Comings and Goings

Justin, Becky, and Paige left for home yesterday. Goodbyes were said at the Bayview Grand main entrance, which in this case served instead as a main exit.

Justin gave me his 'Glad-I'm-returning-to-a-gentle-Kelowna-winter

-and-not-a-howling-Montreal-Arctic-one' smile.

Paige took a last and longing look at a pool, acknowledging

it was not really designed for a parting plunge.

A rather nice taxi arrived to take them and their luggage to

the airport. Looking forward to seeing them again!

Then, last evening Carol and I received visitors, Dave and Shelley Armstrong, who live in Ixtapa. We had a very pleasant evening discussing, among other things, who the "king of the north" as mentioned in Daniel's prophecy, may turn out to be in the final development - and how the foretold cry of "Peace and security!" may come about. Basically we must wait and see but it is stimulating to piece together what the scriptures have foretold and see where it appears to point from here. Alas, I forgot to take photographs while Dave and Shelley were here.

An ice-cream shop where Carol and I had a cool treat this

evening. I had a caramel ice cream cone and Carol had a

pink I-dunno-berry one.

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day today. And it looks like both Carol and I may have deepened our tan. Actually, no 'may have' about it.

The Main Event of Recent Times

Yesterday's highlight was having Linda and Jack's family over for supper. Photos supplied below ...

Good food, great company, stimulating conversation

 - a happy combination.

No, I was *not* the cook.

And since Paige occupies a rather modest place in the above collage, we are glad to give her special treatment here ...

Justin, Becky, and Paige leave for home tomorrow. We'll miss them.

Sunday's Story

At 4:20 p.m. we were on the street awaiting our bus to the Kingdom Hall. As mentioned in previous posts, sometimes a bus comes manned not by the driver alone but also a barker who hangs out the door hollering to passersby in an effort to gather passengers.

Today we had a barker. His name is Mancera*. He asked where we wished to get off and we told him, "Muebles & Confort," a furniture store. It's a landmark on the main road. The Hall is directly behind it. He recognized us as JWs and knew we were going to the Hall. He told us he has been studying the Bible with Witnesses. "After all," he said, "You know what is written at Matthew 4:4."

I said, "Just a minute. Let me read it on my cell phone Bible," which I proceeded to do. Our conversation continued about the importance of learning what God's Word says, about the urgency of our times, and the privilege to do what God wants us to do. This was a rather loud exchange, necessary to overcome the rattle-bang of the bus, so all the other bus passengers who sat silently had no difficulty following our conversation.

I didn't want to embarrass him by getting him to pose for a photo on the bus so I discreetly took the photo below when it seemed no one was looking ..

He goes to the same Kingdom Hall we do, but to the Spanish meetings.

Following our high quality meeting - I say that because there are many experienced and mature Witnesses who visit here - Carol and I went for supper at a restaurant we like, 'Tequila and Salsa.' I enjoyed another bowl of Aztec soup! If ever you visit Ixtapa you must not miss out on Aztec soup as served up at the 'Tequila and Salsa.' I've tried it elsewhere. Ixtapa's is light years ahead.

Speaking of food, I post another photo of where we dined last night. It gives a good sense of the tremendous view ...

Later that night, from our condo balcony, we could recognize the lighted pillars of this dining room in the hills across the bay.

Carol commented on the fireworks yesterday and here is a photo of one burst I caught ...

Regarding our bus acquaintance Carol adds: He lived in Chicago for ten years then deported back to Mexico - no legal papers. He is 27 and seems to have a real appreciation for what he is learning. We shook hands when we debarked and said "mucho gusto".

 Take the bus and meet
interesting people.

* names - yadda yadda

Special Saturday

While waiting for someone with a key to let us into the Hall this morning we waited outside near a bull standing on the back of a pickup truck. It was a bad news day for the creature since across from the hall is a butcher shop specializing in fresh meat. The empty lot beside our Hall has been used to turn live beef into marketable beef and this is the fate that awaited the bull in the photos. By now it is safe to say he is a former bull. A bit sad but people do like to eat beef and it doesn't grow on trees. And cows do not lay hamburger patties the way a chicken lays eggs.

