&quot;Camp Rose Redux&quot; Was Indeed About Mexico

"Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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Perhaps "Camp Rose Redux" was not about Lerdo but the thread was very much about San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico and that place as contrasted with "Lakeside", Jalisco, Mexico or Dawg would not have posted the remarks contrasting immigration patterns between those two places and among other places from popular retirement communities represented by areas as divergent as San Miguel de Allende to Puerto Vallarta to Cancun to Pátzcuaro to Merida and on and on. The thread highjacked by the discourse between Manuel and Dawg was about meaningful choices for thoughtful immigrants and not where the two correspondents chose to eat cashew nuts right off the tree or hashish-laced oatmeal in a sleazy slum cafe many years ago. The "Camp Rose Redux" thread was not about patchouli oil or old farts praising their days of old. The thread was about where one ventures when seeking a place to retire which often has to do with the way one lived in an earlier life.

I enjoyed your earlier comments about Huey P. and the Panthers, Brian. When Huey was my banking client in Downtown Oakland he lived in a luxury penthouse apratment on Lake Merritt overllooking his poor constituency in East Oakland and was eventually gunned down in West Oakland at 2:00AM while scoring some dope. He was always nice to me back then but then people are usually nice to their bankers. If I were retired as I am today he wouldn´t give me the time of day if my life depended on it.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Mar 11, 2010, 2:17 PM)

Mar 11, 2010, 2:38 PM

Post #2 of 16 (3024 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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It's a STREEEEEEEEEEETCH, dawg. However, I'll try to help you out here.

Many of the people you THINK might look for one of the more interesting places to retire in Mexico changed their ways back then and returned to the straighter than straight life. In fact, a number of them discovered religion and were saved from a life of doping and dropping out. They went on to become, uh,....bankers, stockbrokers, techies and the like. Today, some are sipping margaritas on the porches of their lakeview homes, trying to pretend they NEVER were part of the peculiar counter culture of the long ago. Those who still retained their hippie roots, but survived to Social Security may be be nostalgic for the strange, the foreign and the path not taken. They are backpacking into places like Chiapas, still seeking the elusive dream. As if happens, "wherever they go, there they are" so their chances of finding it are limited. There. Now they are in Mexico. Does that get you back to where you wanted? If so, bloviate on.

Mar 11, 2010, 2:58 PM

Post #3 of 16 (3009 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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Though I'm a bit more than a decade younger than those posting about the strange old days, if not for my own counter-culture life, what was left of the real thing, I would probably not have made it to retire here in Mexico. the "Maynards" you see may be a good sign.

sparks

Mar 11, 2010, 3:08 PM

Post #4 of 16 (3002 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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I'm not sure why the hang up on 'Mexico Only' when most multi-forum boards have a section for smaller talk that's usually semi-Mexico related. The rules on abusing each other can be the same

Maybe it's time?

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

Mar 11, 2010, 3:11 PM

Post #5 of 16 (2999 views)

Re: [Peter] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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One of the interesting things I've seen around Mexico is a second or third generation of younger people dressed in deja-vu hippie outfits. Probably a third generation, since they're mostly under 30. The olden days must seem desirable to them, since they are trying to imitate them. What many of them have not seen is the devastated lives of some of their elders, who just didn't know when to quit letting the good times roll in regard to substance abuse. In fact, I've met a few of those elders who were primarily attracted to Mexico by what they perceived as the easy availabilty of their favorite treats. I've also noticed that some of them are losing it a bit earlier than normal. Hmmm.

Mar 11, 2010, 3:22 PM

Post #6 of 16 (2992 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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It's not just a Mexico phenomenon. Much of the 60's lives on and/or wishes to live again. Much of it was great and still is great, the music, the cultural revolution. Too bad much of it is swept under the rug as those were magic days and if history could warn them the next generation with that kind of heart might just get it right.

Zorba

Mar 11, 2010, 3:34 PM

Post #7 of 16 (2984 views)

Re: [Peter] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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I find the musings of baby boomers very interesting. They seem to be in some sort of crisis. Some sort of reflection. They seem to be looking in the mirror and not liking what they see or somehow feel that they have sold out, become hypocrites, did not live up to their lofty ideals. I may be completely wrong, but I have noticed that there is more and more discourse in the media etc. coming out about baby boomers and where they were/are at now.

It will be interesting to see how they deal with their mortality. I suspect they will go kicking and screaming. Perhaps that is what is going on now. It's definitely a good thesis for a sociology grad student somewhere.

