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Baja_Girl
Nomad
Posts: 157
Registered: 4-2-2007
Location: Pasadena, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: suavidad
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Hi, Amir,
thank you for doing this posting...
a friend of mine is a chiropractor who flies a plane and travels with
Mexican Medical Ministries www.mexicanmedical.com - I think, anyway, he flies with other healers (doctors, nurses) to remote outposts throughout baja. He will be in Loreto
this weekend.
I am not a religious sort of person, but I think it is important for all us who are able to make the human sojourn a little less painful...
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BAJACAT
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
Member Is Offline
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Cause we keep it alive,and unforgaten.spread the word Baja Is great..
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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amir
Senior Nomad
Posts: 559
Registered: 5-4-2007
Location: Todos Santos, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: chiropractic
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Thank you, BajaGirl. I looked up the Mexican Medical Ministries link and will research it further. There is a big difference between religiosity and
spirituality. You might not be religious, but you care about the human condition - that makes you a spiritual being. I'd like to think that I am on
some sort of a spiritual path but am not affiliated with any Church, and so I might have trouble with an evangelical group. It would be nice if we
could keep religion and politics out of healing; however I must add in all fairness that it is wonderful and commendable for altruists to use the
pulpit as a springboard for their services - as long as it comes from the heart and people get the help they need, and there are no strings
attached...
Have fun on your own trip to Loreto, and a speedy health recovery.
Thanks again,
--Amir
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Capt. George
Super Nomad
Posts: 2129
Registered: 8-21-2003
Member Is Offline
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we try to be a part of the community. a good place to be.
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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What a wonderful thread and so relevant...Baja gave me a miracle (mi Sirenita) and I strive to give back as much as humanly possible on a daily
basis...I try to promote understanding between the races...bridge the gap on both sides and help others where I can. Part of joining this board was to
foster goodwill and offer helpful information to baja travellers with ideas on how to treat the locals to make their trip even more enjoyable and
satisfying. We talk ALOT about gringos and I attempt to explain the phenomenon to our mexican family and friends. I made SO many cultural boo boos
when I first started coming here...and so maybe I can help others avoid these shameful blunders. I am dedicated to helping our village see it's way
through the growth that will soon begin. I love this part of baja and it loves me back!
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rdrrm8e
Nomad
Posts: 252
Registered: 5-14-2007
Member Is Offline
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Back in 1983 I was on a roadtrip with one of my buddies and we stopped at the lone fire station in La Paz. At the time the population in La Paz was
about 300,000. They had 1 fire station, 1 1946 fire engine, no turnouts , no breathing apparatus, about 200' of leaky hose and 1 nozzle with a broken
bail!!!!! They had large pictures on the walls of that tiny station of themselves fighting huge fires in flaps and tank tops.
Being firemen ourselves we hatched a plan to buy used fire engines for $1.00 from the city we worked for. We took them to Bob's house and he did most
of the work repacking the pumps, scrounging tires etc. Then we would fill them up with all the hose, turnouts and equipment we could find and drive
them to TJ.
The LaPaz fire chief would take the bus up and drive them back. In a couple of years we had sent enough supplies that they had 3 fire stations, an
aerial ladder, and ambulance, scott packs, hose, turnouts and all kinds of equipment.
Eventually we were honored in an August ceremony celebrating the dead firemen in Mexico. We were given goatskin proclamations and rode the tailboards
all over La Paz code 3 in a massive parade.
I still have the ring that one of the bomberos took off his finger (they didn't have badges back then...but handmade silver rings that signified they
were "Bomberos") and gave to me. I am very proud of that.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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rdrrmBe ----
Great story as are all the others above.
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Capt. George
Super Nomad
Posts: 2129
Registered: 8-21-2003
Member Is Offline
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kudos to you and our La Paz brothers from a retired FDNY Firefighter.
Engine Co. 42 Da Bronx!
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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fdt
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4059
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Tijuana, Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Yeah, what if it all goes right
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
What is it that you contribute to Baja, money excluded, that makes you part of the Baja community? |
Baja California is "Grande Por Ti"
Baja California is "Great Because of You"
http://www.fabricadehits.com/pages/video.php?video=images/sp...
Speakers on please
[Edited on 5-25-2007 by fdt]
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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Shall I toot my own horn now? Uh..........
Maybe in twenty years or so. I'll hang out with some locals and be myself for
the time being. Till the next big one hits that is.
TOOT TOOT!!
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
Member Is Offline
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Baja hardly notices me. I leave a very small footprint. I even write stories about it.
