To people hunkered down in snowstorms and subzero weather up north, hearing someone living in ideally temperate San Miguel complain about the weather must sound like insufferable whining. Oh shut up! What do you know about cold or winter misery?Home for the next two weeks.Except memories are short and feelings about the weather are relative. …
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Should retirees be grateful to Trump?
A year into the Trump presidency the continued rise in the stock market—actually a continuation of a bull market and economic recovery that had begun under Obama—has fattened our retirement portfolio handsomely. And the Republican tax cuts—a wet kiss to corporate America—can't help but propel the continued rise in the stock market, and even the world …
And now, a short suspense story: How we liberated our pickup from the San Miguel auto pound
On Dec. 10, our trusty 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup was in a head-on collision with another pickup. On a scale of one to ten, this mishap scored a four or about the equivalent of a broken nose. It's all fixable and fortunately there were no serious injuries thanks to the sturdy burro bumper on the …
Trump revives memories of my "shithole" country
My trip to Cuba with my husband Stew in 2013 in large part was a pilgrimage to try to reconstruct my childhood, abruptly interrupted in 1962 when, at age fourteen, I had been shipped off to Miami with thousands of other children, presumably to save us from the communist apocalypse about to engulf the island.What …
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Why is Sarah Huckabee perpetually outraged?
While walking the dogs this morning my hubby Stew, who also functions as unsalaried political analyst and ace chef, made an astute observation: "That woman Sarah Huckabee seems to be perpetually outraged about something."Stew's right. Sarah seems to wake up outraged before she slides into outright disgust as the day wears on.Worse still, the rest …
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The melting pot is alive and well in New York City
The very thing that Stew and I love about big cities, and New York in particular, is their heady diversity. Entering such places feels as exciting, and revealing, as diving into a sea teeming with all sorts of creatures you've not quite familiar with. Yet it's precisely that diversity, all those differences, that so many …
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On turning 70, gratefully
Sandwiched between Christmas and New Year's, my birthday on December 30 traditionally has been half-forgotten but not this year, when I will hit the big Seven-Oh. Birthdays that end in zero are usually met with anticipation; they mark a passage to a new stage in life. When we turn twenty, college graduation and the beginning of a career—even …
A few words about the meaning of religion
This morning Stew and I attended a service of the Unitarian Fellowship in San Miguel. We don't attend Unitarian services regularly but were attracted by a program of beautiful Christmas music performed by four very talented local artists. Sandwiched in between the music we read the following reflection about the meaning of religion that seemed particularly …
San Miguel's roadside Michelangelo
Probably because I don't know much about art or artistic techniques, I've always thought of sculpture as the pinnacle of artistic expression. It certainly seems the most difficult to execute.Paint brushes bend and you can always paint over your mistakes or whatever you feel didn't come out just right. Leonardo did that often with many …
Nine reasons why the cold wave that grips San Miguel doesn't bother me that much
To hear folks in San Miguel groan and kvetch about the cold snap during the past several days you'd think we were at the dawn of a new Ice Age.Our cleaning lady showed up Monday seemingly mummified under numerous layers one of which might have been a blanket.The follicly challenged visiting minister at our church …
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El Rancho Santa Clara 