“My roommate says, I’m going to take a shower and shave, does anyone need to use the bathroom?  It’s like some weird quiz where he reveals the answer first.”  Mitch Hedberg, American Comedian

Okay, it’s not the most genteel topic but it is a reality folks, something like death and taxes.

We’re talking about life in a small village in Mexico.  It’s like the proverbial comment a minute depends upon which side of the bathroom door you are on.  Plumbing is an interesting experience anywhere and no less in Mexico.

In the time we have lived here we have taken great pride in the fact that we’ve been able to “fix” the commode several times by ourselves.  Well, in all honesty, David has fixed the toilet more times then he ever had back in the states….translated – he never had to fix the toilet in the states because we always called someone.  Now his favorite saying…among many….is “you too can deal with this”. 

There are times, I must admit, when we feel like we are so confused we don’t know whether to scratch our watches or wind our behinds.  This is yet another example of just such an occasion.  Knowing who to call, we looked up a plumber in the El Ojo Del Lago (English speaking paper…believe it or not), is extremely important.  Another item that is important is being able to say toilet in Spanish (inodoro) before you pick up the phone.

We look at our lives as an adventure.  We deal with our lives with as much humor as we can muster under any given circumstance.  Humor is our friend.  We not only enjoy looking at things through rose colored glasses but we also have great fun watching our charming Mexican friends smile broadly and with GREAT patience listen as we try to explain ourselves in our broken Spanish.  Believe it or not, we have not run into a single National who has become irritated or frustrated by our inability to pronounce Spanish words correctly.  Most times, like when we signed up for a Costco card yesterday, people jump in and help us with our pronunciation.  They laugh with us as we stumble through repeating what they’ve said with our American pronunciations in full bloom.

We have decided to post the sign “Use Some, Flush It” (utilice algunos, lo tire) in both the main bathroom and the guest bathroom to remind us of same.  Let’s face it we’re both “remember” challenged often finding ourselves in one room or the other in the house wondering how we got there and for what purpose.  This sign will help us remember what to do in our bathroom (cuarto de bano)…so to speak.  Viva Mexico!!

Below is a picture of our new friend, Senior Armando Marquez, hard at work rescuing us from our over indulgences.  I’m also including some great photographs David took over the past week that have nothing to do with today’s topic….thank goodness.

Senior Armando Marquez

Great new poster David created.

How'd that iguana get in there?

Great color.

“I’ve had lots of kids come up and ask for my autograph, I’ve had a grandmother stop me and ask me if I know a good place to buy underwear.”
Prince William – I think we all know who he is.

I have had a simple idiomatic belief since my mother took me to a department store to purchase my first training bra that you must try it on for a correct fit.  It is quite obvious you can’t put a square peg into a round hole. Let me lapse into comment here….I have absolutely no idea what a training bra was supposed to train anything to do – however that is what they were called.

The pictures below are of the bra and panty display at the …yes you guessed it folks… Wednesday market.  I seem to be stuck on this theme. It is chock full of so many blog possibilities I simply can’t let them pass by.  Please bear with me for a little longer.

As you will see by the pictures, there is a vast display of both colorful bras and panties.  It also appears they have a wide selection of sizes in both forms of underwear.  Prince William should know about this place!

Most of us have heard the colloquialism – don’t wear dirty or ripped underwear when you go out just in case you are involved in an accident – or something to that affect.  With that in mind, I decided to check out this marvelous display.

The ladies manning the booth are not the older ladies I remember from my first visit to the “foundation” department of our local Gimbels department store.  These ladies ALWAYS had a tape measure around their respective necks (sort of like doctors and nurses with their stethoscopes) ready to embarrass you immensely by measuring you right there in the middle of the already embarrassing bra display.  Nor are these ladies the Victoria Secret sales women who point to clear plastic bins with your size marked in bold lettering.  Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a bin marked “training bras”.  They must call them something different now?  Perhaps the Wonder Bra…I wonder what size I’ll be next time I shop?  Sorry, I digress.

The ladies behind the Wednesday market table smile broadly, nod their heads and gesture encouragingly.  I plunged in.  Panty sizes are pretty stable – even if our butts aren’t.  Bra sizes vary constantly…I’m not sure why.  Add to this the fact that quite a few people chuckle as they pass this display and, if you are the person rummaging through multi-cup size bras you are instantly reminded…at least I am….of the embarrassment of my initial bra shopping years.  Oh heck, I’ve not met a woman alive that truly enjoys bra shopping anywhere.

