There are a few refreshing signs of progress on the north side of the border. South of the border in our region of Mexico street (read stray) dogs are common sights. Having been a ‘dog person’ most of my life my heart goes out to these poor pooches.
A number of expatriates organize activities to help our four legged friends – canine and feline. They have free neutering and spaying events as well as adoption programs.
We have written about the general malaise towards the care and feeding of Mexico’s dogs and cats. The expat community efforts are heartwarming and encouraging.
I have not as yet been able to reason why otherwise wonderful people seem to have such different attitudes towards their pets. Good people keeping their dogs on 2 foot lengths of rope 24/7. We see dogs sitting with no shade or cover during rain and very hot days. They seldom have water bowls.
Pets come and go at a rapid rate. Children seem to accept the death of their pet with little emotion. When I was a kid when one of our pets expired we were traumatized for days.
A recent conversation in our Mexican Hood:
“Hombre where is your dog Bobby?”
“He died.”
“How did it happen?”
“He just died.”
End of conversation. The dog might have been four years old. The two young children in the house seemed indifferent about the whole thing.
Here in a somewhat more civilized society dogs are not only revered they are mostly kept behind block walls save a walk once or twice a day. The neighborhoods are quiet. You will never see a stray dog more than once. They have systems in place.
Veterinarians command fees that rival medical care costs for pet owners.
The city of North Las Vegas has a couple new-to-me pet maintenance options; these provided by the city. First and remarkably they have a pet poop depository station. Here bags are provided to pick-up your dogs deposits. A bag is provided with instruction on how to properly gather your pet’s excrement. The instructions include placing the tied bag into the basket provided.
The other rather novel pet accoutrement is a water fountain that works in conjunction with the human version.
I am often dismayed at the lack of water provided to Mexican pets and live stock. For the city to actually provide a water fountain for pets is quite remarkable – a good thing. Anita suggested that there was some lack of consideration for water conservation in the system where there is a single button to supply water to both the human and pet fountain – probably a button for each would be better. And of course one has to wonder about the sanitary issues of many animals drinking from the same ‘bowl’.
I suggested that many pets drink from mud puddles and it was probably OK. The thought certainly counts. My sister and brother in-law carry their own water when walking their dog in the hot Las Vegas out-of-doors.
It certainly is different being here where pets are treated as family members.
One of the main reasons to return to the United States is to visit our banks. You read that correctly – we have accounts with six banks – one in Capitan, New Mexico and five in Las Vegas, Nevada.
We have been banking for about 50 years now. So I write with some authority when I suggest they have changed a lot.
My favorite bank was the savings and loan in Bedford Falls. You remember the Building and Loan savings bank that George Bailey ran.
Back to banking, George Bailey was my kind of banker, selfless to a fault; he repeatedly sacrificed his dreams for the well-being of others. Peel off many calendar pages to 2010 sixty-four years later. If ever there was an adversarial relationship between consumers and business it has to be citizens and the bank. The word vipers come to mind here.
Thus far we visited with 3 of our six banks since returning to the United States. Each of those experiences was terrible. Dealing with people that could barely speak English (or Spanish), bank personnel often confused and even providing miss-information. In one instance after questioning some FDIC rules, a pamphlet on the rules of FDIC insurance was provided.
After reading it over we were even more confused. I checked for a printing release date. The document was dated 03 2008 prior to the current changes. – yikes!
Mind you these bank persons were folks with desks, not tellers.
The interesting thing is how they all made a point of telling us they wanted to be our banker.
When I suggested that the turnover rate seemed to universally be such that there was little chance we would ever see the person again – they more or less agreed. George Bailey spent his entire working career at the Bedford Falls Building and Loan. Try and find that person in today’s banks.
I also always suggest to the bankers that I am looking for that Bedford Falls Building and Loan officer and institution. Or at least a bank that works on my behalf rather than making every effort to deceive and cheat us in order to pay less interest or to put us in less optimum accounts where we have more charges and fewer services.
And the bank personnel ALL look towards their shoe tops nodding in agreement that they are instructed to take advantage of us at every opportunity; and how they truly understand our position.