Following service Carol shopped for strawberries in the Zihuatanejo Centro market since that's where our service territory was.

For supper we joined Jack & Linda, Justin & Becky & Paige. Jack & Linda kindly treated us to a magnificent meal at a restaurant in a striking location, across the bay from our condo and on top of a hill, giving us a spectacular view. This meal was a 50th anniversary gift and it will certainly be a memorable one. The video below will convey the general idea of the setting.

Here we all are as photographed by a waiter ...

An instrumentalist provided music for us. Once finished with the saxophone he returned later with a clarinet. When done with clarinet he showed up later with a flute. After the regular flute he came back with a Pan flute. Then it was back to the saxophone. All very pleasant.

Paige was a big fan of the musician.

We didn't even know this place existed so it was a very pleasant surprise and the association and conversation was both interesting and stimulating. An excellent time.

Friday Facts

It was a day of online business so, true to the pernicious nature of things electronic, the Internet went down in our condo.

Again.

For many hours.

The circumstance obliged me to trek into the ground floor lobby with my laptop in search of connectivity. Upon the sofas there, I joined six other dwellers of this complex who have the same fragile Internet service provider as me. Fortunately the public wi-fi there, from a different provider, worked. Some situations do require patience.

Me being patient.

While busy typing and clicking I was approached by a man who knows Linda, Carol and I are JWs. He has noticed us dressed up, leaving for meetings. He wanted to tell me a friend of his who is also a JW is coming here for a visit. He said he hoped to introduce me to his friend who he feels is a wonderful man, "the salt of the earth." He said I'd likely see this friend at the Kingdom Hall. I asked him if I might see him too, accompanying his friend. No, he said. I asked him if he had ever gone to a Kingdom Hall. No, he said. But he assured me I'll enjoy meeting his friend who is a marvelous human being, truly the salt of the earth (again), and "it's too bad there aren't a lot more like him around." I replied, "Yes, we like the idea of more too." And I thanked him for telling me about his friend and that, with such a recommendation, I very much look forward to meeting him.

And tonight was in fact a meeting night ...

A school part, photographed with my iPad.

Post-meeting conversations regarding which a

Brother Francisco told me, "I love hearing this

noise!"

Phancy Photos

There's been enough regular sunset photos here and, with Paige being the star of the pool these days, I offer some spiffied photos. As Ansel Adams put it, "You don't take a photograph, you make it."

Beach Glow

 

Paige

Pink Sky

 

I make pictures and someone

comes in and calls it art.

Zihua Day

We caught the bus to Zihuatanejo at 8:35 a.m. Following the service arrangement, Carol left for the public ministry with a group of sisters and I went with Jim, the coordinator, to make return visits on interested persons. This was so Jim can follow up when we leave.

Our first call was Pedro,* owner of a small clothing store. He's the one who carries a Spanish Bible with him on his cell phone. I get him to check scriptures on it and happily I can identify key words to make sure he gets the sense of it.

It was early enough that he had no customers. He brought out chairs so the three of us could sit in the middle of the store and chat, surrounded by shirts and blouses. Pedro is a reader. He has over 500 books in his personal library. We learned it was a Spanish Witness that inspired him to read the Bible. We commended him. As the saying goes, Read the most important book first - or you may never get to read it at all. He had Bible-based questions and we were pleased to show him where the Bible itself answered them. I had a question for him too but I didn't ask it. I'd like to know how he regiments to perfection every hair of his mustache. Maybe next time.

The fellow at the detox center was not there today. We learned he got himself a regular job. Good for him (I hope). I'll go again Saturday.

At noon I met Carol and we went for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, a different one from last week, unfortunately. Our lunch can only be described as wretched. Never again. We very much hope our digestive systems will manage properly the part we actually ate.

Next, we shopped the local market for vegetables.

