Keeping in touch with Jim

So, last Wednesday I started feeling a cold coming on. No biggie. I have always handled that pretty well on my own. By Friday night I knew that I was dealing with the flu. Thank goodness Ivone knew of a doctor just a few blocks away who spoke English and was well respected in the community so first thing Saturday morning we walked to his office which was just three blocks from our place and we were seen within 5 minutes. His examination was unhurried and, I felt confident in his manner. He agreed that I was dealing with the flu and wrote a prescription and the cost for the visit was 400 pesos or about $30 at today's exchange rate. No forms to fill out, no need to show that I was "worthy" with an insurance card, just cash, a handshake and a very courteous "Thank you".  (I remember when I was a kid, it was more like that in the U.S.) We walked to the pharmacy which is just around the corner from our place and the 3 prescriptions was a total of 650 pesos or $50. ...

It may be that I am just too simple minded or maybe I am delusional but I see very clearly what others have made so very complicated. Issue - Sept 11th attack on the world trade center -  There is plenty of blame to go around from all directions but yet the one simple truth is that the blame lies with the airlines themselves. Ever since I was a teenager we have put up with airline hijackings and yet the airlines have never, ever secured the cockpit. I ask you WHY?  Here's a newsflash - On July 23, 1968, El Al (Israel) Flight 426 was hijacked. After that incident they secured the cockpits of all their airlines and to this day have not had one additional hijacking (That's 44 years folks). Blame the intelligence community, blame our immigration policy, blame the Islam extremists if you like, but I blame the airline companies.

Zihuatanejo - if this doesn't say it all then nothing will.

November 2010, sitting at my computer in the cold, damp climate of Oregon I finally decided to give Mexico a try. I purchased a plane ticket on line, packed my bag and set off on my next great adventure.It has been two years now and I have to tell you I am very happy, healthy and fortunate. I have found love, and a home here in Zihuatanejo. I have many friends and acquaintances. I can walk to the beach in less than 5 minutes. What else could a man ask for besides $1.50 beer at any local bar. Did I mention that I am happy? Well, in fact I am. I love this town.  I love the people. I love the woman who loves me and I love this life.

So, we were visiting Acapulco, where VW beetle taxi's are plentiful. Here is a photo out the window of our taxi and you can see three others in front of us. They are everywhere!!! The good laugh for me came when the song "Speedy Gonzales" came on the radio, the Spanish version, of course. So there we are in a "Tijuana Taxi singing Speedy Gonzales in both English and Spanish. What a hoot !!!

During the lightning storm last night I made over 200 exposures with my Nikon D-90 digital camera.  As I was sorting through the images and deleting the ones that I couldn't use I got to thinking about how it was when I first started.   My first camera was a Kodak Brownie box camera. It could produce 12 images on one roll of film. As I recall a roll of black and white film was about seventy-nine cents and processing was about $1.29.  My mother would get very frustrated with me when I would, in her words, "burn through a roll of film in less than a week".  To put that in perspective; bread was fifteen cents a loaf and gas was twenty-five cents a gallon. When I finished my 4 years in the U.S. Air Force I had graduated to a 35mm camera and of course film and processing costs had increased.  I was moving from hobby to professional status and shooting more film as I was learning my craft and the costs were taking a toll on my financial stability.  I remem...

For the last few nights we have had plenty of lightning activity all around us. Here are just a few of the photos I was able to capture.

When I first retired in 2008 my dream was to travel around the United States for a while to visit people and places and just experience the land we call North America. I did not enjoy the big cities with all the congestion but I did enjoy the distances in between. I remember some peaceful moments in the woodlands of Ontario, Canada as well as some time at the very end of Key West, Florida. But I found the most peaceful and restful locations to be in the southwest from Texas through New Mexico, Arizona and southern Utah. Most people would call it desolate or lonely but I found it beautiful and refreshing. The point of this musing is that I was reminded of it all when I listened to this song by Marty Robbins. Maybe you have heard it before, maybe not, but I encourage you to enjoy a few moments of peace here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsPKrw_TJ2U

Last night we had our first rooftop party to celebrate Independence day here in Mexico. It was a small gathering and everyone had a good time. From the north we could see fireworks at the fairground and to the south we were treated to a nice lightning storm over the Pacific.

I love making progress on projects.  Here are some photos showing the progress on the garden and rooftop. Sept 7 2011 - Downstairs will be a garden someday. End of Oct 2011 - Stage one - weed control and trash removal. Sept 14, 2012 - Finally taking shape and looking more like the garden we imagine. Upstairs - Sept 2011 - huge problem with leaks in the roof. Sept 2012 -   Satellite dish removed, cover is completed and the area is now livable.  All the leaks are sealed and the hammock is a wonderful place for an afternoon siesta  or an evening of chit-chat. There is still a lot of work to be done but we are both happy with the progress.

We are very fortunate to have avoided any major problems with hurricane Kristy but the storm surge has left a lot of debris on the beach. On our evening walk we enjoyed the cool breeze and the smell of salt spray in the air as well as a beautiful sunset (and yes, I forgot my camera). 

We have been fortunate to have avoided the worst of the hurricanes (for now) but we have sure had our share of rain and wind and it looks like another one is on it's way up the coast. These photos were taken from the second floor of our building. Most of the time the water drains off in an hour or two but it leaves behind the mud and other debris that washes down from the hills that surround Zihuatanejo. Oh well, that's life in the tropics.

We celebrated Ivone's mother's birthday this weekend with cake and food on Saturday and a trip to Barra de Potosi for food and some kayaking fun. Everyone had a wonderful time and with lots of laughs.

Thursday morning 9 am. Another perfect day in Zihuatanejo and a good morning to share breakfast with family and friends at the Club Intrawest Hotel overlooking La Ropa beach and the Zihuatanejo Bay. From Left to Right: Araceli (Laura's mom and Ivone's best friend) Andrea (Ivone's daughter) Laura (Andrea's best friend) Me Ivone

Another wonderful birthday here in Zihuatanejo. Ivone is a wonderful cook and my cake was delicious. 

Walking through the streets of central Zihuatanejo (Centro), it is interesting to see the variety of electrical mishaps, makeshifts and make-do's. Here are just a few photos:       And there are soooo many more. (Title is in reference to the 1948 Humphrey Bogart movie; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre  in which the line is actually:  " Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges."   I love that movie.

Dick Clark 1929 - 2012 Rest in peace All my life people have told me that I remind them of Dick Clark.  I always felt that was a compliment of the highest order.  He was a driving force in the music industry and an integral part of our generation.  We will miss him.