We give these places our money which they then loan back to us and others with interest. They limit the amount of money we can move from here to Mexico (here they blame government regulations – rightly so I suppose). They send statements with warnings about how they will take our money if they don’t see our faces in their office within 18 months – our money becomes theirs on the authority of the U.S. Government.
The bankers slide sheets of paper with interest rates under our nose that cause me to suggest I might just as well keep our money under my mattress where upon they suggest how safe it is in the bank. A couple of our banks have changed their names twice since we last visited the United States (about 9 months ago) – safe?
We are showing our faces and maintaining Mexican patience with these bandits – they are in turn robbing us with a smile.
Somewhere we lost our way as a people, a world community, where service and general care for one’s fellow man are ideals of the past. Very sad indeed!
Stay Tuned – next time we will write about some upbeat things we have found here in the United States.
Vacation season is coming fast. Some of you may plan on a trip to Mexico. Here in Mexico we have a situation called “Mordida” (bite). It has been going on a long time in this country and doesn’t look to be ending any time soon. Mordida is essentially giving a ‘payoff’ to avoid a more problematic traffic ticket.
If you have actually perpetrated a traffic infraction mordida might be called expedient justice. In this instance it is efficient and usually will cost less than a comparable infraction in the United States; if nothing else it will not have an effect on your insurance and driving record.
Mordida fees generally run from 50 pesos to as much as 1500 pesos. It is mostly administered with threatening actions about how you will pay more, be delayed or possibly have your vehicle impounded etc. So that when you do give up a couple 500 pesos notes you will go away relieved, until you have time to stew on it.
Understand that the penalty fee is negotiable. The more intestinal fortitude you possess the less you will pay. This does not mean the one that shouts the loudest wins – quite the contrary. You must remain calm and polite at all times. You can be firm about your stand but this must be done in a respectable manner. In Mexico generally there will be no gain in exhibiting an upset demeanor – none.
We advise not carrying much money in your wallet with your license. DO NOT flash a lot of cash – this is their money in your possession. We usually have a 50 peso and two 100 peso notes – no more. If you don’t have pesos yet then a five and two tens.
We use a laminated copy of our actual driver’s license – not the original. It is in a cheap wallet with a few expired credit cards and a temporary membership card to AARP. A few photos are a nice touch – but if they take your wallet it won’t be missed. I have heard of a wallet being held – but have not experienced this.
On one occasion I was asked if the license I provided was an original. I explained it was a copy as I didn’t want to lose the original – nothing further was said on that. Do not lie to them.
There are a few things you can do to lessen the mordida fee or have it expunged all together. The first I have brought up several times. If we are motioned to pull over by a uniformed person standing next to or in the street, we ignore them and continue driving. Of course this takes great courage – ignoring a police officer’s attempt to detain you.
When you spot ahead one of these uniformed bandits, avoid eye contact as you approach and pass them. This will substantiate your story if need be.
We have done this more than a dozen times and NEVER have we been chased down. If we do get sopped by an officer with transportation – the plan is simple – we didn’t see the person motioning to us to pull over – simple. Again, we have never been tracked down and we have driven past no less than 12 attempts to pull us over.
If you have been here a while you have heard all that. Here is some additional information:
There is a public workers union office specifically charged with investigating police matters and dismissing corrupt officials. Sindicatura is the name of the outfit. That is: SEEN-DEE-KAH-TOO-RA. Regardless of the bribing officer’s ability to understand your Spanish or English, the officer will understand this word. Declaring the word is like driving a stake into Count Dracula’s heart. Actually calling in the Sindicatura group is like notifying ‘Internal Affairs’.
The mere mention of Sindicatura will most likely end any further effort to relieve you of your money.
If the officer offers the option of going to the Police Station when you know you have not broken some driving law – tell the officer you do want to go to talk to Juez Califvador (WHES CAL-EEF-AH-DOR). This is a qualifying judge. This person will determine whether the fine amount and accused violation(s) is reasonable and appropriate.
Using either of these two words and methods will most often be perceived as too much trouble. You will be kindly told to move on.
Others have suggested having a camera handy to capture a photo of the officer. Although I have yet to try to grab a photo – this can be a sign of disrespect and might even lead to losing your camera – no experience here on that.
