Now That I’m A Local Mazatlana
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Several
Montana friends have asked me to please, do not comment about the weather while
I’m down in this sunny southern clime. That seems a reasonable request to me
since you, my friends on the High Line, are currently experiencing the annual
return of the Ice Age.
It has
long struck me that weather in Montana has a separate and distinct personality,
unpredictable in moon, even schizophrenic, of which one does well to be
wary. Living up north, I was constantly
on the look-out for its next meteorological move, almost afraid to open the
door to see which mood was on my step.
In
comparison, weather here seems actually boring, every day the same. Don’t
worry. Be happy. The sun shines. The breeze wafts tenderly off the ocean. When
it rains, the sky falls, but fifteen minutes later the sidewalks are dry.
What’s to comment? (Remind me of this when hurricane winds batter the city
and/or in August when the mercury bubbles up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Meanwhile
I promise to keep my weather comments to a bare
minimum. I have been told that I have a tendency to gloat, an ugly quality,
especially from your best friend whom you love dearly. I argue that I don’t
gloat. I eagerly share my experiences, that’s all.
But,
with respect, I will not mention that I check the Havre Daily forecast with a
hint of glee. That would be rude of me.
Now
that I am practically a “local”, I feel competent to give advice about what to
bring when you come visit.
Money,
four cotton tops, four shorts, sandals and a pair of tennis shoes, underwear, a
toothbrush and bathing suit. That about says it all. I presume you will wear
one set of those items. That means the rest fits in a backpack with room to add
a few small items which I ask of you since I cannot find them in Mazatlan. You
will bring more, of course, probably lug a suitcase along, but it is
unnecessary. You won’t wear more than those four cotton outfits.
If you
want your phone to work, add Mexico to your current plan before you arrive.
When you get here, unless you want a four thousand dollar bill, please hide the
phone from yourself.
Lupe
brought me a Mexican phone from Moviestar. Sounds exotic but it’s just another
phone company. He chose that one because
they assured him they set the phone so everything would be in English: voice
mail, instructions, those kinds of things. The actuality is that the phone
allows me to speak into it in English. If I can get the call to go
through. Everything else is in Spanish:
voice mail, voice instructions, the folded paper of instructions that came in
the box, tips, promotions. I know enough to figure Moviestar is offering me
special deals but not enough to use them.
I would
give you my number but you don’t want the charge per minute. Stick with email.
Besides, if I heard my phone ring, I probably would not remember where I put
it. Oh, just another minor detail—I have somehow brilliantly managed to lock
out incoming calls.
Every
block in the city provides opportunities to eat, such as the little breakfast
and lunch place on the corner a few feet from my apartment door. Yesterday I
explored beyond my block, in search of a lavenderia. I found one just two
blocks away, along with at least eight more eating establishments of various
sizes. And a place to get my hair and nails beautified.
Between
the laundry and my hair cut, a man named Rudy stopped me. “I remember you. You
were at the Luna Palace last year.” I had purchased a raw opal from him. A good
memory is as a polished jewel. It is flattering to be remembered.
Just
last week on the beach Roger asked me, “Where is your ring?” Roger had sold me
a ring set with a Mexican agate two or three years ago. Oh, sweet Roger.”
Shortly
before Evelyn flew back to Harlem, the one in New York City, she and I were having
a Coca-Cola at my corner comida. A man from Edmonton whith whom we’d had a long
conversation just the day before walked by without recognizing either of us.
“He
didn’t remember us from yesterday,” said Evelyn.
“Yeah,
to them we all look alike.”
Sondra Ashton
HDN: Looking out my back door
December 5, 2013
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