuerdas entre 4 & 8” where they joined the Cadenza quartet formed by Rebecca MacLeod (Canada) Amy Spurr (Canada) Carol Gimbel (United States) and Sebastian Ostertag (Canada) to interpret the String Octet of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and to the Orchestra Gala where they accompanied the vaunted flutist Susan Hoeppner (Canada). They also participated in Ajijic’s February Festival (Northern Lights) in 2017, where they took master classes with Jamie Parker of University of ToJanus Quartet ronto, along with Roman Borys, Analee Patipatanakoon and with the Viola teacher of the Royal Academy of Music London, Juan Miguel Hernandez and they worked under the direction of Mark Skazinetski teacher of the University of Toronto and the Youth Orchestra of Canada. The Janus Quartet was invited by Sebastian Ostertag Director of the Orchestra North Summer Program in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada to participate as resident quartet
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and assistant teachers, giving concerts and classes to the festival students. September 19, 2021 Presentation by Noris Binet: From Where Are We Coming? To Where Are We Going? Whether a tree, a lake, a mountain, or a human being one’s physical identity is the result of countless generations of evolution and DNA encoding. Every one of us carries an extraordinary legacy. When we become fully aware of the genetic pool of our ancestry we realize that we are part of an amazing colorful tapestry. Wherever we go we bring with us who we are. The place where we arrive becomes transformed by what we bring with us and in turn we become transformed by the place and the culture that embraces us. It is possible to explore how this transformation takes place in us and also inquire what takes place in those who receive us. This amazing process helps us to realize the one-ness that we are. A visual artist, poet, author, spiritual teacher and sociologist, Ms Binet lived in Ajijic from 1982-89. A native of the Dominican Republic, she studied with several indigenous communities, including the Huichols for whom Lake Chapala is sacred. She has worked over decades with diverse communities around the world to build bridges by reclaiming a sense of the sacred. Ms Noris has a BA in Sociology from the Univ. of Guadalajara and received an honorary PhD from the International Institute of Human Sciences in Canada. She returned to Ajijic three years ago. September 26, 2021 Presentation by Olga Kaplounenko: Popular Music of the 1960’s In this presentation we will talk about popular music from the 60-s. This decade gave us wonderful singers and groups like the Beatles, Beach Boys, Carpenters, Cliff Richard, The Four Seasons, Connie Francis, Matt Monro and many, many more. We can even share together our favorite songs from back then by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Everly Brothers, The Shirelles, Toni Bennett, Doris Day etc. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia. Olga graduated from one of the Moscow universities with the Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. While working in research, she got a degree in music and jazz vocals from Olga Kaplounenko the Moscow Jazz College. Later worked as a guest researcher in Denmark and Sweden, then moved to the Silicon Valley, California. While in the US, she sang solo and in different choirs. When her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she decided to move to Lakeside, and became involved with Los Cantantes del Lago for three years. At the same time participated in the Little Theater productions Drowsy Chaperone and Tickle Your Fancy. She also likes dancing tap and Zumba classes and teaching. She speaks Russian, English and Spanish and understands Swedish and Ukranian. She plays piano and guitar, but singing is her passion. Welcome Back! A concert to open the LLT Season! Mariana Vigueras Restelli! Dates: Wed., Sept. 15, Thurs., Sept. 16, Fri., Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 19 All Shows at 4pm. Tickets are 400 pesos. Reserved seats will go on sale online August 30th (www.lakesidelittletheatre. com). Box office will be open September 8, 9, 15 and 16 from 10am-noon. Performance will be in the McIntosh Auditorium and will be capped at 75% of full house. Covid 19 protocols will be in effect, including mandatory masks. This event will be subject to any new restrictions imposed by the State of Jalisco. Mariana Vigueras Restelli developed her vocal musical talent in different disciplines. She began her studies in classical singing, eventually venturing into other genres such as Jazz, Soul and Rock, among others. She has performed in concerts and festivals at all of the prominent venues in Guadalajara and is well known for her performances at various venues in Ajijic. Currently she supports new talent as a vocal coach. LLT Mainstage Production Everything in the Garden, adapted by Edward Albee, from the play by Giles Cooper Directed by Peggy Lord Chilton Show dates: October 1-10, 2021 – Curtain: Evenings 7:30pm; Matinees (Saturdays & Sundays) – 4:00 pm A Broadway success, this brilliant, biting play blends humor, irony and suspense in its scathing examinations of contemporary suburban mores.
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Front: Donna Burroughs, Maxanne Swanson, Sally Jo Bartlett, Branna Cisneros, Brian Mattes, Pamela Johnson Rear: Douglas Pinkerton, Peter Luciano, Lori Grant, Tom Nussbaum, Mark Donaldson In George Oppenheimer’s words: “As always with Mr. Albee, there is a theme beneath the surface, in this case the corruption of money and the rottenness of this bigoted exurbia where conformity to its illiberal standards and its hypocritical show of respectability is all that counts.” Tickets: 300 Pesos Online: wwwlakesidelittletheatre.com LLT Box Office: 10am to noon; Wednesday & Thursday only during the week prior to opening night. 1 hour before curtain for each show. Diane Pearl Gallery, Arts & Activities Center Now offering classes, workshops, and events! For details and registration, please contact Diane Pearl dianepearlmexico@gmail.com, 376-7665683, www.dianepearl.com Sta. Margarita 23, Riberas Del Pilar (The New Downtown), Mon-Sat 11-4 One block up from Pancho’s Market, Turn mountainside at ORMA’s Auto Parts, then first right. GELLI PRINTING FOR BEGINNERS – THREE CLASS SERIES WITH BLANCA RUTH CASANOVA September 8, 15 & 22, 11am – 1pm Learn how to do monoprints on gelatin with acrylics; this fun technique creates surprising and beautiful results. No experience necessary. Cost for 3-class series: 600 pesos + Cost for materials: 1,300 pesos Teacher: Blanca Ruth Casanova, Ph.D. Art Educator and Visual Artist ALCOHOL INKS AND JEWELRY WORKSHOP WITH NANCY VAN REETH Tuesday, Sept 14, 1pm – 3:30pm Discover the wonders of Alcohol Ink! These vivid- colored, non-toxic, acid free inks react to alcohol to create a collage of color. You will be creating serendipitous masterpieces as your earrings and pendants spring to life before your eyes! Class includes two pairs of earrings and one pendant. No experience necessary. Cost: 500 pesos Teacher: Nancy Van Reeth, Artist and Graphic Designer MULTIMEDIA EXPLORATION OF PAINTING & COLLAGE Friday, September 17, 2pm-4pm You will have the fun of learning a simple and fun painting technique (your choice of acrylic or
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watercolor paint). We will assemble papers, words, designs, images, colors to mix with pieces of our paintings to allow a new creation to emerge. No experience necessary. Cost for class: donation for instructor (suggested 200 pesos) + 150 peso materials cost. Instructor: Fay Freed, local artist currently working in a multi-media combination of painting, drawing and collage. OCTOBER CLASSES & EVENTS Upcoming Day of the Dead workshops, lectures and events running throughout October - please see our calendar for details www.dianepearl.com The International Writer’s Group stems from the Ajijic Writer’s Group started by then El Ojo del Lago-Editor Alex Grattan, which suspended in-person bi-monthly meetings after the pandemic in favor of online meetings. Those in the Ajijic area are now meeting again in person. Many of the earlier participants are no longer in Ajijic and hope to keep up the online meetings. Meetings consist of writers sharing their work and receiving feedback from other writers in a spirit of suggestion and co-operation rather than criticism. There is no particular style of writing or subject matter which is preferred over another. The group is open to new writers even if they have never been in Ajijic. Writers have up to 12 minutes to read, with commentary afterward. It is not necessary to read in order to attend. For now, we are meeting on the 4th Friday of the month at 10 am, though that may shift as the group grows. For further info including a link to join, contact Juan Sacelli at salynx@yahoo.com The BRAVO! Theatre is preparing for a new season after being closed for a year and a half! As its opening show, Vanessa McCaffrey, who played Lettice in Lettice & Loveage in the last season at BRAVO! is back in Mexico to bring Shirley Valentine to life! This show is a one-woman “tour de force”. Shirley Valentine is the perfect character to help us shed our pandemic blues and celebrate our authentic lives. She is brave, bold and delightful! and she will touch your heart and your funny bone. The show will run daily Wednesday Sept 8th to Sunday, September 12th, and again Wednesday Sept 15 to Sunday the 19th. Matinees are Wed, Sat and Sun at 3:00PM. Evening performances are Thurs and Fri at 7:00PM. Tickets are $350 MXN, available at “It’s Kinda Bazar...and Kinda Not”, and “Mia’s Boutique”, or at mymytickets@gmail.com.. All Covid procedures will be observed. Masks are mandatory. Attendance will be smaller than the government requires, and staff, cast and crew will be minimal. We hope to have you come celebrate life and the return of live theatre at BRAVO! Theatre. In October, watch for performances of “After Play” by Brian Friel, directed by Bernadette Jones and starring Roseann and Tony Wilshere. It’s the story of 2 characters from different Chekov plays who meet in a restaurant outside of their plays! The play will run Wednesday October 13 to Sunday 17th, and again Wednesday the 20th thru Sunday the 24th. Matinees at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and evening performances at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Tickets will again be available at Kinda Bazar, Mia’s, or at mymytickets@gmail.com. We greatly look forward to seeing our theatre crowd once again !! Los Cantantes del Lago - Lakeside’s fabulous community choir directed by Timothy G Ruff Welch - is auditioning for singers for the upcoming holiday season. Auditions will be held in October. Please email loscantantesdellago@gmail.com for more information. Registration deadline for auditions is September 15th.