I finally find what I think might be my size and look up to see a woman standing next to me with a bra around the correct area of her body on the outside of her blouse.  Being a rather tall lady, my eye level was directly in line with her bra placement.  Trying to fit things into a bra with clothing added and flapping her arms wildly, she looked like she was either a Madonna “wanna be” or – heaven forbid – someone trying to stuff her bra with her blouse instead of the tried and true Kleenex of yesteryears.  Red faced and oddly out of breath, she explained…I thought this was the Magic Bra…you know, the one where you flap you arms and the bra inflates?  I guess this isn’t going to work and moved on.  I’m sure my mouth was still open as I quickly put the bra I had picked up back on the pile and followed her lead.  I think I’ll wait until we figure out how to find underwear in Guadalajara.  Please enjoy David’s pictures of this great yet daunting display.

The Bras

The Panties

More Bras

I think David was really getting the "feel" of these shots!

The dressmaker in the next booth. I heard her exclaim as I passed by; "no dull moment" with a smile. Shopping should be this much fun in the States!

“In general, my children refused to eat anything that hadn’t danced on TV.”  Erma Bombeck, American Humorist

Last evening our Internet service went down taking our phone service with it.  Service here isn’t much different then in the States.  Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.

The problems we encounter here are, however, more challenging and amusing.  Picture this; we have two phones on our secretary by our front door.  One is our US phone and one is our Mexico phone.  Both work well though neither of us can remember either phone number and have committed to carrying a small sheet of paper with both printed on it just in case someone asks us for either.

If anything goes out we, of course, must call on our Mexico phone, which works on a different line then our US phone and Internet (confusing, huh?).  Here’s the rub, though David speaks much more Spanish then I do (I’m slowly learning and loving it), his very first question when someone answers is “Does anyone speak English”….in Spanish, of course.  He is usually put on hold, finds a chair to sit upon and waits until they locate the “person” who speaks English.  Believe me it is much easier waiting for that “person” then trying to explain not being connected to anything to someone who speaks Spanish.  Technical terms like I did unplug the thingy connected to the back of the small white box with all the pretty red lights.  I also poked the end of a bent paperclip into the tiny hole (not visible without a magnifying glass) in the back of the small white box with the tiny red lights….and it still has the array of beautiful red lights.  It can be a painfully slow process….much like working with providers when calling from the US and getting a very pleasant technical person somewhere in India.

Telecable (pronounced telacoblei) has come up with a new and quite diabolical form of torture.  They, of course, have their stock answer…when you call or stop in…we’ll be out around 11:00 a.m. tomorrow to tackle the problem.  And there is the usual, if the man who controls the US channels decides, on Friday evening, to turn the switch to “off” – we don’t get those channels all weekend.  Honestly, that’s our interpretation of events.  We can picture this gentleman sitting in a darkened room with monitors all around thinking – should I screw with the gringo’s and disconnect their US channels this weekend…or not.  I’m sure that isn’t the case, but it does give pause for thought.

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, this past week – after it took us four months to memorize the channel numbers for our favorite US channels – Telecable decided to switch them around.  Panic ensued.  It’s 7:00 p.m. and our favorite show is on.  Click, click, click…where the heck is it?  Do I have the correct remote?  Did I hit the wrong button on the remote?  Oh, wait…CBS is where NBC was and Fox has completely disappeared along with ABC…no wait they’ve switched it with the Spanish TNT which is different then the USA network which is Universal here in Mexico….and on, and on.

And then there’s Wal-Mart.  I shop, David carries a camera.  Usually we stay together but I’m never surprised when he wonders off and I find him, camera to eye, taking pictures of EVERYTHING.  On this particular day Wal-Mart had gotten in some truly colorful peppers and their display was great.  At this point I’d like to mention we have begun to visit local shops more and more for our daily needs as we feel it is important to give back to our community.  Big box developers have often shut out small store operators and we don’t want to see that happen here.  There are one or two small shops on almost every block filled with everything a person can use or need and some things I’ve truly never thought of.  We love them.

