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Septemeber 30, 2002.
Welcome to
autumn, the most beautiful season of the year in so many parts of the northern
hemisphere. With the Autumn Equinox that occurred last Monday, we are officially
headed for that dreadful day, the one where we are told that we have to turn our
clocks back one hour. Yucch. On the other hand, this is the time for all the Libras
around the world to celebrate, and considering that I am such an expert on the
subject (all my children are Libras), I take this opportunity to wish all our
Libra readers a very happy birthday! Professor Cupul often
alludes to biodiversity in his articles. The term applies to us humans as well
and I never cease to be amazed at the wondrous diversity that does exist among
us. We say "Different strokes for different folks", don't we? I smiled
when I read Denise Fiske's article in a recent issue of The Times. Referring to
the rains, she writes "enough already!" My feelings on the topic are
diametrically opposite. I have dreaded the end of the rainy season here every
year for the last eight years. Don't get me wrong. I love the cool nights and
the clear skies it brings, but I truly dislike the dust that begins to rise as
the streets really dry up. And it slowly accumulates on the leaves of the trees
on the mountains around us until they no longer look lush and green and alive
like they do today. And for those of us who live in homes here that are wide open,
it means that even if you dust in the morning, there's going to be a brand new
film of dust on all the horizontal surfaces in your house the very next day -
if not sooner. And the same happens with the car you just hosed down yesterday…
And that stuff gets into all your electronic equipment too. But, Puerto Vallarta
remains beautiful despite everything, so I guess I'll stay a few years longer...
It always gives me pleasure to award my little "bouquets".
At this time, I would be remiss if I did not compliment the supervising staff
of Sam's Club for the excellent customer service I received from them last week.
I know, I know, I'm the one who's always complaining about them, but this time
is different. In fact, there were two separate incidents. One was the lovely young
lady stocking the cheese shelves who answered me when I asked her why there was
no more of a particular item I had come to purchase. "Look at these few packages
of cheddar cheese. That's all I have left. Americans love this cheese. They buy
a lot of it and we never have enough to supply the demand. We always run out and
we always ask our head office in Mexico City to send us more, but they never do.
I think they think that Puerto Vallarta is still nothing but a little "ranchito,""
she said (in Spanish). The second is the more important
one. I love Wiener Schnitzel and if I may say so myself, I prepare a pretty good
one. So I've been very happy with the beautiful Milanesa de cerdo at Sam's over
the last three years. I bought a package as usual, brought it home and proceeded
to divide it into (small) family-sized portions as I always do. Imagine my surprise
when I discovered that beneath the two beautiful slices on top lay a whole bunch
of tiny of fat- and gristle-laden pieces! Needless to say, I felt cheated …and
angry. The next day, for the first time in three years
since Sam's Club opened, I drove all the way back out there with the package of
pork (?) and asked to speak to the meat department supervisor. It took a minute
and the pleasant gentleman appeared. He was most distraught when I showed him
what lay beneath the top layer… Not only did they refund my money, but they
brought me another package filled with the most beautiful, fresh, thinly-sliced
pork meat I've seen in a long time. Felicidades, señor! And bouquets to
you. More bouquets to the manager at the Plaza Caracol
branch of Bancomer. That lovely man spent no less than three hours trying to get
the bank's internet system for paying utility bills to work for me. (He failed.)
I've been charged $150. Pesos for the last three months for a service that has
never worked, even though another manager at the same bank spent an entire morning
to do the same a few months ago… Bricks? Yes, I would definitely like to
throw some at the person who programmed the bank's software! And I think the branch's
managers would join me in that exercise. The last time
that Cancun suffered the effects of a major hurricane, Puerto Vallarta authorities
quickly picked up the slack, inviting all the tourists who were being evacuated
-and those who were about to fly there from various points in Canada and the U.S.-
to come to Vallarta instead… I guess that Hurricane Isadore just wasn't bad
enough for them to do the same this time around. Or maybe they have other things
on their minds, more important than increasing tourism to this town. I
have to take back everything I insinuated about Brad Pitt in this column last
week. Whew! Did you see that boy at the recent Emmy Awards? Now that he's married
to Jennifer what's-her-name, his hair is brown now and he looks just wonderful!
What a little change like that can do …unbelievable. There
are many rumors whispering through the grapevine recently, among which it seems
that the construction going on right next to what used to be known as the Plaza
Comercial in Villas Vallarta will house an Office Depot! I am sure that is going
to be absolutely fabulous for all the local businesses. It also appears that the
renowned Gold's Gym folks are setting up a bona fide, honest-to-goodness branch
right here in little ol' Puerto Vallarta! Soon there will be more gyms in this
town than there are souvenir shops if this trend continues… In the meantime,
I'm still sitting here in front of my computer, still promising myself to sign
up with one of them in order to counteract the effects of time, gravity, and a
lifestyle that is all too sedentary. (I've been talking to myself about this for
years.) Have a wonderful week, dear readers. Take good
care of yourselves and each other. Hasta luego! pvmomto3@hotmail.com Archives
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