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Caretaking Will Bring You Down to the Level of Your Incompetence By Donna Mansfield
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hen my husband had his first stroke, after being diagnosed with MADSAM (Multi-focal Acquired Sensory and Motor Neuropathy) he went into a hospital rehabilitation unit. Their job was to strengthen his body and resolve the minor facial ticks that resulted from the stroke. At this time, he could still walk with the aid of a rollator (a walker with a seat attached) and he would go round and round the halls of the rehab unit delighted that his face was not paralyzed. When I had entered the intensive care unit, having flown in from Mexico, that was his first question … “How’s my face?” I can’t blame him as he was a very handsome man and had jokingly talked about how tall handsome men were automatically assumed to be smarter, got the good jobs and the best girlfriends. He also had great comic timing and had a gift for communication that allowed him to talk to anyone, anywhere. Sometimes that extended to scary situations. Once we were in an airport waiting for our plane when he struck up a conversation with an obviously psychotic man. It took me 15 minutes to drag him away from the man who was carrying on a conversation with about how certain cultures bury their dead. As he walked away,
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he kept marveling at how unique the man’s observations were. He was in the rehab unit for a week. His nurse, on the day he was checking out, said, “Make him do whatever he can by himself, don’t do it for him, you will cripple him more”. And from that day forward until he died 10 years later, I held that line. But still I couldn’t avoid the burnout of caretaking. Caretaking will ultimately bring you down to your level of incompetence. Stress, too much responsibility, the daily lurking of death nearby, watching as one or another muscle or skill set or mind disappears, all take a toll on your energy and on your confidence. I was lucky in one way, the nurses had impressed him with his need to continue to try to solve his disability problems on his own. Always having been a catalog shopper, he scoured many catalogs looking for the perfect pillow that would allow him to spend all day sitting in his scooter in comfort. I now have 10 pillows of all configurations piled on an old office chair to sell in a consignment shop. He bought silverware with fat handles that let him grip more securely. He had two back brushes but ultimately sourced one for petting the cat when it didn’t do what he wanted for his back. He bought a device whose rub-
El Ojo del Lago / September 2021
ber legs affixed it to the shower floor so he could wash his feet on his own. He had me buy him a seat that raised the toilet 6 inches so he could go to the bathroom by driving his inhouse scooter up next to the toilet. He solved his soap gripping problem by buying soap on a rope, or encasing the bar in a net bag to increase his grasp. But his most ingenious device was a green plastic clothespin. He would affix it to the middle front of his Tshirt, pull on his Bermuda shorts, and then clip the waistband of the shorts to the green pin. Then he would use both hands on the handlebars of his scooter to slowly pull himself upright. And magically the shorts would rise into place without him losing his balance. Doing all these things on his own kept a great deal of pressure off me but still the details of keeping a Mexican house and car running, doing all the driving and buying until he couldn’t go in the car without an aide as well as attending to the details of a Connecticut property with seven rental units and a property manager plus handyman, to manage and pay bills through my ebank account were trying. I obtained the mortgages, gathered and listed the deductions for the accountant, went to the bank for money, and was the general business head. This was a lot to keep track of in my head but I am not plagued by the lack of knowledge and inexperience that plague many widows. Chuck did other things for me. He started the dishwasher, glued broken things back together, and sharpened knives. This may not seem like a lot until you have to learn to do it yourself when the partner dies. Once during a really stressful week, I told him, I could not do ONE more thing for us, that he would have to step up…and he did. He rode his scooter to the fruit and vegetable store! I was overcome with gratitude at this simple gesture and for that day, I felt I had my OWN
caregiver. This brings me to a couple of other truths. Every caregiver needs someone to take care of them. And, caregivers find it painfully hard to let others help them. They are fortified in their daily struggles by their belief in their ability to solve every problem that besets their struggling spouse. When Chuck died, friends called, emailed, and came by to ask how they could help. I said there was nothing for them to do, except maybe bring him back. But I wasn’t eating or sleeping and once when I fell as a result of the tranquillizer I was prescribed, I spent five hours on the floor unable to get up. I was only saved by friends who took over and called my children to come down from the US and help me. Another friend was like a bulldog. Every day I would get an email. I want to see you. I want to have breakfast. I want to have lunch. Finally, I capitulated and discovered that she had been widowed seven years earlier and could assure me that my crazy reactions were normal grief. Since I had the unusual reaction of experiencing my brains as falling out such as being unable to remember my step-daughter’s name, or my cellphone password; my children put me in an assisted living facility for a month. It was exactly what I needed. Someone fed me, gave me my meds, and assisted my showers. I could be alone or see people. And the ones who knew Chuck came to visit me and would talk about him. This latter was crucial because talking ABOUT him made it feel like he was present, that he would pull up a chair to the table and listen to the stories about himself. I lost two friends because, though knowing Chuck for twenty years, they changed the subject whenever I brought up my painful feelings or HIM when we went to breakfast. Sad. Sinking to one’s level of incompetence is critical. You get to the point where you start thinking about yourself first. Your inability to pick them up when they fall. Not having enough strength to help them from scooter to bed. Being overwhelmed by sadness at the power of the disease to steal one more ability or muscle. And thinking about your own inability to cope with the next decline, whether that be a need for oxygen, or IV treatment, or loss of memory. It all gets to be too much and you have to take responsibility for your own inadequacy and get help. Self- awareness falls on your head like a ton of bricks. And none of us are kind to our suffering selves.