However, as visitors from another country, we were admittedly thrilled to see at least one familiar store.  Though not a mega Wal-Mart it did help us get settled here in Ajijic and allowed us the time we needed to find other options.

Okay, I’ll quit my lollygagging and get to the point.  Here’s David taking pictures of the peppers, several.  A very soft spoken gentleman approaches him.  A crocked smile on his face and, as he looks up at David who towers over him he says, I’m sorry, you have to stop taking pictures of our peppers…or something like that.  Not wanting to cause a tempest in a teapot, David stops immediately.  He did get some great shots in and they’re below….Enjoy!!

Yellow Peppers

Red Peppers

Close Up

I think this is the precise moment the guy at Wal-Mart lost his patience.

Heck, my personal favorite is “It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose.”  David did not win a ribbon.  I’m posting his submissions at the end of this writing. You be the judge.   It was a hard decision in regard to what should be submitted.  I found it particularly hard because I’m always amazed at what he is able to capture on film.  I am also posting the shot he feels he should have entered.

We do not know who the judges were or what type of creds they held – did they have separate judges for each medium submitted?  What was the criteria the judges used in selecting the winners?

During the course of the cocktail party opening I, at one point, traveled to the 2^nd level of the Ajijic Community Center/Gallery and watched as people walked past David’s photographs.  While I was standing there a gentleman and his wife (a painter I had seen before and someone who had won a ribbon) made comment that stuck in my memory.  “It is good to finally see something new and different on exhibit today.”  I had heard the exact same comment when we set up our booth on the plaza the week before.

David’s submittals were both unique – particularly his market photograph.  None of the other participants had caught any movement in their shots.  That is not to say some weren’t very good – as they were.  My thought, however, was they were looking for fresh ideas and David certainly had accomplished just that.

What I particularly love about all of the galleries in Ajijic is the fact that they are not only open to Homo sapiens but to canines as well which brings to mind a humorous story.  (I may have told this story once before but it bears repeating.)  Right after we moved here we visited the plaza one day and found ourselves talking to another photographer living in Ajijic.  While we chatted a beautiful dog – not sure what species but if there had been a saddle nearby a child could have ridden upon him) wondered past.  He was well fed, his coat was shiny and he looked well taken care of and much loved by his master.  The photographer saw him and mentioned how well behaved he was.  Never barked.  Never begged.  Never chased.  Seemed to saunter around the plaza checking things out each day making sure everything was just so.  We later learned he belonged to the casket maker (you know, the one down the street next to the frame shop) and he enjoyed being around people – they didn’t mention live people – I jumped to that conclusion.

Any who, as we turned to look at him he proceeded to pee upon a piece of art work set up by a street artist further up the plaza.  Laughter ensued and the artist across from the peed upon work said I think he’ll sell for half price.

I didn’t see any of the canine participants at the gallery showing last evening making any judgment calls at all.  They seemed to appreciate all of the art! I heard none ask….”where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?”  My sentiments exactly!

As I prepared to make this post tonight I just heard someone approached one of the artist at the showing and asked about purchasing one of the David’s photographs (we’re not sure which one at this point).  Last Saturday, even before we were completely set up on the plaza a lady, visiting from Cannes France, immediately snapped up two of his works and was excited about taking them home with her.  How exciting!

The Wednesday Market in Ajijjic

The Hotel Estancia

This is the photograph David's feels he should have submitted. He couldn't because it had been seen on the plaza.

Or, perhaps, this is a better quote with this particular blog….”You’re about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse kicking contest.” – Rowan Atkinson, English Actor best know for his Mr. Bean persona.

The Ajijic Society of the Arts is holding what I’m hearing is their yearly arts contest.  According to the rules you may enter only two pieces of art or one large piece.  Quite a few media are involved.

Another rule is the piece(s) entered may not have been seen by anyone prior to the contest and exhibit.  They wanted to keep the art fresh and new for everyone who might come to view the work.

David has entered two pieces.  Obviously, I’m probably not the person who should judge his work as I have not seen anything he has done that has not touched me in some way.  I’d like to take a quote I heard attributed to Frank Sinatra and bastardize it a bit by saying – I like intelligent people.  When you go out with someone it should not be a staring contest.  I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be to judge art when there are numerous categories that range from various paint media to photography, jewelry, dolls, quilts, etc.  I tend to be a left brained person and have what I suppose is a logical way of looking at art….either I like it or I don’t. Some art simply escapes me and I wait for others to explain its meaning.

