Pátzcuaro is a beautiful town and has many unique features. Things have undoubtedly changed in the 45+ years since I was there, but I remember the beautiful flower boxes that were everywhere. The city has historical significance but at my age I didn't really pay much attention. The country side is a contrast of hills surrounding the huge lake. Everywhere you look there is something different to be seen.
During the day, Mom painted. She painted everything and anything she could. She would pick a location and I would help shuttle her easel, paints and canvases to the location. Then I would go off to play with some local children or explore on my own until evening when I helped her pack up her gear for the night.
After everything was safely stored we would go to the town for dinner at any of several restaurants. Always a high-light for me. More often than not, our dorm friends would come along and we would have a great gathering for dinner. Singing, conversation and stories would be passed around the table. There was no television or even radio so our entertainment was whatever we could make up ourselves.
There was one movie house in town but it was only open a few days a week and had one showing per evening. One fortunate thing for me was that I loved the movies and almost always the movies were American ones with Spanish sub-titles. I didn't have to struggle with the language when I went to the movies and Mom and I went often, even if we had seen the movie many many times. For everyone, the movies were very cheap entertainment and regardless of what was showing, they were extremely popular and the tiny theaters would fill up in no time at all.
One evening, we met up with a dorm friend for dinner. He was at the end of his monthly budget and could not afford to eat at the normal restaurants we attended. He convinced us to try one of the semi-permanent street restaurants in the Plaza. These restaurants where just slightly better than the ubiquitous street vendors, in that they had a permanent overhang, kitchen and benches. But they didn't quite qualify under Rule 1. Our friend however vouched for the safety of the cuisine and we settled down for a very nice dinner.
I knew that night a new movie was opening up at the theater; a spy story called “Doctor No” with a hero “007”. I'd heard about it from my friends and was anxious to see this film. After dinner, I asked if we could go to the movies and Mom and our friend agreed. We went to the movie house to check it out. There were still tickets but the show got out at 8:35pm. We would have to hustle to get back to the dorms before the gatekeeper locked the gates but that was ample time to get there. Tickets were purchased. popcorn acquired and we settled down for a wonderful time.
If you are wanting something to run on-time, do not go to Mexico or anywhere else for that matter. The only thing that ever runs on-time are British trains. No where else does anything run on-time, and that movie was no exception. It did not get out at 8:35pm, it ended at 8:55pm! There was only 5 minutes to get to the gate! We ran to the gate like we were all doing a sub-4 minute mile!
Alas, the gates where locked when we arrived. Our dorms where only 50 feet in front of us but there was a very high chain-link fence between us and our comfy beds. We called out to see if the gatekeeper was still nearby but there was no answer. Our friend said there was only one thing left to do: Climb The Fence. It was easy he said, the fence is sturdy and will not break. Just climb up and over and all would be well. He climbed the fence to show us how. After a few misgivings, Mom and I started up the fence. Things were OK until Mom got near the top when she got stuck. She couldn't go up and she couldn't go down and there she was, hanging 10 feet off the ground. She was just stuck on the fence. Things started to go downhill in a hurry after that.
I clambered down the fence and our friend nearly vaulted over it to rescue Mom. There was a fair bit of yelling and panicked conversation as instructions were passed over and between them: move your foot here, move your hand there, grab that link etc. I was milling down below acting like I was some kind of safety net in case she fell off. It seemed like Mom was never gonna get off the fence!
Just then, the gatekeeper came running around the corner, attracted no doubt by the commotion and our frantic cries and panicked voices. He quickly opened the gates and came to assist in the rescue. It wasn't easy. By this time, Mom was very tired and had lost the energy to move along the fence. The two men, tried to heave her over the fence but the Rock of Gibraltar would have been easier to move. A lot of pushing and shoving continued until at last she was freed and able to climb down the fence on her own. We thanked our rescuers: the gatekeeper for getting up to open the gate for us and our friend for standing by when things were looking glum. Then, sedately as if nothing had happened, Mom walked thru the gates to to our dorm.
Needless to say, after that, no matter what was happening, at 8:45 pm we turned into pumpkins and ran for the dorms!
No comments:
Post a Comment