The lower right photo shows the area where we obtained supplies. The upper right photo shows the interior of our chosen shop. No, we did not balance our groceries home on our head - out of the question aboard a local buckboard bus.The bundle would hammer my head into my shoulders.

In late afternoon we enjoyed Facetime with our granddaughters, then with the whole family.

We also got to admire some of our granddaughters'

recent artwork! This is Sheepy.

Some of my best friends are sheep.

* names have been changed yadda yadda.

Tuesday

When we wake up early, which we seem to do at times here for some reason, we go out to the balcony to watch sunrise. To start the day feasting the eyes on a display of celestial splendor is indeed a precious gift. We're grateful for the opportunities for this we've had here.

Various scenes from this morning.

The rest of the morning was occupied by mundane business and computer work, but the afternoon gave us a few hours by the pool. Below is a photo sampling of that featuring Linda, Jack, Carol, Becky, and mainly Paige, our most enthusiastic bather.

Paige, teaching everyone how to enjoy a pool.

It's great having friends around.

Monday, Toothday, Spendsday

We were up and on the balcony early to enjoy sunrise this morning ...

Always a treat.

Next I had to spend most of the morning making phone calls and writing emails regarding the problem of our recent burglary and its consequences. It is awkward dealing with this from a distance of two and a half thousand miles.

At 10:45 a.m. Carol accompanied me on a bus to Ixtapa Centro to keep an appointment my chipped lower incisor had with a dentist. The tooth has been rough-edged for decades but, through friends, we learned of an excellent dentist who charges advantageous Mexican rates.

The dentist works out of rented space in the back of a muffler garage and I had to recline on a salvaged car back seat. The lighting, as you might expect, was one of those caged light bulbs that hooked onto one of the car lifts. But there was no shortage at all of compressed air tools, wrenches, and pliers.

Okay, seriously, it was a thoroughly modern office with state-of-the-art equipment and tools. The lamp was bright so, to assure comfort, I was furnished a pair of thick framed polarized sunglasses. So I laid back, looking a tad Roy Orbison, and the lady (this was my first experience with a woman dentist) went to work. After an hour, the ragged edge of my tooth was smooth, straight, and with a perfect color match. Cost in Canadian: $64.00. If a person needs *much* dental work done it is worth a trip to Mexico. Altogether one might spend an equal amount but this option includes a bonus vacation in Mexico.

Satisfied customer.

Burgled

 Not such a pleasant matter to report today. Much of our time this morning was taken over by the need to deal with a burglary in our home back in Montreal. I had to telephone the building owner, coordinate some details with Mark who has been checking on our place and discovered the break-in yesterday, and arrange for a police report.

According to observations received there does not appear to be, at first glance, serious loss. Alas, we'll have to wait a month before we can verify that for ourselves. Certain evidence suggests it was likely a youth, a particularly dim-witted specimen, moving the police to say they believe they know who it was. So we shall see.

 

Do I hope they catch him?

I'm favorably inclined

toward that, yes.

An Experience

We heard an experience from a sister tonight related to the meeting part on how to witness to people through an intercom.

She told us about a Witness who started a conversation that way, read some scriptures and, although not let into the building, the person agreed to a return visit. The same thing happened the second time. The conversation was fine but no admittance granted. A Bible study via the intercom was started. Eventually most chapters in the book were covered, but the person, responsive as he was, steadfastly declined to admit the person inside.

One day the Witness went with the Circuit Overseer. He explained to the man that after studying as long as he did, he really ought to be attending meetings with those who believed as he now did. He encouraged the man to let them in promising, "We will not judge you about anything at all. But we should meet and discuss arrangements for you to attend meetings." Finally the buzzer sounded and they went in.

To their surprise they met two men in the apartment, Siamese twins joined at the hip. One was now a believer; the other not a bit interested, even disgruntled about it. Even so, arrangements were successfully negotiated so the interested one (with the reluctant cooperation of his twin of course) could come to meetings.

How a baptism was worked out was not mentioned.

Well, that's different, huh?