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COLUMNIST
Unsung Heroes By Tom Nussbaum
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oel Romero is a contractor. He remodels homes, renovates them, and repairs their broken parts. He also does those things to human beings, patching up damaged lives. But why wouldn’t he? His father was a contractor, his mother was the coordinator of Ajijic’s Christian Children’s Foundation, an organization that helped and supported children in need. He merely followed his parents’ paths. Those paths, however, were not paved. There were potholes, challenges to overcome, like economic hardship at home, difficulties in school and failing to focus on getting an education; gang affiliation, and drug and alcohol use. So, at 18, Noel escaped the dead-end routine he’d fallen into and moved to Southern California where, with support from relatives, he found work. Truth be told, Noel found many jobs. He took whatever work was offered; no job was too small or demeaning. Each one, he felt, would teach him something new, and, as a result, he learned a variety of skills from these experiences. And he improved his knowledge of construction, renovation, and household repairs. Another skill he fine-tuned during this time was the ability to listen to others, especially clients. He also learned English. All the while he sent money home to Mexico. Fifteen years later he returned to Ajijic. He brought with him his new skills, his deeper knowledge, and his ability to listen to customers and, with passion and imagination, he made their visions a reality. Years later, as his own career and business developed, Noel reflected on his past and the many supportive
Noel Romero people who helped him grow and heal. And he realized, to honor them, he must continue the tradition. Therefore, today, Noel mentors teenagers and young adults with backgrounds and challenges similar to his. He visits them in rehab centers and jails, taking them with him when they are released. He also intercepts kids on the street before they become jail or rehab-bound. Then, Noel Romero gives them jobs, trains them, and leads them to church and a faith in God. Noel is quick to point out that while religion is a cornerstone of his guidance, it is not limited to it. He wants to instill a deeper, more internalized personal sense of self in each young person. He hopes “the power of influence,” as he calls it, will inspire others to seek better systems, make better choices, and help his mentees stop seeing themselves as victims of situations or conditions. Noel also organizes events designed to expose his mentees, who are mostly but not exclusively male and range in age from 13 to 30, to charity, volunteerism, and helping others in need. He hopes that, through the various methods he uses, these young people will find, recognize, and use their strengths and talents to better themselves and the world, perhaps becoming mentors to the next generation. Noel essentially pays for any costs incurred himself as his efforts are not organized enough to be recognized as an official charity. But he does have a name for his loosely-knit service. Reaching Down, he hopes, ultimately will grow and he will be able to reinforce a positive identity in more people. Lakeside residents may be hearing more about Reaching Down in the future. Keep your ears, eyes, and hearts open. Meanwhile, Noel Romero will continue renovating homes and repairing broken souls. Tom Nussbaum
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The Life And Times Of The Legendary Voyageurs By Dr. Lorin Swinehart
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e did not arrive here in this north country Eden by canoe, like the voyageurs of old, but by modern motor vehicle, a five-day drive of over 900 miles from our home near Sandusky, Ohio. The trip was worth it just for the scenery, as the flat farmland of central Michigan gave way to miles of forest and Midwestern hardwoods were replaced by northern conifers. The horizon for miles in any direction was covered by forest. We headed northward in a driving rainstorm, complete with rolling thunder and brisk west winds. A day later, as we crossed the lengthy Mackinac Bridge spanning the straits between Lakes Michigan and Huron, we were pelted by heavy rain again. We pass a sign warning “Moose Crossing”. In our travels and our work as National Park Service rangers, we have seen signs alerting us to “Bear Crossing”, “Panther Crossing”, “Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Crossing,” “Elk Crossing,” “Red Wolf Crossing,” but not “Moose Crossing.” Another sign reminds us that we are crossing the 45th parallel, exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. Passing over the lengthy Mackinac Bridge to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is not for the acrophobe. Neither is the high bridge spanning the waterways on our way north from Duluth, Minnesota. Finally, we arrived at the lakeside town of Grand Marais, Minnesota, reminding us for all the world of a quaint little New England fishing village. It was a great place for a late breakfast at the friendly Blue Water Cafe. And, then, finally on to Grand Portage, Minnesota, where my wife LaVon and I, both veteran park rangers, will serve as volunteers at the old fur trading center. I think of those incredible voyageurs, setting out from Montreal each spring when the ice in the St. Lawrence broke up, their canoes brightly colored, the air reverberating with their songs of Old France. Their 35 to 40 foot Montreal canoes were manned by a crew of fourteen and could carry up to six tons of trade
goods. There were smaller “bastard canoes” with a crew of ten, and 25 foot north canoes and half canoes. All were destined for the Canadian wilderness. The 1500-mile trip would have been arduous, lasting six to eight weeks, the crews paddling along rivers and hugging the shore of the Great Lakes on their way to Grand Portage on the far northwest coast of Lake Superior. The voyageurs were mostly diminutive, wiry men, standing 5’4” to 5’5”, with tremendous strength and endurance. Whenever they encountered rapids or waterfalls, a portage was necessary. The voyage to Grand Portage required 36 portages. At every portage they would each tote two 90-pound packs and their canoes along sometimes rough, rocky wilderness trails until they reached calmer waters. The typical attire of a Voyageur consisted of a breech cloth, moccasins, thigh length leather leggings, a belted shirt, colored tobacco pouch and a red cap with a feather. The voyageur brigades consisted of two categories of men, the pork eaters, who transported trade goods from Montreal to Grand Portage, and the north men or winterers, who then carried those goods inland for hundreds, even thousands of miles. The pork eaters were mostly poor farm boys from Quebec who simply needed a job. They were given their nickname because management fed them mostly pork and corn. Nearly all voyageurs were either French or French-Canadian. Cash was always in short supply, so voyageurs were paid with credit at company stores for necessities like clothes, tobacco, blankets, needles and thread, shoes, combs, razors, rum, soap and metal cook pots. They were not sentimental men. Their journals reveal little sense of awe at their surroundings, at the vast forests of towering conifers, the lumbering black bears, herds of deer, caribou and elk, the howls of wolves serenading the heavens beneath the ghostly light of the Aurora Borealis. It was all business, purely and simply, a matter of profit or loss. And yet, it was a lifestyle much Continued on page 38
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From page 36 loved by these strange hardy men, one that in old age most remembered with joy. The labor was arduous. Voyageurs paddled from dawn to dusk. The brigade leader’s word was law. Distances were counted in pipes. Whenever the leader called for a break, the voyageurs came to a halt and lit their pipes. At the end of the long, arduous day, the voyageur rolled up in his blanket and slept on the ground. Whenever it rained, unless he could take shelter under an overturned canoe, he got wet. During the annual rendezvous at Grand Portage, a thousand or so traders might converge to trade and do business. The rum flowed freely, often in the form of Shrub, a mixture of lime and lemon, sugar and rum. Once the rendezvous ended, the center returned to sleep. Perhaps a handful of clerks waited behind until the next rendezvous. Fortunes were made because of the fur trade. Wars were fought over the spoils. The refusal of Great Britain to relinquish its illegal fur trade posts on US soil at such locations as Michilimackinac was one of the issues triggering the War of 1812. Rivers were the highways of the fur trade, and voyageurs traveled over them across the American Midwest and western and northern Canada, sometimes all the way to the Great Slave Lake in what is now Canada’s Northwest Territories. The voyageurs dispersed much desired trade goods among isolated trading posts and often traded openly with Native Americans. Trade items included muskets, blankets, colored cloth, tobacco, rum, and numerous metal items, from needles and fish hooks to pots and pans, axes and knives. Fifty percent of the furs desired by voyageurs consisted of beaver pelts. The entire economy was sustained by human vanity, the obsession of European men for beaver top hats. Anyone who was anyone in London, Paris or other European metropolises craved
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a beaver hat as a symbol of wealth and prestige. Because they spend their lives in water, beavers have two layers of fur, the inner one very soft and easily converted to felt from which top hats were made. Beavers readily maneuver in the water but are clumsy on land. By banging on a beaver lodge with a stick or club, trappers drove the startled rodents outside, where they could be pursued and clubbed or speared. The beaver population was decimated during the 18th and 19th centuries. Between the years 1700 and 1770, the United Kingdom exported 21,000,000 beaver hats. When Europeans first arrived in North America, there were an estimated 120,000,000 beaver ponds scattered over the continent. As tastes in fashion changed and the increasing scarcity of beavers caused furs to be more expensive, the beaver was saved from going the way of the passenger pigeon. Still, by 1900, there were only an estimated 100,000 beavers left in North America. Today, the population may have increased to approximately 15,000,000. As the number of beavers increases so do the populations of other animals. The great fur trade center at Grand Portage closed after 1802, when the US and Great Britain agreed that the Canadian border lay seven miles to the north along the Pigeon River. Grand Portage, a British outpost, lay south of that border. Subsequently, the great hall and outbuildings were dismantled and shipped forty miles across Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where they were used to construct Fort William. No one consulted Native Americans about whether they wished to be US or British citizens. Lorin Swinehart
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COLUMNIST
Verdant View By Francisco Nava
