Monthly Archives: April 2013

It was the time of year and season of the moon to walk the beach very early or late.

One morning I was out the door when it was still dark and cool, the only light that of the moon swollen to her fullness. Walked the beach to the muelle, the pier, where there were two early-morning fishermen. Both were glad to show me their nets and their catches.

One man spent most of the early dawn mending a net.

The other, wearing a large trash bag as protection against heavy dew, dropped his net repeatedly, too often bringing up nothing.

At dawn, I returned to my casita at Islandia.

Then that night, after too much dinner, three of us walked back to the muelle. This was closer to a power walk – we had a lot of food to try to work off!

Again, I was walking with only the light of the creamy full moon. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of absolute tranquility. It’s something about the moonlight.

The following morning I left a little later, just as dawn was considering herself. The moon still cast her glow, but dawn was beginning to displace her.

The man wearing the garbage bag was again at the muelle, and he bemoaned the lack of catch. But he had a diversion: three young women from Hermosillo and their Chihuahuas were on the end of the muelle with him. He delighted in teasing them with a fish, waggling it just as they leaned forward for a closer look, yielding shrieks that must have carried half a mile.

Then he passed out the crabs he’d caught. Two of the young women held a crab, alternately delighting in it and screeching when it moved. One got brave enough to put a crab on her arm, but she jump when it began to walk and it tumbled to the pier.

I used their cameras to take pictures of them and snapped a few of my own.

When I left, I heard them running along the beach, telling their dogs, “Corre, corre, corre!” (run, run run). They scampered off, waving as they passed me by.

That evening, another moonlight beachwalk. The muele was filled with people – it was a Friday night during Semana Santa, Holy Week, when all of Mexico heads to the beach. Two young men were tumble-diving off the pier while the young girls clapped and called encouragement. Another man, away from the divers, simply floated. Families, teenagers, lovers. Everyone wanted to roam the beach and muele.

I went a third morning to the muelle at dawn. The walk was not quite so enticing now that the moon was no longer full. The garbage-bag man was there again, again bemoaning his lack of catch. A moment later, though, he called to me – he’d just caught five fish. I watched as he wrestled them out of the tangles of his net.

Morning moonlight walks. What a delightful start of a new day. Evening moonlight walks. What a delightful way to end the day.

Today I became cool, according to my sister anyway. I have entered a new era. I shed my five-year-old flip-phone and got an iPhone 5.

Gulp.

I am terrified of the cost. I just doubled my cell phone bill.

And I have a lot to learn, and a lot to unlearn. I think the unlearning will happen pretty quickly.

On my old Sprint plan, I had a limited number of minutes because I had the cheapest plan. My new Verizon plan is unlimited. So already today, I have received two phone calls, and because they came mid-day, my first thought as I answered the call was, “Oh, no! This isn’t my free minutes time!”

Well, I have to unlearn that. Unlimited means just that. I can now take calls mid-day without worrying about going over my limit.

Will I now start making phone calls willy nilly? No, I won’t. But I also won’t worry about them. I’ll probably substitute that with worry about my bill at the end of the month, I suppose.

I also got an Otterbox to protect it. I had a choice of pink, gray, or camouflage. Not what I wanted (purple). But given the selection, I went with the girly color. I’m going to see if I can find a purple one on line, and if so, I can return the pink.

Then, of course, are the things I have to learn, beginning with the most basic. Like how to answer the blasted phone.

I got a call shortly after my purchase and I managed to disconnect the call rather than answer it, and it was from my friend Christina, and she was inviting me to lunch! Almost a disaster. By the time I figured out I had missed the call and not just tried to respond to a strange sound, she’d already eaten.

But I did all right. To celebrate the phone as well as provide consolation over the missed lunch, I took myself out to a sushi restaurant. Soft shell crab rolls. M-m-m-m. Perfect. Disaster avoided.

Then, of course, my smart-ass sister who’s had an iPhone for quite awhile stretched my learning curve by sending me a photo. I actually saw it! There must be a way to enlarge it so I don’t have to pull out my reading glasses in order to see it, but I did successfully view the photo. But, lots more to learn here.

Then I have to learn texting! I have never had texting. I asked my niece who is a texting maniac not to OD on sending me texts.

I learned how to use the voice recorder. I wanted it for when I travel as it seems as I drive along I always want to take notes of things I see or thoughts that zip around my head. Sometimes I can pull over and write things down, but when traveling in Mexico, pulling over often means driving off a cliff.

Now, all I have to do is grab my phone and poke two buttons and begin to talk. Easy! And the first button is a little microphone. No mistaking it for something else or poking a different button when I want to record. Maybe not on a curvy road, but for sure I can manage it on a straightaway.

More things. How to take a picture. How to send the picture. How to put pictures of the people on my call list with their names so I can see the photo instead of a shadow form.

