Our Man in Antigua

so, i’m strolling south on 4th avenida this morning and a city truck comes along…shoveling up the piles of debris…dirt and cobblestones left over from the recent ‘repair jobs’…and they’ve got a full load.  To my way of thinking the cobblestone streets are like jig-saw puzzles…this piece fits here, that one there…the patterns on some streets are magnificent, especially back alleys/one way streets…so…if some crew is repairing the loose stones they take ’em out…prep the base and replace the stones using new mortar…right? so how the hell can there be an excess of rocks? enough for a large truck load? hey…my life…exciting as hell…getting worked up about cobblestones…ran into TLG outside the Caffe Bourbon early…he parks on the street and orders breakfast to go…i like that and both of us thought that this was the 1st of Sept..

some biz owners are starting to feel the cold breeze of the end of the season…some stores already advertising ‘end of season’ sales..one who isn’t worried is Ricardo of Tabacos Y Vinos…packed, night after night while his old location across the street…a black hole..Sangre offering even more discounts..I’ve been told that the mayoral candidates in this country are spliced/hooked up with the narco biz, hence the high rate of attrition(shootings)because of the lucrative nature of their position…’might explain the business plan of the owner of Sangre,whom I’ve been told was a ……from a nearby town..I shocked! shocked! crime, dope and money? here? speaking of that, there’s no word of progress on finding, apprehending or even catching the culprits of a week or so ago…the PNC is in a great position…they wait for the victim to come to them, after jumping thru the paperwork hoops…is it any wonder that the conviction rate for homicide in this country is less than 4%? Welcome to Dodge City, folks..the one guy in the middle, who shall remain nameless, is stressed to the max…he knows stuff but can’t get the wheels of justice to turn..ulcer city, dude..we of the gringo persuasion, long used to TV and cops that we might have known, expect a logical progression…crime, statements, pursuit and maybe apprehension if you’re quick/good enough…here? crime…zzzzz….zzzzz….its a cosmic joke but if you find yourself in a jam, don’t expect Kojak or CSI….zzzzz…passed Sofia Bazile earlier, one of the attackees…no crutches, no bandages and walking fine…the ever delightful Ms E and Pat the Wanderer…off to the states and then Israel..Pat, not Ms E..’recent staff changes around town…I know nuthin’…just the way I like it..Neil C and another new lady friend, scanning the photos outside Fotographo at Nim Pot…is he ever goin’ back to work? and if so, why? looks like he’s havin’ fun, just the way things are…lucky dude..out from under an impossible situation…will Pangea and Ixcot ever get the message? hum along with me…’dreaming the impossible dream’…the brass store on 4th giving up the ghost…Sobremesa’s old spot is now a hole in the whole snack shop…2 on that block…ooh..competition! build it and they’ll….not come…are there more freelance beggars now? yep…we’ve got the usual…the fat guy outside of Piccadilly, the rock-throwing wacko by El Portal…a couple of amputees here and there but I’m getting hit on by a whole new crop of folks..some in wheelchairs, some rattleing their McDonalds paper cups…I may paint my cane white, put on the dark glasses and find a good corner: let’s see..apples are 3q each, so their out…pencils? hey! sell lottery tickets like Alejandro!…tres weird scene…the first dinner date with she of the infectious laugh…she shows up with Alejandro,the blind guy…we ‘do’ Sangre for a cocktail then hit DV…he’s sitting there, all the while, listening…o god…those days..it was so good when it was good and so bad when…welcome to Antigua, pilgrim..