Tag Archives: news

Dec1

Have You Heard The News? What Did It Say?

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Have You Heard The News? What Did It Say?

Yes I’m on Facebook. And I am quite aware that a great deal of false information is easily spread. I disregard most of it until I have a chance to check out reliable sources. I’m amazed at just how much is exaggerated or enhanced by those who love to gossip. And I have no patience for this.

Here in Mexico the farmers continue their blockades on the highways. They are protesting the new water law. They are protesting the price of corn. They are frustrated and angry. And so is anyone attempting to travel on the highways.

However that seems minor compared with what’s going on in the news in East Wenatchee, Washington. I’ve called this city home for the past three summers. And it has changed drastically in three years, and not for the better.

Spacious single family homes are now being subdivided into duplexes. In conversations with my neighbors during this past summer, I learned that many homes are being rented out as the market is down. Even plummeting prices have not encouraged people to buy. It is common for four or five college students to share a house. My neighbor even told me of one house down the street which three married couples are sharing.

The other night there was an armed home invasion down the street from where I’ve stayed. A couple of weeks ago a teenager in the neighborhood was arrested for possession of illegal guns and threatening neighbors and police. Last winter I read about meth labs that were busted close to where I was staying. And the high speed car chases aren’t limited to Wenatchee. There are also incidences of gangs fighting, especially near the mall. And there was more than one murder in the area last summer.

People in East Wenatchee are quick to blame the gangs for spilling over the George Sellar Bridge and into East Wenatchee from Wenatchee. And of course they take it further and blame the immigrants, particularly the illegal ones. However I believe there’s a lot more to it than that. I don’t think the kids in East Wenatchee are all the innocent darlings their parents believe them to be either.

And I wonder what I’ll read in the news about East Wenatchee in the coming months before my time in Mexico comes to an end this winter.

Jun27

Writing Prompts

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Writing Prompts

Here on WordPress, writing prompts are suggested for those days when you want to write and are struggling to come up with a topic of your own. I scrolled through a few today and I’m not inspired to write using even one of the suggested prompts. And I think back to that creative writing course I took back in college. The prof’s advice….Write about what you know.

Having been around for more than a few decades, I think I know a lot. Yet I also believe that there is still a great deal for me to learn in my lifetime. After all, you can never know too much.

Or can you?

I have gingerly gone back to reading daily newsfeeds. Locally, the news is all about the ongoing manhunt for a father accused of murdering his three daughters. Nationally, the headlines deal with the political situation. Globally, all eyes are poised on a potential World War lll.

On a happier note, I attended a luncheon the other day for a woman in my book club who was celebrating her 99th birthday. She is moving to the other side (a Washingtonian knows this means to the other side of the mountains) this week. We’ll all have to travel next year if we want to attend the 100th.

I’ve learned a lot about American history in the past few months. Book club has focused on historical fiction. The current read is all about Patsy Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson. I find it to be lengthy and long-winded, although a few others find it most interesting and a delight to read. However, I must admit that I do find American history to be much more colorful than Canadian history.

I wonder what the history books will say twenty or thirty years from now. It will depend if they’re written by a Democrat or a Republican; or in the case of Canada, a Liberal or a Conservative. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine the world I’m living in now. Enough about that.

Back to happy. Come to Cashmere this Saturday for a Founders Day celebration. I’ll be volunteering at a book sale organized by Friends of the Cashmere Library. Other events include a classic car show, a parade, games for kids and entertainment.

I decided to end this post with a Johnny joke, because we can all use some humor in our lives.

Teacher: “If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?” Johnny: “Seven.” Teacher: “No, listen carefully… If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?” Johnny: “Seven.” Teacher: “Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?” Johnny: “Six.” Teacher: “Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?” Johnny: “Seven!” Teacher: “Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!” Johnny: “Because I’ve already got a freaking cat!”

Groan………..

May30

So How Was Your Childhood?

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So How Was Your Childhood?

As I lazily sipped coffee and checked my emails in bed this morning, the TV was on in the background. But instead of a movie in Spanish, the channel was INSP and the show was an old western. My favorites to watch include The Rifleman, High Chapparal and Gunsmoke. And they bring back memories of my childhood; the days when we only had three channels and no cable.

As an adult, it’s a mystery to me why my parents allowed me to watch these violent shows where people were always being shot, killed or scalped yet viewing a newscast was forbidden. After all, the daily news might somehow cause me to have nightmares. At least that’s what they told me.

I had a cap gun. I can still feel it in my hand and I can still smell it after it went off. As kids, we always played Cowboys and Indians. One of my friends actually had a toy bow and arrow, so being an Indian wasn’t all that bad. But the good guys were always the Cowboys and the bad guys were always the Indians. And my skills with that cap gun were far superior to those with a bow and arrow.

I also had water pistols. I mean, you could still always yell “Bang! Bang! You’re Dead!” using those instead of cap guns.

Flash ahead to when my kids came along. Their water pistols looked like animals, not guns. And I never allowed them to have any kind of toy gun. But I did let them watch the newscasts on TV. And I’m certain I let them watch more than a few TV shows and movies that were probably quite inappropriate for their age. And they seemed to have turned out okay. They aren’t serial killers or criminals.

But growing up in the 50s was a lot more “wholesome” than being a child in the 80s. It was safe to play outside until the streetlights came on. Everyone knew their neighbors. We had front porches not decks in the backyard. We didn’t have attached garages so we actually interacted with our neighbors. We never locked our doors in the 50s. My kids learned how to arm and disarm an alarm system.

We’re in the 2020s now. Kids have drills informing them what to do if there is a shooter in the school. And I thought fire drills were scary enough!