Viveros of the Ribera As a rule, I visit as many viveros as I can, trying to keep up with their evolving profiles. Here is a list of viveros I know. I’m sure there are others, but I hope this list guides you to your flora destinations. Jocotepec 1 Vivero El Quetzal, #339 Miguel Arana Ote. Many kinds of small, mature trees, good selection of flowers, liquidambar (Sweetgum), sycamore, citrus, Beaucarnia, thuja, native pines. Very organized. knowledgeable and friendly staff. 2 Vivero Larios, Miguel Arana (next to Malecon, across from Petro 55 gas station) Nice selection of flowering ornamentals, small Casuarinus (locally called pine trees), bougainvillea, Italian junipers, citruses, New Zealand flax, small succulents, small bootshaped pots, heirloom roses. 3 Vivero El Humilde, Carretera KM 59 Great selection of unusual fruit trees and hard to find specimens. San Juan Cosala 4 Vivero San Juan, Carretera # 58 Sun and shade flowers, dirt, herbs, a few fruit trees, lavender. Piedra Barrenada 5 Vivero El Tabachine # 2, E. of Piedra Barrenada, Near seafood restaurants
Huge inventory, large trees and mature plants, Blue palms, bamboo, pines, ferns, junipers, morea, agaves, opuntia, gardenias, fig leaf ficus, large kalanchoes, plumeria, ceibas, sanguine, eucalyptus and euphorbias. La Canacinta 6 Cacti Bioesfera, Calle Canacinta Wonderful, mature cacti demo garden, retail sales of small plants. Ajijic 7 Vivero El Tacahine # 1, Rio Bravo (lateral carr.) Good selection of pots, flowering ornamentals, some small fruit trees. 8 Vivero Cactus, Nte. 102, La Mojonera Mature demo garden, cultivars, retail sales, largest succulent nursery on the lake. 9 Zoo Vivero, Carr. # 100 (bet. La Cristina y Las Palmas) Good for poinsettias in season. 10 Azucena Nursery, Javier Mina # 43, above Gossips Lots of pots, soil, rocks, good selection of ornamentals. San Antonio Tlayacpan 11 Flora Exotica, Libramiento # 2 Large selection of trees and ornamentals, pots and herbs. 12 Vivero San Antonio, San Jose # 246 A A large selection of fruit and ornamental trees, New Zealand flax, succulents, orchid, bamboo, ferns, dirt. Riberas Del Pilar 13 Vivero Los Pinos, Across from old 7-11, near Hidalgo # 352-A Good selection of crotos, Ti plants, some pots, fruit trees, herbs, nut trees, celery, agave bovicornuta, taro root, Bismarckia palms, angel trumpet, sansevieria, junipers, crinum. 14 Vivero La Plaza, Near Mom’s, next to Wizz Herbs, Euphorbia grandicornis, dracaena, crotos, maple trees. Chapala 15 San Antonio Nursery 2, Malecon/Ramon Corona Small selection of varied plants 16 Vivero El Gallo, Gonzalez Gallo # 24A, Next door to old train Station/cultural center Wonderful selection of plants, home re-use items, restaurant and lovely fine and garden art. Libramiento 17 Vivero El Tabachine # 3, Libramiento, E. of Chula Vista Norte gate. Good selection of mid-size to adult ornamentals, trees, shade and sun plants, some pots. 18 Agua Viva, Libramiento # 90, In front of Chula Vista Norte entrance gate. Succulents, ornamentals, many shade plants. September Rains are fewer. At the viveros you might find kalanchoe, chrysanthemums, the familiar annuals: zinnias, marigolds, cosmos and sunflowers. Some iris will bloom for a second time. Now is the time to put cabbage family members into your veggie garden as well as lettuce, peas and spinach. Don’t forget to try arugula. Flower seeds to start now are amaranthus, baby’s breath, columbine and alstroemeria. Towards the end of the month begin a regular watering schedule. Water deeply once or twice a week to promote deep root growth. Let the soil around established plants dry out between watering. Keep pruning, deadheading and fertilizing, especially if you use a liquid. A special thanks to “Mulch” Mowers, for his assistance and support. Francisco Nava
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CENTRO EDUCATIVO JALTEPEC SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS
Submitted by Carole Baker
This article will highlight two successful alumni from Centro Educativo Jaltepec and their achievements. Jaltepec grants a Technical Degree in Hoteleria and Hospitalidad and is the only institution in Mexico to do so. The school also benefits from a very successful Scholarship Program which consists of sponsors from the North American and Lakeside Community who assist young Mexican women to achieve their goals and TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES. Both of the following young women were sponsored throughout their studies. Mariana Lupian graduated from Jaltepec in 2005. She was sponsored through the St. Andrew’s Church Outreach Program and Christmas Bazaar in Ajijic. She now lives in Tizapán Mariana Lupian
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el Alto, with her husband and family. Mariana makes and sells homemade soaps in the local family run Pharmacy. Mariana makes her special soaps by hand using all-natural ingredients. The base is water or glycerin, with 100% natural ingredients such as pure essential oils and organic herbs. She named her business BELLANHOA after her two young daughters, Isabella and Ainoha. Mariana recently contacted Jaltepec’s Director of Education, Lupita Canepa, and sent the school a letter of gratitude. In order to express her thanks for the success in her life and career she received years ago – help that changed her life, Mariana also prepared gifts containing her soaps to distribute to our current sponsors. Excerpts from Mariana’s letter “It is my pleasure to be able to thank you for the support I received while I completed my studies at Centro Educativo Jaltepec from 2003-2005. I left Jaltepec full of knowledge and eager to work and I was put in charge of the bakery in the Cultural and Sport center at AC La Calerilla in Guadalajara. I was also giving cooking classes to the children at the Torre Blanca Girls School in Guadalajara. However, my education at Jaltepec left me with more than professional knowledge. The school also instilled values that I will carry with me throughout my life. Now at the age of 32, I have a great family, with whom I share my experiences since my graduation from Jaltepec. For everything you have done for me and so many other alumni, I thank you.” Maria Concepción Cortez Bravo (Conchita) Conchita has become a source of individual, family and community pride. She lives in the village of Angahuan, Michoacán. At only twenty years old, she is seen as an entrepreneur, a leader, and an inspiration. She entered Jaltepec’s Preparatoria program in 2016. This innovative program allows students to complete three years of high school Preparatoria in one year and then go on to complete the two-year degree program. Conchita was sponsored by Conchita a group of friends from El Parque in San Antonio near Ajijic and successfully graduated from Jaltepec in 2019. Excerpts from Conchita’s letter “My life in Jaltepec was really interesting, and one of the things that I cherish the most is that Jaltepec actually changed my life. After graduation, I started working at my grandparents’ restaurant in Angahuan, “La Troje”, as an employee, but after two months I was appointed Manager of the restaurant. I then began to market my home-made cakes. Everyone loved my baking because they were different from the usual cakes sold in my hometown. I offered a wide variety of flavors like vanilla, chocolate and cappuccino and this was what made my cakes so special. Now I can sell nearly 30 cakes on important dates. Local children are very curious about where I studied. They wanted to know where I had learned so many things, and I have told them all about Centro Educativo Jaltepec. They asked for cooking lessons, and so I started a ‘Kids’ Club’ where they are learning how to cook and make desserts. But the most important thing about these lessons is that I am sharing with them not only my practical knowledge, but also all the values that I had acquired at Jaltepec. My goal is to open my own bakery in my home town. Hopefully, I will make my dream come true in a few months.”
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Celebrating Día de la Independencia in 2021 By Patricia Guy
S
eptember is usually a month where our streets are filled with music, colors, flavors, Mexican flags, confetti eggs, parades, and charros. Independence Day, Día de la Independencia, is a Mexican holiday to celebrate the “cry of independence” on September 16, 1810, which started a revolt against the Spaniards. It follows the day of the Cry of Dolores, El Grito de Dolores, on September 15. This year public festivities for Diez y Seis de Septiembre will be canceled in Jalisco, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find micro ways to celebrate this month, support local artists and businesses, and demonstrate solidarity with our neighbors at the same time. If you are able to leave your house while wearing a good mask and following health protocols, here are 10 ideas for micro celebrations in September: 1. Go to a local coffee shop and learn about the history behind Diez y Seis de Septiembre by googling Mexican Independence Day or El Grito de Dolores. 2. Buy a Mexican flag from a local vendor and festoon your front door or car. There is usually a vendor selling the flags and other decorations at the front door of Walmart or at the Ajijic tianguis. 3. Go to the Ajijic plaza and look for the vendors that sell cubre bocas with Mexican flags, the flag’s insignia or embroidery in red, white and green,
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and show your support every time you wear your mask. You can also take a plain mask you already own, and make a craft project out of decorating it. 4. Participate in online cultural celebrations offered through the Secretaría de Cultura de Jalisco. Sign up on their Facebook site for ongoing information about local cultural events, or visit their website at sc.jalisco.gob.mx 5. Rent a horse from the caballeros in the carriles of La Floresta. The charros event has been canceled, but we can still add the sound of hooves on cobblestones to our streets in their honor! 6. Enjoy the wonderful flavor of chiles en nogada or a hot molcajete at one of the local restaurants that specialize in the cuisine of Mexico, such as Teocintle in Ajijic or Viva Mexico in San Juan Cosala. And please, make a reservation ahead of time, as it will help the chefs plan for your arrival. 7. Visit the train station in Chapala, el Museo Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo, where current art as well as preColombian artifacts are on display. 8. Visit the Centro Cultural Ajijic on the Ajijic plaza, to learn more about local art and culture. The murals alone are worth the visit! The posters on the cork board will give you more information about events around town. And while you are there, watch for the vendors that sell the colorful confetti filled eggs in the plaza. After your visit, stop for a coffee afterward, and offer monetary appreciation to the strolling musicians. 9. Visit Calle Colón in Ajijic to sample the artisan shops that stretch from the plaza to the malecón. If you have time, check out the side streets for other lesser known shops and restaurants. 10. Take a launch from the Chapala pier to the island of scorpions, La Isla de Alacranes, where you can visit a beautiful little chapel to the Virgin as well as a cave that is sacred to the Huichol. Whatever you choose to do this September, I hope you are able to pause and give thanks for the privilege of living in this beautiful corner of the world we call home!
