It's not his turn...

This morning I read a little item in the paper by my friend Armando Fuentes Aguirre in his column "Mirador" ("Observer"). It was under the category "Historias de la creación del mundo" or "Stories about the creation of the world". The story tickled me because it reminded me of one of the current leading candidates in the Republican primary race for the November presidential elections in the U.S.

I don't think my friend and mentor will mind me repeating the story here with a translation for the benefit of my fellow students of the Mexican language and culture. The story is about the creation of the sunflower which in Spanish is called "el girasol". The word "girasol" literally means "turn to the sun" because the sunflower continually tries to turn towards the sun during the course of the day.

En verdad el Señor no iba a hacer al girasol.
The truth is that the Lord wasn't going to make the sunflower.

Quiero decir que al principio no había girasoles.
This means that in the beginning there were no sunflowers.

Si los hizo después fue nada más como pretexto para hacer luego Van Gogh.
The fact that He made them later on was nothing more than a pretext for creating Van Gogh afterwards.

El girasol, que no sabía eso, se sentía muy orgulloso de sí mismo.
The sunflower, not knowing that, was very proud of himself. 

(En general las criaturas que no saben muchas cosas se sienten muy orgulloso de sí mismas).
(In general, the creatures who don't know many things feel very proud of themselves).

Fue, pues, el girasol con el Creador le dijo:
It was for that reason then, that the sunflower said to the Creator:

Gracias, Señor, por haber hecho el Sol para que girara en torno mío.
Thank you, Lord, for having made the Sun to revolve around me. 

English Dames

My little step-grandson, is also my godson and we usually call by his nickname, "Chiqui" (CHEE-key), which is short for "chiquito" meaning "little one". He is six years old and like most six year olds he is an inexhaustible bundle of energy except when he is sleeping. He is always looking for something to do so I decided to teach him to play checkers. The regular game of checkers in Mexico is almost the same as it is in the U.S. and Canada except for the nomenclature. Instead of "Checkers" the game is called "Damas Inglesas" (DAH-mahs een-GLEH-sahs) which means "English Dames" or "English Ladies". In English we "capture" an opponent's piece and in Spanish we "comer" an opponent's piece meaning that we "eat" it. In English, when our piece safely reaches our opponent's side of the board it receives the crown of a "king" but in Spanish it receives the crown or "corona" (kor-OHN-ah) of a "reina" (REY-nah) or "queen".

I was going to buy a set of checkers but then I thought, "Nahhh...what fun is that?" so I decided to make a set. I came across a man who was selling large tiles made of "barro", a type of kiln fired clay used for things like flowerpots. I guess we would call the material "terracotta" in English. I bought a tile for fifteen pesos and it was sixteen inches square which was exactly what I wanted. Then I sealed the tile with paint sealer and divided it into sixty-four  two inch sqares with a large ruler. Then I painter each individual square with red or black enamel to make the checkerboard pattern. I used a small brush and a lot of patience. It took several sessions but the results turned out pretty good as you can see in the photo below. When I was done I glued a very thin piece of plywood to the back of the tile to reinforce the terracotta and also to keep the terracotta from damaging any wooden surface that I placed it on.

After I finished the checkerboard I still needed the checker pieces. I had decided to try plastic milk bottle caps when I started the project and I asked my wife Gina to tell all of her family and friends to save their milk bottle caps because I would need a lot of them. I had to make sure that I twelve each of two different colors. She didn't want to do it at first because she was afraid that they would think she is weird. I told her to tell them that she is doing it for her husband and that if she tells them that I am crazy they will surely understand. She did just that...tell them that I am crazy, and one of her friends said to her, "Poor Gina, I think you are understating the obvious". However, the plan did work and I got a big bunch of milk bottle caps after about a week or so, just in time to match them up with the checkerboard. There were two colors that had at least twelve caps of each color and they were light blue and yellow.

