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Bubba

May 11, 2005, 11:30 AM

Post #1 of 14 (1897 views)

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Adrian's Wake

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Since Adrian's thread "Rudeness or Racism" was, mercifully, locked, and I cannot respond there, I want to thank Adrian for stirring the pot. The whole thing, while a bit confrontational, was entertaining. I am reminded of the old joke about the guy who went to hell and found himself shoulder deep in shit and inquired of his neighbor as to what was so bad about that only to be told that he would understand when Satan came by in his motorboat. It is good to be reminded occasionally that we all reside in hell and are reminded of that fact periodically when the shit hits the fan. Those of you inclined to raise controversial issues should not hesitate to do so because those threads thereby inspired often end up in the muck.

The beauty of the internet is that people are usually more forward in their opinions than when face-to-face. As learned by the pilot bombers in Viet Nam who were surprised by their hostile reception after parachuting among those bombed, it is easy to blow someone to smitherines when you neither have to smell their blood nor explain your actions in person. John McCain called these unpleasant people "gooks".

Adrian

May 11, 2005, 11:53 AM

Post #2 of 14 (1859 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake

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Well now Bubba,
I do appreciate your sardonism but that thread was locked prematurely - I mean I couldn't let a public insult go unanswered could I?

I am still alive, kicking & screaming and busy thinking up the next controversial issue - gives the anonymous forum members something to foam at the mouth about, doesn't it?

Stay cool, calm and civil.

Adrian

Esteban

May 11, 2005, 11:56 AM

Post #3 of 14 (1858 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake

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I have to agree with you about Adrian's post. Although I find it sort of disconcerting that he ended the whole confrontational issue with another: "The wife's opinion is that a maleducado will seldom pass a chance to justifiably insult a WNM if they think they can get away with it. The spitting is incidental." <---If that doesn't stir the pot, nothing will do so in the future.

Poor John McCain. I wonder what he thinks about Robert Macnamara's book? In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam

EEK

May 12, 2005, 6:10 PM

Post #4 of 14 (1731 views)

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Re: [Esteban] Adrian's Wake

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I missed the post before it was locked, but I would have said what Bubba said. eek!

Esteban

May 12, 2005, 6:43 PM

Post #5 of 14 (1720 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake

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that may be true about many people but if you have a chance to meet me in person, be prepared for an honest, straightforward response, face to face, mano a mano and without regard to your class, buena educacion, su talla or mas. Si puede una repuesta con la verdad profunda, desde mi persistente perspectiva, traigame por favor su pregunta, sus ideas racistas o otras cosas cerca de las diferencias de las culturas o costumbres. No se todos pero, mis amigos Mexicanos me dijeron que yo comprendo mas del mayor del gabachos. I don't think there is much difference between the US and Mexico in this regard. There are pompous pendejos on both sides of the border. And in the end, the amount of love you give is equal to the amount you recieve. Who said that?

(This post was edited by Esteban on May 12, 2005, 6:51 PM)

dumois

May 13, 2005, 5:56 PM

Post #6 of 14 (1588 views)

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Re: [Esteban] Lennon and McCartney

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"And in the end
the love you take
is equal to the love
you make".

Not exactly the phrase you quoted, estimado Esteban, pero no quise dejar pasar la oportunidad de afirmar que, en efecto, tu entendimiento de México es mucho mejor que el de la mayoría de norteamericanos con los que he tratado.

Saludos desde Guadalajara,

Dumois

Adrian

May 14, 2005, 7:32 PM

Post #7 of 14 (1504 views)

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Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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So, 1.30 PM today and it's the usual Saturday lunchtime rush in our store. I am at the register, making change for a lady customer, when I become aware of someone standing to the counter on my left. Turning, I see an elderly Mexican gentleman, well-dressed with a certain military air about him - could have been the camoflage baseball cap and the neatly trimmed white moustache.

'Diga, Señor,' says I, 'Puedo ayudarte?'

Image my surprise when he responds in perfectly clipped (albeit accented) English, 'No thank-you. I am just looking around'.

Fine.

Meantime, another customer has approached the counter with armfuls of glass jars that need to to be wrapped, so I call to one of the girls (employees), 'Blanca? Estas occupado? Ayudame porfis.'

Mr Military Man says to me (in English), 'So now you own the place do you?'.
'No, Señor', I reply, 'Soy un empleado' - which I am, technically, of mi suegra.