THE COMMANDMENT
You wouldn't think it to look at me but I'm not really a world traveler. I guess I haven't rented a car more than two or three times. The occasions
were memorable. One time that sticks in my mind was perhaps in the late 80's or early 90's. I'm almost sure it was Hertz. For the first time, when
I checked the car out, a woman in a uniform came with me. She had a form on a clipboard; a diagram of the outline of a car was part of the form. The
young woman insisted I inspect the car, taking particular note of any damage to the car -- together we walked around the car looking for cracked
windows, dents, scratches, dings and ruined body paint. We found a small dent in the trunk. She made a note, marked the location on the form, tried
to duplicate on paper just what we had found. The interior was next; a small rip in the covering of the rear seat (near the door), marked on the
form.
I signed the form, she tore off one copy for me and wished me well. There had been little conversation but very little was needed. Hertz was going
to have the same form I signed very handy when I turned the car in. They had my signature on the Mastercard receipt. The rental contract was
airtight -- court-tested a million times with renters and their insurors in every state.
I've always been careful with the car when I needed a rental but this time I was extra careful; how and where I drove it, parked it, stored it. I
even had the damned thing washed before I took it back -- watched every move of the guys at the car wash.
A simple, yet powerful concept and contract: Enforceable Stewardship. Screw it up, cough up. Take reasonable care of it, return to the freedom you
enjoyed before the contract. The threat of Hertz charging huge auto repair bills to the bottomless pit of a hard-earned credit limit forced me to
take better care of the car than I took of my own. Just for kicks I took the car rental papers out of my coat pocket, laid it on the bar at the
hotel. I ordered another scotch, put on my cheaters and read "the fine print". There were 21 parts, all of them Greek to me. As to the vehicle, it
all boiled down to the rock bottom basics of stewardship. They needed the form for legal reasons but I thought, after my third scotch, in the real
world, all they really need is the one commandment, "DON'T CHANGE THINGS THAT DON'T BELONG TO YOU".
That's not all I was thinking. I was thinking "The Best Western chain can't buy a scotch/rocks after I've bought four of them at $5.50 a pop?" I
was thinking that God could have used such a powerful injunction. The Ten Commandants are simple, they cover all the really bad things, but people
forgot them, abused them, twisted them, found loopholes so their sins would be hidden, diminished or forgiven -- the Catholics have their
Confessional; Methodists, Protestants, Baptists hire Jewish lawyers.. God is in control, he's in control of time. He could go back, back to the time
of the Tablets. Maybe the whole earth would be better for it. After all, we don't really own the planet or any of the other things hanging (so
tenuously) on to it. The imperialists, the conquerors, missionaries, usurpers, interlopers would be under very different orders. Just like with
Hertz, if you change things that don't belong to you "You'll catch hell."
Maybe when Moses asked the Lord "Shall I go forth over the land, spread the gospel, read the tablets?"
Moses might hear God's Holy Reply, "Nah, use the Hertz thing."
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bajadock
Super Nomad
Posts: 1219
Registered: 12-20-2006
Location: Punta sur de \'Nada
Member Is Offline
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Baja likes me because I provide community support, but, do not advertise my philanthropy.
Now that I have a real kitchen and deck view with the water 500m away, my giving back now includes theme parties. Next one is blind wine tasting in 2
weeks, fyi.
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boe4fun
Super Nomad
Posts: 1040
Registered: 1-22-2006
Location: Margaritaville
Member Is Offline
Mood: Circling the drain........
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Hola Amir, We have established a Prosthetic/Orthotic clinic in La Paz with the help of the local Rotary Club (La Balandra) and "Mobilize Mankind". We
hold 2 clinics per year and have seen about 4 or 5 dozen patients (I've lost count) who could not afford prostheses or orthoses. Perhaps you would be
interested in attending our next clinic (scheduled around Oct/Nov.) and lending your expertise? I'll email a copy of this to my contact in La Paz, Dr.
Alejandro Aguirre. His email is: aguirrechavez@yahoo.com Hope to hear from you soon. Paul Boe boe4fun@charter.net
Two dirt roads diverged in Baja and I, I took the one less graveled by......
Soy ignorante, apático y ambivalente. No lo sé y no me importa, ni modo.
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bajabound2005
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2762
Registered: 10-15-2005
Location: Punta Banda, BCN
Member Is Offline
Mood: words cannot describe...
