Guadalajara Reporter

Just try to keep it simple. I mean simple for those of us born before anyone knew about chips and megabytes and digital stuff and swiping and that whole vocabulary that has cropped up in the last 20 years or so. It’s clear that without the trusty (well, sort of trusty) computer, banks couldn’t possibly serve (well, almost serve) as many clients as they do, nor could doctors’ offices keep track of our aches and pains (well, sort of keep track) to be able to send them through cyberspace to the foreign hospital you’re in. The truth is, even I could not manage to grind out my quota of words each week on my old IBM Selectric (considered years ago as the end-all of writing instruments). Yes, Virginia, at one time there was a real “cut” and a real “paste” and we did it often, usually in triplicate.

I was forced this week to go on the hunt for a hand-held voice recorder as the “stop” button on mine didn’t work anymore and the only way to stop the tape was to pull out one of the batteries – a little awkward in the middle of an interview or while both hands are busy typing. I wanted another just like my old one. Guess what? I had it for two years and now it’s obsolete! Turns out I’m stuck with either a new digital kind (records with no tape) or one that uses those little bitty tapes that we used to use in answering machines. Since I figured I’d have to go to MIT to learn to use the digital one, I decided on the one with the midget tapes. The damn things are so small that they get lost in my bag and the printing indicating the various functions of the tiny instrument are so small that it took me ten minutes to find the “eject” button even while wearing my cheaters.

And while I’m at it – why give out your cell phone number when you never have it turned on and never unload the messages left for you? I suppose that it’s more convenient for you but what if Mr. or Mrs. Wonderful decides to call – or better yet, someone with good news about inheriting a lot of money so you can buy new cellphones and other gadgets you’ll never learn to use completely?

Special cat

Barbara Hess, the Animal Shelter’s famous “cat lady,” is delighted to have on hand a very unusual long-haired tortoise-shell marked female cat. Besides the coloring – rare on long-haired cats – she tells us that they are particularly popular with people who are allergic to cats. It seems that this kind of cat doesn’t produce the dander that causes the allergic reaction. Here’s your chance. Check her out at the Animal Shelter in Riberas del Pilar Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. or call 765-5514.

Help

Local veterinarian Pepe Magana, well-known to the Lakeside community for his generosity to homeless animals and financially stressed pet owners, now is the one needing help. Magana’s urgent heart surgery will require 80,000 pesos. Those wishing to help should contact him at (376) 765-2717 or cell (045) 331-182-2955, stop by his office just west of Telecable on the Carretera or leave donations at Dianne Pearl Colecciones at the corner of Colon and Ocampo in Ajijic. Pepe has helped hundreds of people and animals in the community. It’s time to step up and help him. Any money in excess of the required amount (if there is any) will be spent on the many homeless and sick animals he shelters.

Scholarships

The Golden Strings Foundation has two programs. One is to teach music to needy children and the other is to fund the education of young people who would not be able to attend preparatoria (high school) or university without financial help. Currently, there are 39 students in the academic program (six graduated this year), with the local Rotary Club funding nine of them and two Rotary Clubs in the United States funding another 15. The others are supported directly by the Golden Strings program.

Marvin Harthcock, the manager of the Golden Strings program, has already received applications from nearly 100 students for the coming school term. Applicants must carry an 80-percent average from junior high school and maintain that through school. The average cost for a student in a state-run prepa is 250 dollars a semester or 500 dollars for the year.

The program is in need of help. The Golden Strings has a 501C(3) exemption making donations deductible on United States income taxes. For more information contact Marvin Harthcock at (376) 763-5093 or email securetax@gmail.com.

On vacation

Los Niños de Chapala y Ajijic, an organization that sponsors more than 200 school children at Lakeside, will take this month off and not hold a board meeting. Most of the board members are traveling. For information call (376) 765-7032.

Cowpokes

From Cabaret to Cowpokes! After the wild success of a Cabaret night dinner in July, St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar is holding a “Cowpoke Dinner” on August 18. The fare includes chicken, coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni salad, and s’mores, with fun and games to boot. Tickets are 70 pesos with sign-up in the St. Andrew’s garden before and after the 10 a.m. service. This will sell out fast, so get to it!

Pantry drive

Don’t forget about the Pantry Drive to build up the reserves in the kitchen of the Love in Action Children’s Shelter in Chapala. You’ll find donation bins at Soriana, El Torito, SuperLake Market and Walmart on August 6, 7 and 8. Deposit non-perishable items such as rice, pasta, beans, flour, sugar and canned goods. Also needed are large storage bins to store the dry products safely on the pantry shelves. Look for cash donation jars near the donation bins.

Anyone who wants to donate time (or anything else) to the project should contact Bonnie Newman at 766-0963.

Special thanks

Sandra Loridans, who has stepped into the fray to help put Casa de Ancianos (the old folks home) in Chapala back on track, wants to thank everyone who is helping. She and the old folks are in great need of a gardener or handyman to put the beautiful garden in order. Kenneth Loridans and his friend will mow the lawn this week and are starting a paint project inside the building. Those who would like to help paint are more than welcome. Bring along any white or other left-over paint you have taking up space in your bodega. One volunteer called and offered to repair or replace one of the three broken-down washing machines but there are two more to be dealt with.

A big fat thank you to Ed at Bubba’s Barbecue for furnishing wonderful meals to the residents and employees at the Casa de Ancianos for two weeks in a row. Besides the meal, Ed (Bubba) made a special trip to the Abastos market in Guadalajara, bringing back oranges, grapefruit and mangoes that he donated to the Casa. Tony’s Meat Market and SuperLake Market have also generously supplied more food stuffs this week.

Loridans doesn’t want to accept any cash, but if you think you can donate time or anything “in kind” contact her at (376) 766-2981.

Passing it forward

Last year, Barbara Kiernan from a Rotary Club in Tucson and Sally Salvatore from the Ajijic Rotary Club teamed up to collect items and money to convert two old garages at Love in Action into the bazaar that opened last April. Clothing donations came from Lakeside expats, Mexicans, Mia’s Boutique and Love in Action.

Recently, Bazaar Coordinator Mary Anne Molinari has begun to “pass forward” clothes with minor imperfections or those that have little chance of selling in this climate. Recipients include Libby Townsend for her Tarahumara Project, Dr. Polo for children at the Civil Hospital in Guadalajara, a quilter who makes blankets for needy children, Jean Melnyk of the Little Chapel by the Lake for people in a mountain village and Moonyeen King for the San Juan Church in the village of San Nicolas.

Left-over clothing is also being distributed in the Tepehua neighborhood Chapala, one of the poorest in the state of Jalisco.

Thanks Lakeside for all of your help and cooperation. These things make a big difference in the lives of many people.

Presbyterians

Pastor Ross Arnold’s sermon for Sunday, August 8, at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church will be “Communion,” using the text from I Corinthians 11:23-32. The service begins at 10 a.m., Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec 231A in Riberas del Pilar.

Unitarians

The sermon at the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Sunday, August 8 will be “Books, Books, Books and More” and be given by Sue Kelley about the new Unitarian Universalist library. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Congregation Center located at Sta. Margarita 113 in Riberas del Pilar.