Mexico

Winter can look nice through the window of warm house. Otherwise this is the beginning of a nasty Monday morning starting off with snow turning to sleet and ice. The traffic reporter on the radio has that shrill whine of frustration in his voice. He has stopped describing the accidents and just keeps saying "don't even try, you're not going to get though".

The imaginary vacation I posted about last week is becoming more and more enticing. I only wish I had the time and money to drift away to some place warm.

Yesterday Harrison was over. He was ready roll with rant about story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A father had threaten his daughter and wife with a AK-47 Why? He was dissatisfied with his daughter's high school report card. It was all As but this quarter two grades dropped to Bs. Understandably the world is a competitive place but pointing a gun at your child probably isn't the best way to motivate them. Honestly I have one son who is as sharp as tack but could barely trouble himself to strive beyond academic mediocrity. If he came home with a report card of all As and two Bs, I'd hire a marching band and have a parade.

Harrison, who is no fan of guns, pointed out that the father was clueless of why he is being charged with two felonies. Not only did the father feel it was in his right to discipline his daughter, he also tried to assure the police that he was being a responsible parent because he checked the gun first and knew it was empty. There was one more layer of irony on top of all this, the father just recently bought the AK-47 because he was afraid the gun was going soon be banded.  Harrison kept saying "you can't make this stuff up".

For a couple of years Harrison lived in Mexico and to play Devil's advocate I asked "doesn't Mexico have really strict gun control laws?"

"They do, but since they practically have no functioning police, it only shows you laws mean nothing unless there's somebody ready to enforce them."

From here Harrison could side step into some other less volatile topic, like Tijuana.  Once Tijuana was the cross boarder suburb of San Diego. For the adventurous and frugal you can work in San Diego and stay in Tijuana. Sort of the best of both worlds, a high paying American job with an apartment and a maid at Mexican prices.  It has its downside too. The border crossing can be a ten minute perfunctory nod to national sovereignty or a hellish two hour traffic jam in 120 degree heat. If all the world is a stage, then Tijuana is a 24 - 7 carnival but like all carnivals the midway games are rigged and as Harrison said there really isn't anyone there to enforce the rules. 

Mexico seems intriguing because it warm but also because it is a little bit dangerous. Tijuana has grown to the point where it is the metropolis and San Diego is the suburb. Harrison also went on at length about Mexico City, that it has one of the most perfect climates in the world. The tropical sun is tempered by the mile high elevation, so it's just the right temperate with no oppressive humidity but like Tijuana, Mexico City has a downside too. The whole city sits in valley that traps the air pollution in and has the same effect on your lungs as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day.

With a wistful grin Harrison said "if you can handle that Mexico City will reward you." It has its history, a large intellectual community and a very cosmopolitan culture.   

What's most interesting about Mexico to me is it's a place that you think you know -but you really don't. Harrison has been toying with the idea of going back. As the American economy slowly pulls out of this last recession, the Mexican economy has been growing at a healthy 4-5 percent. Things have been so promising that Mexican immigrants in the US have return back home. The newly return not only have a little extra money in their pockets but plenty new ideas of how to make Mexican institutions work better and work for everyone.

So the rest of Sunday afternoon Harrison reminisced on the recipe of Santa Clara cookies, how the fins of manta rays taste like scallops (and that restaurants in Baja California use to serve manta ray fin as the more expensive scallops) or that the Colorado River no longer reaches the Sea of Cortez (because so much of the river water is diverted in the US).

I think one thing Harrison missed from Tijuana was the Mexican lotto or bingo cards.  Harrison brought home a box load of the cards when he return to the US and wall papered the bedroom of his first apartment in Philadelphia with them. It looked cool but when the landlors confronted him about the décor, Harrison was as clueless as an irate father with a AK-47.

Another thing I think Harrison misses is the Space Age Bachelor Pad music of composers like Juan Esquivel. What can I say, it's an acquired taste. The music is a little cheesy and little campy, but it's fun and you would never think of it as indigenous to Mexico.  Harrison tells me it's good to keep on hand if I ever want to impress the pretentious hip of Los Angeles.