There’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’m sick and tired of hearing disagreements between the U.S.A. and Mexico. First, there’s the emigration thing with fences and coyotes and blustering politicians; second is the drug thing where the U.S. blames Mexico for their own addictive population; and now the U.S. is blaming the Maya for a prophesied 2012 doomsday scenario. Let’s take […]
Continue ReadingJohn Steinbeck penned his famous book, Tortilla Flat, in 1935, and apparently never considered Hollywood’s casting choices when it was made into a film in 1942. If he had, he would’ve fallen flat himself, either from laughing or from astonishment. Steinbeck’s classic is the sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant story of a group of Mexican amigos living in […]
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When Kenny Rogers sang, “Ya got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em … ” in his hit, “The Gambler,” he was singing about more than playing cards, he was singing about life with Josefina. With all that’s going on in the world today, I should probably be more upset about unchecked […]
Continue ReadingMexico’s economic downturn may be worse than those of other nations, because so much of Mexico’s economy depends on tourism. Mexico City is desperate to restore its tourism industry; perhaps they’re suffering from an abundance of media coverage of killings, kidnappings, and cartels. What can Mexico possibly come up with to attract tourists under this […]
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