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The Energy of Lakeside By Queen D. Michele
I
t has become quite clear why I was drawn to the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco, MX. One cannot deny that the energetic vibrational frequency pulsating throughout Lakeside is palpable. Indian yogi and guru Paramahansa Yogananda (18931952) introduced millions of westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his Self-Realization movement and his book, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946). He spent time in Lake Chapala in 1929 and said that one day it would be the site of a great spiritual awakening. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, and joy in my heart. The logical reason for that is because I’m retired and living
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comfortably (on my measly pension) on the beautiful North Shore of the largest lake in the country. Although that’s enough to put a smile on my face, it’s the joy in my heart that is mystical and downright unexplainable. A friend of my mine who is a retired chemist lives here, and once told me of a chemical compound known to elicit feelings of wellbeing, that rises off the lake in the late evening, in a mist. He said that the mist cannot be seen in the air, yet we breathe in the airborne substance overnight, as most windows are open due to the lovely weather. He was quite serious in his testament, but I didn’t need much convincing as it made total sense to me.
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A 45-minute drive outside the Lakeside area on the property of Don Manuel Dominguez sits a vortex. A vortex, besides being what forms when something is stirred, is a special, sacred and energetic spot on Earth. It is where energy is either entering into the Earth or projecting out of the Earth’s plane. Vortexes (or vortices) are found at sacred sites throughout the world. They are known as a mystical phenomenon like the Great Pyramids in Egypt. In 1998, Shaman Don Jose Sebastian visiting the property, told Don Manuel that there was a focused cosmic energy (vortex) on his property. Years later that special spot is visited from people all over the world. I have visited Foco Tonal (the name of the property) twice now. Each time was a moving experience. The first time I went with a small group of women. We were told prior to our visit to wear all white, if possible. When we first arrived, I entered their gift shop which was beautifully stocked with charms, crystals, ordainments, oils and spiritual paraphernalia for every practice imaginable. I bought an amethyst about the size a baseball; it’s my birthstone and favorite crystal. The time spent in the vortex is limited to 15-minutes per group. How you split that time up is up to the group to decide. As it was on that day, we divided into 2 groups, so we all had 5 minutes individually inside the vortex. I walked in barefoot and laid down my amethyst and a pen. I spoke my name out and the reverberation that transpired within that spot was an auditory mystical, magical, energetic and spiritual experience. Open and receptive, I connected with the All That Is, and spoke into the Universe my heart’s desire during my 5 minutes. That experience took place around the end of January 2018. I have since written 3 books, created a Brand, a website and have become a blogger. The mystical mountains surrounding Lake Chapala is another element that energetically supplies the area. I’m a hiker, I have hiked twice a week for the past 2 and 1/2 years now. During my hikes, mostly to a beautiful flowing waterfall. I have come across different and interesting religious shrines, edifices, ceremonial grounds, and such, on trails throughout the mountains. I watched the foliage turn from lush green to brittle brown, learned about various insects, and have taken in deep cleansing breathes surrounded by a multitude of giving trees. One of the most challenging hikes I ever completed was to Shaman’s Rock. Another difficult hike was to the Ceremonial Grounds. That sacred land in the mountains is where an indigenous tribe carries out a rite of passage ceremony where the young men have the
skin on their chest split open. These ceremonies are not open to the public, but local hikers are invited to observe and strictly adhere to guidelines for observation. The hundred plus year old trails are rocky, steep and demanding, for they’re actually cattle trails. It’s not uncommon to cross paths with cows and horses when hiking. If the Lake, Vortex, and Mountains were not enough for high frequencies to resonate here, there’s more. There’s the rich mystical history of the Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs, Tolmecs, and Zapotecs tribes. There are areas close to the Lakeside region that have ancient Pyramids, which add yet another depth of mysticism to the land. Two Spiritual communities are thriving here as well. One is called Namaste Lake Chapala. It is a Course in Miracles community of Tiny Houses founded and developed by James Twyman. The other is called Villa del Angel Ajijic. It is a hotel setting with rooms for rent and year-round tenants. It has a holistically oriented campus undertone where retreats, classes, yoga and meditation take place to help facilitate physical, emotional, and spiritual development. Along with the rich history of the land and virtual and physical Spiritual communities, are the churches and meditation meetups. There is a smorgasbord of choice for anyone’s spiritual appetite. • Lake Chapala Baptist • Unitarian Universalist • Christ Church • Little Chapel by the Lake • Jewish Congregation • Lakeside Presbyterian • St. Andrew’s Anglican Church • Home Church Int’l • Riberas Meditation • Abundant Life Church • Lakeside Community Fellowship • San Andres Mass • San Juan Bautista • San Antonio de Padua • St. Mark’s Anglican Episcopal, Guadalajara • Iglesia Cristiana Agape • Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses It is without question, that the energy that resonates in the Lakeside area is extremely high. The area is filled with creators of all kinds; painters, writers, poets, actors/tress, dancers, musicians, artists, performers, and influencers. One feels Lakeside; it’s a high vibe atmosphere, yet a laid back and easy about most things’ way of living. The only word that comes to mind when I endeavor to explain this little slice of heaven I’ve found here is…grateful. Queen D. Michele
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The Ojo Crossword
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ACROSS
DOWN
1 5 9 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 23 25 26 29 31 34 35 37 39 41 42 43 44 46 47 50 51 52 54 56 59 63 64 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 20 22 24 26 27 28 30 32 33 36 38 40 42 45 48 49 53 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 65
Hotel room cleaner Tramp See Land measurement Small Mediterranean boat Mound Mr. Donahue Longitudinal Press Arrangement Horses were kept Syrian bishop Location Discs Squeal Indian monetary unit Is Lowest point Smack Looped cloth Vane direction Japanese city Reserve for future Glide Writing tool Electronic equipment Examine Expire Time periods Small sailing vessel Coincide in part with Verse meter Excuse me! Accumulate Otherwise Taste Suspect Bony Crucifix Harvard’s rival Clump
Charts Sore Bulb flower Greek ‘D’ Jinx Wading bird Poet Custard filled pastry Causes seizures Beget Walk slowly Shekel African country Black Heat unit Mountain range Tigers Nighttime image Power controlling device Bends Marry secretly Dined Attain Small lake Saved African country Chinese religious person Be incorrect Ill health Island nation Refine ore American state Defeat N.T. prophet Type of dressing U.S. Air Force Mailed Abridged (abbr.) Compass point
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Service
- EL OJO DEL LAGO Tel. 376 765-3676
* ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Pag: 43
* ANIMAL CLINICS/PET SHOP - CLINICA VETERINARIA SAN ANTONIO Tel: 376 766-0808 Pag: 06 - LAKESIDE FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS AC Tel: 376 765-5544 Pag: 19 - MASKOTA’S LAKE Tel: 376 766-0287, 33-3448-2507 Pag: 06 - PET PLACE Pag: 12
* ANTIQUES & FURNITURE - GALERIA ALFREDO Tel: 376 766-2980
Pag: 38
* ART GALLERIES/HANDCRAFTS - DIANE PEARL COLECCIONES Tel: 376 766-5683 - GALERIA ALFREDO Tel: 376 766-2980 - LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 376 766-5131 - PENTHOUSE GALLERY
Pag: 06 Pag: 38 Pag: 14 Pag: 32
- MULTISERVICIO AUTOMOTRIZ ESCALERA Tel: 376 765-4424, 333-440-2412 Pag: 08
Pag: 35
- TRANSITIONAL DIRECTIONS - Life Coaching Tel: 376 766-2928, +52 331-435-7080 Pag: 13
- FERRETERIA Y TLAPALERIA GALVEZ Tel: 376 766-0880, 387 763-0341 Pag: 54
* COMMUNICATIONS
* HEARING AIDS
* MOVERS
Pag: 31
- LOWELL STEPHEN BIRCH, D.C. Cell: 331-319-1799 Pag: 12, 23, 34, 40, 44
CLEANING SERVICES
- ISHOPNMAIL Tel: 376 766-1933
- LAKESIDE - CompuShop + Repair Tel: 33-2340-7501 / 376 668-1354
- TEPEHUA TREASURES Tel: 376 763-5126
- AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Tel: 376 766-4973, Cell: 332-213-8933 Pag: 14
* GARDENING
CHIROPRACTIC
- AXIXIC SPRING CLEAN Tel: 33-1075-7768, 376 766-5140 - STEAM CLEAN Tel: 33-2385-0410
Pag: 31
* GARAGE DOORS OPENERS
* CANOPIES - LONAS MEXICO Tel: 376 766-0045, Cell: 33-3956-4852
Pag: 34
- GARDEN CENTER Tel: 376 765-5973 - RAINFOREST Cell: 331-241-9773
Pag: 14 Pag: 40
* GRILLS Pag: 37 Pag: 10
Pag: 03
- NAPOLEON Tel: 376 766-6153
Pag: 13
- M.D. CARLOS ALONSO FLORES VALDOVINOS Tel: 376 766-5126, 376 766-4435 Pag: 09
* HOTEL Pag: 39
- VILLA MONET Cell: 332-300-6637
Pag: 43
* IMMIGRATION SERVICES Pag: 20
- INTERMEX Tel: 333-106-0281, 331-171-0236
Pag: 43
Pag: 11 Pag: 36
DENTISTS
- HEALTH INSURANCE Tel: 376 766-0395, 1-888-449-7799 Pag: 19 - HECHT INSURANCE Tel: 376 109-1694 Pag: 38 - LAKESIDE INSURANCE - EDGAR CEDEÑO Cell: 33-3106-6982 Pag: 12 - PARKER INSURANCE SERVICES Tel: 376 765-5287, 376 765-4070 Pag: 13 - PROTEXPLAN U.S. Toll Free 1-800-608-5743 Mexico Toll Free 01-800-681-6730 Pag: 10 - TIOCORP Tel: 376 766-4828, 376 766-3978 Pag: 08
Pag: 26
- AJIJIC DENTAL Tel: 376 766-3682, Cell: 33-1411-6622 Pag: 09 - CHAPALA DENTAL CARE Tel: 376 765-5584, 376 766-3847 Pag: 33 - MOJO DENTAL - Dra. Cristina Barreto Tel: 376 688-2731 Pag: 26
Pag: 09 Pag: 11
Pag: 36 Pag: 29
* ELECTRONICS/ TECHNOLOGY Pag: 11
* BEER & LIQUOR STORES
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* HARDWARE STORES
Pag: 20
- FUMIGA Tel: 376 688-2826, Cell: 331-464-6705 - MOSQUITO CONTROL Cell: 331-498-7699
- COMFORT SOLUTIONS Tel: 33-1228-5377 Pag: 34 - GENERAL HOME SERVICES - Amancio Ramos Jr. Cell: 331-520-3054 Pag: 45 - PISOS & AZULEJOS Cell: 331-250-6486 Pag: 38 - SERVICIOS AGUILAR Tel: 333-393-4991, 333-021-0753 Pag: 36 - SIKA Tel: 376 766-5959 Pag: 42
* BED & BREAKFAST
- BETO’S WINE & LIQUOR Cell: 333-507-3024
* COACHING
Pag: 14
* INSURANCE
* BEAUTY
- CASA TRES LEONES Cell: 331-350-6764
* MEDICAL SERVICES
* CONSTRUCTION
* BANK INVESTMENT
- CHRISTINE’S Tel: 376 106-0864, 376 766-6140 - EDITH’S Cell: 33-1310-9372 - GLORIOSA Tel: 376 766-3372 - HILDA WORLWIDE Tel: 33 1717-2784 - NEW LOOK STUDIO Tel: 376 766-6000, 33-3950-9990
* FUMIGATION
- ALTA RETINA - Dr. Rigoberto Rios León Ophthalmic Surgeon Tel: 376 688-1122, 376 688-1343 Pag: 22 - DERMIKA Tel: 376 766-2500 Pag: 11 - DR. BEN - CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON Cell: 333-105-0402 Pag: 15 - DR. FRANCISCO J. REYES ESQUIVEL PhD Surgical Oncologist Tel: 376-766-2500, Cell: 331-110-7351 Pag: 14 - DRA. CLAUDIA LILIA CAMACHO CHOZAOphthalmologist Tel: 33-3403-3857 Pag: 18 - HOSPITAL SAN ANTONIO Tel: 376-689-0911 Pag: 29 - PLASTICA LIFT Tel: 376 108-0595, 376 688-1820 Pag: 35 - RIBERA MEDICAL CENTER Tel: 376 765-8200 Pag: 25 - SCLEROTHERAPY-Dra. Patricia Estela Jimenez del Toro Cell: 333-808-2833 Pag: 38 - SKYMED Cell: 333-661-3402 Pag: 37 - UNITED AMBULANCE SERVICES Tel: 376 688-3315 Pag: 27
- LA BELLA VIDA Tel: 376 766-5131 - SO CHIC BOUTIQUE Tel: 331-762-7838
* CONSIGNMENT SHOP
* BAKERY
- INTERCAM Tel: 376 766-5978, 376 766-4055 - MULTIVA Tel: 376 766-2499
DIRECTORY
* COMPUTERS
* AUTOMOTIVE
- COLIBRI GARDEN Tel: 376-765-4412, Cell: 333-156-9382
directory.chapala.com
* BOUTIQUE / CUSTOM SEWING
* ADVERTISING / DIRECTORY
- ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WhatsApp ONLY 331-219-6987
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Pag: 45
EMERGENCY HOTLINE 911 CRUZ ROJA 376 765-2308, 376 765-2553 FIRE DEPARTMENT 376 766-3615 POLICE Ajijic 376 766-1760 Chapala 376 765-4444 La Floresta 376 766-5555
- STEREN Tels. 376 766-0599, 376 766-0630
* FISH MARKET - COSTALEGRE Tel: 376 108-1087, 33-1173-6144
El Ojo del Lago / September 2021
- L&D CENTER Tel: 376 766-1064
Pag: 13
- CENTRO LAGUNA Tel: 376 766-5514
Pag: 13
* MUSIC / THEATRE / EVENTS - D.J. HOWARD Tel: 376 766-3044
Pag: 44
- RAINBOW NOTARY & NUPTIALS Tel: 904-333-7311
Pag: 31
* OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT - MAQUINARIA Y HERRAMIENTAS PROFESIONALES Tel: 387-763-1232, Cell: 33-1892-2142
Pag: 32
* PAINT - QUIROZ-Impermeabilizantes Tel: 376 766-2311 - QUIROZ-Pinturas Tel: 376 766-2311
Pag: 38 Pag: 26
- FARMACIA MASKARAS Tel: 376 766-3539
Pag: 32
* REAL ESTATE Pag: 44
* MALL / OUTLET Pag: 18
Pag: 03
* PHARMACIES Pag: 41
* LIGHTING Pag: 08
Pag: 06
* NOTARY SERVICES
* LEGAL SERVICES - FELIPE GONZÁLEZ-Atorney at law Tel: 376 688-4563, (33) 3632-4689 - SOLBES & SOLBES Cell: 331-520-5529, Cell: 333-676-6245
- BEST MEXICO MOVERS US/CANADA: (915) 235-1951 US Cell: (520) 940-0481 - LAKE CHAPALA MOVING Tel: 376 766-5008 - STROM-WHITE MOVERS Tel: 376 766-6153
Pag: 02
- AJIJIC HOME INSPECTIONS Tel: 33-3904-9573 - AJIJIC REAL ESTATE Tel: 37 6766-2077 - AZABACHE HABITAT Tel: 331-845-0587, 333-405-0089 - BAUERHOUSE PROPERTIES Tel: 33-2164-5301, 33 2672-2236
Pag: 16 Pag: 17 Pag: 35 Pag: 23, 31
- BETTINA BERING Cell. 33-1210-7723 Pag: 21 - BEV COFELL Cell: 33-1193-1673 Pag: 42 - CIELOVISTA Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05 - COLDWELL BANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 376 765-3676, 376 765-2877 Fax: 765-3528 Tel: 376 766-1152, 376 766-3369 Pag: 56 - CONTINENTAL REALTY Tel: 376 766-1994, 331-366-2256 Pag: 33 - CUMBRES Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05 - EAGER REALTY Tel: 333-137-8447 Pag: 24 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: +1 720-984-2721, +52 33-1395-9062 Pag: 46 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 376 766-1804 Pag: 44 - FOR SALE BY OWNER Tel: 553-026-3529 Pag: 47 - LAKE CHAPALA REAL ESTATE Tel: 376 766-4530/40 Pag: 55 - RAUL GONZALEZ Cell: 33-1437-0925 Pag: 03, 45 - VISTA ALEGRE Tel: 33-2002-2400 Pag: 05
* RENTALS/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT - COLDWELLBANKER CHAPALA REALTY Tel: 376 766-1152 Pag: 48 - FOR RENT Cell: 333-667-6554 Pag: 40 - FOR RENT Tel: 332-608-7128 Pag: 42 - ROMA Tel: 33-1075-7768 Pag: 20 - VILLAS DEL SOL Tel: 376 766-1152 Pag: 47
- SHAW SATELLITE SERVICES Tel: 33-1402-4223
Pag: 44
* SCHOOLS - INSTITUTO INTERNACIONAL Tel: 37-6688-0004
Pag: 43
* SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS - FOODBANK LAKESIDE - LOS NIÑOS DE CHAPALA Y AJIJIC Tel: 376 765-7032
Pag: 47 Pag: 51
* SPA / MASSAGE - RESPIRO SPA Tels: 33-3157-7790 - SPA GRAND Tels: 387 761-0303, 387 761-0202 - TOTAL BODY CARE Tel: 376 766-3379
Pag: 44 Pag: 41 Pag: 37
* SOLAR ENERGY - SUN QUEST ENERGY Tel: 376 766-6156, Cell: 333-117-9126
Pag: 39
* TAXI / TRANSPORTATION - ARTURO FERNANDEZ - TAXI Cell: 333-954-3813 - OMAR MEDINA Cell: 33-1281-2818
Pag: 12 Pag: 48
* TREE SERVICE - CHAPALA TREE SERVICE Tel: 376 762-0602, Cell: 33-1411-0242
Pag: 36
* TOURS
* RESTAURANTS / CAFES /BAR - AJIJIC TANGO Tel: 376 766-2458 - CASA LINDA Tel: 376 108-0887 - GO BISTRO Cell: 33-3502-6555 - MANIX Tel: 376 766-0061, 331-065-0725 - MOM’S DELI & RESTAURANT Tel: 376 765-5719 - VILLA MONET Cell: 332-300-6637 - YVES Tel: 376 766-3565