And then there is the whole ring tones thing. I guess I can now download special ones, and I can spend hours assigning certain tones to specific people. As if would remember which sound meant which person.

But I have time, and I am going to get a basic book on how to use the phone. Plus, Verizon offers free classes on how to use the phone as well as how to use my iPad. Free, I can afford.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go. Play with my new phone.

There’s a new restaurant in Bisbee. Well, it’s been around a few months, so it’s not brand new, but it is fairly undiscovered. It’s located at 316 Pirrung, and if you live in Bisbee and have no idea where that is, you’re not alone. If I’d had just the address, I’d still be driving around hoping to find it. So let me just tell you: El Minero is located across from B&D Hardware, right next to The Hitching Post.

The decor? Well, with the name El Minero, what would you expect? A mining theme, of course.

You’ll enter through a mine tunnel and step into the small dining room which holds four booths and five tables, plus a counter with eight stools. A Mexican radio station pumps tunes through speakers and it’s not too loud for comfortable dining.

The highlight of the decor is, to me, the murals. Large murals cover each side of the room. They stand maybe six feet tall. One runs about eighteen or twenty feet long and the other maybe fourteen feet.

Then, the big reason for coming to El Minero: the menu.

I wanted something light, so I glanced at the appetizers (guacamole, nachos, papas), and then a variety of a la carte items like burritos, chimis, tortas Sonoran hot dogs, and…

Wait. Sonoran hot dogs??!!?? Stop right there!

I was just in Kino for two weeks but didn’t get to a Sonoran hot dog, and as soon as I saw it on the menu, I stopped my perusal. For only $1.99 I got my dog. Now, I actually don’t even like hot dogs, but the Sonoran ones are a different story.

I had mine without the traditional bacon, figuring it was now almost a health food, piled as it was with beans, onions, and tomatoes. Oh, my it was good!

But back to the menu. There are quesadillas and tostadas, and then there are combo plates and full dinners.

The most expensive item on the menu is the Steak Ranchero, steak diced with peppers and onions, for $9.99. Today’s special was posole, for only $5.

There are all the traditional restaurant drinks plus, of course, horchata.

Still have some room after dinner or lunch? There’s pastel de tres leches, flan, or bunuelos.

If you’re in the Bisbee area, give El Minero a try. The prices are great and I’m sure you’ll like the food!

I have heard the word ‘abomination’ used only a few times in my life. Until last night, that is, when I heard it probably a dozen times.
The word was used in reference to many of my friends, friends who had to sit and listen to the terrible bigotry spewing from mouth after mouth after mouth of “good Christians.”
The setting was the Bisbee City Council chambers. All eighty seats were filled. Also, people lined the back wall and both side walls, and then another twenty or so sat on the floor up front. A line of people snaked down the hallway in both directions from the room, and the veranda to the back of the room was filled with people watching through open windows.
The topic? Item three of the council’s agenda: legalizing civil unions in the City of Bisbee.

The ordinance was brought to council by member Gene Connors, and two weeks ago, the council  had the first reading. Last night was decision time.It seems a few van loads of Christian conservatives came to city hall early and stood in line to be the first to share their views.

Most of their speeches were firery. A few were soft spoken. Three were rambling and confusing, and two were just plain unintelligible. Two speakers said they just might have to leave Bisbee if the ordinance passed, and a number of us thought, Oh. Please do.

Finally, about an hour and twenty minutes later, almost all of the other side had spoken.

 

Here are some of the words I heard:
Bible, God, and Jesus. Repeatedly.
Abomination.
Disgusting.
Sinful.
Pervert.

Here are some of the fears expressed:
Bestiality will be next.
AIDS will spread throughout the town.
Homosexuality is a malady that has to be fixed.
Passing the ordinance will destroy individual rights.

My friends had to listen to themselves being described and degraded, for well over an hour.

And these speakers were mightily applauded, though by a minority of those in attendance.

I could not help but wonder how my friends felt, having to endure it all.

But then, others spoke.

There was an outpouring of love and compassion by people who were straight, and examples of horrible abuses by those who were gay. One of the best moments, though, was when my friend Mark walked to the podium holding his lover’s hand and simply said, “I am not an abomination.”

The room erupted for him, for my friend James, and for several other speakers. It was an hour and a half of kindness and hopefulness.And then it was time for the vote.

The first council person called, Shirley Doughty, voted nay. Then four voted aye. Then the only other female councilor voted nay.

I found it interesting that while, in general, straight females tend to be a little more relaxed about gayness than straight men do, it was the four male councilors who voted for the ordinance.

Then the final vote by mayor Adriana Badal. Aye. And she declared the ordinance passed.
The room erupted. Cheering and clapping. A standing ovation. Laughter and tears of joy.
People spilled out of the council chambers to the cool evening. Lots of hugging and congratulating. More laughter and tears.
And we all went home carried by the soft, sweet winds of hope.