Tag Archives: world news

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……….

Jan2

King’s Day……Dia de Reyes

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King’s Day……Dia de Reyes

A 4.7 earthquake in San Francisco. A vehicle exploding in Las Vegas. A terrorist killing and injuring many after recklessly plowing into a crowd of revelers. And it’s only January 2nd! And that’s only in the USA! Crazy things have been happening all over the world.

Here in Aguascalientes it’s peaceful. The only loud noise was the fireworks in the sky at midnight on New Years Eve. And life is pretty much back to normal as the holidays are almost over. Yes, almost over. The kids are still out of school until after King’s Day.

King’s Day? What is that? The first thing to know is that King’s Day is celebrated on January 6th. It is also known as Three Kings Day or Epiphany.

This is a Christian holiday commemorating the day the Three Wisemen arrived to present their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. These were expensive gifts given predominantly to royalty. It also emphasizes the importance of the birth of baby Jesus.

Here in Mexico, King’s Day is known as Dia de Reyes. Traditionally, this is the day when children receive gifts and treats. Another tradition is the Rosca de Reyes, a special wreath-shaped bread adorned with fruit and nut decorations. Inside are hidden baby Jesus figurines. Whoever finds the figurine brings the tamales for the party on Candlemas, February 2.

Another tradition in Mexico is that all Christmas decorations remain on display until Dia de Reyes.

So amid all the chaos in the world today, King’s Day is definitely a much needed cause for celebration in 2025.

Mar18

Destress

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Destress

In the course I’m taking, we have now gone from recognizing habits to stress management. And that is a topic that I’m sure everyone needs help with in their lives right now. But first I’ll digress to the habit that I decided to deal with in this course.

Months ago I decided that I was spending too much time on social media. I stopped scrolling. Next I started unfollowing friends. When I go on Facebook I check out the expat and travel groups I belong to. I check out the writers groups. I tell friends that they need to DM me if they post anything important as I don’t scroll. And I’m now at a point where I follow only a handful of the six hundred friends I have on Facebook. I also dissed Instagram and Twitter long ago.

But the habit I’m focusing on now is cutting back and watching the news online. Talk about stress! Is there anything going on in this world right now that comes close to resembling positivity? Between the wars going on, the politics, the food recalls and the crazy weather………that’s a real cocktail for stress. But the big one for me right now is Boeing.

Door plugs, blown out tires, planes freezing in midair, cracked windshields, missing panels………I can hardly wait to board that flight back home in two weeks! I’ve almost forgotten the days when I used to enjoy flying. Now it’s just the most efficient way to get from point A to point B and it is far from enjoyable.

This is my new strategy. I check my newsfeeds in my email every morning. And when I’m online, as tempting as it is to click on that little news button, I’m limiting that as well. And I’m only reading the headlines. If it’s another article about a plane with a malfunction or an emergency landing for sure I’m going to ignore it. I’m determined to keep my cortisol levels down.

Of course watching the movies on Lifetime may help my Spanish but probably increases that cortisol level. The movies are primarily labelled as thrillers and my Spanish vocabulary now includes words such as stalking, harassing, kidnapping, hostages, nightmares, killers and sexual assault that tend to show up in daily newscasts around the globe but that I hope will never be a part of my own daily life.

Time to meditate. Peaceful. Tranquil. Calming. Think I’ll envision an ocean and billowy clouds today.

Oct25

Buenas Tardes

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Buenas Tardes

Between following the world news, American politics and hurricane warnings here in Mexico, it’s been an eventful couple of weeks since I’ve been back. It’s peaceful here in Aguascalientes and I’m quite content to remain here for a while before venturing out to travel again.

Romina’s birthday party was fun and I enjoyed being with Gloria and her family again. Lunch with Lorraine and Victor at Country Break was a must. Joanne and I had breakfast at Palapa de Charly and caught up on seven months of activity. Other friends are starting to arrive in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta as well.

I’m not one for routine but I do have a couple of things I do regularly. Every morning I say good morning to four friends on What’s App. We’ve been doing this for a while. Lorraine and Victor are here in Aguascalientes, Angie is in Pachuca and Adriana is in Guadalajara. We send each other GIFs and text as well.

I first met Lorraine and Victor two years ago through a mutual friend who no longer lives here. Lorraine is a few years older than me and spent part of her life in Chicago. She likes to speak English with me as she is Mexican and I’m one of her rare friends who speaks English. And she does not want to forget her English. Her son Victor is a few years younger than me and is also Mexican. They came to Aguascalientes from Mexico City a couple of years ago. Our usual meeting place is Country Break.

Angie and I met back in 2010 on a train ride up in the Copper Canyon. She is Mexican but was also an English teacher, also retired now. I’ve gotten to know her family and last year we were all together to celebrate New Years in Jilotzingo. Angie and I are planning to get together somewhere in Mexico in January this winter.

Adriana is a former student as well as an accountant. Never fond of grammar, she arranged for tamales and other food to be delivered to my classroom at just the right moment. Adriana also introduced me to the fine art of sucking candy through a straw. Occasionally we also send each other good night GIFs.

Another routine that is new to me this year is practicing Tai Chi at night before going to bed. It’s a great way to relax and I’m hoping that in time it will have the same effect as the Doozies that are not available down here.

Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is coming up next week and I can hardly wait. It’s one of my favorite holidays here in Mexico and has quite a unique view of death and the spirit world. Partying in the cemetery is very different from the somber atmosphere in cemeteries in the USA and Canada. Creating alters and organizing parades are also characteristic of this holiday. I’ll likely write a post about it next week.

