74 - BEING A NOMAD IS A RELIEF
Owning nothing, I have no responsibilities when something goes wrong in the house I’m currently living in but that I don’t own.
Such as - in the middle of the night Sunday when I got up in the dark to go to the bathroom. Part way into the room, I stepped into water!!! Turning the lights on, I followed the stream of water to the toilet tank. It had sprung a small leak but the bath towels I threw down were enough to keep the water from proceeding into my bedroom.
At 9 the next morning, I called the Eureka office. Within 20 minutes a plumber appeared! Three hours later, with a new part installed, the floor was sparkling clean and the dripping wet towels mysteriously nowhere to be seen. Everything was normal again.
Wednesday was the monthly Mujeres Amigas (ladies) luncheon at Oasis Beach Club just down the street. It was fun seeing women I seldom see any other time and renewing acquaintances. Vendors set up tables at the entrance displaying their wares: handmade jewelry, clothing, handbags, lotions and creams, baked good, flowers, a potpourri of interesting items .
A large cotton shopping bag, decorated with a large painting of the famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, caught my eye. When I learned this bag folds up into a tiny bag you can carry in a purse or pocket so you always have a shopping bag when you need one, and the price only 120 pesos – less than $8.50 Canadian – the bag was mine.
At each luncheon there is a guest speaker. This month, the special person was Canadian-born American actress and dancer, Ruta Lee. Her list of films and television series is too long to itemize here, but some of you may be old enough to remember her as a bride in the musical “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers”, the crime drama “Witness For The Prosecution”, a musical comedy “Funny Face”, and others. She guest starred in many television series including ‘Twilight Zone”, “Hogan’s Heroes”, ”Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, etc. She also published a memoir, entitled “Consider Your Ass Kissed”. I actually found it on Amazon today!!
In 1976 she married Webster Lowe Jr. After 44 years of marriage, 'Webb' died in 2020. They had no children. Ruta spent 55 years heavily involved in a Hollywood charitable organization, The Thalians, dedicated to mental health causes. For the past 45 years, one of her three homes has been at Las Hadas, Manzanillo, Mexico.
In a long, flowing outfit and a large hat with her blonde bangs peaking out above huge sunglasses, Ruta looked amazing. Obviously not a youngster, she made very funny comments in her speech about the “young bitches” in the room, that was met with a lot of laughter.
At the end of the luncheon, as she sat chatting with companions at the table behind me, I debated with myself whether I should speak to her. Why not??? I introduced myself and complimented her on her speech. Brazenly, I said I certainly wasn’t one of the “young bitches” in the room - that I was probably older than she. Replying that she didn't believe me, she asked how old I was. When I said “90 last month”, she sat back, grinned, grabbed me by both hands, said she’d be 90 in six months, and exclaimed, “you’re my new girlfriend!” I’ll probably never see her again, but she exudes warmth, wit and charm. I’d be delighted to be one of her friends.
Needing more gluten free groceries, Jose drove me to Super Mercado Comer on Thursday. At check-out, the woman behind me turned out to be a woman I met for the first time at the Mujeres luncheon the day before. I offered to share my ride as she only lives half a block away from me. On the way home I asked Jose to stop at La Vianda so I could pick up some beer, wine and gin – the latter I had unfortunately missed purchasing when it was on sale and it’s the preferred drink of some friends. This point segues into the next paragraph.
It was bothering me that I had purchased a very inexpensive brand of gin that had been the favourite of a now deceased friend, but it wasn’t favoured by my other gin-drinking friends, still alive. So, Friday, about 5, I walked 15 minutes to La Vianda to exchange it for a better quality. Juvenal, one of the two brothers who are the new owners of the mercado, made the exchange but, when enquiring if I was driving and he learned I had walked, he refused to allow me to walk home, insisting he was driving me. What a sweet, considerate man he is.
I posted this incident on the FaceBook page GoGoZLO which is directed to residents of the northern area of Manzanillo where I live. In the post I stated how important it is for us to support local small businesses. Within hours, I had more hits and positive comments on this post than I ever had with any other – and I post fairly often.
Being quite warm when I got home about 6, I had just sat down on my patio to cool off with a cold glass of wine when my cell-phone rang. It was my GP, Dr. Hugo, saying he was at my pool looking for me but he was confused as to which villa I was renting. I immediately started toward the pool, where he saw me and, with our cell-phones still in our hands and our call still open, we hugged and laughed.
I had texted him earlier to get his recommendation of a local ear, nose and throat specialist who could remove wax from my ears with an instrument. I also mentioned I had a Canadian ECG report for him to put in my file. In the same message I explained I would be starting the portrait of him and his beloved dog probably within the next week.
He told me he had been at his parents’ home on the corner of the intersection of the highway and the entrance to Club Santiago. Because he was in the area he decided to drop in on me. He studied my ECG report and confirmed I was in good shape! He took my blood pressure – it was perfect! Having an appointment at 7, he left.
That evening, one of my best friends texted me from Colorado saying she had just bought a condo in a building at the corner of my street in Club Santiago. She'll be arriving in January and I'll be able to see much more of her. What an amazing end to another great day.
Since my life-changing decision to live a nomadic lifestyle, many terrific things have happened to me, reconfirming that decision was the right one for me.