Sad News - End Of An Era

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

I practically threw myself in front of it as we signed the papers.  The Funfinder is no more.  A couple came yesterday to look at it, and even though the price was lower than we had asked, it was a good deal and time to move on.  He'll pick it up the first week of November.

I can't believe it's 17 years old.  It was a cheap model.  Some might remember the story.  We had sold our 18ft Funfinder, but I needed something on wheels.  We searched for months and found this unit on RvTrader.  I sent an email, and it turned out it was the factory.  They had done a trial with consignments to dealers.  It failed, and they returned the units.  This one had been on the lot for some time, tied up in the bankruptcy.   Brand new, everything in the box for $8500, no warranty or dealer repairs.  We took it.  I wanted to drive to Indiana, but the snows was coming.  I put it on a site where movers bid for it.  Prices were all over the place and over $2500.  One bid came in at $850.  What!  I asked the guy if it was a mistake, and he said that he used biodiesel.  He delivered it to San Antonio.  As he pulled up, we could smell the French fries.   I sold it today for $8100!   That was a deal of a lifetime.

So here I sit broken broken-hearted.  We have trips planned for San Miguel and San Cristobal de Las Casas this year.  Spring will take us to the United Kingdom, we're hoping.  Then, we will start again.  A van?  A very small travel trailer to keep in Texas?  We won't use a standard RV in Mexico anymore, but a van would do the trick.

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Back to the headlines in Mexico.  People really talk up the president.  Yes, she's a woman, but you vote for the best candidate, not gender.  Her approval rating is soooo high, and it's all we hear about.  Of course, for those it's high.  Everybody receives a check now.  

65 and over, you receive 3000 pesos a month 

60 and 64 women receive 1500 pesos a month

30 to 64 men with a disability receive 1600 pesos a month

Birth to 29 indigenous and Afro-Mexicans with a disability receive 1600 pesos a month.

Farmers with less than 5 acres of cleared land receive 6250 pesos a month.

Hell yes, people are happy and happy to vote too!

As Hugo Chávez from Venezuela said, "cuando los pobres dejan de ser pobres y tienen [propiedades], entonces se vuelven de derecha y viene el problema".  "When the poor stop being poor and have properties, they will return to the 'right' and then become a problem.  Promise them hope, give them enough to just barely get by, and they will continue to be on your side.  

At the same time, the perception of insecurity has risen and continues to rise.  Statistically, homicides are down, and at the same time, disappearances have replaced that higher number.  One has been traded for the other.  If you have disappeared and mothers are digging holes all over the country looking for their children, isn't that a pretty good sign that they are no longer living?

A Couple of Projects Finished - The Plot Only Thickens

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

September was a long month in terms of getting things done here at the ranch.  We had the cover put on the patio a few years back, but we never finished the job.  It was supposed to be sheet rocked and painted but like everything else, always put off until tomorrow what you could have done today. It was worth the wait, and we are very happy with the work.

We also had some interior work done.  It may look the same to those that know our house, but it was pretty much a refresh.  The electrician did his thing and moved the outlets in the bedroom and also put one behind the television.  No more ugly cables.  Not sure why we are living with cables anyway.  It must be big business.  Everything should be wifi.  The cracks in the walls were fixed and the bedrooms painted.  Looks the same but fresh and new!  

The stackable washer/dryer finally gave out.  It was 25 years old, and we had it repaired a couple of times for minor issues.  We didn't spend much on repairs, but it kept it going.  Old reliable.  A guy here in our town buys, sells and repairs appliances.  I pass his place everyday on my morning walk.  He had a nice used unit that comes with a lifetime warranty (his lifetime).  He should be around for a few more years.  New units were running 23,000 to 35,000 pesos.  He let us have this one for 11,000.  Works great and we should get another 10 years or more out of it.  Looks new.

I saw this guy when I went for the Sunday paper this morning.  What a cool Vocho.  Many moons ago I had a 1972 navy blue with white interior.  

The weather has changed and now we have cool evenings and mornings.  We can enjoy our new patio and spend more time outside.  It has been great the last two weeks on my morning walks.

The Mexican oil scandal continues taking more people with it.  We are now at 11 murders and two suicides.  A naval officer on the most wanted list was picked up in Paraguay.  The other is still on the loose and not sure where he could be hiding.  The total estimate of stolen oil and money is at 11 billion U.S.  Amazing how it is dragging in Mexican port authorities, aduana personnel, and admin employees who faked documents.  This is now considered the largest corruption scandal in Mexican history.  In 2019, just after his election, the then president AMLO said that if there were corruption the president would have to know about it.  Well, I guess he dug his own grave.   We don't know where he is hiding.  I just think of all the poverty and where all that money has gone.  Out of the pockets of tax-paying Mexicans and permanent residents.  In the chart below are senators and state governors who are still in office and trying to climb out of this scandal.  Good luck fellas.

My new look for fall!