Keeping in touch with Jim

When I was a kid my mom never made a big deal about Memorial Day so I never gave it much thought until a few years ago. My mother didn't work for a big company so she never had paid holidays (she was a vocalist/singer). We didn't have any family who died in the wars especially since her family was of the Salvation Army not the military. So, when my birthday rolled around and I was usually disappointed that more kids didn't come and didn't understand that it was mostly because it was always on or very near Memorial Day and that their families were observing that occasion. Even when I became an adult the same thing would happen and for years I took it personally (bad attitude). So, after my 50th birthday I decided to celebrate just once every decade. My 60th birthday observance was a crazy 10k scramble up the black diamond ski run at White Pass, WA. great fun. But now I am living in Mexico with the love of my life and here they won't let a birthday go by unnoticed ...

I never got to meet my father's father because Grandpa Lon Walls died in 1939, seven years before I was born. My mother's father, Grandpa Fox was a huge, positive influence on my life and I hold his memory near and dear to my heart. Great grandfather John Fox died in 1931 so I never got to meet any of my great grandfathers but while studying our family through genealogy research I feel that I know at least something of their lives. Great, great grandfather Walls was named Zachariah and I believe he was born in Virginia about 1799, but I haven't been able to confirm that as yet. He raised his family in Nicholas County, Kentucky in the early 1800's. His last child, of the 13 I have found, was great grandpa Edgar, born 1852. The family made their way from Kentucky to central Missouri where Edgar married Sophronia Woody. They continued their migration into west Missouri and grandfather Alonzo (Lon) Walls was born in Butler, Bates County, Missouri in August of 1881. The fa...

Things have been very busy in my little and my mind has been occupied with the excitement of Kris and Amanda expecting their first child, so I overlooked the renewal of my "resident visa" by 3 days. Ouch. That's a $100 usd fine and I was told that I had 20 days to leave the country (in order to get a new visa). The very next day my great grandson Lucas Sky Walls was born so I bought a ticket for a flight to Portland. I will have to start the visa process all over again but, as always, I'm sure there is a reason for it.

Today I wanted to get a price for a project I'm working on so I took my measurements and found that I needed about 30 meters (100 feet) of screen. I went to the ferretería (hardware store) and asked "How much for 30 meters of screen?" The answer I received was 150 pesos per kilo.....? "Kilo?" I asked. "Si señor".  My next natural question was "How many meters are in a kilo?" He said " Oh, I don't know. Maybe 3 1/2 or 4."      So.......taking the cautious approach I calculated 30 meters at 3 1/2 meters per kilo and said "I would like to buy 8 1/2 kilos of screen please." Right? Wrong!  I need have them cut the 30 meters of screen, then they weigh it and then, and only then, do you know what the price is. Funny or frustrating .... we all get to choose. Right now I'm reading Mark Twain's book Following The Equator which is the story of his trip around the world. Before this I read another of his books Rough...

Late this afternoon we took a local bus up the hill on the north side of Zihuatanejo to introduce the small community to the Sala de Lectura (Reading Room) that we have most every Saturday from 11:00 to 1:30 or 2:00.  There were about 10 women there who had just finished an exercise class and some had their children with them. Ivone introduced the program and we laid out about 25 books for them to enjoy. It is our hope to bring more children to the joy of reading and I hope that soon we will have a few more kids interested in learning more English.

The War Prayer by Mark Twain It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching...

Ah yes, the weather. Two weeks ago, while visiting friends and family in Oregon/Washington, I was treated to several days of very nice, sunny, spring-like weather. However just before I left it quickly turned cold, cloudy, windy and rainy which was the reminder I needed of why I left the Great North-Wet for the warmer climes of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Upon my return I was treated to two weeks of cooler than normal temperatures for this time of year which was a nice transition. Most days were in the mid 80's with a cool breeze out of the northwest and nighttime temps were about 70. But now it's back to "normal" and tomorrow will be about 88 and sunny and the rest of the week looks about the same with the exception of Wednesday that looks to be about 90. So, as the saying goes "Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it." and I'm not going to try to change a thing. I'm loving life in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

I am a Vietnam veteran and I have used many different weapons: .38 caliber Smith and Wesson combat masterpiece, M-2 rifle, M-16 rifle, M-79 grenade launcher, .30 caliber machine gun and riot control shotgun. Today, I own no weapons and am not interested in doing so. That is my personal choice. For those who want to own weapons that is their choice, and as long as they are responsible gun owners I support them in their decision. I do not believe that gun control as it is now being debated is the answer to the problems that have been widely reported by the international media. As many people have said "Criminals don't obey the law so the law is not going to stop them." I believe that nothing is going to stop the people who want to use guns to harm or threaten others. Since we can't stop them what do we do? My suggestion is straight froward: Make the punishment so severe that some people will think twice about how they use a gun. And for those who don't think abou...

It's time for another trip back to visit friends and family in the great north-wet. The weather looks promising for the first week (25th to 30th) and I hope that the change will be good for my inner balance. There is not a lot that I miss about Oregon except family and friends but I am looking forward to enjoying some non-Mexican delights.

After a good breakfast I took a long walk on the beach called Madera. It is only about a quarter mile long but four laps is a good way to get some sun and think. So this morning I let my mind wander to some recent photos that I have taken around town with my cell phone camera and decided to post them just for fun. Neurotics anonymous - Goodwill movement 24 hours Just one of the new Sex Shops in town.

It was supposed to be a quick, 10 hour,450 mile, round trip to Morelia to get a new compressor for Ivone's dental office. I wanted us to take the bus but Ivone wanted to have her brother-in-law Agustín drive us in his pickup. The bus has comfortable seats, air conditioning, and entertainment. Agustín's truck has none of the aforementioned. Bus cost for two round trip tickets about $120. Gasoline, tolls and extras for the truck about the same. However ....  Map We left Zihuatanejo with Agustín at about 8am on Friday and we were constantly concerned about his driving because he drives very fast and basically "crazy". We were only about 2 hours into the trip (just through the Sierra Madre del Sur see photo above) when the truck started overheating. My first thought was "He should have checked the water before we left.". We got out to identify the problem and that's when I found out that we had no extra water and the radiator was holding nothing but stea...

Today we visited the Museum of Cultures.  The first exhibit was Columbian gold and pottery (pre-hispanic) and the displays were excellent and well lit.          The next area was Asian art with some Alaskan totems, masks and other items. Then came the Mediterranean/Greek/Egyptian area with lots and lots of statues and other artifacts. We spent about 3 hours enjoying the museum and we can highly recommend it to all.

About 25 miles north of Mexico City is town of Tepotzotlán. On Sunday we (Me, Ivone, Andrea and cousin Fernanda) took the city bus to where the old train station used to be on the north side of Mexico City. It is now a huge shopping mall about half the size of Clackamas Town Center and the new light rail station, which runs north out of Mexico City, is right inside the mall. We had coffee and pastries then boarded the light rail to the Lecheria Station (there's a joke it there). Then we took a local mini bus to the museum/monastery in Tepotzotlán.  The park area around the museum had the flavor of Saturday Market in Portland. We enjoyed a walk through the food and gift stands and then took in the museum. Lots of history of the Catholic church, the Spanish conquistadors and the local indigenous peoples. We had a wonderful visit and then made our way back by the same route. Just a note about the light rail station: there are places where you can charge your...