Keeping in touch with Jim

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...

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. ...