To make a long story short every thing came together just fine and we have been enjoying the heck out of this checkerboard. After Chiqui got the hang of it he started learning strategy very quickly and it wasn't long before he was beating his mother and his grandmothers and all of his cousins and to date I am the only one he hasn't beat. It is getting too close for comfort. In fact, the games get so tense that when we have to go to the bathroom we have to have another party guard the board to prevent.... ahem...someone from "accidentally" moving a piece in their favor. If it wasn't for this we would probably both rather pee in our pants than leave the board unguarded.

Chiqui wants to know wnen we are going to start playing chess. I don't think I am quite ready for that. I told him that we won't play chess until he bearts me at checkers. Looks like I better start figuring out how I am going to make the chess pieces.

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Coronal Mass Ejaculation

In the last day or so there has been a very large sun spot called "active region 1429" that is producing a coronal mass ejection (CME). It is sending out all kinds of energy waves from the Sun directly towards the Earth. I am not too worried about it because I have so many other things to worry about right now and the first one on the priority list is the usual "What's for dinner?".

Nevertheless I decided to have some fun and this morning I fashioned a solar protection helmet for myself out of aluminum foil in the style of the hat worn by Jughead in the Archie comics. I put it on before I left the house and when my wife saw it she looked very worried and asked me what the heck it was. I told her about the solar flare and that I was wearing the helmet for protection against brain damage. She said that it was probably too late and that I looked so stupid in the hat that probably my brain was already damaged. I put on a very stern face and told her that I was serious. Then she asked me if I had made one for her too and I told her that unfortunately I had already used up all of the aluminum foil (which was true). Then she asked me what she was supposed to do and I suggested that when she went out that all she needed to do was wear an aluminum pot over her head and then I kissed her quickly and ran out the door. I was laughing so hard that I could hardly drive the car.

When I got to work the shop dogs took one look at me and started barking like I was some kind of Martian or something. The people in my office said that I was nuts but I made up some bogus physics and my story improved with each telling. One person asked me how I knew when the solar rays were beaming down and I said that when I am wearing the hat in the presence of harmful solar radiation I can hear our local radio station XEWE Irapuato AM 1420 ("La Estación Familiar"). I had some of them half convinced but when my boss saw me he knew exactly what I was doing because he is a jolly joker himself and we had a wonderful time laughing about it. There is just nothing like a good belly laugh, especially when you have the belly for it. My friend Luis said that I looked just like a little kid. Yup...and that is just how I felt!

When you leave the house tomorrow don't forget your hat!

Come fly with me.

Recently I wrote about two boys named Pichicuás and Cupertino playing marbles. I theorized that the boy named Cupertino was in one way or another named after Saint Joseph of Cupertino who was born in 1603 in the Italian town of Cupertino which is located in the southern part of Italy in a region named Apulia near the heel of the Italian "boot".  He was said to have been fairly ordinary Franciscan friar, but he had the miraculous ability to fly without any aid whatsoever except for his own mental efforts and God's grace. Upon hearing the names of Jesus or Mary, or the singing of hymns, or during the feast of St. Francis, or while praying at Mass, he would go into dazed state and soar into the air, remaining there until the head friar of the religious community bid him to come down. For this reason he is considered to be the patron saint of of air travelers, aviators, and astronauts. That sounds pretty cool to me. I noticed that there was no mention of blimps or zeppelins among his patronage duties so I am thinking that there might be an opening. Someday perhaps I could be the patron saint of the Goodyear Blimp. I just need to pray for the ability to fly without an airship. That would be the miracle I need to complete my application for canonization. Hmmm...I wonder what my holy picture will look like? That's something I probably need to work on. Anyway, the feast day of Saint Francis Cupertino is on September 18th which is the day that he died in 1663. The feast days of all the saints except for the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist are celebrated on the day that they die because that is the day that they are born again into Heaven. For that reason I have no idea what my feast day might be since that is something that only God knows but I sure would like to have a catchy saint's name. How about San Roberto de Gordo Blimpy"? Whadaya tink?

About losing your marbles...

Losing your marbles...

