Isabella

If there are regular viewers out there I apologize for the absence of postings in recent weeks. I have been busy building a “paplapa” (sort of tent or lean-to) on my roof with the notion that in this country it is important to occupy ones space, (before someone else does). And since I have this new space on my roof due to the façade changes in front I thought it important to occupy it. I have therefore put in a regular staircase to the roof and moved my tools and the accommodating shelving up there. Altogether it gives me a lot more space and one of Murphy’s laws, if I recall, is that the stuff one collects tends to expand to fill all available space. I am also still working on my solar water heater but it is slow going.

Isabella is 70 if she is a day, stands about 4 foot 5 and is almost as broad as she is tall. She wears a constant toothy smile. Isabella makes a meager living selling embroidery work (doilies and table cloths) around “el Jardin” (the town square). She has a ribald sense of humor and likes to kid the local women who pretend to be artists, about where their real interests should lie. She comes by mid-morning pushing her wares to tourists. She often stops for a few minutes to chat with the old gringo bachelors sitting on the “el Jardin” benches, gossip about the women that go by and remind the boys of their non-existent love lives. She is one of the most popular characters in town. Everybody loves her.

At this time of year a local farmer is often in “el Jardin” in the morning with a couple of turkeys for sale – Thanksgiving is only a week away and Christmas is close behind. He can usually expect to find a gringo buyer for them before noon.

Last Tuesday, one of the old bench-sitting bachelors was chatting with Isabella (understand these communications are a complex mix of sign language and pigeon Spanish – Isabella speaks little if any English). He looks upon his encounters with Isabella as part of a morning’s entertainment. Given the presence of the turkeys he enquired this morning, whether she had use of one. Of course she said she did.

A complex negotiation thus ensues between said gringo and the turkey purveyor with Isabella as a sort of interpreter. It is live, animated comedy. A price is finally fixed at about $30 and our gringo, pleased as a dog off leash, finds himself the proud owner of a 30-pound bird – alive and gobbling of course. Isabella’s eyes are as big as saucers - her grin even wider than normal. The bird is almost as big as she is. Gringo asks the farmer how he should plan to transport the bird. The farmer hands him a gunnysack.

But will the bird go in. Not a chance. A great struggle ensues - bird trying to stay out – gringo and Isabella trying to push it in. They get it in finally but the bird is not content and continues to fight and complain and put up a terrible struggle, attracting, incidentally, glares from members of the local SPCA, just setting up their little stand in “el Jardin” to remind patrons to be kind to animals. Turkey will not settle in the sack and in the end the only way to get him to quit squawking is to leave his head sticking outside the sack. This makes it rather more difficult to carry the big bird and it becomes obvious that Isabella will not alone be up to the task.

Chivalry is not dead in San Miguel. Our gringo hero picks up the sack (with bird’s head sticking out) and indicates to Isabella that it is his intention to help her take home her prize.

Not so fast gringo! SMA taxis are apparently reluctant to accept clients carrying live birds (particularly gobbling ones with heads sticking out of a sack and looking very much like an escape is planned). But nothing is impossible in Mexico. With the help of five or six taxi drivers at the stand a taxi-truck (typically a half-ton) is called to the rescue. Isabella sits up front to direct the driver. Gringo sits in the back with complaining turkey. Cheers go up from taxi drivers.

Live turkey - $30. Taxi fare to Isabella’s and return – $5. A morning’s entertainment around “el Jardin” in SMA – priceless.