We notify the officer right off – first thing- we live here in Mexico. Occasionally that alone will end the bribe attempt. Their designs are on the fearful and uneducated. They don’t need to get into a verbal joust or engage potential problems – there are plenty of others, read most that will fearfully and willingly shell out the dough.
Write these words down on paper. Put it in your glove box – a copy in all your cars. Mordida is a fact of life in Mexico. The situation is a lot less threatening than a new visitor usually perceives. We find the police pleasant and even considerate – willing to ‘forgive’ or strike a deal or respond to reason like the two words above. Stay Tuned!
Many moons ago I engineered a couple Weather Report albums. Go HERE for a sample .
One of the finer ensembles of people, and musicians I had the great pleasure to work with. The weather outlook was always bright and sunny with Joe Zawinul and company.
Joe and I go way back to the Cannonball Adderley bands. Cannon was a mentor of mine – a special human being who departed from this earth way too soon.
But this entry is about a different weather report – the one we look to daily to know what we might expect in terms of weather conditions.
Below is a screen capture of the weather as reported by “The Weather Channel”; captured at about 1 PM Wednesday. You may need to enlarge it. So what is wrong with this picture?
Well a lot actually. A few short weeks ago in this Blog I mentioned how the weather predictions here are bad. This new complaint is not about predictions; rather it is about reporting current temperatures.
Needless to state that weather conditions current or otherwise are difficult to keep up with around the world and even out of a first world country to an emerging one. I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt on the difficulties of real time weather reports.
It is ALL too common to have The Weather Channel’s report so far from reality that the misleading is harmful. In other words if you can’t report more accurately – perhaps it is better to not report at all.
Let’s take a look at some glaring miss-information.
First the report is that the current temperature is 91F. Someone out there must be having sun stroke – there is NO WAY it has been or will be even 7 degrees close to that. I currently show 82F – and we live right here in Xico. I can’t even recall when I last experienced a temperature reading as high as 90 F here in Xico. I admit it does happen – but not today and not very often at all.
The real humdinger is that, “It feels like 104 F” From my point of view it doesn’t FEEL like 91F let alone a whopping 104F! Come on people what closet are you hiding in? And with a reported 63% humidity – not uncommon here but it is NOT that high currently – how would you elevate a reported 91 F to 104F? No that is simply far from the truth.
It also shows that it is sunny (a symbol seldom used in these parts by the Weather Channel). I just covered my scooter because there are a few raindrops occurring right now.
If you look over to mid-page right you will see five areas of the world – and two countries – these are the places I keep track of weather everyday.
Notice the low in Capitan, New Mexico – reported to be a low of 24F- yikes!
Of course I have NO idea where the miss- information about Xico is coming from or why it is so far from the truth.
We are NOT trying to sell you on Xico. We are happy with the number of gringos living here (very few). We look forward to Dianne and John’s return. I really like drinking Don Julio with Dave and our next Blog entry will be about some very special folks we met a couple times last week (just to show we do have some friends).
But, I have to take exception with the erroneous weather reports and suggest if you are watching to help evaluate whether to be here or not – I recommend you check with a few Bloggers and forget about “The Weather Channel’s miss-information.
I have to run – it is thundering out there and I need to unplug a few things. Stay Tuned!
The Guapa Señora Calypso reaches the age of 50 this week. As a retired expat she ranks quite young. Her ability to speak Spanish and charm the natives has certainly made the adjustment to living in Mexico easier for me.
She has spent more than half her life at my side, nearly all her adult life. I thank her for that. In thinking about our relationship and how I might define it at her mid-century mark, I think it appropriate to write that she has been the difference in my life.
She has been the difference between thinking about it and getting it done.
She has been the difference between getting it done and getting it right.
She has been the difference between faith and knowing.
She has been the difference between a good day and a great day.
She has been the difference that enables me. She is life’s gift to me; the gift that keeps on giving. I am a lucky man indeed. Happy Birthday Anita!
The end of the first decade of the new millennium, half of which the Calypsos spent in Mexico, represents new beginnings rather than so many endings. Living on the edge of the pool we see United States republic-ism as just another form of fascism. It has become a place where style and greed are everything, seemingly unaware after all that content of work counts, too.