Everyone who knows me knows that I like to sing and whenever I am singing, then people know that I am happy. I strive to be happy as much as I can and there is nothing better than a song in my heart or on my lips to make me feel that way. It just so happens that the first half of the last century was rich in Mexican composers of the type of songs that are wonderful for singing. There were two composers of that time whose songs I like the best because they relate to children and families and the adventures of growing up. The first of these composers is Francisco Gabilondo Soler who is lovingly known as Cri-Crí. I have already written about him and you can access the page by clicking on this link; Cri-Crí - El Grillo Cantor.

The second of my favorite composers is Salvador Flores Rivera who people fondly call Chava Flores because "Chava" is the "hipocoristic" (diminutive) of Salvador. He is considered by many to be the
musical chronicle composer of Mexico City where he grew up and his songs are drawn from real life experiences. Don Chava was born in Mexico City on January 14, 1920 and he eventually devoted his life and work to portraying the personality of the inhabitants of this populous and diverse place. He, more than anyone else, left a chronicle of life in the barrios in the form of songs to document the customs and preferences of his fellow citizens. His father died when he was only eight years old and at thirteen he went to work in a tie factory sewing ties to help his mother support his brothers, Trinidad y Enrique. He started out by sewing the labels on the ties and he received five centavos per dozen ties which was only enough money to buy a couple bread rolls. Little by little he moved up the ladder, first by ironing ties, and then by cutting the cloth, and then by sewing shirts, et cetera. Finally, after years of work, he got to the point where he owned his own clothing store. He wasn't a good businessman, however, and he went through a succession of businesses before he entered the entertainment business. There he found his home.

Before you can really sing a song you have to understand the words and with a song that tells a story you also need to know the history and the related culture. For me, as a non native speaker of Mexican Spanish, this is a real challenge. It has taken me thirteen years of study to come to the point where I could tackle something like this and even then I couldn't do it without the help of my Mexican friends. I suppose this effort is a bit presumptuous of me but nevertheless I found the task to be very rewarding. I intend to translate a number of Don Chavas songs into English and try to explain what they mean because direct translation makes no sense at all without something to guide you. The first song is called "Pichicuás" (pee-chee-KWAHZ) and it is about some boys playing an unruly game of marbles. I translated the lyrics as well as I could and added some notes of my own as you will see below. Remember, these are boys who are playing a game and are bantering back and forth in slang and the song was written well over a half century ago. At the end of this post there is a video that will add the music to the lyrics.

"Pichicuás" 
by  Chava Flores

Pichicuás y Cupertino 
Nicknames of two boys in the barrio. The name Pichicuás may have come from a nearby tienda del barrio (small neighborhood grocery) called “El Pichicuás” and the name "Cupertino" may have come from San José Cupertino who supposedly had a gaping mouth.and a habitual blank stare or perhaps the boy was born on September 18th which is the feast day of San José de Cupertino. In real life the boy named Pichicuás was the best friend of Chava Flores and his name was Raúl Mercado.
Se pusieron con canicas a jugar.
They began to play a game of marbles (Chava Flores is the narrator).
Pichicuás que pide mano; 
Pichicuás called out to go first (In English we would say he called out "first dibs")
Cupertino, rin tin cola, cola y tras' 
Cupertino didn't call it in time so he went second.

Una raya y un hoyito
The "raya" is the line from where the players shoot their marbles and the "hoyito" is the circle that contains the target marbles.
Que pintaron en el suelo del solar.
That they marked out on the ground of the schoolyard. (Note: A "solar" could mean anything from a back alley lot  to a patio where laundry is hung to dry, et cetera.)
Se advirtió que “Tres y el fuerte” 
It was called out that whoever knocked three of the other fellow's marbles from the ring would be the winner.
Que “prohibido comer mano” 
That it was forbidden for the shooter to move beyond the line. (Note: In English we would say "no hunching")
Y que “Al quede no tirar” 
That whoever has no clear shot and "passes" loses his turn.
Que “las chiras son al tiro” 
That a glancing blow is considerd a shot. (Note: A "chira" is the sound made by one marble glancing off another)
Que “hay calacas y palomas” 
That there a dead ones an live ones  
Y “El ahogado muerto está” 
And if your shooter fails to leave the circle you are dead (Note: literally "The drowned one is a goner)

Mi Pichicuás, te sigue Cupertino. 
My Pichicuás Cupertinno follows you
Mi Pichicuás, te quiere calaquear.  
My Pichicuás he wants to do you in.
Si ya las traes, apuntale con tino. 
If you have already had success then aim carefully
Mi Pichicuás, lo tienes que ponchar.
My Pichicuás you need to do him in.

