William Schrader 1929-2009In Memoriam   Long time Vista del Lago resident Bill Schrader died on June 23 at the age of 80. Bill was born on April 14, 1929 in Ludington, Michigan. After attending the Indiana Institute of Technology, where he earned degrees in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Bill served his country by enlisting in […]

All the Horses of Heaven By James TiptonReviewed by Bill Frayer   In his introduction to James Tipton’s newest volume of poetry, All the Horses of Heaven, Michael McClintock observes that Jim appears to be “the horniest and healthiest man over sixty in the Western world.” Perhaps. For Mexican sensuality and erotic images suffuse Jim’s

PAW PRINTS ON MY HEART By Gudrun Jones, Co-Founder & President of the Lakeside Spay & Neuter Center   Being a Volunteer at the “Dog Ranch” is wonderful, but it is not easy, it is hard work and there are times when your heart will ache, and even break a little when a new dog

A Profound Love of the English Language By Bob Harwood   I have always had a profound love of the English language. We engage our senses and our minds when we deal with language. Touch is engaged when we write or type. Sight is engaged when we read the written word and even he who

That Old Woman over by Beulah By James Tipton   “Son, this land I’m gone to leave you is flat, wet, and poor…sort of like that woman I used to poke around with over by Beulah. But some years when it’s not too hot, or too cold, or too wet, you can coax enough cotton

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR   Dear Sir:  Firstly, I apologize, I don’t have access to a computer, but felt compelled to write to you about Mr. Bill Frayer’s article—“Uncommon Sense—When expert opinion is questionable,” (July 2009, El Ojo del Lago, P: 14, 15.) As a Canadian, and a physician who lived in the Ajijic area

Domain of the Scorpion By Robert Bruce DrynanReviewed by Kay Davis   Bob Drynan’s pulse-pounding thriller is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War at its peak, in the midst of narcotics trafficking and Marxist guerrilla activities in Columbia and Venezuela. Ex-marine Ryan Haggarty, working in Venezuela as a petroleum geologist, meets Anne Ferguson,

CONFUSED ABOUT SUNSCREENS? By Mary Molinari   You know that premature aging of skin and skin cancer are harmful effects of the sun. You are also aware of the benefits of using a sunscreen. But (SPF 15? SPF 30? Zinc oxide? or is it titanium dioxide? UVA? and UVB ?) all those brands and terms

A TRUE BAG LADY By Margie Harrell   They go by many names depending on what part of the country you are from. Handbags, totes, clutches, bolsas and the one I have never been able to understand, pocketbook. Even on a good day mine wouldn’t fit into my pocket. Whether they are five inches wide or

CREATIVE PUNS FOR “EDUCATED MINDS”   1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her