The U.S. culture ever increasingly enamored by simple minded stereotypes and special effects left behind, while we are fully invested in life in Mexico crusading for environmental consciousness, seriousness of mind for the future of our planet and the ongoing quest of defining moral and spiritual complexities.
At the dawn of a new decade we find ourselves like a Renaissance man in an era that favors specialization and that we must never lose our sense of wonder – or of outrage. We continue to strive to make life good reading. Get ready for another year of Blogging.
If you are thinking this is a Jamaica weather report – you are wrong. This is about a Mexican treat. In Mexico we have jamaica (Ha-MY-Ca) blossoms available at Super Chedraui (our local supermarkets) and in bins at most Mercados.
I seldom list recipes or food information as there are better Blogs that focus on food like my Global Post amigos Mexico Cooks and then there is Don Cuevas’ My Mexican Kitchen – both great sights for Mexican cooking.
Of course my longstanding amiga Billie over at BillieBlog is also a gourmet cook with a terrific Blog interspersed with lots of recipes and cooking tips.
But those great sites withstanding I am going to give you the details of Jamaica ice because it is soooo darned good.
Last year we bought a series of videos by Rick Bayless. His PBS series Mexico One Plate at a Time has some terrific recipes as well as some great travel logs.
In a few of the series of video programs Bayless uses a small ice cream maker – several actually. He had both a Krups and a Cuisinart. We opted for the Cuisinart during our last visit to the United States.
In my Blog entry Jamaica Sorbet in Our Future – Yum! I wrote about acquiring the Cuisinart. Before leaving Las Vegas we prepared a batch of margarita mix in the little ice cream make to be sure it worked before hauling it home here to Mexico. A good idea because warranties of any kind will be hard to enact – but especially for something you have purchased in another country.
Truthfully we have been here for about four months and had yet to try it. We decided to take a crack at the jamaica ice recipe that inspired us to buy the thing – finally.
So we are clear jamaica blossoms are the flowers of a Hibiscus plant. Sometimes you will see it as jamaica (hibiscus) blossoms. It is said that the darker blossoms are preferred if you have a bin where you can select the blossoms.
The recipe is:
3 cups water, 2 cups jamaica blossoms, 1 cup sugar, a third of a cup of corn syrup; and three tablespoons of lime. Simple really!
Mix this all together and simmer for about a half hour. Then let this sit for a couple of hours. After strain the blossom carcassesfrom the liquid syrup. The new frozen yogurt, sorbet and ice cream maker has a drum that you will keep in the freezer until moments like these. Assemble the drum in the housing and pour the Jamaica liquid in the drum.
We let it run for about 35 minutes. It should nearly double in volume and lighten in color; and of course have the consistency of soft sorbet or ice cream. Transfer this into a bowl you can cover and freeze for about 2 hours (no less – be patient).
If you want to dress up the already beautiful colored desert, top with a couple mint leaves – then you will have the $6.95US Rick Bayless Frontera Grill version. It tastes simply divine!
On a personal note the Calypso Couple is celebrating their 20th anniversary of marital bliss. It has indeed been that. I count myself among the very lucky in the romance department. This will be my last recipe of the year – hope you try it. Stay Tuned!
I really like writing a Blog. Some of you may know that this Blog is posted on GlobalPost (for the link to GlobalPost see upper right hand corner or the bottom of this page or on the logo below).
Steve over at ‘same life — new location‘ wrote an entry about reaching the 100,000 visits mark since April of 2008, an accomplishment for a relatively young Blogging upstart and deservedly so for a well written Blog.
Blowing my own horn this Blog has attracted over 300,000 visits in the last year; close to a third of a million visits. This is not taking into account any viewers that read this Blog on GlobalPost. I have no way of knowing as my Blog, text and photos, is captured and reproduced on their servers.
Please note: I am not suggesting I write a better Blog than my friend Steve. Blogs grow (or they die) and Steve’s hasn’t been at it nearly as long as this one. As he points out his is growing and rightly so.
