Our Man in Antigua

no, not her’s although this weekend in A-Town exhibited some perfectos(i’m working on my spanish vocabulary)…’just reflecting on some people who’ve left us and gone on to other towns…and in no particular order, considering the bottle of Flor de Cana that went muerto early this morning, I’m thinking about John Wilbur, Matt Bokor, Carla Berryhill, Camilla Aregius, Lisa Jennings, Eric Stone, Peter Hodge, Lisa Marie…and some places that opened with a bang and closed with a whimper(or a padlock in the night). Each of those people added someting to the mix that makes this town such a brew or stew of delightfulness…where’s Carlos Thomas, who used to run the book store next to Cafe No Se? maybe the only guy you could have a discussion with about quantum physics and he made sense…yeah, I know that we live in a tourist town and transient people are just that…some you miss, some you don’t…everyone that’s mentioned herein, I miss and remember fondly.

you know, nastalgia just isn’t what it used to be. Today is the first day of the rest of the year: take a look in the mirror(I did) and see what ravages 2011 inflicted on your face. Don’t make any silly resolutions to make this world or town/country a better place: just do it with no hope/desire for recognition, fame or aclaim, be it for karma or whatever creed or belief system you’re in bed with. Psych 101 would have us believe that some are takers and some are givers, sort of analogous to saying that some people are hammers looking for nails and some are nails looking for hammers…give more and take less..pick up that trash in the park(not her, the paper), give an extra quetzal for service here and there…maybe even a smile or two. My belief? I belief that I ‘m outa Flor de Cana…’see you around town, this magical place that we call home…speaking of home, I’m lookin’ for a new one: the noise level here has finally got to me…some place within the town proper, with a little light, fresh air, maybe a window or two…a spot to bbq(grill)..the Man from Austin always gigged me on that issue…another missing face..lastly, $$ talk: if you or someone you know hasn’t bought the hard copy version of ‘Our Man in Antigua’ yet, the cover price will be increasing just a bit on the inbound/local copies. Tis the freight charges from A to B and then from B to here…taxes..outa my control…finally made it to Amazon.com’s ‘hot list’..find it by doing a google string of  amazon, our man in antigua (for the print version) there’ll be revisions soon, additions of stuff I forgot to include…Happy New Year to all: it can’t help but be better than 2011. ..and Happy Birthday to two ex-girlfriends: one here, the other in Costa Rica….both born on the same day, same year…the latter in Georgia (Stalin’s home town)both delightful and both with ‘issues’…now that I’m outa the Rescue Game I can look back with fondness and remember the good times..vaya con suerte, amigas…

the streets of town this morning? what wasn’t littered with fireworks remnants had still drunk Guatemaltecos sitting in doorways, sleeping on park benches..even Luis the guide, hammered at 8am, maybe going home on his moto…needless to add, there were some spectacular splashes of multi-colored blown chunks here and there…rice seemed to have been the common ingredient…just what you wanted to know…

Late Date Up Night…the very fetching(sexy) Lisa and Emmy at Ocelot for the evening shift..Shaun outa there, for some much needed sleep…Nelson and Piano Mike on tap…Pat Ferrel and Miss Emma in/out…traffic jam of massive proportions as the city folks head home…the last(i hope)of the firecrackers going off in front of City Hall..hard copy of books incoming this week..it took off before i was ready…not a bad thing, but…google our man in antigua and see what i mean..i need rest/sleep…if this is what 2012 is gonna be like..whew..forgot to include Wendy F….king Wever amongst the disappeared..gonzo to Turkey…i’m forgetting something(typical, you say)…hasta manana..