That is not to say I don’t appreciate all types of art and the time and effort that goes into them. I simply am not able to compare well what I like and don’t like.  Heck, on any given day my tastes may change monumentally.

From what I could tell when we appeared, as required, between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. today to drop off David’s entries, most of the people present were retirees who were either finding more time to work on their art now, or finding they had a talent in a certain area….something they didn’t have time for prior to retirement.

One humorous comment I heard, while waiting to hand over David’s work was from a woman directly behind us in line.  She was carrying a doll sitting on a chair.  You could see she had put much time and effort into this piece of art.  One of the people collecting the art work asked if she had a preference as to how it would be displayed.  The women, who appeared to be French, commented – please cross her legs because she is a woman of taste and does not like to sit with her legs spread open which would signify a lady of questionable morals….which she is not.  A viable comment with multiple meanings and worth a chuckle by those of us within earshot.

Obviously, I am not including the two photographs David entered in this blog.  However I am requesting, if you have a moment, some favorable thought waves be sent in regard to his art and the judges viewing of same.  I could not even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to hand over something you’ve spent endless hours perfecting and then wait until someone decides whether it is noteworthy…or not.  Simply, like Buddha silenced his mind and entered into Nirvana – think David’s art and the God’s may smile on his entries.

The judging will take place tomorrow and a cocktail party follows tomorrow evening.

Since I’m not a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest, I’m going to go with the hope Yoplait is working its magic for David…art at the bottom and hope at the top.  Quite honestly, Yoplait does not need to work its magic as David art speaks for itself.

Mucho Gracias!!

The pictures accompanying this blog are some I took while we were walking along the boardwalk in Chapala.  Apparently, Lake Chapala is the place storks go to vacations when they are not delivering babies!

Stork spotted.

Sneaking up on stork.

If I didn't know better I'd say this stork is posing for the camera.

Yup, he is posing.

Art at a fair in Chapala.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.
Steven Wright, American comedian, actor and writer.

It was Wednesday…again….consequently we decided to go to the market.  When we first arrived in Ajijic I made a resolution to be spontaneous…unfortunately it usually happens tomorrow.

All one has to do is go to the Wednesday market to see how driven the majority of us gringo’s seem to be.  Please do no think of this as a critique for I include myself as well….both gringo and driven.

It is difficult to forget old habits….especially if they’ve been part and parcel of your ENTIRE life.  Someone 20-something probably wouldn’t understand that.  However, most of us over middle age shouldn’t have a problem.  Take me for example, most of my life I’ve gotten up at between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. and hit the ground running.  It has come as a major shock finding myself in this little village of Mexican Nationals who certainly work hard but also believe in Siestas.  Many of the little stores that are open at 8:00 a.m. close between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. or 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. so that a leisurely lunch can be partaken of each day.  This is, in my estimation, a very healthy attitude toward life which seems pretty difficult for me to learn.

Getting back to the Wednesday market….extremely fast paced.  People are in a hurry.  Goodness knows to do what?  I get lost easily.  Heck, I am constantly losing thoughts because they are definitely in unfamiliar territory!  If you slow down to take a look at items in the marketplace it is easy to become separated from the person you’ve traveled to the marketplace with….like David.  Well, I guess David isn’t a good example as at 6’5” it pretty hard to lose him, but you get my drift.

Pulling over to the side will often put you “knee deep” in people anxious (for lack of a better word) to make a purchase….particularly near the fruits and vegetables, the fish market and most assuredly near the local software dealership (hee, hee).  Get in and get out seems to be the mantra.  A lot of the colorful beauty is lost in an effort to move at a pace more suited to a New York street at mid-day.

I did notice, yesterday, one thing seemed to slow everyone…who noticed it…down a bit.  There, in the middle of all this chaos, was a lovely little Mexican girl carrying a yellow mesh bag cradled in her arms and a huge smile on her little face.  As some of us looked closer we were delighted – almost as delighted as she appeared to be – to see a tiny little newborn kitten.  As this little girl traveled through the market next to her mom and younger brother, she turned many a head.  The smile is what got you first – the kitten was a bonus!

