Sunday, July 17, 2016

Chihuahuas and Healing Asthma

Yesterday while I was resting on a bench in the plaza, a Mexican man came over to sit next to me. He talked to me for about an hour about his desperate life. He spoke perfect English. He said his parents taught it to him. They died in a car crash a few years ago. I felt so sad for him but his needs were too great for me to fulfill.  I just bought him something to eat. He told me a story that I am passing along here. The Mexicans have many unusual beliefs about ways to heal the body. This is the strangest belief I have ever heard. 

He said that when he was a little boy his parents bought him a chihuahua to sleep with him and be with him all the time. He said that the little chihuahua took away his asthma. It went into the dog's body and the dog coughed all the time but he no longer had asthma... It had gone into the dog. He said, All Mexicans know about this. He then turned to another Mexican man who was resting next to us and asked him if he knew about it. The man said NO, he knew nothing about that way of healing asthma.

I have not asked anyone else about this so called popular Mexican way of healing asthma. So maybe it was just part of his story that he was weaving for me on a quiet Saturday afternoon. It was a long, complicated and desperate story about getting deported from the States, having no money, his toe being cut off, (he took off his sock and showed me his foot with the missing toe) sleeping in a garage filled with scorpions, etc. His command of the English language gave him a real edge over other people asking for money and help. His needs were so great that I couldn't have fulfilled them. All I could do was buy him something to eat. I think that as an older American woman, I am an easy target for desperate people. Older women usually have money and even more important, Compassion... 

It was a sad story that he told me and when I left that bench I was feeling very appreciative of my good luck in life and also very guilty that I couldn't change his bad luck.  I hope that one day soon he can make his way back to his home where he said his little chihuahua is waiting for him, coughing with the asthma that he took away from him when he was a child. 

WAIT A MINUTE!!!  I have been played!!!  If that chihuahua was with him when he was a child and he is fifty years old now, that dog could not possibly still be alive and waiting for him!  That man is GOOD!  I am a sucker..... He almost talked me out of a thousand pesos for a bus ticket home, back to that little asthmatic dog.  I should add GULLIBLE to that list of qualities that older women have but maybe it is just me that is gullible.  My mother used to tell me that but it only made me angry. Now I know. She was right! I AM GULLIBLE......

12 comments:

  1. You're not the only one. About a year ago, a man was standing in front of El Torito with a clip board. He stopped my husband and started telling him how he was a veteran from the U.S. Army, but for some reason I don't remember, had been deported. He had a good, detailed story. He needed money to go somewhere, or to get a lawyer so something. He had a certain amount he was trying to get to. My husband gave him maybe 20 pesos, not the full amount he needed. He had excellent English too. We walked away talking about his story and wondering how true it was. A couple of days later, we saw him on the malecon telling some other gringos his story. We think it was a scam. You definitely did the right thing by buying him something to eat, rather than cash. But with his good English and outgoing personality, he would make a good salesman for a local company, rather than trying to scam people.

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  2. Hi Pat, very interesting story..... Thanks, p

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  3. I guess since I have lived all my live in a big city and my parents must have drummed into my head "don't talk to strangers" I find I don't talk to strangers very much. When I do, I always and glad that I did.

    Don't be so hard on yourself. If you could afford to buy him food why not? You didn't give him $100 or $1000 cash and put yourself in a bad way. I do agree that older women have compassion and unfortunately people do use it to their advantage.

    Cathy

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    1. Hi Cathy, good to hear from you. Thanks for your feedback. P

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  4. This guy had a good line and I likely would have done the same as you did. I've been snookered a few times that I know of and I'm sure more times that I never knew. That said, I'd rather be taken in once in a while than live life with a closed heart. I'm sure some of the people I've handed money to spent it on alcohol instead of food, or maybe they already had plenty in their pocket. I'm willing to take that chance in the hope that I can help someone in need. I have good work and loved ones and a safe roof over my head, which is more than many. I am truly grateful for my life. I hope that as the initial sting fades, your open heart will spring back into place. I enjoy reading your blog very much, and thank you for sharing the special, small moments of your days.

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  5. Another great way to look at it...better to be taken every once in awhile on a small con-- to keep you on your toes-- than to never have it happen, then have someone to eventually take you for BIG $$. At least next time you'll think-- "wait...is this BS?". Food for thought....

    JimS.
    Seattle

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    1. HI JimS, thanks for writing. You always have something interesting to say and this one is so true. It also made me laugh as I thought about the big cons I have been taken in through my years on earth. P

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  6. Oh I think it's a wonderful story he weaves! He's busking - and obviously he's a very talented storyteller. What a delightful way to while away a bit of time while sitting on a bench. I'd have smiled when he finished and thanked him for the tall tale so expertly enacted. While I wouldn't buy his "bus ticket", I would tip him for coming up with such an interesting and unique story - a tip for such a well-told tale. For having such a hard life it seems he's found something he's very good at that's a way to make a living. He's out there working, bless his heart.

    Barbara Lane

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    1. Hi Barbara, thank you for such a positive spin. P

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  7. I'm sorry that you got scammed out of a lunch. It's aggravating to feel taken advantage of. But, you did get a good story. Just so you know, I've always lived in Texas. And I have heard several times about the chihuahua cure for asthma. People will replace their chihuahuas when they pass away. So, maybe, just maybe, there was some truth in there? Hope you have a wonderful day!

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    1. That is amazing. Thank you for telling me. Poor Chihuahas. P

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