Mr MM walks around to the other side of the counter (it's in a U-shape) and leans over, saying something to me in a low voice.

I lean towards him and say, 'Lo siento, Señor. Mandé?'

Imagine my surprise whe he comes out with the following,
'I am saying to you, that you should fu*k off back to your own country. We don't want you here! You and your money are not needed here!'

With this, he strode out, followed by my cheery, 'Gracias, Señor! Que le vaya bien!'

I asked the girls if they knew who he was. No one remembers having seen him before. Weird. Obviously a reasonably well-educated man with an axe to grind.

Sheesh - I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried!

Adrian

(This post was edited by Adrian on May 14, 2005, 7:34 PM)

Bubba

May 14, 2005, 8:12 PM

Post #8 of 14 (1486 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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I think I am beginning to like you. Adrian. A man who lays his soul out there as fodder for others who might shoot at it is OK in my book.

(This post was edited by Bubba on May 14, 2005, 8:59 PM)

Marta R

May 14, 2005, 9:00 PM

Post #9 of 14 (1465 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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I guess it proves that working retail is hell, no matter what the language.

Marta

MARIA CUERVA

May 19, 2005, 3:21 PM

Post #10 of 14 (1347 views)

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Re: [chrisnmarta] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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That is so funny and true.

Miguel Palomares

May 20, 2005, 3:48 PM

Post #11 of 14 (1245 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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I think you must give serious consideration to the probability that a nasty rumor was started about you in the area where you live. Mexico is a rumor capital of the the world. Perhaps that would explain your becoming the neighborhood verbal punching bag. Something is definitely not right.
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

rlg

May 21, 2005, 12:29 AM

Post #12 of 14 (1181 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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Hello a todos !!I would like to express my opinion about foreigners and rudeness in Mexico especially Tampico where I'm from.

Before I met my husband who is from Houston I worked as a tour guide in Aduana Maritima de Tampico so I had contact with different people and I learned how they felt about us and they just loved the calidez and friendly way mexican people had with them.

Now married for 4 and a half years with Robert ,I made sure he knew the good and the bad side about my hometown so I took him to the nicest places in town and to the mercados and to the little taquerias that I love , we traveled to different places and I can say that the experience to be with him was the best I had , the people treated us very well I could say better than when I traveled with my parents . After visiting some relatives in Veracruz my husband was invited to" La toma de protesta del alcalde " and It was very funny because everybody was trying to get him drunk and teach him new spanish words. We have a bunch of business cards from different people we met in our travels. Everybody wanted to talk to him!! I understand that we were traveling as tourist not as business owners , Robert has never experience any rudeness.

Now in Tampico I visit my parents frequently and everywhere we go It's just great no problems at all.

Some of the business people are foreigners in the Tampico area ,there's Arabics, Españoles, Germans which own motels, restaurants, furniture stores, clothing stores and some americans whom teach in schools. In the University I had friends that were foreigners and they never mention anything about rudeness or prejudice.

I just want to say that Tampico is a friendly and nice place to visit or live we have a beautiful beach ,nice restaurants and interesting architecture.

Robert is dying to move there.

This has been my personal experience married to Robert and it has been a blast!!!!!

Maribel.

Georgia

May 21, 2005, 10:17 AM

Post #13 of 14 (1110 views)

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Re: [palomares] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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The same thought had crossed my mind too. In my little village some people have some very undeserved reputations either because they got drunk once, or their brother stole, or they married a woman from a "bad" town.

Example: a woman in my neighborhood is referred to as "the woman who murdered her husband." I thought this needed more explanation, so I inquired as to the detials of the "murder." Seems the husband used to send her out for a bottle of the creature (booze) every day, and .... he drank it. Since he wasn't eating much, she made him milkshakes with eggs in them. His liver blew. He died. Conclusion: she killed him.

My caretaker also has a "reputation" for being violent. In four years, I've never seen any indication of this, but people are afraid of him, and our property is safe.

Rumor has its place, I guess.

not_ally

May 23, 2005, 8:39 AM

Post #14 of 14 (942 views)

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Re: [rlg] Now it Gets Interesting! (Was: Re: [Bubba] Adrian's Wake)

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Hola, Maribel. Thanks for sharing your more positive experience with Tampico. Put it back on the list of places-to-visit-someday.
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"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly I discover there is no reason." John Cage