Our Man in Antigua

all the sweet young Guatemaltecos in the latest (for here) high-heeled boots/tight pants…look out, cobbletones…want to start a conversation? ask anyone if they’ve been ‘popped’ or know anyone who’s been a victim of the unauthorized ATM withdrawals…’ran into Margaret H in Epicure early..yep..and so on/so on…after doing more digging into the ‘rash’ I find that this isn’t new…just to Guate…bigger than you can imagine..even the locals(Guate folks)are paranoid about it and it doesn’t seem to be an easy fix, other than the old route of cashing a check at the bank…’which is my next plan..oy vey…

don't take your card to town, son

the wait person/chef who left Ixcot and went to El Caminante? seen earlier today at Ixcot…WTF? if I run into his mom tomorrow…maybe i’ll ask, maybe not…by now the endorphins from all the chocolate consumed yesterday should have faded…back to Life 101, I s’pose..if one is inclined to walk around town and enjoy the light…the sunlight, the play of shadows on Volcan Agua’s slopes…5pm ish is perfecto..8am likewise..just a different slant on things (and no, that’s not a slur on orientals) Hector’s! closed today…two days in a row…WTF? ‘probably hidden away in some rose petal lined love nest and I think I know who with…don’t ask, don’t tell…John W and ‘latest’ bouncing along 2nd calle early…on the yellow moto…happiness is and that’s all there is, folks..my favorite lady gave me a superb manicure/hand massage…a gift, from the heart..aah..whew…a ton of tourists(gringos) in town, including some of the righteous religious persuasions…toting their newly saved ‘pagan babies’ ever so proudly…what’s up with the bunch…the really dowdy women in shapeless dresses, their hair in a bun with the white cap that looks like a cupcake/muffin paper? were they always that way and this is as good as its gonna get?…jesus…gimme the tarts in the high heel boots, por favor..pagan babies? elmore leonard wrote a book and wife #2 who went to a catholic girls school…she was mortified to have to go door to door in Carmel and beg for donations to save the pagan babies…shoulda been rising money for condoms a long time ago..the church,not her…hey,she’s on husband #5, what the hell do i know? I know that until the new atm card arrives, i’m gonna be frugal…frugaler? the old joke about the new word learned in class? frugal…means ‘to save’…write a paper, kids..using the new word..’Frugal Me!’   yeah, frugal you too…the old guy, having recovered from his adventures at Lips in San Salvador and having been shot down by Travel Agent Alice?..now wants to make a run to Puerto San Jose and taste the…tarts? o god…what have i unleashed…hey, it was the leash i could do..least..least..save the leash for the VIP room..

my 60 year old rolex is slowly dying…the store in the city wants $700 for cleaning it…right…hey, we’re all in need of cleaning…but for $700? some serious time in the VIP room, eh? frugal me..Craig of the Whisky Den still in Scotland, getting metal inserted into the ankle/leg for extra support…he is, after all, a BIG guy…there’s a lesson here…Neil, Craig and Broken Stone…motos/alcohol/rough streets…twilight time, at last..the light here has always reminded me of Santorini or Athens…..lucky us…frugal me, jesus! Wendy F……g Wever…manager at Cashbar? will she comp us for a drink or six?