ALLAN TURNIPSEED1948—2011   Allan was born in Strathmore, Alberta, Canada, then moved with his family to Dallas, Texas where he grew up. Allan attended the University of Texas in Arlington, where he acquired two degrees; one in Art, the other in Graphic Design. He  had a graphic design business in Dallas for 35 years. At […]

Northern Lights Foreshadows Pan American Games By Ed Tasca   The opening of the 2011 Pan American Games is still several months away. But excitement is building for the event all over Mexico. I won’t be going because I always get lost driving around Guadalajara (I still can’t find Costco). If, like me, you won’t

THE CROSSROAD By Antonio Passarello   Traffic on the Guadalajara highway was crawling when Richard turned off toward Ocotlan and he felt his tension evaporate as he accelerated down the two-lane road. From time to time a heavily loaded truck slowed his pace until oncoming traffic cleared long enough for him to pass, but he

MARTIAL LAW IN HOUSTON By Fred Mittag   The War Department established Camp Logan 14 miles from Houston in 1917. The Army brought in 645 soldiers of the Third Battalion of the black 24th United States Infantry. The 24th had a distinguished history. They had been Indian fighters (called “buffalo soldiers”), fought the Spanish in

DIVORCE– Thoughts, Facts and Statistics By David Harper   Approximately half of all marriages in the USA will end in divorce before the couple’s 20th anniversary. So is the glass half full? Some Catholic countries were slow in legalizing divorce. In Argentina, it only became legal in 1987 and the first divorce filing ever in

AMERICA: No Longer a Kinder, Gentler Nation By Roderick MacDonald   “It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”   —Alice in Wonderland Last month this same space was dedicated to the implications of hate speech in our society. Who could have foreseen the recent events in Tucson that would ignite

The Start Of An Ajijic Day By Catherine A. MacKenzie   In Ajijic, the Mexican day starts off with a loud bang Shots of unwelcome firecrackers before the rising sun Noisy vehicles driving by, metal on metal making a clang Some eye-opening signs that another new day has begun. The shining sun beaming through the

Niños de Chapala y Ajijic By Doug Friend   On Christmas Eve, 1999, Mariela Lopez Marquez received surprising news from her doctor. She was pregnant, and already five months into her pregnancy. A short four weeks later, Juan Paul was born. At three months premature, Paul’s vision was severely underdeveloped when he was born. Paul

FEMALE NOMADS & FRIENDS: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World By Mel Goldberg   By Rita Golden Gelman (paperback, Random House/Three Rivers Press Original, June 2010), this book celebrates traveling around the world, connecting with people from different cultures, and eating the foods of other countries. Gelman includes essays by forty-one

PEPITO ASKS:DID YOU KNOW…?   —That our website www.chapala.com is currently receiving more than six million hits per month! —That all the ads and articles in our magazine also appear on our website! —That our magazine is now all in color all the time, and the response to this innovation has been terrific! —That the