Mar 11, 2010, 3:41 PM

Post #8 of 16 (2980 views)

Re: [Zorba] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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The crisis was looking around and seeing how many one grew up with in those idealistic times have become "wingnuts." Those of us left standing who did not sell out instead shipped out and are currently living in Mexico and parts beyond.

morgaine7

Mar 11, 2010, 4:45 PM

Post #9 of 16 (2951 views)

Re: [Peter] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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Just before I retired, a woman at work asked where in Mexico I was going to live. When I told her La Paz and described its location, she shrieked, "It's in Baja??!!! Oh, Kate, you're such a hippie!!

Kate

sparks

Mar 11, 2010, 5:06 PM

Post #10 of 16 (2938 views)

Re: [Zorba] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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>>> I find the musings of baby boomers very interesting

Isn't that something old(er) people do when they run into others from the same era and area. At least interesting for awhile.

Surfing in Ensenada in the early sixties just because it was Mexico

First pot was a Mexican KEY in the Bay Area in the mid-sixties - brown paper wrapper full of stems and seeds

Lots of interesting stuff from those days but reminiscing gets old pretty fast if you have a current life. Seems like I do

I used to love to sit at my grandfathers feet and listen to sea-stories. Everything he sailed on or Captained was primarily sail powered

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

Hound Dog

Mar 11, 2010, 5:38 PM

Post #11 of 16 (2914 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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It's a STREEEEEEEEEEETCH, dawg. However, I'll try to help you out here.

Gringal:

I loved your PM to Dawg about your previous life at Camp Rose but, out of my respect for you, I will not reveal that message´s content except to say that you have amused me beyond words and we must have known each other no matter how informally many years ago . Fun memories of good times no matter how embarassingly quaint in reprospect make old age bearable. Thank you for your input.

Dawg

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Mar 11, 2010, 5:39 PM)

Mar 11, 2010, 9:06 PM

Post #12 of 16 (2862 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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Giggle. And wasn't it just grand!

(This post was edited by Gringal on Mar 11, 2010, 9:08 PM)

Mar 12, 2010, 6:54 AM

Post #13 of 16 (2818 views)

Re: [sparks] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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You made a good point about grandfather's sea stories and baby boomers. For some, the sixties and seventies was the high point of their lives. However, for nearly everyone of every generation, there was an era where life tasted better, smelled better and was way more interesting than the present. For some still alive, it was the fifties fondly remembered, so we have burger joints with old Elvis posters and pics of girls wearing poodle skirts. Not too long ago, it was the WWII vets....strangely, the war was the high point of their lives. And then, there are those who never had "the time of their lives", or it was only too brief, which would explain the enormous popularity of romance novels.

Truth is, I had a fine old time hamming it up on the stage at the real Camp Rose, and timelines suggest I could never have actualy met the Hound Dog, but the story I PM'd him was about some of the same people still playing the same roles there, many years later. Superannuated Jane Austen characters. A bit bizarre. It's just as strange to meet old hippie types in Superlake market: long gray braids, wispy male ponytails below bald crowns and all.

Looking back can be interesting...but truthfully, I wouldn't go back even if I could. When I see the endless ads in the magazines and on TV for products that promise to take years off, they only serve to point out the tragic error of thinking that time can be dammed up and held back. Yes, there will be some that not only don't go quietly into the night, they will be making a helluva racket. I think that the here and now is the best time, if we let it be. A present.

bournemouth

Mar 12, 2010, 7:47 AM

Post #14 of 16 (2793 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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Quote: "I think that the here and now is the best time, if we let it be. A present"

A great attitude Gringal - one we should all emulate - what's gone is gone, water under the bridge. What is important is what we are doing right now.

Mar 12, 2010, 12:13 PM

Post #15 of 16 (2759 views)

Re: [Gringal] "Camp Rose Redux" Was Indeed About Mexico

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I agree the here and now is the best time, it just keeps getting better. Count the blessings? Sure, it's an adventure living here in Mexico. I'm sure I learn something new everyday. Being retired is great. I don't have to get up early but I always do, always have. Learning a new language helps keep the mind sharp, it is said, and that is something I'm sure I'll be working on the rest of my life.

Contrary to what I was told, that my musical tastes will change, when I do listen to music it is typically from the Johnson years and thereabouts. Anyone notice the new Mustangs and Camaros look amazingly like the '67 models? Not everything from that era was disposable and I don't really think it is nostalgia that makes much of the popular art from those days collectible. That stuff was truly timeless. And Who was the band that performed at this year's SuperBowl(?). I look ahead and I like where I'm at now, but I (we) do go back.

(This post was edited by Peter on Mar 12, 2010, 12:17 PM)

Zorba

Mar 12, 2010, 1:13 PM

Post #16 of 16 (2739 views)