Friday, July 3, 2015

Morning Thoughts


Another rainy and grey morning in Ajijic. But lately the sun has been coming out around ten am and it has been pretty the rest of the day. Then in the evening it clouds up again. It often rains all night. I am getting used to it now. It took awhile because I was spoiled with the rest of the year being so nice. I do like the low season where the town is quiet and few cars are on the roads.

It is great to have my computer back and working. I don't know how long that will last but I am enjoying it for now. Sometimes that is all we can ask for, FOR NOW.....  For now I am happy. For now I am healthy. For now my computer is working. I think this attitude is very much a part of the Mexican philosophy. Mexican history is fraught with violence and tragedy.

I recently finished reading two books that were written in the 1940s by people living here then. They were neighbors and friends. One was by Dane Chandros titled House in the Sun. He ran an inn in Ajijic. I think it is the Old Posada by the water. The other is by Neill James titled Dust on My Heart. She lived behind the Old Posada where the LSC grounds are now. She actually started the Lake Chapala Society. She lived to be almost a hundred years old. She traveled all over the world and lived in huts with poor people. She even slept in the snow. What an inspiration.

 House in the Sun is about all the problems of running an inn here and Neill James wrote about traveling to the poorest areas in Mexico. One chapter is titled, Ten Dollars A Year. That is how much the people in one area in Mexico, not far from here, made in one year. And the tax man was always there to take his share whenever any money was exchanged.

These books were interesting to me since I live here. Things were so different back then and also the same. The poverty is still here although not as bad. The attitudes of the Mexicans about time and work and money are the same. The beauty of this area is still here.  The heat and humidity during the rainy season is the same. Some things are timeless..........

Reading is a good thing to do on these overcast mornings and rainy nights. 

10 comments:

  1. So glad that your computer is working again, Patricia, as I really enjoy reading your take living where you do. (I will try to get copies of the 2 books you mentioned as they sound really interesting.) Thanks for continuing to blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Dorgon for commenting. Both those books have been published again fairly recently. p

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like many others, I, too, am glad to see that you are writing again. When you had all the problems with your non-working computer and were frustrated with the clumsiness of the i-pad, you announced that you wanted to quit writing. While I could commiserate, selfishly, I wanted you to continue. Why? Because your pictures and writings are outstanding! Through you, I am able to vicariously live in Ajijic and whenever I have some free time I wander over here to see what's new in town.

    Cheers!
    Sylva

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Sylvia. Guess I will just have to keep this blog up. p

    ReplyDelete
  5. We would welcome some of that rain over our way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Steve, Good to hear from you. Wish I could send it on to you. It is so gloomy over here. p

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ordered both books through interlibrary loan here in Colorado. Always check out books/websites recommended in blogs I follow. Have enjoyed some really good reading I probably would never run across on my own. Come to think of it, that's how I found you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Kathie, You sound like a very creative person. Thanks for finding me and writing to me. p

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Patricia. Yes I think that "for now" is a good way of looking at things.
    I am glad to hear you are happy and healthy.
    Do you find your foot hurts if you walk alot on it?
    Cathy in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Cathy from Canada, Good to hear from you again and this time I won´t delete your message. Yes, my foot often hurts. But I walk anyway. Thank you for asking. p

    ReplyDelete