What to do when nasty rumorssuddenly come true? Recently I've received news of outbreaks of San Miguelophobia, particularly in the picturesque mountain town of Pátzcuaro, where the sun goes up and down every day, and in the heavily air-conditioned Pacific Coast resort of Barra de Navidad, where in August even iguanas wear sun protection. There might …
Author: Alfredo Lanier
My husband and I live on an off-the-grid ranch outside San Miguel, along with the challenging but dear company of four off-the-street dogs and three cats. My interests lie in politics, writing, photography and sundry forms of spirituality.
From sere to jungly in two weeks
It's time to plant now that the rains have finally arrived As Saturday Night Live's premier journalist Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, "It just goes to show you, if it's not one thing it's another." A month ago the ranch was tumbleweed-dry, the levels of the rainwater in the cisterns had dropped down to eighteen inches and brush …
What fuels Trump's high approval ratings?
His approval rating is 35 percent or so. It ought to be closer to zero.The blow-up over the weekend regarding Donald Trump Jr. and his apparent encouragement of Russian operatives to meddle in the U.S. election—I love it!, he exclaimed—is amazing on a couple of levels.Little Don must be stupider than a sack of manure. How …
In Mexico, in No One we trust
Capitalism requires trust among the players. Maybe that's why it doesn't work so well in Mexico.Two-and-a-half years ago we got the notion to apply for an ATM card from Interbank, a mutant of Intercam, the financial organization where we'd kept our money for close to ten years. We talked to Victor, a bespectacled bank clerk and lone …
The Shirelles meet Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Mama said there'll be days like this,There'll be days like this, mama said."Monday, if I recall correctly, started out sunny. We had breakfast and I went on to my newly found routine of sitting on the back terrace, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the sunrise. As I listened to my favorite classical music …
Regime change in our beehives
Despite bad weather and nervous handlers,two new queen bees are now buzzing in our hivesLast week Felix and Stew set out to replace the queen bees in two of our three hives, a tricky ritual even during optimal conditions—bright sun and warm weather—that became trickier during the torrential rains we've been having for several days.Our …
What should churches do about death?
People keep dying around us. One here, one there, or if not dead, seriously ill.We received our latest death notice one evening earlier this week, while watching TV: One of our oldest friends in San Miguel had died Tuesday afternoon at the hands an implacable posse of cancers and other ailments that had tormented her …
Invitation to a shooting
Americans who buy guns to feel safemay be their own worst enemiesMy 67-year-old brother-in-law Greg is a model gun owner. He's trained in the proper use of a gun and has a concealed-carry permit as well as other licenses.He says he needs his small arsenal for personal protection, though I'm not sure from whom.During the …
An anniversary to remember
Looking back on a relationship many said shouldn't beOn June 20 Stew and I celebrated our forty-fifth anniversary. That's four decades plus five more years that we have been together. It's been quite a run for a relationship that initially was condemned by preachers, ignored by legislators and scorned by most everyone else, as if the …
Blessings from Chairman Trump
If you want to keep your job,just keep reciting your blessingsAmong the flood of bizarre moments to come out of the Trump White House, yesterday's photo of the first full cabinet meeting, and the story behind it, really stand out. The subject of the meeting, which could have been "Hosanna to the Chief!", began with …
El Rancho Santa Clara 