Please enjoy more of David’s great photographs which clearly show what a wonderful adventure the Wednesday market can be!  In closing I’d like to quote George Carlin who said “I think I am, therefore I am.  I think….” and add to that trying to gear down a bit!  Wish me luck.

Aren't the blues beautiful in the picture?

Working hard.

The food smells great and is authentic.

A mixed crowd.

Fruits and vegetables...a popular place.

The cactus is not for sale.

Preparing produce for sale.

More nautural color.

We saw this little girl as David and I walked home from the market. Isn't she lovely?! It is about a mile walk..up hill, down hill, on cobblestones and we truly enjoy every minute of it.

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I’m halfway through my fish burger and I realize: Oh my God…. I could be eating a slow learner. ~Lynda Montgomery, humorist

David and I have fallen in love with the Wednesday Farmer’s Market.  It is odd when we lived in Dallas we walked often through our neighborhood.  It had wonderful walking paths, a cute pocket park and lots of activity.  We were near Baylor Hospital and loved walking through Landry rehab park just behind the hospital.  Why do I say it was odd?  Well our neighborhood bordered some pretty rough areas of Dallas.  People often wondered how safe it was to walk there.  It was safe.  There were many people out walking and we met many “walking friends” – you know those people who nod, wave, say “how you doing” without need of response.  These were walks on which we did nothing more then walk.

Now that we are in Ajijic we have fallen in love with the idea that we do not have to take walks simply to walk – though we do that too.  I’m not kidding folks; we can walk to pick up almost anything we need without getting in the car, driving somewhere and parking. 

Hard to believe?  When we first came here I mentioned the small shops that dot every street in this village.  They are not the boutique shops you see in the big cities…believe me.  They are tiny little shops crammed full of fascinating, unique, mysterious and lovely items.  You don’t have to go far to find bakery, vegetables, fruit, meat if you need groceries.  We have also found many a papeleria’s – they are shops with paper, art supplies, crayons, ribbon, inks, everything the mind can imagine.  There are Internet shops and printing shops.  One of the best frame shops is “right up the block next to the casket makers shop” is what we’ve been told constantly.  And, low and behold, sure enough – right next to the casket makers shop is the frame shop that David and I use to get the matting done our his exquisite photographs.  We mentioned the farmacias (pharmacy) and ferreterias (hardware stores) in the past.

So, we were not sure what to expect at the Wednesday market.  We have been pleasantly surprised.  This market has the simply best fresh fruit – bananas to die for, oranges and tangerines fresher then we’ve either had in our lifetimes, apples, and some vegetables and fruits I’ve never seen or heard of before.

There’s, of course, the fresh fish booths, fresh flowers the colors brilliant and the fragrances hypnotic, clothes so colorful you often are caught staring at the designs.  Beautiful pottery – bowls, dishes, plates and statuary that takes our breath away.

You do see more gringos in the market then Nationals.  Because there are more gringos’s the travel through this narrow cobblestone street with booths on both sides can be a little more hectic then the markets set up in the plaza.  I admire the Nationals ability to walk slowly and look.  We have had to learn to slow down and enjoy the sights.  They tell me there are still a lot of “snowbirds” down here right now and the market will not be as packed once April and May hit. 

There are other items you can find that cannot be described in this blog but are a lot of fun to peruse and even more fun to buy.  

Picture us, not only walking for our health, but also walking to shop, go out to dinner, go for an ice cream (helado) or a margarita.  (Okay, my friends can stop laughing now – I’ve actually learned to live without Pick N Save!…a Wisconsin thing.)  All we have to learn now is to grasp the fact that we are now a part of a slower – but not quieter – society of passionate, parade loving, church going, party at-the-drop-of-a-hat people and we’d be even healthier.  Thank goodness they are patient with us, for this is a place where you actually can slow down and smell the roses….beautiful roses!

Viva Mexico.

Wednesday Market

Busy, huh?

Fresh fruites and vegetables.

Carry alls.

Candies and nuts.

Fresh fish.

Fresh flowers. A popular booth.

Festivities – the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ Child, and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. The parties and parades will continue until Lent begins at the stroke of midnight on Fat Tuesday.  Mardi Gras (“Gras” is French for fat and “Mardi” is French for Tuesday) begins 46 days prior to Easter.

