Today's Thoughts

Today I went in to brush my teeth. I noticed that I hadn't taken my pills so I grabbed them. There was no water to drink with the pills so I went out and poured some water. I spilled a bit so I wiped it up and then used to paper towel to wipe down the wall decorations and the TV, ending with the counter. Then walking back to the bathroom I noticed some dirt on the floor so I swept the entire casa. While picking up the dirt I noticed that I needed to sweep the entryway and the balcony. So I did that.  Once I finished I walked back in and looked around, strengthened a few thing and then brushed my teeth.

Lines in Mexico – They are always long and there is no concept of “next”!

                Example uno – Linda and I needed to check on something at the local bank. We walked in and noticed that they were using a electronic number system. We took our number, 164. We sat down and noticed that the display control showed #160. OK four people in front of us. During our 45 minutes of waiting, three people walked in and took numbers. Three others walked in and walked up to the first open teller they saw.  The tellers were pushing the controller button and addressing the needs of the people who walked up to the window. The number tag meant nothing. This meant that each time the teller thought they were following the number system they were actually increasing the number on the display, but not dealing with the person who corresponded to the number displayed. This went on until the number on the display said 169 but they were actually dealing with #162. The place was utter chaos!

                Example dos – At the local store you can be standing in line and a person who only has three items will walk up and put money on the counter and get service, leaving you standing in the line smiling. I had this happen today twice. At the drug store I was standing politely in line behind a lady when another lady walked up with a soda and cut me off paying and walking away. It was so obvious that the druggist smiled and shrugged.

Chairs – I have found that there are no comfortable chairs in Mexico. Chairs are plastic, woven fabric, hard wood or wood covered with hard bulky pillows that hurt your butt.  The Mexican people are used to sitting on curbs, cement stoops or nasty palm rounds; chairs are a luxury to them. Don’t get fooled by the woven fabric chairs, they are uncomfortable and then they leave an imprint on your posterior that lasts for two days. If I needed to make a million dollars I would find an inexpensive comfortable chair and import it into Mexico and sell it.

Last night we walked into town and ate dinner.  We ate at the tamale stand in front of the church across from the square.  I had two tamales and Linda had two also.  Two of these delicious items fill us up. It cost us 10 pesos per tamale. In US dollars that is $.60 per tamale. Our dinner cost us $2.40! I can’t think of a single place up north where we can eat and get full for less than $5.00, can you?