There are four writers whose Blogs, mine included, appear in the Mexico section of GlobalPost News. I am humbled by the talented writers of the other three Blogs.
In GlobalPosts words: “Mexico News [on] GlobalPost is an authoritative new platform for Mexico news. Our correspondents travel throughout the country to unearth the facts about America’s southern neighbor. Gain ground-level perspectives on current Mexican news matters including the drug trade, tourism and the country’s complex relationship with the United States.”
I should mention that each entry they use of this Blog appears on their national news front page for a time as well.
I use to write a Blog daily. I wrote a while back that for this Blog I had written the equivalent of seven average sized books (about 77,000 words for an average book).
Last February this Blog started appearing on GlobalPost, at their inception. I began reducing my output as GlobalPost was looking for an entry or two a week rather than daily posts. I reduced my output primarily because my entries on Global Post were losing continuity since some posts were being missed due to their less frequent release of Blog entries.
For the writers whose Blogs appear on GlobalPost John Wilpers is the jefe (boss) at GlobalPost. His staff reached out to find this Blog and he has subsequently become my contact with GlobalPost.
If you write a Blog I strongly suggest you add his Blog to your reading list. John is a long time career newspaper man. He has great wisdom about how Blogs relate, effect and should be written to interface with the news media.In fact he provides good tips for creating an interesting Blog generally.
That brings me to a complaint. I don’t complain often (those of you that have been reading along dummy up!). My entries have not found comfort on GlobalPost. My entry from last Monday appears in today’s Sunday GlobalPost. The one written prior to this entry was released Thursday night. The entry you are reading now will appear next on the GlobalPost site missing the prior post completely (and it was a good one I thought).
I commented on Señor Wilper’s Blog mentioning that we have discussed the issue of when GlobalPost releases Blog entries, however to date I have not been supplied with a schedule or a rhyme or reason for how they post entries. It is obvious GlobalPost is a world news magazine. It is not daily world news. All still I would like the entries of my Blog to appear with continuity on Global Post, and I am willing to release my entries to accommodate their schedule.
I am hoping that my feelings will reach someone at GlobalPost who can help their Bloggers become a better part of their news service. I should add in closing that they are a terrific source of grounded information; less propaganda and more thought provoking news than most news sources. I am proud to be part of them. If you haven’t seen it click from my link. Also consider their Passport option (not to be confused with the often written about passport issues as relating to Mexico
So GlobalPost – are you listening? Sorry your readers missed my last entry. They will just have to go to my Blog to find it (look for GOTO SITE link). For the rest of you I will be back on the Mexico track next entry. I promise – so Stay Tuned!
Friday September 25th 2009, 9:21 am
Filed under: General,Mexico
What is the deal with Mexicans and light fixtures? Everywhere I turn in Mexico there is a bare bulb staring me in the face. It is so common to see a pair of wires hanging from the ceiling with a socketed bare light bulb that when you see an actual light fixture it is shocking.
We have taken quarters in town while we remodel the Calypso Casita. Our new town house is lovely, charming and has at least one hanging bulb in every room.
Notice the hanging front porch light in an otherwise charming entrance. (Enlarge Here)
We took possession a couple days ago. First order of business for upstanding environmentalists is to change any and all incandescent bulbs out for conpact fluorescent lights or even the newer LED bulbs. Having lived for the last five years in stark lighting conditions I had forgotten just how many light bulbs there are in an average two bedroom, one and a half bath home – yikes. People have at least taken the Bible line “Let there be light” seriously.
Armed with several 8 packs of compact fluorescent bulbs and the last two of my three pak of LED bulbs we headed off to the new digs.
There are a lot of recessed lights in the new Calypso rental. There we find those strange little bright ‘bulbs’ that plug in – you know those small tensor halogen squeezed glass type bulbs. I have yet to discover how many watts they draw but they run hot and replacements are expensive.
Even with the rather upscale recessed light every room has at least one hanging wire bare light bulb as well as out of doors on the patios. Why oh why do they not see this as incomplete construction?
I should add that many of the recessed lights need bulb replacing. Consider yourself lucky if you even get light bulbs in a newly rented Mexican casa.