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We get so much from just living here! We do all we can to return what we get by supporting local businesses and tradepeople; we do volunteer work -
teaching English in our local primary school. We help support the many folks who so much to care for the local street dogs. And we are learning
Spanish to better communicate with the lovely people that are native to this country.
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Cameron
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 10-12-2004
Location: Todos Santos / Seattle WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Thirsty!
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Giving Back/Why Baja Likes Me...
Why does Baja like me??? I'll never pass by a broken-down motorist without stopping to see if I can offer a hand, a little gas, or whatever's
necessary to get them back on the road. Okay, maybe not on the Ensenada Cuota at 3 in the morning when I'm driving alone, but otherwise, just about
anywhere or anytime.
Do I do this in the US? Nope. With few exceptions, I figure that with cell phones, AAA, State Troopers, etc., most US motorists will be just fine
without me. In the middle of the desert, 100 miles from the nearest town, it's a whole different deal.
The one time I've been broken down myself (in Baja), it took all of 5 minutes before I had two different locals stop to help me. The first motorist
pulled out a nylon tow strap, and after hooking his Nissan Pathfinder to my 3/4 ton pickup, towed me almost 25 miles to the nearest town. Once there,
he unhooked me, and was gone before I had a chance to thank him, or to open the frosty cold Ballena his wife handed me from the back of their truck!
Viva Baja!!!  
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amir
Senior Nomad
Posts: 559
Registered: 5-4-2007
Location: Todos Santos, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: chiropractic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajadock
Baja likes me because I provide community support, but, do not advertise my philanthropy. |
Bajadock,
I wrestled in my head before I posted my story, whether it was righteous to advertise my philanthropy. I know that it has more merit to give
anonymously. The highest form of charity is to give to anonymous recipients from anonymous sources. However, in this case, because of the nature of
this forum, and because I wanted to spread the word that my chiropractic services are available for free to those who cannot pay, I decided to go
ahead and "toot my own horn" a little. I saw it more as an opportunity to expand my goodwill rather than to advertise my giving. Sorry if it came
across in a selfish way...
--Amir
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amir
Senior Nomad
Posts: 559
Registered: 5-4-2007
Location: Todos Santos, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: chiropractic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by boe4fun
... Perhaps you would be interested in attending our next clinic (scheduled around Oct/Nov.) and lending your expertise? ... |
Boe4Fun,
Ask and it shall be given! This contact is exactly why I've decided to post in this thread. I will gladly volunteer with your group. I'm composing an
email that will send to you possibly tomorrow. Greg and Gayle Edwards, from Mobilize Mankind, are dear friends of mine from Eugene, Oregon, and they
are partly instrumental for us being here now, and they have been sort of spiritual mentors for me. The work they do, bringing wheelchairs and all
kinds of equipment, and bringing therapists, and training parents, and arranging for surgeries, and everything else they do, is wonderful. I am glad
they are, and will be more, in my life. And what a gift for all the handicapped children of Baja they help!
--Amir
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
Member Is Offline
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Bravo!
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajadock
Baja likes me because I provide community support, but, do not advertise my philanthropy.
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Maimonides' eight levels of charity:
1. The highest degree of all is one who supports another by providing a loan, or entering into a partnership, or finding work for him, so that
the person can become self-sufficient.
2. Giving to another so that the donor does not know the recipient and the recipient does not know the donor.
3. Giving to another so that the donor knows the recipient, but the recipient does not know the donor.
4. Giving to another so that the recipient knows the donor, but the donor does not know the recipient.
5. Giving without being asked.
6. Giving after being asked.
7. Giving less than is proper, but in a friendly manner.
8. Giving in a grudging and unfriendly way.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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Dave---
Giving is only part of it. You do that well.
The most important part of giving is, why you do it. You said it.
We dont come down here to give our life away. We dont come down here to buy friendship.
We come here to understand and be understood. We have reason to hope for and expect that.
I give, in a squandering way, to those in my life that need help.
They have my assistance. They have for years.
I repel from those, human or institution, that solicit my money for any reason that I find unfounded.
So, in your list of reasons, I am guilty of acting on points 2 - 5 - 6.
It's the best I can do.
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Bajagypsy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1416
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: Bahía Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Living the dream
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I think baja likes me because of the way I was raised, I was raised by two hippies, who were firm belivers in punishment if you didn't take out more
than what you came with.
To this day, I know my mom could & would kick my burro if I left even a cigarte behind on a camping trip. It is that fear that makes me the
person I am today, and we always pick up everyone elses garbage up, even if just stopping for a pee on the side of the road.
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