You forget, when you don’t come from a religious country, how pervasive it can be in one that is. In the market today I saw doll clothes that were for niño Jesús: baby Jesus. You can dress a dolly up in vestments, just like a priest! They come complete …
The sound of cars passing on the cobblestone road is like an earthquake’s rumble. The firecrackers going off at odd times could be guns. The horse in the neighbour’s yard sounds like a Great Northern loon. But the crickets sound like crickets, and the dogs are more dog-like than …
In the Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidadin, Tepoztlan, there is more silence than I’ve heard anywhere else thus far on this journey. Nearly 500 years of silence has accumulated in here, and it feels, actually, quite sacred. I am no longer religious, but I was raised as a Catholic girl, …
Tepoztlan/Ixcatepec, Morelos, Mexico Week One The landlord of my lovely casita apologized for the ruckus yesterday morning, when the gas delivery truck arrived with an early delivery. (He’s British; ruckus is such a good British word). I didn’t mind; I was ready for hot water and warm milk for my coffee. But …
The End of the World, Again Zebras have no idea, nor do the rats under our shed; the kale, bravely growing on through the sodden winter, doesn’t seem to know or care. The stars do not blink in morse this week, warning us of impending doom; the bees are …
My friends and I, we’re healthy types. We like fresh air, good food, moments of peace for ourselves when possible. And sometimes, we even take our word pills. Daily, if we can, because they just make us feel so darned wonderful. A word pill is a small amount of time, …
