man down

When I returned to Barra de Navidad from Oregon in August, a storm had just passed through our little tourist village.

I got a new umbrella out of it. Others were not so fortunate.

Part of my daily walks is along one of our main streets -- Puerto de la Navidad. It could easily be confused with a slice of suburbia in Wichita. Wide avenue. Straight sidewalks. Tidy homes.

That is why I was a little surprised last month to find half of a ficus collapsed across the sidewalk. I tried to move the branch, but it was too heavy. So, I let it be. My experience is that fallen trees are quickly cleaned up around here.

But, not this time. Each day I took that route, I had to detour around the branch. That went on for a couple of weeks. It was still there when I flew north for my high school reunion. When I returned, someone had cleared the sidewalk and tidied up the scarred tree.

I tell you that tale because it was such an anomaly. When hurricane Patricia crashed through here two years ago, crews were out immediately clearing away fallen trees. The hurricane had blocked the road out of the village with enough wood to build a Grimm Brothers set. Within a day, the road was open.

I thought of those two battling models when I noticed this telephone pole taking a siesta in the middle of the main road into Barra. I could not tell if the pole had collapsed from old age (wood tends to have the life span of a May fly here), had been sheared by a distracted motorist or a combination.

The woman in the pharmacy on the corner had no information on whether the driver was distracted, but she knew it was a car that had toppled the pole and shattered the street light.

It was still there when I walked past an hour later. But, by the time I took my evening walk to dinner, everything had been cleaned up.

And I would have anticipated that. With the ficus exception, Mexico is very good about whisking away the detritus of nature and accidents. And, I suspect the ficus took so long because the tree was in front of a vacant lot. The owner may not have been informed.

That brings us to the fact that my I am writing this essay from the comfort of my house. Telmex finally showed up yesterday. It turned out my telephone line was operating. The same could not be said for either my telephone, the filter on the line, or my modem. I now have a full new set. And Mexpatriate is back in full force.

Every good essay deserves a moral. But I do not have one today. That may say something about the quality of the essay itself.

Maybe all I have to say is that life here is good. And that is good enough for a fine Friday morning.