Once upon a time, say, 400 or 500 years ago, oaks—encinos—and other large trees, were said to grow on the mountains that punctuate the horizon surrounding our ranch, and on the nearby valleys. As the tops of the oaks reached for the clouds their roots dug deep into the ground to keep both the trees …
Continue reading Our campaign to restore a sliver of Mexico's nature
Stew and I watch the Oscars, a day or two after they actually take place, with the invaluable aid of a recording machine that allows us to zoom past commercials, logorrheic acceptance speeches, clips of movies we've already seen and other time-wasters, and effectively condense the three-hour marathon of self-indulgence into a more bearable package, one …
Continue reading A giant step for Mexico's little brown people? Hold that applause.
Six months ago I was diagnosed with crepitus, an annoying but hardly fatal ailment. Perhaps because of arthritis, the vertebrae in my neck crick and crack, and as a result, muscles on the right side get sore. This should not be confused with decrepitus, at my age a far more widespread and insidious problem, particularly …
Continue reading My date with Lupita, the beachfront masseuse
The six-month legal battle to keep someone from stealing a strip of land in front our ranch has been instructive. It's taught us patience, that legal wrangles take time to resolve anywhere, and that pulling out your hair in desperation while waiting for a resolution is only going to get you bald spots. Also, it's …
Early Tuesday morning, in front of a small abandoned building on the road to the town of Jalpa, a kilometer in from the junction with the highway between San Miguel and Querétaro, and four kilometers from our ranch, two bodies were found, one hogtied and neatly bundled in a blanket, mummy-like, and the other more …
I suspect some of the attendees at the lecture last week by Francisco Cantú, author of "The Line Becomes a River," a memoir of his four years as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, may have left the packed auditorium, at the Centro de Bellas Artes, somewhat disappointed.They may have expected a more evangelical presentation about …
Some jealous expats, stranded in outlying parts of Mexico, regularly hiss, scoff, snort and make other unpleasant noises at the mention of San Miguel, dismissing it as a Disneyfied space station, any more lacking any feel of the "real Mexico," whatever that is.There's some truth to that. As a result of San Miguel's explosive, and …
Retired people have a lot of time and tend to compare worries with one another, mostly so they can worry some more. Among the local retirees, I'd say healthcare is at the top of the worry list, as in who-died-from-what, and who is the best doctor for whatever ails someone. That's followed by money concerns, …
Continue reading Is it time to worry about San Miguel's air quality?
When Stew and I left for San Antonio about ten days ago, trepidation was in the air and in our minds. San Miguel's gringo babblesphere buzzed with reports of severe gas shortages throughout Mexico, heightened security problems on the highways, and delays of up to twelve hours at border crossings in Laredo, the latter caused by …
Continue reading Local gas shortages just a symptom of what ails Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly
Crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S., about a week ago, we found each country facing crises caused in large part by the male bravado and arrogance of its leader.When Donald Trump, in 2015, announced what at the time seemed like a hopeless bid for the presidency, he vowed to build a concrete wall …
Continue reading When the male ego clouds the judgment of political leaders
El Rancho Santa Clara 