Two days ago I noticed a tiny blue sticker, about one-and-a-half inches long by three-quarters-of- an-inch high, on the right end of the rear bumper of our old Nissan Frontier pickup. On closer inspection I discovered it was a "Trump Make America Great Again" sticker. Before my cataract surgery a year ago, I probably wouldn't …
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Life in a state of corruption
Mexico will elect a new president on July 1. I confess to following the campaign about as closely as I'm following the general election in Turkey on June 24, which is not too closely.Even so, I've been impressed how the leading candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has lit up a populist brush fire by vowing …
Into South Africa (Part 3, The animals)
A few of my more suspicious friends have asked me if the animals we photographed, which seemed so cooperative, were cooped up in a special area for tourists to see; sedated so they wouldn't eat people; or so used to seeing tourists with cameras that they'd become essentially tame.None of the above. Kruger National Park is …
Into South Africa (Part 2, Getting there)
There are all sorts of safari packages available in Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and other countries. Ours was organized by the Rotary Club of Polokwane, a town on the northeastern corner of South Africa, as a fundraiser for a local school for blind children.The link between the Polokwane Rotarians and San Miguel de Allende …
Into South Africa (Part I, Photos)
Stew and I spent two weeks in South Africa a month ago, the first in Cape Town, the second on a safari at Kruger National Park and at adjacent game reserve. We came back with a batch of photographs that, if I may say so myself, were really nice. Along with the compliments, I've also been …
Alcoholism may have contributed to Bourdain's suicide. As a final tribute, we ought to find out.
Since his suicide in France two days ago, at age 61, there's been a torrent of well deserved tributes and retrospectives exploring Anthony Bourdain's amazing life and career except for one question: Did alcoholism contribute to his mental torments and untimely death?My husband and I became charter viewers of "Parts Unknown" since it premiered in …
Roseanne or Samantha? I pick neither
Just got back from a couple of weeks in South Africa, a vacation whose most relaxing aspect was being largely disconnected from the endless political skirmishes, conspiracies and name-calling back home. Most of the places we stayed at didn't even have working Wi-Fi. You just kept looking for zebras or leopards instead, which proved to …
Snapshots of a flash visit to Boston
The bell tower was as impressiveas Old South Church's history. For all its colonial charm and perfect climate, life in San Miguel can become claustrophobic and, hmm, even a bit of a snooze. A few days in big-city Boston last week were a welcome jolt, even if the reason for our visit was to attend a …
Reality spoils ending of my happy dog story
The story of Benji, the dog whose adoption by someone in the Centro we facilitated had a bittersweet ending, certainly not the one we expected.Still, it taught Stew and I how little we know about the ways of rural Mexico and also about the perils of hubris, that mythological Greek sin of arrogance—in this case how …
Continue reading Reality spoils ending of my happy dog story
Time finally came to bid goodbye to Paco
When he carefully laid Paco on the stainless steel examination table, Dr. Vázquez, almost in a whisper, said, "This is very difficult."I don't know if he meant for himself, us, or the emaciated cat we had brought in to be euthanized. In the end it was awfully hard for everyone.No one can accuse this gentle …
El Rancho Santa Clara 