Mexico: A Cautionary Tale

Posted by Ron Smith on April 1, 2012, 7:17 pm
24.113.142.121

This was posted on a RV forum/message board (RV.Net) about Travel in Mexico. I was warned. Repeatedly. Warned. So many times it lost its potency. Warned. By well-meaning friends living in "safe" gated communities with armed guards By acquaintances who have never been here By media reports glamorizing and spreading alarm Who have a different definition of danger. And of what constitutes safety. Stupid me! I didn't listen to any of it. Adventurous, perhaps with a death wish, I didn't look. Worse. I wasn't careful. And… In "dangerous" Mexico, I was robbed. Stupid, stupid me! Yes, Mexico… stole from me… A smile. At first. And then, they got bolder and took… A laugh. and bolder still, they ran off with… my poor self-image. Which turned into a larger felony: They took … time to fill me with compliments! Telling me repeatedly how wonderful it is… to be a woman of experience. Who smiles. Who laughs. Repeatedly. Time after time. Again and again. Until finally, I believed them. As I was smiling and laughing, and actually trusting myself, They had the nerve to go and pick-pocket my lingering self-doubts, my well-nurtured insecurities including my belief that "real beauty" was limited to youth… While I was still reeling in shock, from having been robbed, and pick-pocketed Mexicans took the opportunity to kill my previous ideas of what constituted "hospitality", replacing it with a generosity that is frightening to even try to emulate, yet so, so fortunate to know. See how really dangerous Mexico is? And it got even worse! I hadn't recovered from such brutal behavior, when they committed another truly horrible, almost unspeakable crime. They gave me hope and optimism. Repeatedly. About who I was. About who I could be. About who we could be together. Amongst wrapping me in love and force-feeding me laughter and compliments and smothering me in generosity and unfathomably fabulous hospitality, I was rendered helpless. Utterly helpless. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. I did not cry for help or run away. Mexico took complete advantage of my situation and committed the biggest atrocity of all. Once again, they stole … my heart – and my soul. Now I'm so scared - deeply, utterly terrified - that I cannot return the favor. Never happier, I steal away… to wish this kind of "danger" on everyone. JC Sullivan is a poet and writer and also a member of the Travelers Century Club for people who have been to more than 100 countries

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