I wonder if someday my kids might look back and ponder about their childhood compared with their kids’ childhood.

So how was your childhood?

Feb18

It’s Time

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It’s Time

It’s time to stop reading my newsfeed. It’s time to stop watching the news on TV. It’s time to stop googling all the craziness going on in our world today.

By this time, I’ve already booked flights back to Washington. But I’m not too eager to do that yet, especially after viewing the crash in Toronto yesterday. My preferred airline is Alaska, synonymous with the 737 issues. But I do fly Delta, yesterday’s airline involved in that fiasco. And I often fly into Sea-Tac, and that airport hasn’t been without incident in 2025 either.

But my best option is still to fly over the border. I’ve done the land thing……San Ysidro, Matamoras, Reynoso, Nogales. Pretty eerie around 2 am which I did in San Ysidro and Reynoso. I highly recommend daylight for those adventures. But border towns are becoming more and more dangerous.

I love trains. I wish I could take a train across the border. But there isn’t one.

Today has been an Uber kind of day. A trip in the morning to run errands. Uber Eats to deliver a pizza. Yes, occasionally I crave something other than Mexican food. But I do put my foot down when it comes to the chimi churri. Salad dressing just doesn’t belong on pizza. Later this afternoon I will also use an Uber when I go out to Conversation Club.

I’m traveling tomorrow to visit a friend in Pachuca. This will be my last post until I return to Aguascalientes next week. And I am definitely going to cut back on the newsfeeds.

Have a great week everyone!

Feb11

Tanks?

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Tanks?

Every morning as I scroll through my news feeds it’s the same thing. Politics. Plane crashes. School shootings. I remember when I was a child in the fifties and my parents wouldn’t let me watch the newscasts back then. They were worried that those might give me bad dreams. I can only imagine the nightmares children have today if they watch the news on TV. There are some awfully graphic images about what’s happening around the world.

So I’ve decided to focus this post on tanks. Why tanks? I’m currently helping a thirteen-year-old Mexican boy with English. That’s a tricky age where he’d rather be doing any number of things than spending a couple of hours with me learning English. I’m trying to get him talking more. The vocabulary and some basic grammar are there. Occasionally we watch short videos and talk about them. I let him choose the topics. We’ve covered cars, airplanes, helicopters and tanks. Tanks? His choice. The military interests him.

I must admit that I learned a lot about tanks from that last video. It focused on comparing the Bulldog with the Spartan. Before I watched this video, to me a tank was a tank used by the military to fight wars. And war is a topic I’m not particularly fond of.

The Bulldog is an armored personnel carrier. It’s made of steel and weighs as much as three elephants. It can carry up to 12 people and reaches a maximum speed of 38 mph, that of a galloping horse. The engine is 240 hp. It has a hatch on top so that a person can look out over the terrain. It has tracks that enable it to travel through difficult places. And it is painted with the idea of camouflage in mind.

The Spartan is also an armored personnel carrier and holds up to 14 people. Although it is larger than a Bulldog, it is much lighter in weight as it is made of aluminum. It can travel at a higher speed of 60 mph and can navigate terrain more easily. It can climb steep hills. The Spartan has periscopes that enable a 360 degree view from inside.

When it came time to drawing a tank and labelling the parts, Emiliano added something that wasn’t in the video. Rocket launchers. And I wonder why those weren’t mentioned in the video. After all, tanks are synonymous with the military.

I thought I had visited all the museums in Aguascalientes but apparently I haven’t. Emiliano told me that there is a museum where I can see a tank up close. I have now put the Interactive Museum of Science and Technology on my list.

Emiliano is also a big fan of video games. They are his passion. His homework this week? Play Candy Crush in English instead of Spanish. Learn the names of the characters and their helpers in English. This should prove to be interesting……….

Jan15

I Went Out For A Walk

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I Went Out For A Walk

It’s been a crazy weekend so far, a real roller coaster ride. And I’m trying to get off of it. But it’s a tough struggle.

It started on Friday when I read something on Facebook. And then I made the mistake of reading the obituaries in my hometown newspaper. And if that wasn’t enough, I received malas noticias from a friend here in Mexico. The icing on the cake is the crisis one of my characters is going through, and I can’t get it out of my head.

Time to clear my head. Time for a long walk, by myself. Hoping I don’t bump into anyone because I just don’t feel like talking right now.

Some people call me homeless because I keep moving around. But this woman is truly homeless and she doesn’t move at all. No, she’s camped out on a boulevard on a busy street here in Las Flores.

I walked by a travel agency and saw this interesting poster. I’m thinking it was an old one, before Covid.

Luckily the only person I had to talk to was the server at Country Break. And yes, I ordered a burger to go along with my “comfort food.”

I think the walk helped. Duolingo is calling. Today’s story is a cheesy one about a secret place. I wonder what Junior will be up to today….

Aug22

Good Riddance To Last Week

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Last week’s emotional rollercoaster ride was far too intense. Glad it’s over.

In addition to the ever-present stressful dilemma of figuring out travel plans, my daughter was evacuated from her home in Kelowna. Thankfully she is back at home, albeit still on an alert.

I really need to stop following the news. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires….those are merely the natural disasters.

COVID-19. The Delta variant. The other variants. To mask or not to mask. To mandate vaccination in the workplace. This virus isn’t going anywhere in my lifetime. Traumatized children…..what is their destiny? I can only pray for my grandchildren.

Afghanistan. It was wrong to send troops there in the first place. Apparently nothing was learned from the fiasco in Vietnam. And now thousands of innocent people will die yet again.

The above song was released back in 1965. I guess not much has changed.