Pag: 54 Pag: 29 Pag: 07
- CHARTER CLUB TOURS Tel: 376-766-1777
Pag: 07
* WATER - TECNO AQUA Tel: 376 766-3731, 376 688-1038
Pag: 45
Pag: 39 Pag: 03 Pag: 43 Pag: 16
* RETIREMENT/REST/NURSING HOMES - CASA ANASTASIA - Care Home Tel: 376 765-5680 - CASA NOSTRA-Nursing Home Tel: 376 765-3824, 376765-4187 - NURSING HOME LAKE CHAPALA S.C. Tel: 376-766-0404, 333-969-8677 - SACRED HEART - Nursing Home Tel: 331-027-1501
Pag: 37 Pag: 33 Pag: 15 Pag: 45
* SATELLITES/ T.V. - AJIJIC ELECTRONICS S.A. DE C.V. Tel: 376 766-1117, 376 766-3371
Pag: 22
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CARS FOR SALE: 2004 Nissan XTerra, 67,000 miles, new tires, lots of extras 140,000 pesos. 376 766 4738 Vivien Holeman. WANTED: Seeking a New-To-Me Used Car. Mexican plates, Japanese preferred. I’ll wanna take it to a couple of mechanics. 120,000p/6k tops FOR SALE: 1979, Mercedes Model 116-120, 5 cylinders, 300 SD, 347,933 miles four-door, excellent condition, no rust, and new tires in 2/08/2019. Garaged last year due to not being able to return to Mexico. Special Mexican Antique Plate FR-37, with all paperwork certified. Included with the sale are all original official manuals of repairing the car, and all repairs done to the car since new. This engine is known to go to 500 thousand miles before any repairs are necessary. Price listed from outside sources at 12 to 15 thousand dollars. OBO. Contact Captain Joseph L. Naselli. Phone 376 766 5687. captnaselli@netzero.net WANTED: Anyone out there can give me info on an upholsterer? I want to put in a new cushion in the bench seat in my Grand Cherokee. Thank you in advance. FOR SALE: Toyota FJ Cruiser (Mexican Plated), Year: 2009, MIleage: 80,000, Automatic, 4 x 4 with assisted modes, Price: $315,000.00 pesos, Excellent Condition, Cell: 33-1424-1667
COMPUTERS
WANTED: Needed working older windows 10 laptops and desktops and older larger TV’s for Have Hammer Will Travel CAD room and students. We are starting up our classes again after this long shut down, Have hammer will Travel A.C woodworking and CAD school needs older window 10 desktops and laptops that work. Luis Algarin from lakeside computer shop, will clean and reboot the computers for our school, with latest version of windows 10. the school is setting up our CAD classroom. we need four more working computers, and we need
computers for the students to take home. The students will make projects in wood then create the same project in CAD. These are under privileged boys and girls who need a step up in life. Who can not afford a computer. We are creating a work stations with two monitors one a larger tv to create there CAD project. other one they watch a lesson. We need older TV’s since we use older computers. The current CAD software we use is TINKERCAD on the cloud, so all we need is a computer that will connect to the internet. Some Desktops without keyboard and mouse ok. Thank you for your generous donation. Please drop off at HHWT school Hidalgo 231-1 in Riberas de Pilar next S&S auto. I can come and pick larger tv’s Wayne 376 688 1282 HHWT back office. if you have any experience with basic CAD and want to help set up classroom or teach 4 hours week please come by the school. www.havehammer.org WANTED: Looking to buy or take away your broken/non-funtional phones/ tablets/ iPads/ laptops/ Macbooks /etc... If you have stuff that you wouldn’t want to repair or that you just want to get rid of because you no longer need it, I can take it off you. Looking for anything electronic, does not necessarily needs to be fixable. If you are thinking about giving it away, I would really appreciate it. WANTED: Want to buy Shaw PVR 830 or newer, in good operational condition. Please message me or post details here. WANTED: Laptop with us keyboard. Looking for a laptop in excellent condition with good amount of memory. Mac or PC okay. I will use this to teach online so I need good camera, audio and video. WANTED: Wanted Touch monitor for CAD school Have Hammer Will Travel. We getting a new high graphic computer, need there touch monitors for students to use. Wayne 376 688 1282 HHWT office phone can leave message FOR SALE: IPAD Air (4th gen 2020) or IPAD Pro 11” glass screen protector. Bought by
The Ojo Crossword
mistake when looking for a screen protector for my Galaxy (android) tablet. Box was opened, but everything is new and unused. $200. 332-617-3588. FOR SALE: Android. We have upgraded to fire cube and no longer need the android. Will sale for $1,000 pesos. This is a H96 Pro Ultra HD TV Box. I am now reducing price to $800 pesos. You need a good Wifi signal for it to work properly. Send PM. FOR SALE: Older Kindle for sale with cover. Has keyboard and Google access. Works well. Send PM. FOR SALE: Dell Inspiron 14R, Spanish keyboard and OS. Touchscreen, USB 3.0 + HDMI, Intel. Send PM. FOR SALE: Iphone 11 pro max 256gb. Estetica 9.5, everything works perfectly, not scratched or beaten, only used very little, free for any company. Ready for any test. Send PM. FOR SALE: Mac Mini 2014 + Magic Keyboard 2 and Magic Mouse 2. Asking 10,000 for it. The monitor is not included in the price, and I wont be selling it. Any information please call or email, 3221499217. gonzalez10diego@hotmail.com FOR SALE: iPhone 6, 64 Gb gray, for sale only for $3000 pesos, excellent conditions, bring headphones and charger, 64 gigabytes of storage and ready for any cell phone operator, If you are interested please contact me at joencoza2019@yahoo.com
PETS & SUPPLIES FOR SALE: New in Box from Amazon dog harness, size small. Has LED lights on, off, blinking settings. Color neon green asking $27US or equal in pesos. WANTED: Have five young canaries and three young red-rumpled parakeets ready for new homes. Canaries ready for new homes now. Red-Rumps still being fed by parents so will be another week or so until they are weaned. FOR SALE: Booster seat for your dog to ride in car, be comfortable and see out. Seat belt secures. Comfy foam with washable faux sheepskin cover. Used but in good condition. Fits small to medium sized dog. $700 pesos. I want to buy this doggie car seat. Please contact me at mike081939@ gmail.com or +1 210-870-0926
GENERAL MERCHANDISE FOR SALE: Smooth Fitness UB4 Upright Bike, excellent condition, features-Distance, RPM, Watt, Speed, Calories, Pulse, Age, Heart rate,etc. Preset Programs include , Steps, Hill, Valley, Fat Burn, Mountain, Intervals, Plateau, Random, and more. Manual included, Can adjust all programs to your specs, paid $800.00 us, asking $200.00 us.Moving. Vista Allegre, 331 763 5597. WANTED: Hello. Am spending this winter in ajijic and looking for men’s right hand golf clubs and bag FOR SALE: Excellent condition sectional sofa with matching ottoman. The ottoman fits into the sectional to make a kingsize bed. The ottoman also opens up for storage. Decorative toss cushions included as well as a brand new king size sheet set. Must sell to make room for renovations. $9800 pesos. Call 332 828 9338. FOR SALE: Simmons Beauty Rest Andrew Plush Mattress is top of the line and purchased only one month ago and hardly used. Its about medium-firm in comfort. Unfortunately because of a nerve condition I
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El Ojo del Lago / September 2021