In keeping with the general direction of this dog blog, I share with you a link sent to me about a very helpful dog indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/NK-T_t166TY?feature=player_embedded

Last Night at Emilio's

Because Emilio's Restaurant is an excellent place for quality food in abundant portions, we chose to dine there last night - we being Jack & Linda, Carol & I. Emilio's specialties are mainly Pizza and Lasagna. Some people say lasagna is just spaghetti cake, but I believe they don't truly understand the culinary supremacy of a masterpiece lasagna. Below is a photo of the main entrance, through we proceeded only to be led out a different door to a table on an exterior patio. Outside dining here is the way to go.

Nice Entrance Doors.

The waiter kindly agreed to take our photo at meal's end. We should have thought of a photo as soon as dinner was served but the impressive vision of our supper combined with our appetite moved us to dig right in instead. I've sometimes asked others to take a photo of Carol & I and this has taught me that absolutely everybody and his uncle knows full well how to take photos with an iPhone these days. Any slight indication of how to do it is an affront to their techno-literacy.

Great lasagna and pizza stored in places no longer visible.

Well, of course those are doggy

bags on the table. After all, isn't

this a doggy blog?

After dinner we explored nearby craft sellers. It was around 10:00 pm but the local folks were still harvesting whatever tourists were still walking around, as well as waiting for the ones in outdoor bars being pumped with music to make their way home.

They do have some well made, artistic things, but one merely needs to recall that purchases must fit in one's luggage to put a damper on most items.

Walking and Talking

I counted 23 persons at the service arrangement this morning. Six of us came to my territory although initially I had a return visit to make on a young man in a detox center. Since Ivy, the brother with me, and I took the wrong bus, we were not delivered close to the center and this presented us with a long stroll in the sun, warmth, and humidity which never ceases to sap my energies. To make matters a little worse, our path took us by a sewage treatment center undergoing repairs. Don't ask. After the visit it was another long stroll to meet the others in the territory. Ivy walks at a brisk pace. The only way to slow down this man is to collapse in a heap in the street, but I save that tactic as a last resort.

In the territory I had a pleasant conversation with the owner of a clothing store. A reverent man, he told me carries a Bible on his cell phone. So I asked him to look up the scriptures I wanted to show him about God's Kingdom, which he did. It's always effective for people to see the good news in their own Bible.

By late morning our group was down to four and we went for a refreshing cold drink at the Bananas Restaurant (photos below).

 All the signs that say "Bananas" are inside. There's no sign outside advertising the restaurant's name. Some might call that bananas.

Carol, Mirsa, and Linda, the three ladies photographed

by the gentleman.

The photo below reminds me of the scripture that says the good news must be preached to "all sorts of people."

This guy was lively and kept on the move.

At this point I was dreaming of a hammock.

The photo below, of downtown Zihuatanejo, shows a sample hill in the background. Many people live on these steep hills as the photo illustrates.

My current territory is on flat land but I have climbed up

and down these hills.

Following service we went to the large Supermarket to replenish supplies. Then we caught a taxi back to home base where I was eager to get on with the remains of the day.

Politics, Medicine & Things That Shriek & Go Clank.

For recreational reading I've been looking at parts of a memoir by Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Britain. I say 'parts' because, although he appears candid in delivery and sometimes displays a developed sense of humor, I cannot wade through the stuff that gets into political philosophy, aspirations, and methods. But when he is describing events it can be interesting.

Here is an example of a quote to illustrate what I mean ...

     "Leaders come in all shapes and sizes and I have stumbled across the full range in my time. I recall sitting across the table from some leaders, unable to think of anything other than: My God, the poor people of that country. You get the dumb, the cynical, the tedious, the mildly unsuitable, the weird, the products of systems so mad and dysfunctional you find yourself marveling that the leader is sentient let alone capable. And frankly some weren't sentient. I remember asking rather unkindly when told of one leader's death, 'How could they tell?'"

Hey, Tony said it - not me.

I found this book in the lobby grab-bag shelf of books left by former visitors here. When he was first elected in a landslide victory he reports he also marveled at how people manage to believe an election can actually change the world.

