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SHE SAID…
September 21, 2003
This week, I must start out with
an advisory note for all my faithful readers: The words
you are reading do not appear anywhere else but on the
computer screen you are facing. Well, that’s not
quite right. In fact, they will appear on anyone’s
screen who has chosen to read what “She”
had to say this week. What I mean is that they won’t
appear in any printed media… not even the Vallarta
Tribune.
There was no space, you see. A few
weeks ago, the higher-ups decided to insert a couple
of pages in Spanish in the Tribune at this time, the
“low” season, the one that makes Vallartans
call this month “Septi-hambre” (the month
of hunger, due to the scarcity visitors). And considering
that the Tribune has a tips section in Dutch, one in
French and one in English, they figured Spanish would
only be right, for the benefit of the Mexican tourists
in town. So… this column is for the exclusive
use of our fellow cybernauts. Other Tribune columnists
have also been temporarily “suspended” for
lack of space (i.e.: reduced advertising = reduced income
= reduced number of pages being printed…) They
said we would be “rotated” to give everyone
a fair chance.
I’m constantly amazed with
the goings-on in the airlines industry. I just heard
that the EU is going to try to ground Ryanair. Now there’s
a successful company if I’ve ever heard of one!
Its owner is often featured on CNN International and
every time I hear him, he’s got more positive
news to share. Profits rising a zillion percent, he’s
adding dozens of planes to his fleet, etc. etc. I guess
like so many other cases, big and small, success is
inadmissible. Someone will be jealous of it and go to
extreme lengths to ensure that such success is arrested,
A.S.A.P.! I’ve seen it happen with small mom-‘n-pop
businesses as well as multi-million dollar corporations.
Sort of flies in the face of everything folks like Anthony
Robbins try to teach us, don’t it? If someone
is successful, find out what he/she’s doing right
and do the same, they say. I’ve never heard them
tell us to get rid of ‘em…
My friend just came back from Vancouver,
on the airlines that charges one-third of what Mexicana
charges to fly the same distance, also with one stopover.
Well, it turns out that he got no food on either of
the two legs of his return flight. Now I don’t
know about you, but I wouldn’t mind bringing my
breakfast or lunch in a brown paper bag to save some
$550. U.S. Dollars! I can’t believe that the tacos
I was served on my trip to Montreal warrant the difference
in the price of the ticket!
Talking about tacos, the current
issue of Mexicana’s in-flight magazine, “Vuelo”,
has a fascinating article on those typical, traditional
delicacies entitled “Tacos from A to Z –
Humble to Highbrow”, written by Sophie Avernin.
Before telling us all about the myriad kinds of tacos,
particular to each region of Mexico, she states: “(the
taco) is a practical way to eat without using a knife
and fork and getting your fingers covered in grease.”
Obviously, Ms. Avernin only writes for Mexicana, she
does not fly with them ‘cause if she did, she
would most certainly have advised the powers-that-be
to change the name of the dish where the rolled-up,
stuffed tortillas are packed in their little aluminum
foil containers as if they were sardines, with a lot
of green sauce on top. Trust me. There’s no way
anyone could even think of eating those babies without
using a knife and a fork and all the layers of the napkin
enclosed with the utensils! But the stewardess did call
them tacos. I asked her what they were filled with.
She answered sweetly, “meat”. I asked if
she knew what kind of meat. She laughed and admitted
that she did not. It reminded me of that ad on TV, many
years ago, the one that spoke of “parts, chicken
parts…”, do you remember?
On a different topic, I suppose that
folks in Vallarta have given up on discussing the pedestrian
bridge and the time-share module at the airport and
other such mundane matters because I noticed that all
the letters that came in from readers this week deal
with animals. Interesting… cats and dogs and fish
…and a monkey. I don’t want to start on
that topic. The cruelty to animals that I’ve heard
about and that which I have seen with my own eyes make
me ill just thinking about it.
I also noticed that the headlines
of the local (i.e. Spanish-language) papers have been
focusing on one political party accusing the other of
one thing or another. Yes, I know, it’s the same
everywhere. But this past week, one department is being
accused of having mishandled funds purportedly allotted
to the maintenance of the roads in and around town.
That made me laugh. I’ve always enjoyed Vallarta’s
slalom courses where potholes take the place of flags
and cobblestones replace the snow. The problem arose
when I dared write about it in this column four years
ago. Our local Human Rights activist reported me to
the authorities and demanded that they deport me because,
to quote her written complaint, “a foreigner does
not have the right to criticize. Only Mexicans have
the right to do so.” As if tourists wouldn’t
notice the flaws (chasms?) in the roads if I didn’t
mention them…
I saw the Carnival Pride sail in
last Thursday. What a fine figure she cut! If memory
serves me right, that was her first weekly visit to
Vallarta. She replaces the Elation with which she exchanged
routes. Their passengers probably waved to each other
as they passed going opposite ways through the Panama
Canal.
Did you all have a great time last
Monday night? Did you all yell at the top of your lungs,
“Viva Mexico!”? And did you see how the
rains held back until all the fireworks were done? It
was great.
To all our Jewish readers I wish
a Shana Tova, Shalom and Hag Sameach!
pvmomto3@hotmail.com
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