Guess what dear reader….another parade took place in our village as, I am sure, it took place in all surrounding villages.  No surprise there.  What is interesting is everyone seems to stop what they are doing and join in the festivities – smiling, waving, and joking.  Water, soda, beer are offered to the participants by the spectators as they traverse the cobblestone streets.  Dogs bark in cadence with the music and roosters (yes, one of my favorite topics) cackle at the top of their lungs as though they were practicing for sunrise.  Quite honestly, I don’t think any of the rooster within our earshot have ANY idea when sunrise is!!

David managed to get out and take more pictures.  Since most of the major parades take place on the street where we live – we rarely miss them.  This parade was no exception.

Beside the bands there were numerous floats and it was a somewhat family oriented parade.  No one shouted the mantra of New Orleans (its not “Go Saints”) – though young, well-endowed women were a prominent fixture in the parade, they remained clothed.  Children ran beside the floats, up and down the street or simply jumping in place trying to get those in the parade to either pepper them with confetti or blast them with flour.  It is my understanding flowers or perfumed water can also be thrown, however flour seems the most popular item here.

As always excitement prevailed and the culmination of the parade, in the town square, was met with booths of food and drink accented by music and much merriment.

An observation about living in Mexico: It certainly helps to have tapped into your inner child.  The child of your youth.  The child who welcomed whimsy with open arms, great abandon and laughter that emanates from the diaphragm and bursts to life as music to the ears of those around you.

Viva Mexico!

Lovely Lady One

Lovely Lady Two - Don’t you just love her chapeau?!

Lovely Lady Three

Lovely Lady Four

Conjures up.....Mystic, Eerie, a bit Bizarre

Not sure what this has to do with anything!

A gaucho and his trusty steed.

Yet Another Lovely Lady

Notice her selection of eye shadow. She also had lovely crimson painted hoofs

“I once saw a photograph of a large herd of wild elephants in Central Africa seeing an airplane for the first time, and all in a state of wild collective terror….As, however, there were no journalists among them, the terror died down when the airplane was out of sight.” – Bertram Russell, Welsh philosopher, mathematician, historian who led the revolt against idealism in the early 1900’s.  He is also considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy.

While sitting out on the square last Saturday David and I were approached by a young man, tablet in hand, bag swung cockily over his shoulder and an “intrepid” expression on his face.  My first thought, he looks remarkably like Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent – or would that be visa versa?!

It isn’t fair to call him paparazzi, as he seemed to have the credentials of an actual reporter from a Guadalajara newspaper.  Either way it was fun talking with him.  In a most eager and candid way, he asked us if we spoke Spanish or English.  I’m not sure why he seemed both eager and candid about whether we spoke Spanish or English, as he had a command of both languages – however such was the case.  After finding out David spoke both, he proceeded, in English, to ask us what we knew about the big robbery that had taken place in Ajijic.

Well, I’ve got to tell you folks; we are the last people to ask about anything that might be going on in Ajijic.  Its not that we aren’t interested, as we are.  Its not that we don’t try to pay attention to customs, activities, events, etc, because we do.  AND, its not that we ever seem to be on top of any of the aforementioned items, as we aren’t.

Big robbery you say?  Here, you say?  By here, exactly where do you mean?  On the square? Up Colon (one of the major streets in the village)?  Near Hidalgo (of personal interest as we live on that street….in Ajijic…not to be confused with a street by the very same name in Chapala, Guadalajara, Jocotepec and probably ever town in Mexico)?

His answer, “I’m not sure where” was delivered with all sincerity.  They sent me out here to find out about it and, so far, no one seems to know anything about any robbery.  He soon realized we were going to be of absolutely no help either and headed down the street only to walk past our table several times as he diligently tried to ferret out any information he could find about the local heist.

That was the last we saw of him and the last we heard about the heist.  He did not have a photographer with him but we both felt confident, had we actually known anything at all, David could have jumped to the quick and offered to take a picture of both of us……on the spot.  David has really long arms and he did that once….took a picture of both of us that turned out surprisingly well.

Another little adventure one wouldn’t actually anticipate in the small Village of Ajijic.

David has taken photographs of many, many celebrities and politicos over the course of his life.  Below are a few you might know….or not. 

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.
Ansel Adams – American photographer and environmentalist.

