rhintransit
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Location: Loreto
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for all those afraid of Mexico, a warning...
wish I'd written this, but I don't know who to attribute it to...posted on forum pertaining to Oaxaca:
Mexico: A Cautionary Tale
I was warned.
Repeatedly.
Warned.
So many times it lost its potency.
Warned.
By well-meaning friends
living in "safe" gated communities with armed guards
By acquaintances
who have never been here
By media reports
glamorizing and spreading alarm
Who have a different definition of danger. And of what
constitutes safety.
Stupid me!
I didn't listen
to any of it.
Adventurous, perhaps with a death wish,
I didn't look.
Worse.
I wasn't careful.
And…
In "dangerous" Mexico,
I was robbed.
Stupid, stupid me!
Yes, Mexico…
stole from me…
A smile.
At first.
And then,
they got bolder
and took…
A laugh.
and bolder still, they ran off with…
my poor self-image.
Which turned into a larger felony: They took …
time
to fill me with compliments!
Telling me
repeatedly
how wonderful it is…
to be a woman
of experience.
Who smiles.
Who laughs.
Repeatedly.
Time after time. Again and again.
Until
finally, I believed them.
As I was smiling and laughing, and actually trusting myself,
They had the nerve to go and pick-pocket my lingering self-doubts,
my well-nurtured insecurities including
my belief that "real beauty" was limited to youth…
While I was still reeling in shock,
from having been robbed,
and pick-pocketed
Mexicans took
the opportunity to kill my previous ideas of what constituted
"hospitality" ,
replacing it with a generosity
that
is frightening
to even try to emulate,
yet so, so fortunate to know.
See how really dangerous Mexico is?
And it got even worse!
I hadn't recovered from such brutal behavior, when
they committed another truly horrible,
almost unspeakable
crime.
They gave me hope and optimism.
Repeatedly.
About who I was.
About who I could be.
About who we could be together.
Amongst wrapping me in love and force-feeding me laughter and
compliments and
smothering me in generosity
and unfathomably fabulous hospitality,
I was rendered helpless.
Utterly
helpless.
Stupid, stupid, stupid me.
I did not cry for help
or
run away.
Mexico took complete advantage of my situation and committed the
biggest atrocity of all. Once again, they stole …
my heart –
and my soul.
Now I'm so scared -
deeply, utterly terrified -
that I cannot return the favor.
Never happier,
I steal away…
to wish
this kind of "danger" on everyone.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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chuckie
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That is excellent....I think many of us have suffered the same fate...Baja got to me in 1956.......No better place....No better people..Thanks Thanks!
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DENNIS
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JC Sullivan is accredited for this poem:
http://www.lamanzanilla.info/la_manzanilla_message_board/11-...
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4969
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Location: San Diego, CA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by rhintransit
I don't know who to attribute it to...
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http://sanmiguelwritersconferenceblog.org/mexico-a-cautionar...
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
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motoged
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Truly the most sensible perspective on such risks ...
Don't believe everything you think....
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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i guess i'm guilty, too!
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Sweetwater
Senior Nomad
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Mood: chilly today hot tomale
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Reminded me of a blues song.....thanks, great song, great reminder.....probably crosses over nicely.....
ROBERT CRAY
"I Was Warned"
(Robert Cray & Dennis Walker)
Oh, I was warned about her love
But like a fool I went on
Whether they're right or wrong
At least the mystery is gone
The more people talked about her
The more I had to see
I had to find out for myself
What could she do for me
Her lips were so inviting
Her hands soft to touch
After just one kiss
I knew I was out of luck
From then on I was hers to control
And knowing that, she robbed me
Of my heart and robbed me of my soul
Oh I was warned about her love
And I'll have to stay strong
Whether they're right or wrong
At least the mystery is gone
From then on I was hers to control
And knowing that she robbed me of my heart
And robbed me of my soul, yeah
Oh I was warned about her love
But like a fool I went on
Whether they're right or wrong
At least the mystery is gone
She had a left hand filled with diamonds
And the other filled with lies
She saw right through me
There was no p[lace to hide
Now I've finally learned my lesson
But you'll never tell
The pain her love left me
I hide so well
I go on day by day in fear
And knowing that I'll never, never love again
Only brings tears
Oh I was warned about her love
And I'll have to stay strong
Whether they're right or they're wrong
At least the mystery is gone
Whether they're right or wrong
At least the mystery is gone
I was warned about her love
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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MulegeAL
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As I finished paying Alfredo for his help cleaning out my place we were discussing the big picture here.
He said "Mulege is a decision of the heart." Made a grown man cry, he did!
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
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It is, isnt it...thanks Al, for that....
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bajabuddha
Banned
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Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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Ged, was that breakfast at Janine's?
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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TLBaja79
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motoged, Where did you find those pancakes?
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Timo1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 736
Registered: 11-2-2007
Location: Homeless
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Mood: Lovin every minute of it
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What am doing in Baja AGAIN ??
sold out and got out !!!
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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I love it.
Mexico is the place where, upon seeing that we were in a rental Tsuru, the residents of Zapotlanejo, Jal. sent guides to get us through an anti-toll
road protest.
Mexico is the place where if you break down, someone will stop—and he will probably know how to fix your car for you if you don't.
Mexico is the place where, after I had to flee Guatemala due to anti-student violence, I was given shelter and food by chiapanecos who couldn't afford
it but gave it anyway.
The worst thing that's ever happened to me in Mexico was getting ripped off by a taxi driver in Guadalajara—and a passerby lit into him for ripping
off tourists.
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
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Location: Kamloops, BC
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The Happy Pancakes were for Christmas breakfast at the Equipales Restaurant, Mulege 
Don't believe everything you think....
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4969
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MulegeAL
big picture here... "Mulege is a decision of the heart."
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When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Since 1983, have never been subjected to any violence or crime traveling both Baja and the mainland.
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grace59
Senior Nomad
Posts: 614
Registered: 9-14-2004
Location: San Felipe, Baja, Mexico
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Darn, now I'm all misty-eyed and longing to be in Baja more than ever! I think that we all have found some place in Baja to be "a decision of the
heart". My head is here in WA because I have my job and this is where I have to be now...logically, but my heart is in Baja...it is under my skin and
they place that makes me feel "right".
Whenever I hear that rainy, chill wind blow. I think it may be time to head for Mexico. Tengo que obedecer mi corazon!
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