According to Mr. Conventional Wisdom, that notorious bullshit artist, happiness in life is an inexorable downward slide. We may be happy when young and carefree, when zits and sex are our main worries. Or perhaps during the 30s and 40s when we fall in love, buy a house and develop a career, and if we're …
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Dread of flying
On December 27 economist Alfred E. Kahn died. On that day, Stew and I also found ourselves trapped at Newark Airport--which had all but shut down because of a blizzard--cursing at airports, flying and particularly the dismal condition of airline passenger service. You can't blame Kahn for the weather, but I like to hold him …
Merry Christmas, Toto
Even after five years in Mexico, I regularly get that "we're not in Kansas anymore" feeling of awe about living here. It's particularly so around Christmas time. A week ago we went to the market to get some vegetables and had to walk several blocks through the center of town, working our way through a …
Tales of Two Mexicos
During the past week we received two articles about Mexico that reminded me of those trick drawings in which one person claims to see a sketch of a haggard old woman while someone else insists it's a picture of a beautiful young girl. Both readings are correct: The difference depends on your point of view …
Oh, Canada!
Months after the crash of the American satellite TV system that left thousands of American expats in San Miguel staring at a blank screen--or resorting to desperate measures like reading books or talking to their partners--some are still pondering whether to sign up with SHAW, the Canadian TV satellite. Those undecideds seem apprehensive and keep …
Fall awakening
The rainy season embraced us more than two months ago and it feels as if she won't let go. According to a local website, San Miguel gets about 22 inches of rain yearly but by the end of August we had already received a little more than that. Surely skewing the yearly average were the …
Somewhat sleepless in San Miguel
Last week yet another e-mail arrived, this one from my former boss in Chicago, inquiring how we were holding up amid all the violence and bloodshed reportedly wracking Mexico. I'd like to reply that, ha-ha, except for the bother of having to wear bulletproof vests and helmets every time we drive to the grocery store, …
The life and world of Chupitos
I'm convinced that the life of Chupitos--the dog--got off on the wrong paw when one of her previous owners gave her that name. Chupitos--the human--is a popular comedic character on Mexican TV whose schtick is her disheveled appearance, drunkenness, toothlessness and vulgarity. The human Chupitos is gross. The comedian told an interviewer that an alcoholic …
Smut is in the eye of the beholder
The identity of the disgusting growths that afflicted my first crop of sweet corn came not from a tome about plant diseases but from a cookbook, Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen, which even suggests how to use the stuff in crepes, with fava beans in a soup and in tacos. It turns out that what American …
Midseason agricultural report
After three months of hot, dusty and dry summer days, with noon temperatures often in the low 90s, sometime in June we glided into spring, with cool temperatures, down into the 50s at night, and fairly regular rains. So this year we've gone from a clammy, unusually rainy winter, right into summer and now back …
El Rancho Santa Clara 