Our Man in Antigua

‘been hearing stuff from various usually unreliable sources, nor have I felt like asking the question directly(but i did)…the Salty Beaver is closed and up for sale…or a lease/option agreement..’call it the culmination of a string of incredibly bad luck, bucking the odds or whatever: it was one of my favorite places. Given the existing new rooms, the ‘good will’ (reputation)and such, it might be a golden opportunity for someone..this saddens me, having watched the efforts, sweat and blood expended there.

Umbrella Numero Tres del…june and i’ve gone thru 3 of the suckers…no, only two…cheap chinese crap…’twas KG’s birthday and we met up at La Esquina..Lou and new girlfriend a bit late ut better that than never…nope, couldn’t ‘do’ Travel Menu’…she knows too many people in this town, being a therapist..and knows too much history…ok, fine..the Cargo Room that she’s been wanting to see…Flor Moran!  whew…blouse down to there, skirt up to here and boots to accent the package…made my umbrella steam a bit…yep, the rains came, went and then came back…streets flooded, the town rockin’…5th ave sur..Mono, et al pounding…dos Reilly’s slammed, O’lot packed, the Frisky Den packed, Ixnay empty as a Mayan tomb…word of Don Marco’s sentencing today…48 months in confinement, $500K fine and two years of ‘supervised’ release aka parole…’about what i told Shaun a few nights ago…i figured 3 years given the amount of $$ purloined(absconded with)…no word if the jail time served counts against the 48 months(it usually does)…if the dumb ass public defender thinks to ask the question…’can’t speak for 5ta norte as i bypassed that route tonight…hat, jacket, boots and socks soaked..’great conversations with KG, one of my favorite people..being an ex-mental health person, we share a certain understanding of the ‘process’…sorry if i made you cry a few times tonight but just because it was your birthday doesn’t give you any slack, eh? Lex’ quiet except for 3 paying folks and we were two of them…why the new waiter didn’t get it that i ordered vodka and brought me johnny walker red in a full tumbler…wtf? i drank it and had two more..hey, it was ‘combat conditions’.. La Esquina? picking up tourist trade on a rainy night? most xlnt, Eduardo..glad to see you smiling again…amazing what a blonde gringa will do for some people..missed Ron Fortin on sax tonight but then..i missed a lotta things..nuthin’ important but there’s always tomorrow night…dry out the underwear, the hat and bingo! writin’ up stuff about Takalik Abaj but won’t publish anything til Tuesday, given the norteamericano 4th of july whoop te doo…T-A emerging for me as an incredible place..one that i want to go back to..ah..spoke with Travel Agent Alice, she of the ‘double price’ special..if i ever use her ‘services’ again,i’ll extract a price of my own…

thank you, John M of Epicure,for great conversations on the state of things…world wide pandemonium/panic…’so very glad to be here, in the Guatemalan version of Brigadoon..come in, Gene Kelly and Bing Crosby..oopsy..Van Johnson, that freckle-faced B actor..thanks, Barb..