health and security

Melaque has a new health clinic.

By now, the governor of Jalisco has undoubtedly cracked a bottle of champagne across her bow and blessed all "who get well in her."  I guess he has.  I didn't stick around to see that part of the ceremony.

The grand opening of a health facility calls for shoes and long pants.  So, I donned my city apparel and headed into San Patricio.

I was not alone.  A small crowd had already gathered in the shade across the street from the clinic.  Like me, they were there to see the governor open the facility.
 

We waited and waited and waited. 

I knew we had an additional wait in store when I saw the executive jet of the governor fly over the town -- headed away from the airport.  Obviously, he was doing an aerial inspection of the town.  As if we were a disaster area.  The jet made several passes and then headed toward the airport.

Again, we waited and waited and waited.

After filling two handkerchiefs with Steve-sweat, I decided enough was enough.  After all, the story is that the health clinic is open.  I would not stand around that long to see President Obama walk from his car to a podium.  So, home I came.

I did witness an interesting event, though.  Even though there were police at both ends of the clinic's street, a women drove up in an SUV and parked in the middle of the street.  Right where the governor undoubtedly would stop.

She got out and started walking to the clinic.  A policeman came running down the street yelling at her to move.  She glanced over her shoulder and said: "One moment," and kept on walking into the clinic.

The policeman started talking to an older man sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV.  They both shrugged their shoulders.

About five minutes later, the woman returned to the truck and helped the old man walk into the clinic.  The SUV stayed where it was.

After another ten minutes, the policeman went inside to get the woman.  She came out and moved the SUV around the corner.

I chuckled to myself. Here we are in Mexico where citizens up north think the place is a cauldron of confrontation and violence. 

But there was no confrontation here.  No car chases.  No pistols fired.  No dead mothers.

It was a far simpler story.  A daughter brought her sick father to the hospital.  She was using it for the reason it was built.  Life trumped security.

It is too bad the governor did not see the incident.  He could have worked it into his speech.  How doctors help us get along on the road of life -- and comfort us when the journey is over.

Maybe he did.  I don't know.  Because seeing the governor is not really the point of this post.

Melaque has a new clinic.  And that is good enough for me.