need a very soft mattress. Sacrificing this for $9,950 pesos. Paid much more and can show invoice. Call 332 828 9338. FOR SALE: Books & Entertainment. Feel free to message if you have any questions. Price range from 10, 50, 100 with the Far East 3000 dictionary ( new) at $500. Varios precios pregunta por los libros que te interesen! FOR SALE: Feel free to message if you have any questions. Original Hamanako Music box plays ‘Yesterday’ $350- delivery pending. Bags $ 60& $50, Japanese lunchbox $ 100, Tea infuser $ 40, Magnets in snack form $25 each, Face roller $50, Red bag new $50, Silk fabric new from Japan $100, Hair ties new $50& $100. FOR SALE: Feel free to message if you have any questions. Sit-stand desk $500 (new, only used twice), Mexican dishes $100 (all 4), Shelf (blue streaks on one side, pink on other) $100, Shower curtain $100, Toilet seat cover$50, Glass display boxes $100 for both, Picture frame $100, Blue frame $ 50, Curtain hooks $60, Shower curtain $100, Wood rack (can be for shoes or plants) $100 (shoes not included), Agenda $50, Towel rack $25, Kitchen organizer $60, Lid organizer $60, Dish rack $80, Metal bicycle $50 (has a holder for a small pot), White frame $25, Box $25, Seafoam green decor $50, Spot dot cushions new $100, Cetaphil new $200, Pizza cutter$50, Gift bags and paper $80 (for all), Jewelry box $100, Plastic container $30, Wooden music box for pictures $150, Eiffel tower $50, Salt& pepper birds new $50, Chinese design cushions $ 150 ( both), Mini travel box from Japan new $100 each, New inflatable ball & pump $50, Cooling Aloe vera gel $50, 5 lb weight $50, Wooden box $ 30, Mirror new $50, Snoopy metal box $100. WANTED: Artist Canvases, Any size! PM me, please. FOR SALE: Serta Radiant Memory Foam, 2 years and 5 months old. $7,500 pesos. Contact Boyd at 376-763-5038. Thanks. FOR SALE: Waring/Acme juicer powerful able to juice any fruits or vegies. This juicer works great, heavy weight and powerful. $1150 mn. Send PM. FOR SALE: Black leather living room set 2 pieces, a 2 seater and 3 seater. Black leather living room set 2 pieces, a 2 seater and 3 seater. excellent condition, clean real leather, come check it out, $18,000 pesos for both Todo Bueno resale and consignment store, next to S&S auto FOR SALE: Six seater glass table and chairs. Todo Bueno resale and consignment was $14,000 pesos reduced 60 days in store $7000 pesos great deal should go fast, the glass itself is thick and cost over $7000 pesos. Todo Bueno resale and consignment store next to S&S auto. 331-0160619 open Tues to sat 10 am to 3 pm. FOR SALE: House of miniatures, doll house furniture over 25 pieces, will sell quick must see. Todo Bueno resale and consignment store Next to S&S auto. House of miniatures, doll house furniture over 25 pieces discount $160 US dollars or $3100 pesos. Average price $6 each, buy whole batch with assembly tray, with parts and magnets. Estimated retail value $320 or $6200 pesos. Must see to appreciate all new pieces in boxes. If bought separately $250 pesos a piece for kits. If bought separately $250 pesos a piece for kits. FOR SALE: Dirt Devil Vac & Dust.
Used, with one used and one new mophead. $800.00. FOR SALE: Set of 16” tires. 6 ply heavy duty. Set of four Continental “Contivancontact 100” tires. Removed from a brand new VW Crafter with only 1250 kilometers. Size 205/75 R16. Good for many vans or truck’s. 6000 pesos for the set. FOR SALE: Set of five 16” aluminum rims, four of them have new Goodyear tires installed. Size 245/70 16 load range D. 19,000 pesos FOR SALE: This is a top-of-the-line commercial grade air cleaner that uses NASA technology to clean your home or business of unwanted airborne contaminants (viruses, molds, bacteria, fungi, pet dander, etc.) and odors. We brought this unit with us from United States and it’s nearly brand new. Sells for $1,500 USD (about $30,000 pesos); we are selling ours for $500 USD or $10,000 pesos. We’ll even throw in some extra filters, so it’s ready for many years of trouble-free service. Whisper quiet operation. Energy-star rated. Remote control, instructions, and original box is included. Perfect condition! Price is firm/ non-negotiable. Check out their website at: www.healthway.com. Please CALL or text 332 921 6096 between 8am-8pm (calls preferred) FOR SALE: Schwinn suburban 1970 collection bike, all original components, ideal for the ciclovia, very comfortable. It just needs a little maintenance. Price $
5,000.00. Call Alma Rivera 3310053109 FOR SALE: Colección de 24 tomos del autor Emile Zola; préface de Henri Guillemin. Tomo I a XX: Les Rougon – Macquart. Tomo XXI: Therese raquin la confession de Claude. Tomo XXII a XXIV: Les trois villes (Lourdes - Rome - Paris). Idioma francés. Editorial Rencontre Lausanne . Fasquelle Editeurs Paris 1970. Portada de piel fina italiana y diseños de oro. Ejemplares sin ningún uso, totalmente nuevos y en excelentes condiciones.. Precio negociable de $50,000 pesos. Contact: mikenan@prodigy. net.mx FOR SALE: Colección La Comédie Humaine del autor Honoré de Balzac. Es una colección de 23 tomos en Idioma Frances. Editorial Rencontre Lausanne 1959. Portada de piel fina italiana y diseños en oro. Ejemplares sin ningún uso, totalmente nuevos y en excelentes condiciones Precio negociable de $55,000 pesos Aceptamos ofertas en el precio!!! Contact: mikenan@ prodigy.net.mx FOR SALE: Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System In Like-New Condition! Get clean drinking and cooking water with this Hague Water brand under-the-sink reverse osmosis water filter system. Like-new condition and works perfectly with a faucet included. We just brought this system with us from USA but we are renting and will not be needing it. This system cost $1,600 ($32,000 pesos) and has all new filters on it right now… plus, we have purchased a brand new set of
new filters for later use. Sacrifice at $7,000 pesos. Price is firm/non-negotiable. Take a look at all the pics PM for any other details or to come see it. More info at https:// www.haguewater.com/water-filters/reverseosmosis-filters/h3500/ Please email for a quick response or you can call/text to 332 921 6096 or on Whatsapp. FOR SALE: 2017 Yamaha MT-03 Mexicana. 42,000 km and rising. 38hp/22 ft/lb torque at 360 lbs curb weight. Norton levers, Racetech suspension front and rear, Hi-capacity radiator, tail rack for luggage, Saddleman seat, frame sliders, and rear spools included. Jalisco plated. Original owner with factura and all fees paid in full. Never dropped or wrecked. Needs nothing. A sportbike with compact frame and ergonomics fits vertically challenged riders well. 80,000 MXN OBO. Will consider trade for a 70’s Brit bike or BMW airhead FOR SALE: Aspiradora Hoover Deluxe win turnel mach 3.8, Motor de porton Craftsman chain driver 1/2 HP AC motor, Escaner Musteck, Cargador de carro de golf Tennant 36 vlt, Telefono Panasonic con fax KX FP80, Maleta grande negra Club Monde, Impresora Canon BJC 2000, Estereo dual D/A Converter Kenwood, Congelador mediano 3x2 pies color cafe (Funciona bien, solo le falta freon), Estereo amplificador Pioneer A205, Radio grabadora Nakazaki, Raquetas usadas en buena condicion: Prince Pro, Wilson Advantage y Wilson Ultra Graphite, Contacto: mikenan@prodigy.net.mx
FOR SALE: Dining Room Table and 12 Chairs, 5 1/2 x 7 foot walnut finished dining room table with 12 upholstered chairs. $1,500 US or peso equivalent. If interested send PM. FOR SALE: Earthlite Massage Table / Barely used $4500 pesos. Earthlite’s top of the line portable massage table. Precision crafted using Earthlite’s proprietary Jointless formed beam technology and the finest, eco-friendly materials available. Designed by the world’s leading massage table manufacturer to last a lifetime of professional use. E mail me at felixbb@yahoo.com .Specifications: Weight: 34 lbs, Width: 30”, Length: 73”, Height Range: 23” - 33”, Static Weight: 3200 lbs. FOR SALE: Original photo by Norm Tihor. Framed and ready to hang. Title: Kissing Alley In Guanajuato. Measures 15” x 20.5” (38cm x 52cm) $1,000 pesos. call Norm at 331 431 7264. Email ntihor@hotmail.com FOR SALE: Show Satellite Dish 75E with DSR 600 and LND Output. 1,600.00 MM Call Richard at 33 2264 8972 or 33 1698 5401 FOR SALE: Original Prada Shoes, size 24.5 Mexican, Only 1 time was used, price $3,000 pesos. Call to Alma 331-005-3109 FOR SALE: Individual Brass Headboard, Price $2,200.00 pesos. Call to Alma 331-005-3109.
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