The beaches
Playa Madera has been quite busy all week. The buses started pouring in on Sunday or so. The influx of people will probably continue for some time as the youngsters are off school for a few weeks. Las Gatas beach, an isolated spot on the tip of the bay, is a popular target for the people arriving from inland. Apparently coolers are banned there as well and Dominique believes that has diminished the crowds at that beach. The fare to take the water taxi there and back could be as much as 150 pesos. Now that people cannot take their own food and beverage there it has probably deterred many from going.
Coolers are getting banned more and more here and we are sure that enrages the people who need to take them as they cannot afford 45 pesos for a beer and north of 100 pesos for food. The city put this in place a while back because the amount of litter left on the beaches ruined their appearance and deterred many others from attending. A classic example of the not me syndrome where the complainers are the ones who led to the change in the first place! It's like the people who coast through red lights, speed, and tailgate and complain bitterly about the way other people drive.
Intriguing how most drivers call other drivers idiots. I do not call them that because to them, I am an idiot. As George Carlin said ... people that drive slowly are idiots and those that drive too fast are maniacs. People turn into self-centred "me me me" nut cases behind the wheel of a car and YES, we all do. That same comedian, during one of his rants about drivers, reminds us of the people that put on their turn signal very close to when they complete their turn to show us what they just did.
Poco fresco hoy. La humedad está muy menos que antes y disfrutamos finalmente. Las mujeres estan a Soriana para buscar donde puedan buscar la comida gringa. Esta tienda, como muchos otras, se parecen de movar cosas alrededor la tienda para confusar las gringos. El año pasado, hube más cosas por nuestros y nos preguntamos por que no estos dias.
Cuando Dominique se fue, pensé que es buena idea que estoy ocupado tan mucho asi que no hago falta de irme con ellas. Tambien, las cosas que que ellas discutan es muchas duras por mi a comprender. Es mucho mejor que no he ido con ellas.
<== Ahora, en ingles ...
Little fresh today. The humidity is much less than before and we finally enjoyed. The women go to Soriana to look for where they can find gringa food. This shop, like many others, seems to move things around the store to confuse the gringos. Last year, there were more things for us and we wondered why not these days.
When Dominique left, I thought it was a good idea that I’m so busy so I don’t have to go with them. Also, the things that they discuss are many hard for me to understand. It is much better that I have not gone with them. ==>
I am finding my Spanish writing is improving (and sometimes not). The text that I write in Spanish I check in Reverso before finalizing my posts BUT my usage of Reverso has decreased dramatically over the past 6-8 months.
We headed downtown with our first stop at a stationery store on Benito Juarez. We pocked up some file folders for both of us to use. I am making up a little package pushing my desire to do some performing at some clubs in Zihua. I will drop one off at Rufo's, Zihua Bay, Daniel's, and considering Tejita and Maderas too. The material specifically says that I cannot accept tips as I am not a local. I mention in the verbiage that I would give my tips to a charity, probably Sailfest.
This is the gist of my schpiel ...
Me llamo Miguel Abbey, un canadiense con un repertorio apto para gringos y locales que escuchan rock clásico … y puedo suministrarme mi propio amplificador y micrófono.
Si hay alguna propina, será donada a organizaciones benéficas. Como no soy nativo, yo mismo no puedo aceptar propinas...
On the folder I am finishing off, the outside cover has the following graphic on it ...
I would be the first to admit that my guitar playing is adequate BUT I play a lot of cowboy chords ... down at the bottom of the neck and the same genre of chords one learns from day one. My day one was in July 1962 at a camp near Ste. Agathe Québec. It is my repertoire that I am proud of, trying on some songs that I imagine most entertainers would never think of trying solo on an acoustic guitar, for example:
- Wait Until Tomorrow ... Jimi Hendrix
- Jean Jenie ... David Bowie
- Love is the Drug ... Roxy Music
- Stayin' Alive ... BeeGees
- The Boys are Back in Town ... Thin Lizzy
- Ballroom Blitz ... Sweet
- Sign in Stranger ... Steely Dan
- Shine on You Crazy Diamond ... Pink Floyd
- She's Always a Woman to Me ... Billy Joel
Speaking of performing, it reminds me if a short set I did at José Luis Cobo's club last year. I did a set about 20 minutes long and it was received by the people at the club. I did La Vida Loca in Spanish which was popular. A while later, another Canuck goes up on stage and wows the crowd with his writings, vocals, and especially guitar work. As he leave sthe stage, he steps down close to our table. I jump up, shake his hand, and tell him what a great set he did. He even did a large portion of Classical Gas.
So here's the rub if this last paragraph ... now matter how bad/elementary/boring a performer's set is ... other musicians ALWAYS offer praise and express how pleased they were with that other person's set. Picture a situation where someone gets up on stage. She sings London Bridge and Row Row Your Boat. She is off key, cannot manage to keep the flow of the vocals going, and is obviously struggling all the time up there. Here's what I do as she laves the stage:
Nice set!
That's because I'm a mensch. That word is Yiddish and, amonst other meanings, is used to tell someone how great they were, and impress upon them your appreciation of being with them. This wowsy guitar player at Cobo's, guess what he said to me as I left the stage?
" "
Exactly ... there are three classes of performers out there and, with my "abysmal" mastery of the 6-tring guitar, I still fall into class 3, not that there is anything "wrong" with numbers 1 and 2, but #3 is the cat's meow:
- The guitar player
- The singer/songwiter
- The entertainer/musician/performer
I am very passionate about doing my best to be a good person. From what I have heard from others, I am (almost always) being just that.
Dominique mentioned a movie she wanted to see for a long time so I looked for it on our streaming channels. I found Waking Ned Devine and it was just that ... divine. It reinforced our opinion of how foreign films are the best. What comes out of a lot of the mainstream movie industry is about fast cars, guns, blowing up cars, and lots of violence. Another theme for the mainstream cinema is things we hope never happen to us. There's so much stuff out there about, using an example, a physicist desperately looking for a way to stop a meteorite from smashing into earth and rendering the human race extinct. Or a terrorist with plans to infect the North American water supply with a toxin that will kill close to a billion people. Balderdash ... foreign films are about life. It's substance is more entertaining than the day-to-day crap that comes out of run of the mill movie industry.
Same is true in the weekly series crap some houses put out ... guns, guns, guns, violence, as well as guns and violence. We have some exciting plans for late tomorrow afternoon. It all starts with margaritas at Lynn and Ranae's. Next we are off to Letty's for a 6:30pm dinner. Then back to the same abode for key lime pie. I have a mere three more bridge games before being able to share the reigns again with Colin. Instead of Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat, I will be back on Tue/Thu/Sat. A fact and in now way a complaint.
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