Pichicuás y Cupertino
Las canicas se empezaron a ganar. 
Pichicuás y Cupertino began to win marbles from one another.
Como se jugó de a devis
Because they were playing honestly 
Buenos tiros se cambiaron de lugar. 
Both of them took turns winning.

Cupertino que hace trampas
Y hartos dengues pa' ciscar al Pichicuás. 
Cupertino began playing tricks on Pichicuás wnen it was his turn to shoot by saying things to distract him and throw him off his game.
Pichicuás que se lo poncha, 
Pichicúas trounced his opponent,
Cupertino que hace concha 
Cupertino started goofing off
Y no le quiere ya pagar.
And he didn't want to pay to pay up.

Mis canicas me las pagas,
Pay me my marbles
y que empiezan las trompadas, 
And they beagan to fight and beat each other up
¡Ay, mamá¡, que feo es jugar!
Oh Mama, playing games is ugly business!

Mi Pichicuás, de a devis nunca juegues.
My Pichicuás never play fair and square.
Mi Pichicuás, de a mentis es mejor. 
My Pichicuás it is better to cheat.
Pos no esta bien que ganes y les pegues, 
Well it isn't right that you win and you throw punches
¿Que va a decir de ti tu profesor? 
What will your teacher say about you?

Yo, como tu, también fui pelionero. 
I was also a fighter like you.
Yo, como tu, también fui re hablador.
I, like you, also used to brag about how I was the best
Pero una vez me puse con el “güero” 
But then one time I came up against the light haired fellow. 
Y ya lo ves: ¡se me acabó el rencor!
And now you see?, I don't act nasty any more!

There is a sad story associated with this song. The song is actually a tribute to Raúl Mercado, the boy named Pichicuás. Almost every day the boys played marbles after school in the lot behind their grammar school to see who had the greatest prowess. Pichicuás lived the farthest from the school and when he saw the bus coming he always ran to catch it. The buses were invariably jam packed with people hanging on every which way. Pichicuás would wait until someone jumped out and he would jump in to take their place as best he could. One day they were playing marbles and Chava Flores was the shooter and he was hot dogging it and winning all the marbles. Pichicuás became upset and threw his marbles down at the feet of Chava Flores and ran for the bus but as he jumped for an opening he fell to the pavement and the bus ran over him and killed him. Chava Flores and the other boys were devastated and were traumatized for life by this incident. You see, this is both a happy song and a sad song at the same time. I guess the moral of the story is "Always play fair, keep your cool, and don't lose your marbles."

Heaven on Earth

Today we are celebrating the 465th anniversary of the founding of the City of Irapuato where I live in the State of Guanajuato in Central México. I love this city and her people and for me this is a happy day. This is without a doubt the best place that I have ever lived and I feel blessed to be a proud member of the community. May God bless the City of Irapuato and her inhabitants.

Thank you God, and thanks also to Irapuato, Guanajuato, and México.

¡Viva Irapuato!
¡Viva Guanajuato!
¡Viva México!
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Take care of Yourself

Every now and then we get a winter season here in Guanajuato that includes a week of clouds, low temperatures, and rain. When this happens everyone suffers because even northerners like me can get very attached to sunshine and mild winters, and when it turns cold we whimper a lot. It is also a dangerous time for the poor people, especially those that are very young and very old, and those with dirt floors and leaky roofs. When I was a little boy we had what we called "feetsie pajamas" to keep us warm but it has been many moons since I could find a pair that would fit me. I am  thinking that to get a pair now I would have to visit Omar the tent maker and have them custom made. But...as hope springs eternal and Spring is right around the corner, I probably won't need them until next year anyway so there is no rush. In Spanish, "feetsie pajamas" are called "mameluco". This reminds me of one of my favorite little stories which I think is worthy of repetition.