Tomorrow is my daughter’s eighth anniversary. Can’t believe it’s been eight years since we were all together in Punta Cana celebrating her wedding. Happy Anniversary Kimmy and Tarrant!

Mar19

Last Sunday Post From Ags

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Last Sunday Post From Ags

It’s crunch time. I’m into my last week here this winter. And it’s the time I like the least. One last taco here, one last churro there, one last lunch with friends, one last walk around the park. I think you get the gist. Even though I am planning on coming back next winter, it gets harder every year to say goodbye to friends and familiar places.

No matter how organized I am, there’s always last minute things to do that can’t be done ahead of time. Like packing. I should be the master of this by now but I’m not. I must admit that the packing cubes help and I’m glad I’m using those now. Years ago I used to leave a suitcase in Mexico but I don’t do that anymore. No heavy books and teaching materials necessary now.

Apparently I am now coming home to seven chihuahuas and a golden retriever. Christina has been telling me for a long time that she wants a golden retriever. And she just got one yesterday that is only eight weeks old. I wonder if the puppy will be at the airport to greet me along with Christina and Danny next Saturday.

I’ve been watching the weather closely this past week. It looks like I’ll be flying over the California snow en route to Sea-Tac from Guadalajara. Hopefully the weather will cooperate between Sea-Tac and Wenatchee and the plane will fly barring any fog or blizzard conditions.

I’ve also been reading the news. Disintegrating Chinese rockets, unauthorized aircraft flying over Canada and the USA, drones being shot down and North Korea preparing for war…………………. no World War 3 next weekend while I’m traveling please. And aggressive passengers please stay off my flights. Too much garbage going on there too.

Friends here are asking me what the first shop I will hit in Washington is. If you’re guessing Bath and Body Works or Victoria’s Secret you’re wrong. Not Marshall’s or Ross or Burlington Coat. Hint and smile…….it’s in Cashmere and it’s not Sure To Rise or Agave Azul either.

Have A Great Sunday!

Feb19

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

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Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

I’m not sure if it’s because I listened to the song or if it was just my turn to have a strange dream. But Thursday night was the night for more than one strange dream. As I whizzed through different decades in my life, the imagery was distinct and clear. I don’t recall all the details. But I went from nineteen to four to thirty-seven and a variety of other memorable ages. The people in my dreams seemed so real although many have not been a part of my life in years, either by choice or in some cases death. But they were all there and alive in my dreams.

Friday night I was surfing through Spotify and came across some old Perry Como songs. Yes I am that ancient. When I awoke the next morning I felt more than a little disoriented. I expected to see my childhood rocking chair and my record player. Those songs really got to me. They were favorites when I was a child. Middle of the House, Mi Casa Su Casa, Catch a Falling Star. I wonder if my readers remember any of those.

But when I opened my eyes I was here in Mexico, not in my childhood bedroom. Yet it had all seemed so real. For a few fleeting moments I was transported back to the safety of my childhood, a very comfortable place. At that age I didn’t watch the news on TV so I had no idea how chaotic the rest of the world was. My parents did a good job of sheltering me back then. Of course there was no Internet or Facebook in the olden days either.

I wonder if my own children ever have similar experiences. Of course they probably remember Madonna or Michael Jackson rather than Perry Como. The 80s were definitely different than the 50s.

This afternoon as I work on my novel, I’ve decided to listen to 60s country in the background. Can’t wait to find out what the dreams will be about tonight!

Happy Sunday!

Feb15

Let’s Talk Happy

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Let’s Talk Happy

I tried something new in 2023 that had been highly recommended in a course I took last fall. And the result is exactly as the prof predicted it would be. My happiness level has increased.

Not that I wasn’t happy to begin with. It doesn’t matter how happy you are with your life, there is always room for improvement. So I tried this and I’m going to share it with you.

Our discussion in class centered around social media and how it takes away from our happiness. Students talked about how they took sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter off their phones. By constantly seeing others’ posts, the temptation to compare our lives to others is a strong one. But not readily having access alleviates this problem.

That makes sense. That can definitely present a problem if we are always envious of what we perceive others to have. And it may make us feel dissatisfied with what we have.

Twitter and Instagram are two sites I visit extremely rarely. But Facebook is still on my phone. And my tablet. And my computer. But I spend about a tenth of the time I used to on this site. I use it to mainly to share my blog posts twice a week. I enjoy looking at my memories. But only once in a blue moon will I post something.

I have all but given up scrolling. I have several hundred Facebook friends, many of whom have nothing better to do than to tell me what they ate for breakfast or what color t-shirt they’re wearing. And then there are those nasty posts about politics or religion. Or people who feel the need to post every photo in their gallery including ridiculous selfies. And don’t get me going on the ones who feel it’s necessary to share a dozen posts a day.

Sorry but I don’t have the patience for this anymore. I don’t miss the frustration of scrolling through twenty posts to get to one that actually may interest me. Instead, I search the people I want to keep in touch with and check out their posts regularly. I also rely heavily on Messenger and do respond to those messages.

I also prefer to read the news online rather than to rely on gossip and inaccurate speculations so prominent on Facebook. Although I must admit that even some of the events reported on national networks sometimes may fall into those categories.

By the way, if I’ve offended you by this post please feel free to unfriend me.

Happy Humpday!