What Can We Say About Living Alone?

Going to do the tourist thing today and drive over to Guanajuato, the state capitol. Look around. Perhaps take some photographs. In the meantime here my essay that generated 50 comments over at the Open Salon blog:



In the United States we recently crossed some demographic line relating to the number of people who live alone. I was holding forth on this to a lady friend recently and got the numbers perfectly wrong. Let me simply quote Nathan Heller:

Today, more than fifty per cent of U.S. residents are single, nearly a third of households have just one resident . . . .

Jacaranda

The jacaranda have been in bloom big time across the city.

Sunday in the Bush

Time for a Sunday stroll. A Sunday stroll in the bush.

The entrance to Ignacio's hacienda somewhere to the south deep in the heart of Mexico.

Toilets of Mexico: A Work in Progress

A Blown Day

Sometimes it is difficult to get these phony, heart-warming shots set up.

Another in the Patio Series

There is more than just my patio around here. There is, for example, the beautiful patio of Michel Pellerin and Ginette Bernard at their newly remodeled home out on the edge of town, on which I sat late this afternoon. By the way, they are not shacked up out there. They have been legally wed for decades.

A Stroll Around Town

  

Parque Benito Juárez

Sitting on My Ass

I like nothing more in the world than sitting on my ass doing nothing. And it's not my fault I have this attitude, because I happen to have an amazingly comfortable ass. It may not look like much, but if you could sit on this baby for two minutes, you'd realize that getting off this ass would be a crime against nature.
--Lori Chapman

Out Among 'Em with Rick

This is Fortino. He washes cars at curbside down the street. That is how I first met him. He washes the truck. I have written about him and his family many times previously here and in the other blog, once being the occasion of the memorable goat banquet.

Airport Run

Rick and I left in the pickup for the little international airport in Leon just after 4:00 this morning in the dead of night. It is about an hour and a half drive there in the dark. We did not hit any goats or cows.

Mauricio Magaña

Just a bit of trivia concerning Mauricio Magaña, the gentleman with whom Rick and I rode out of 3 Señores stables. He is 33 years old and was born here in San Miguel de Allende to a landed family. A great animal lover. In addition to rescuing horses, he rescues dogs, which must be a daunting task in Mexico. But the guy cannot help himself. In fact a couple of times while we were riding, he spoke with villagers about their dogs a how they were treating them.

R and R

After that late night Friday--or more accurately, that early morning Saturday--Rick and I spent a lot of time sitting on our asses during the day Saturday.

Espressos at an uptown cafe.

The Corrida

In the Saddle Again

3 Señores Stables

"This Old Pair of Boots"

I composed this tune some months ago. Right out there on the patio. Rick backed me up on it late this afternoon on the very same spot. The fiddle is good on this one. I hope you enjoy it.

<
This Old Pair of Boots from Stephen Brassawe on Vimeo.
>

By the way, Mariana has confirmed that she will be going riding with us in the morning. Just thought I would pass that along for the benefit of Scott Wingert of rural Swisher, Iowa.

Villa Rides Again

This poster relates to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which lasted about ten years. Exactly 100 years ago in other words. It has become a subject of fascination for me and, now to some extent, for Rick, too. We have had some discussions as whether or not, had we been around and had the chance, we would have signed on to ride with Pancho Villa. This involves deciding whether we could have best passed ourselves off as dynamiters or machine gunners or railroaders. A lot of things to chew over there.

"Wagon Wheel" for the Mexicans

Same old tune, but the Mexican gals keep asking for it. So what are you going to do? They cannot understand a word of course. But then again, I keep asking for Mexican tunes the words to which I do not entirely understand either.

Wagon Wheel for the Mexicans from Stephen Brassawe on Vimeo.

Palm Sunday

Plaza San Antonio is our plaza in our neighborhood, colonia San Antonio. It is a half a block up from the gate into my apartment complex. It did not dawn on either Rick or me when we arose this morning that this is Palm Sunday. We had intended to attend mass anyway but were thrown off by the switch to Daylight Savings Time here last night. So that was all out the window right away.