Un niño, de rodillas y vestido con su mameluco de niño, rezaba con dulce voz sus oraciones de la noche: "Diosito: cuida a mi papá. Cuida a mi mamá. Cuida a mis hermanos. Cuida a mi abuela. Cuida a mi perro. Y cuídate Tú también, Diosito, porque supongo que si algo Te pasa a Ti a todos nos lleva la fregada...

A little boy, on his knees and dressed in child's feetsie pajamas, was saying his bedtime prayers in a sweet voice: "Dear God, take care of my papa, take care of my mama, take care of my brothers (and/or sisters). Take care of my grandma. Take care of my dog. And take care of Yourself too, dear God, because I suppose that if something ever happened to You then everything would go to hell...

It's time to learn...

On many occasions when I am wandering through the market and I stop to chat with one of the vendors, in order to break the ice I say:

¿Puede hablar usted el Inglés?

Can you speak English?

Sometimes the answer will be "Yes, a little" and then we go on from there and I ask them where they learned English, et cetera, and the conversation that ensues is quite pleasant and we compliment each other on our abilities, they with English and me with Spanish. It is a nice bi-cultural exchange (especially when I buy something).

At other times, however, the answer is:

No señor no hablo Inglés.

No sir, I do not speak English.

Then I say:

Si, se puede hablar el Inglés..."pollito-chicken, ventana-window", ¿no?

Yes, you can speak English..."pollito-chicken, ventana-window", right?

This is generally rewarded with a chuckle and a smile and we go forward in Spanish with a polite conversation. In either case the ice is broken and we are friends.

The "pollito-chicken, ventana-window" thing refers to a song that Latin American children learn in kindergarten or in the first grade. I believe the song originated in Puerto Rico. After the Spanish American War in 1898 Puerto Rico became a U.S. dependency and in 1902 the U.S. declared Puerto Rico to be officially bilingual. Unfortunately, like many government declarations, that never became much of a reality, even after Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917. It wasn't until until 1947 when the U.S. granted Puerto Ricans the right to elect their own governor that bilingual education began somewhat in earnest. It was sometime after that when the "Pollito-Chicken" song came along although I don't know exactly what year and who actually wrote it. I was hoping someone who reads this might know and share it with us. In any case, it has been a standard song for teachers all over Latin America including Mexico for almost half a century. This song has been criticized as a form of teaching under the name "Pollito Chicken Bilingualism" but nevertheless the children love it and the grown-ups remember it with fondness.

"Pollito Chicken" (One variation of many)

Pollito chicken,
Gallina hen,
Lapiz pencil,
Y pluma pen.

Ventana window,
Puerta door,
Techo ceiling,
Y piso floor,

Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.
Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles,
Si tu abres la mente podras comprender,
Y veras tu lo facil que es hablar ingles.

Almohada pillow,
Cama bed,
Mesa table,
Y silla chair.

Dedos fingers,
Cabeza head,
Brazos arms,
Y pierna leg.

Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.
Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles,
Si tu abres la mente podras comprender,
Y veras tu lo facil que es hablar ingles.

Pollito chicken,
Gallina hen,
Lapiz pencil,
Y pluma pen.

Ventana window,
Puerta door,
Techo ceiling,
Y piso floor,

Pollito chicken,
Gallina hen,

Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.
Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles,
Si tu abres la mente podras comprender,
Y veras tu lo facil que es hablar ingles.

Pollito chicken,
Gallina hen,
Lapiz pencil,
Y pluma pen.

Ventana window,
Puerta door,
Techo ceiling,
Y piso floor,

Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.
Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles,
Si tu abres la mente podras comprender,
Y veras tu lo facil que es hablar ingles.

Esto ha sido todo,
Lo hicieron muy bien,
Y aqui terminan,
Las clases de ingles.