“A contemporary American artist’s art is assuring himself and others his art is art.”  David Lawrence – American photographer and artist.

Where have we been for the past week?  It is sometimes astonishing to wake up one morning realizing you have spent your life wanting to be somebody.  Followed by the recognition, to your shock and horror, you should have been more specific.

“Somebody” is such an ambiguous word and certainly not something one should wish for without a follow through – like…somebody in the medical world or somebody in the art world, etc.

David is, in my mind and many others, an artist.  What he does, what he captures with his camera is beyond what a simple shutterbug is after.  Shutter bugging is fine and lends itself to many hours of happy memories as one re-visits family trips, children’s accomplishments, or simply capturing a special moment.  My pictures don’t but, then again, I usually cut off people’s heads or only get odd parts of them to show up in my photos!

What David has tried to do while living in Ajijic Mexico is, among other things, to use his ability to capture the physical Mexico along with its culture, its people, its lifestyle.  The humor of every day life here is finite.  Getting to know it has been our honor and privilege.

So, you say, what is our point?  Where are you going with this?  We decided, since so many people reading our blog mentioned how much they loved his photography, to put a portfolio together and bring it to the town square the past two Saturday mornings. (I’ve attached some of our collection to this blog piece below).

As you can imagine, it was difficult to make a choice between all of the photographs he’s taken.  We wanted to depict the beauty of daily life here and the exuberant and often humorous way it is embraced by the people of Mexico.  Not an easy task.

We’ve come up with a saying when either someone tells us they will take care of something or we decide we want to do something – but know in our hearts it may never get done.  The saying goes – we’ll do it at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Telecable – our television provider – would tell us each time we called or stopped in with a problem, we’ll stop by at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.  We spent several “tomorrows” waiting for the Telecable people who never showed up.  We’d stop back into their offices and were usually met with the same admonishments….we are so sorry, we will truly be there at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Never happened.  Truly.  They simply never showed up however they did give us an expression we can both laugh at when something doesn’t get done.

David joined the Ajijic Society of the Arts in January.  This has given him hours of enjoyment shaking up the system a bit.  Ninety-five percent of the people who belong to this group are women of a certain age.  The freedom they are experiencing now allows them to “work” their art, perfect it if you will, and a venue in which to share that “art” within the wonderful world of Ajijic.

David, as David can do, has kicked up some dust and thrown a wrench into some of the conventional thinking of members of this arts group.  Let’s just say the forum for conversation is hopping with the pros and cons of some of the ideas and thoughts he’s shared with them over the past week.  These thoughts are all culminating in an art show, for works of art that have NEVER been seen before, at the arts center in Ajijic.  I happen to agree with his thoughts and ideas and have encouraged him to continue sharing through this forum.  Some of the people have not agreed, others have, and the forum has actually, go figure, become a place were differing thoughts can be shared and expanded upon.  Prior to this time posts usually consisted of “where can I find the case I need to place my art in for the next show?” or the like.

Any who, while on the square these past two weeks we’ve had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of what others are drawn to in his art and to hear comments.  We’ve met several people – locals, those from other countries and other exhibitors as well.  This past Saturday there was a parade.  (Me thinks parades are pulled together at a moments notice when a rag tag group of great musicians decides “let’s march” and are then followed by men on horseback picking up steam as they traverse the cobblestone streets to everyone’s delight!)  As always, there were kids running ahead of the parade and some filtered into the town square where we were set up.  Suddenly our table was surrounded by 10 to 15 kids pointing at David’s Aristocratic Couple (see below) and excitedly remarking – that’s so-and-so (sorry I didn’t catch his name) all the while hollering for him to come over and see.  He did.  David handed him the picture and they left in smiles.  What a wonderful experience!

Now that we have an inventory we will be setting up an online store in the near future where people, if they are so inclined, may pick up a print or a matted print.  For now, I’ve included some of our selections for your enjoyment below.  I’ll be putting the rest out “tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.”!

In all candor, I’m still hoping to become somebody some day and working on more specificity while David has always been a true artist in the finest sense of the word.

Young Arsitocrats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Beauty of a Door

Girl With Flowers - Quadalajara

Display Table

Enjoying the Art

A View of the Street

Yet Another View of the Street

Setting Up Across from Us

Parade Beginnings

Parade Continuing

Oh Heck, I'll Join the Parade!