The Tianguis And The Seven Deadly Sins

The Tianguis And The Seven Deadly Sins

By Sandy Olson

 

seven deadly sinsI don’t know why the Seven Deadly Sins came to mind when I was walking down that dusty street in La Manzanilla on my way to the Friday tianguis, but there they were: Pride, Anger, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Lust and Sloth.

There’s an acronym that helps me to remember all of them: P-A-G-G-E-L-S. “Why try?” the reader might ask. “How clever,” another says. “Who cares?” dismisses a third.

While pondering the Sins I spotted my friends clustered around one of the first tables at the tianguis. I walked faster. What were they looking at? If they wanted what was on the table I wanted it too.

It turns out they were looking at silver jewelry. My new friend Judy had picked up a silver ring with a large moonstone. “I wanted that,” I said to myself. I left the group and walked on so I didn’t have to watch her paying for my ring.

Still thinking about the Seven Sins, I remarked to myself that Lust wasn’t in it today. It was too hot to think about sweaty sex, not to mention I could sense the rampant lack of interest on the part of any of the young men lolling around behind the display tables.

And Sloth. Would moving faster prove anything? I jumped as lively as I could over a muddy stream crossing the road, redolent of a Tijuana gutter in the 1960s.

I moved on in though. As the tianguis goes, this one was modest. I gave up the idea of scoring any treasures. There was a little shop called Ada’s Boutique. I went in and browsed around, moving close to a dumpy woman from Orcas Island, she said. I watched her rummage through a stack of colorful skirts and tops, imported, the clerk said from a respectful distance, from Guadalajara.

She rooted through the clothes like a starving wart hog, throwing size small items over her shoulder. I saw that I wasn’t going to get in there too. “What does she see when she looks in the mirror?” I wondered.  “She’s FAT and those clothes won’t fit her.  I’m not fat,” I said, having just bought a pair of size large nylon shorts, formerly from JC Penney. “Well, not that fat.”

I was starting to feel a little uneasy for some reason. It was time to join my friends and go have that big lunch I was looking forward to, and the afternoon nap. I didn’t want to think about this anymore. I have my pride, after all.

 


For more information about Lake Chapala visit: www.chapala.com


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