How sweet to see things from Jehovah's vantage point! How good of him to share it with us!

In other news, over time we have befriended a young man who works poolside as a waiter. He has been having a difficult time lately. A few weeks ago he came down with a serious condition that appeared to be an allergic reaction to something. By the time he got medical treatment he was having difficulty breathing, a scary experience for sure. After a week he recovered and came back to work for a couple of days then was away again. He had been attacked and bitten by a pit bull dog. It injured his hand. That put him back on antibiotics and, for the present, he serves food with a bandaged hand. He's a family man with two young children and we're concerned about his misfortunes.

Does every family have these

crazy cousins?

Speaking of poolside events, recently we've been subjected to strange noises. Today I nearly leaped from my chair when I heard what sounded like a man-hole cover hitting the pavement. I looked around but couldn't see the cause. Then it happened again. 15 minutes later - again. Investigation revealed it was two men dismantling an unused steel shelter near the restrooms. They were severing structural pipes and letting them fall to the pavement like tree branches ...

There's also the case of a lady guest here whose laugh is a shrill, otherworldly cackle. At times the wild sound penetrates the poolside environment very much like the sort of thing you might hear in the depths of the Amazon rainforest.

Net Story

With Meetings on Friday, service on Saturday, meetings on Sunday, Monday has developed into Quiet Day.

Sunday morning our rental agent showed up to replace our modem, hoping to speed up our Internet service. He disconnected the existing modem and hooked up two, not one but two, electronic boxes each with a row of blinking green lights. A test showed the Net working better. Not well, but better. At last! Ten days after problems began, the bits and bytes were flowing acceptably again.

Returning from the meeting the Net had ceased to work. It had given up the ghost altogether. Five bars showed a full-strength connection but the system was in a state of rigor mortis.

Needless to say, I was not amused.

I thought it better to have poor Internet than none, so I disconnected one of the boxes and re-connected the original one. This still leaves me with two boxes blinking away, no idea why. But now, to my amazement and, to a degree, to my confusion as well, the Net is working better and faster than it ever has. I dare say it could not function better! Bizarre.

Look, Mom, I'm a

Technician.

A Quiet Day always produces a sunset photo ...

Slow Moving Vehicle

It's nice to get to the meeting about 15 minutes before it starts. There's time to greet people, find a seat, and no concern about possibly disturbing others by arriving late. Therefore you can understand my discomfort at the crawl with which our bus driver proceeded this afternoon. Any slower would be parking. As is sometimes the case, this bus driver had a young boy as helper, likely his son, whose job it is to bark out "Zihua!" to pedestrians in the hope they might like a ride to town that's slower than walking.

But instead of only the customary hollering out the door, this enterprising young man sometimes got out at stops to canvas the street for passengers.

The above photo shows him on the other side of the bus, outside my passenger window beckoning a family to board, which they did ... with aching slowness. Each bus here is a personal franchise, a private enterprise, and when the driver is hungry for business he fishes for passengers with a dragnet. If a person far away signals he wants a ride he need not hurry and he most certainly doesn't. He knows the bus will wait till Tuesday.

Oh no. Now the kid's asking

around in the pharmacy.

Anyway, to my great surprise, we made it to the meeting on time after all, just not as soon as I hoped.

The speaker made an interesting point about prayer. He read how Jonah prayed to be saved when swallowed by the 'huge fish.' (Jonah 2:1,2) Then Jonah 2:10 says, "In time Jehovah commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land." The prayer was answered but only after "time" went by. So we need to be patient regarding some prayers. It occurred to me that Christ revealed how much time went by: "three days and three nights." (Matt. 12:39). Jonah's experience was to serve as a parallel of Christ being dead for a similar period of time. So Jehovah had a purpose to wait that long before answering Jonah's prayer. There's no reason to suspect Jonah knew anything about why he had to wait three days for rescue, but there *was* a reason. Same with us. We may not know the reason for the delay but it doesn't mean there isn't one. And a delay does not necessarily mean 'no.'

I took a photo of the hall as we were leaving for home ...