three states of mind

When is a Mexican state like a dead American president?

When either one falls into my slightly obsessive clutches.

A few years ago, I undertook what turned out to be an enjoyable (because it was educational) couple of years. I was going to read at least one biography of each dead American president. "Dead" because who has any interest in reading about the doings of living presidents? That would be like watching TV news.

I declared mission accomplished on 30 September 2016 after reading at least one (sometimes several) biographies on each man who has sat in the White House -- and one president who didn't.

But I have other obsessions. I collect countries the way Carl Icahn collects companies. The app on my Samsung informs me I have now lived in or visited at least 75 countries -- each one notched on my Remington.

The app recently added a function to track states visited within countries. When I looked at the Mexican states, I realized I had visited all of Mexico's 31 states with the exception of five: Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Zacatecas, Aguacalientes, and San Luis Potosi. They are that large white blob at the top of the map.

This week, I will bump off the last three of those five.

I am writing this on a flight from Manzanillo to Mexico City, where we will catch a connection to Aguacalientes. For the remainder of the week, we will wander through Zacatecas, Real de Catorce, and San Luis Potosi. Along the way we can share a bit of archaeology, history, and one of the source's of Spain's inflation-inducing lust for silver.

So, fasten your seat belts and make certain that your seat is upright and your tray table is stowed. It should be a smooth flight.