Until yesterday, I had never heard of Charlie Foster. Today, I’m writing about him. One of the benefits of being a writer is the fact-checking, because you can end up with provocative information. That’s how I found out about Charlie Foster. An ace flier is defined in the dictionary as a fighter pilot who has […]
Continue Reading“What is Christmas like in Mexico?” asked my friend, Edward. It didn’t take much encouragement for me to eagerly share this experience: Once upon a Christmas nighttime, in a tiny village on the shores of Lake Chapala in the State of Jalisco, began las posadas, which means “the inns.” At the shy invitation of my beloved housekeeper, […]
Continue ReadingWe who live in Mexico, whether full- or part-time, have a duty to correct the enormous amount of misinformation perpetuated by foreign media. More creatures live with their heads in the sand than the ostrich. For your personal enlightenment, if not to increase your popularity, I’ve prepared a list of common misconceptions and corrective responses. […]
Continue ReadingThere’s been a big U.S. flap over the fact that honeybees seem to have gone missing. North Americans are becoming alarmed that, without pollination, foods such as almonds, apples, blueberries, peaches, and other goodies, will vanish, too. Honeybee pollination is also needed to make alfalfa and clover which feeds beef and dairy cattle. The New York […]
Continue ReadingThe English-speaking people of the world aren’t always as smart as, say, Stephen Hawking who writes about cosmic stuff like time, black holes and the universe, but wouldn’t you think the people in charge of U.S. security would at least be able to measure distance? I’m not talking about the distance from earth to the […]
Continue ReadingIn the ancient Nahuatl language, Ajijic means “The Place Where Water Springs Forth.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of an historic event: the Great Geyser Eruption. It is said to have been the tallest in the world at 260 feet, while Old Faithful gushes in at a mere 185. Jack McDonald reported in a […]
Continue Reading“You can become anything or anyone you like the day you cross the border,” they tell us when we arrive in Mexico. They’re right. In Ajijic, a man wearing a U.S. Navy cap and respectfully referred to as “The Captain” by all, was actually never in the service. What he did is what so many […]
Continue ReadingAlong with many other expatriates living in Mexico, we occasionally hear of a famous one who lives, or once lived, among us. We know that Helen Hayes, Erich Fromm and Maurice Evans lived in Cuernavaca, and Tennessee Williams, D. H. Lawrence and Somerset Maugham lived in Ajijic. Just a few years ago, I had Christmas […]
Continue ReadingWhen Elvira Arellano illegally crossed the U.S. border in 1997, she had no idea that one day, she would become a beacon of light in the darkness of U.S. immigration politics, nor that Time magazine would name her one of the People Who Mattered in 2006. Like Victor Hugo’s fictional Quasimodo who sought sanctuary within the cool […]
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I don’t know anything about opera, and accidentally once proved it to my date at a screening of Franco Zeffirelli’s film of La Traviata. Halfway through the movie, I whispered, “What a rip off. All they did was copy the plot of Garbo’s movie, Camille.” How did I know that the Verdi opera, based on Dumas’ 1848 novel, […]
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