Esto ha sido todo,
This is the end,
Y aqui termina,
Good bye my friend.

Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.
Ha llegado la hora de aprender ingles.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

恭喜发财  (gōngxǐ fācái)

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Year of the Dragon.

In Mandarin it is "Gong Xi Fa Cai"  
(pronounced similar to "goong shee faa tsai")

In Cantonese it is "Gong Hey Fat Choy" 
(pronounced similar to "goong hey faat choy")

It means "wishing you prosperity in the coming year".

Since we are all hoping for prosperity in 2012, and since today is the eve of the Chinese Spring Festival which is known in the West as "Chinese New Year" I say to every person on Earth who believes in peace and good will...

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2012 "Update"

Last year at this time I decided to try a new type of New Year's resolution and allow myself to choose only one word to concentrate on in 2011. The word was "Ideate" (pronounced AHY-dee-aet) which is a verb that means "to form an idea of", "to think of", "to imagine" or "to conceive of". It is synonymous with "to dream", "to envision", "to fancy", to "fantasize", "to picture", "to visualize", "to conjure up", or "to see in your mind's eye". When used in the intransitive form (without an object) and in the imperative mood (command) it means "THINK!".

As it turned out it was a good resolution and the result is that I have "conjured up" all sorts of ideas about things that I would like to do before it's time to exit this life for the next great adventure. The word that I chose to continue this train of thought for the coming year is "Update" which is, of course, a verb that means to make something that was suitable for times gone by more suitable to the present and the future by adapting it to recent ideas. It is synonymous with "improve", "correct", "renew", "revise", "upgrade", "amend", "overhaul", "streamline", "modernize", "re-brand" and "contemporize". The first known use of the word goes back to 1941 but since it is such a forward looking word its age doesn't matter. Neither does mine. Last year I was thinking of retiring this year at sixty-four but then I checked  a number of  actuarial tables and they all seemed to agree that in the absence of divine intervention it is highly likely that I will live as long as seventy-nine years. Heck, there is still plenty of time to accomplish something positive so I think I will keep on working and not retire until I see the moving finger write upon the wall. They say that Mr.Death can walk no faster than three miles per hour. As long as you can still walk faster than that you'll be okay. Just don't look back!

The main thing that I realized this past year is that the pace of change is accelerating at such a high rate that five years from now the world as we know it will be turned upside down. With all the longing for the good old days there is no return to a way of life whose time has come and gone. I think that this fact is awfully hard for "Baby Boomers" to swallow. The more that I learn about history, the more I realize that the decline in the way of life that we were accustomed to is irreversible, especially in the short term. The past is still alive only through pretending, and I am talking about a past as recent as ten or fifteen years ago. People of the 1990's spoke a different language from a different age and we can wander through the melancholy of those ruins caught up in the longing of nostalgia, well watered by our tears, or we can get on with it. That is what my theme word "update" is all about. By the way, in Spanish the word is "actualizar".

If anyone is interested, the following is a partial list of the books that I read this past year that collectively raised my focus and my aspirations to a higher plane. I highly recommend all of them and they are all available for Amazon Kindle. I am excited about what the next few years may bring to those who prepare themselves and I invite you to join me in that regard.

Istanbul  
by   Pamuk, Orhan  

Jerusalem: The Biography 
by  Montefiore, Simon Sebag

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable 
by  Taleb, Nassim Nicholas

The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood  
by  Gleick, James

Secrets of Mental Math  
by  Shermer, Michael, and Benjamin, Arthur

Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk  
by  Bernstein, Peter L.
   
You Are Not So Smart  
by  McRaney, David

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern  
by  Greenblatt, Stephen

On the Nature of Things  
by  Lucretius
   
The Calculus Direct    
by Weiss, John

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
by Joshua Foer

Cod   
by Kurlansky, Mark

Salt: A World History  
by  Kurlansky, Mark


Like my dear departed mother used to say, 

"Onward ever, backward NEVER!".



HAPPY NEW YEAR!




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