We have stayed in many hotels in Mexico, even brand new hotels, replete with wire hanging bare light bulbs. Here is a tip in that regard by the way: In your out of the ordinary items to carry when traveling in Mexico, include one of those standard light bulb adapters that provides a plug in the lamp socket.
We have stayed in some Mexican motels that have no electrical sockets. This and a light duty extension cord can get your laptop, electric razor, or possible even a hair dryer going; the hair dryer may bring the motels power grid down however. You can tell the Calypso’s don’t always travel first class.
I ran out of compact fluorescent bulbs. I mean there are a LOT of light fixtures in this two story abode. Anita is talking Chinese lantern type covers for the hanging bare bulbs. I don’t need a fortune cookie to see a lot of those paper globes in my future. Stay Tuned!
Upon returning from the United States to our home in Mexico the first order of business is to put into play the many items purchased. Each visit includes the gathering of things to make life more comfortable south of the border; or dare I write life more north of the border like.
Some of these enhancements are things that have yet to reach the south of the border shores. We are still buying and bringing down color corrected compact fluorescent light bulbs for example.
Five years ago I assumed Mexico was the recipient of all those unwanted and unsold stark white CF bulbs; and further that here in Mexico we would not see the new color corrected versions until the stark white supply was exhausted. Mexico being the refuse center for the U.S.A.’s dated technology.
Now five years hence I still see almost all CF bulbs in Mexico white; stark, brutish, green casting, and inelegant, albeit power savers. Surely the supply of unwanted bulbs would have run out? The truth my friends remains unanswered.
But a new twist and better idea is on the horizon – the LED light bulb. Oh they have been around and by now most have heard of them. They have virtually replaced any other bulb technology in the flashlight market place in the U.S.
On one of our shopping sojourns in the U.S. I spotted them; a blister pack of three round globe LED light bulbs that would accommodate a common light socket. Be still my heart. If you have been around here anytime at all you know we are environmentalist types. This kind of thing just gets my juices flowing – OK I know just a light bulb but….
The price tag was steep; fifteen U.S. dollars plus tax for three 40 watt lights bulbs. I held a package in my hands, thought ouch that is a lot of money. I looked to Anita and said in my best whining voice, “I just have to have these. I know they are expensive. But I have to have them.” Into the shopping cart they went.
I removed the bulbs from the large blister pack and tossed them in a catch all box for the trip home. They were not an issue crossing the border – nothing was this trip.
O.K. I am home with some new state-of-the-art technology light bulbs. I installed one near my desk where I work with the computer.
The light emitted was warm enough, technically rated at 30k. In layman’s terms the color is warmer than stark white – very pleasant really. But, the lumens (or light brilliance output) were far lower than I would expect from a 40 watt light bulb – huh?
Truth in advertising – oh my.
The package actually reads that these bulbs will replace a 40 watt bulb. Here we have to assume the clever market people meant it would fit in a 40 watt equivalent standard light bulb socket; not that it would produce the equivalent light (lumens) of a 40 watt bulb – deceitful is a kind description here.
That said the color of the bulb is pleasant, the lumens seems to be equivalent to a 25 watt incandescent bulb although the light source is more directional.
I read complaints about premature failures. I just got ours lit up so I have no comment or comparison there. They should last ten years with average use. I will get back to you on that – stay tuned.
We started using compact fluorescent bulbs when they were fifteen dollars each. They were heavy and did not fit in most ‘standard’ light fixtures. They produced about 60 watts equivalency while using 13 watts. These LED bulbs use 1.5 watts while supplying 25 watts equivalence.
One pleasant aspect of the bulbs is they operate completely cool – they give off little if any heat. As a replacement in a refrigerator they will help reduce cooling costs as well as when used in rooms that need to be cooled down with air conditioning or evaporative coolers.
For the last few years we have been enjoying LED flash lights and even a LED Coleman lantern. Battery life is incredible and they work as advertised.
We are once again pioneering. Reading on the Internet the opinions of users I was reminded of the kinds of responses made when compact fluorescent bulbs first came on the scene. I predict that the LED light bulbs will one day be very much the standard. They are or soon will be a good thing. Stay Tuned!
