Why Mexico?

One of the obvious questions is, “Why Mexico?” The idea of spending some time in Mexico to clear my head took root in that same head before I ever really asked this question of myself. I have given it some thought since.

If the point were simply to get out of the country, I should go to Canada. It is a more hospitable place right now. It is closer. I have always wanted to visit Montreal, as a matter of fact. But Canada seems unsuitable to my purpose.

Mexico is suitable to my purpose for a simple reason. It is the most alien setting readily available to me. The fact that a different language is spoken there is important. The fact that it is a Hispanic culture instead of a northern European one is important. I want to be in a place where simple tasks like getting something to eat, buying gasoline, and finding a place to camp so totally engage my mind that there is no space left in my head for contemplation of the wreckage that surrounds me here.


That is the answer to the question, “Why Mexico?”

Accentuate the Positive

Last month I gave notice of termination of my tenancy in both my apartment and my office. I am starting to feel the pressure of the necessity to vacate my apartment and my office at the same time. I think I am going to have to pay for an additional month in the office in order to get out of it. That way I can concentrate on vacating the apartment in the one week left to me in April.

Just to keep up my spirits, I need to contemplate what I have gotten done to this point:

1. I have purchased my camper trailer and had the hitch mounted on my truck. I spoke with Russ at the RV dealership yesterday. The components are in to complete the wiring of my truck to handle the lights on the trailer. I have the plates for the trailer, and it is ready to pick up in a little over a week.

2. I have my Mexican car permit allowing me to cross the border in my truck with the camper trail on May 1 and stay for six months.

3. I have filed my income tax returns and paid the tax.

4. I have told everyone who needs to be told, with mixed results.

5. I had my passport already, but that counts as an accomplishment.

6. I have made great progress in getting cases closed or getting the clients transferred either to Dave Thinnes or Hugo Burdt.

There’s a start.

Theme Music

It has occurred to me that an endeavor such as that I am undertaking requires theme music. The obvious cheesy choice would be Can't You See by the Marshall Tucker Band. However, I am much more sophisticated than that at this stage of my life. More jazziness, more smoothness is required. And as if by magic, an online friend on www.last.fm pointed out Smiles and Smiles to Go by Larry Carlton:

THAT is the theme music for my forthcoming travels. It's got that great chooka-chooka beat that I love, and it is mellow, mellow, mellow. That simple melody is quite fetching, too.

On this particular live rendition, Larry Carlton is a big showoff at the end. I love that, too.

The Latest from Mexico Mike

from Mexico Mike
to steve@gmail.com
date Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 10:26 PM
subject FW: Mexico Trip Planning SLP-Queretaro Map

Steve,

Thanks for the appreciation. Nice gesture. Makes me feel good too.

*Not Giving in an Inch to Fear. . . . . . Yet

There are two of me. There is the me inside here. And then there is the me out there walking around. When I first stopped drinking, the me inside was continually watching the me out there—watching for rebellion and misbehavior.

Now the me inside is still watching the me outside. Now the me inside is watching the me outside for signs of fear. There are none yet.




*The title line is from "I Almost Cut My Hair" by David Crosby.

Who's Still Here and Who's Gone

On Saturday April 30 the children and I had a family meeting at my apartment. The three who live locally were there. Wendy, who lives in Omaha, attended by way of video conference on the computer. I don't recall our ever having had a family meeting before. I needed their suggestions on how to distribute the apartment stuff among them and my granddaughter Natalie, who wants her own apartment soon.

I love those four characters.

My friend Betty is probably gone. She simply cannot comprehend what is going on with me and why I am doing this. And who can blame her for chrissakes? It is hard to answer her telephone calls knowing that I must then sit there for fifteen or twenty minutes and listen to her chew my ass. Still, I feel I owe her that much--the listening, I mean.

But Betty is gone, I'm sure.

My first wife's husband, Gary, is a cool customer. He is a recovering alcoholic, too, although he's been dry for a long, long time. He says that in order to get where I want to go, I must step over some bodies.

I am stepping over some bodies.

Rankness

The air is particularly rank this morning downtown. It smells as if something is decomposing. And something probably is.

Winding Down

I got a Final Report filed in that estate yesterday. Very soon I will be filing my last Final Report in another estate. The law practice continues to wind down. It is difficult for me to wrap my mind around the idea that I have less than a month left in the practice of law.

I am nervous now. I don't want anyone to run into my truck. I don't want anyone to die. I don't want to get hurt myself. I just want everything to be very quiet until I can get out of here.

An Inch at a Time

This morning I drove over to Anamosa. Russ and the boys--I am becoming fond of these guys--Russ and the boys installed the hitch on my pickup.

This afternoon I drafted the documents necessary to close another estate, reviewed them with my client, and got his signature.

Closing cases; gearing up.

My daughter Sarah emailed me a link to the State Department's new travel warning on Mexico today.

I want to explore Mexico a bit, and no bunch of narcotraficantes are going to scare me off this. . . . .I don't think.

If I am shot and hit, it will save me the trouble of getting old. That's the way I feel about it right now anyway. Perhaps I will feel differently when I am getting shot at.