October 2009

GARDENING 101 By Margie Harrell   It’s not from lack of trying but I just don’t seem to be able to grow anything. Plants that grow wild in the fields shrivel at my mere gaze.  Gift roses I have received that are flushed with life wilt and die overnight. I seem to have no trouble […]

RATHER CONFUSING SIGNS IN ENGLISH   In a Bangkok temple: IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN. Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR. Doctors office, Rome: SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES. Dry cleaners, Bangkok: DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR

THE E-CIG AND I By Mildred Boyd   When my daughters and my doctor started discussing the advisability of my trying an e-cigarette, I, having never heard of such a thing, looked at them in utter confusion. What they were describing sounded straight out of science fiction and far too good to be true. Either

A RESPONSE TO THE MUIR ARTICLE By Mel Goldberg   “Se atrapan en una prisión de su propia fabricación” Jim Muir’s article (“The Microcosm of a Nation,” Ojo del Lago, September 2009, page 70),condemns Elie Wiesel’s silence as hypocritical and berates Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.  Mr. Muir is either ignorant of history or chooses

BOVICIDE By Beatriz E. García   The United States of America has closed the border to our cattle due to an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease that has appeared in five states of the Republic. El Universal, December 28, 1946   Your great-grandfather was Urbano Velez: blonde with blue eyes, red-cheeked, a very handsome

Havoc In Motion By Jay White Grampaw Bailey and the Tupelo Mule   In the year 1926, my mama’s daddy, Silas Beauchamp Bailey, ran a small farm in southeastern Mississippi, which acreage he cropped for shares. He kept the place in perfect order and raised cotton on it and children—fifteen of them. Mama was the

The World of Wine By Ceci Rodriguez Grape Varieties   The main variety of grape used in a wine determines how the wine is labeled. It is impossible to calculate how many different grapes are grown, but the figure will be in the thousands. However, just a few, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon

THE NUN AND THE COWBOY By Bernie Suttle   Boys and girls, I’m leaving the room for a short time and while I’m gone you are to stay at your desks and practice printing your letters or put your head down and close your eyes.” Sister Jean continued to my first grade class, “I’ll be

The Truth About The Truth By Neil McKinnon   We here at the Tuckahoe Institute of Mismanaged Budgets for Inane Times (TIMBIT) have decided that it’s time we clarified the state of the world’s economy. Granted, you may find a few illuminating tidbits (not TimBits) in the musings of Ben Bernanke, Stephen Harper and Sarah

Notes From Nestipac By Phyllis Rauch My Return to the Waldorf   After a busy morning of village errands, all I wanted was a quick snack to take home, where I could put up my feet and enjoy the view from my terrace. I spotted a sign signaling Amigo de la Tostada. As I entered