In Da House

Keeping myself busy and entertained...

Mom and Pop? - Donde Estas?

Still very quiet out in the country. I'm not sure if I think things are really that unusual.  It's not like I live in a thriving metropolis, but it really does seem still.  I know this little store is normally is doing business, playing music with someone inside.

And this outdoor comedor usually had folks eating there.  Of course, it's Sunday and really hot, so that may be part of it, but still....

Quiet country....

I guess this may be the new normal.  Even out in the country traffic is way down.  On my walk today, I saw maybe five or six people and that's over several miles.  There were very few moto-taxis and cars.  The construction sites were quiet and the corner store was closed which is unusual.

It was very quiet and quite hot and dry.  Yesterday afternoon it was 94 F with 14% humidity.

In the countryside, everything is crunchy underfoot.  Social distancing is easy.

History repeats....

That's Atzompa over there, at the very peak, the sister city of its neighbor Monte Alban, which is just behind it.  They were both built during the 7th and 8th centuries, at the height of Zapotec influence and power.  It's easy to see why Atzompa was so important... "you can see for miles and miles," all along the valley to the Etlas.  It was part of their defense against the Mixtec.  Well, the Zapotecs are still here, but their cities aren't, only as archaeological sites.  History is a good teacher if one listens.  And there is ten thousand years of history here: Toltec, Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, too many to list...... The people are still here, but.....

Hello - Goodbye?

It is wonderful to be back in Oaxaca.  As someone said, "Home is where the heart is."  Nuf said.  Seeing as though I normally live like a hermit or monk or misanthrope, social distancing is not a problem.  However, I did have to go out to get some food and essentials to make it through extended isolation.  With the peso at .04 US..... talk about culture shock between here and Boston. Wow! 

However, Oaxaca and most of Mexico seems about ten days to two weeks behind what I experienced in Boston, which essentially shut down just before I left.  Life and the economy is so different here.  Many people live day to day, the street vendors, the restaurants, the markets, laborers of all sorts.  One of the many things Oaxaca has instilled in me, is the concept of sharing and supporting.  If/when things get bad, be a padrino. If you've got it, you have an obligation to share it.

Whip it... whip it good.

Gettin' out while the gettin's good....

I getting out of Dodge (Boston) earlier than anticipated.  If I am to be trapped somewhere, I just as soon, it be Oaxaca.  I worry that Mexico may close the border.  All the things I love about being in Beantown are off limits.  The library is closed. Motor vehicle office, the same.  The Marathon, the Sox, March Madness.....And Chinatown, etc...

Not sure about liquor stores, but I don't drink.....

Anyhooo.... I'm finished.... for now.

For now.... see you on the other side of all of this.... ojala!

In the belly of the beast....

Well, maybe not the belly, but close.  I'm currently in Boston where it's beginning to be a bit weird. Lots of proactive decisions being made, like closing schools and lots of cancellations.  Many of the cases here are linked to a recent Biogen conference and the numbers go up every day. I'm not sure how seriously people are taking it, but they cancelled the St. Patrick's Day parade and the Marathon is waiting to see what happens. They are doing better at the state and local level than the Feds, where COVID meetings are now classified... you can't make this stuff up.

A few observations on how hard it is to avoid contact.  For me, it's shopping carts and going to the library where thousands of people handle thousands of books, CD's DVD's etc.  Of course, my favorite, as a man of international intrigue, is going through customs now requires you to scan your fingerprints after hundreds of others have used the same machine... maybe it's better now, but given how things are going....

Meanwhile, it was almost 80 a couple of days ago and it sure feels like Spring.