Abuelita (Grandma)

Full disclosure (that's not my abuelita)

Because my mother so loved her mother, many of our vacations were spent at mi abuelita’s house in Mexico.  I have many fond memories of our vacations en el Humo, Veracruz (an island).  What’s not to like, by comparison it would be like visiting your grandmother who lives in Hawaii.

At the age of 8 or 9 years old, there was always someone to take me fishing off of a boat, or one of my uncles would take me for rides on a speed boat.  All I know is that I haven’t seen a speed boat more impressive (other than the ones they used on the TV series Miami Vice).  My uncle’s speed boat had dual outboard Mercury motors.  He could turn that boat on a dime, and go so fast that he could create a large whirlpool.  I remember that he was a daredevil, and would always pull out of the turns just before losing control of the boat.

 

Plenty of wild life, chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, donkeys, goats, etc., etc.  The locals got their drinking water from underground natural springs.  There was a sweet taste to the water.  My grandmother owned and operated a “puesto,” (small general store), and she let me work there whenever we visited.  Her merchandise included: eggs, raspas, sodas, pan dulce, carne seca, especies, Manteca, galletas, dulces, agua fresca, café, leche, and anything you can think of including navajas para resurar (shaving blades-Gillette).  Please don’t think of the bulk purchases we make today.  I am talking about one blade at a time, two or three eggs at a time, and so on.  Maybe that’s where the label convenience store originated.

 

In retrospect, just maybe that’s where my entrepreneurial spirit got its start.  The bottom line is that you couldn’t plan a better vacation for a fast growing city boy.  While on vacation, our most common meals consisted of seafood’ shrimp, prawns, lobster, oysters, fish and crab.  Caldo de marisco was on the menu on any given day.  I remember my grandmother always being apologetic for the poor people’s meals.  I guess she didn’t realize that we couldn’t afford to eat like that in the U.S..  I almost forgot to mention that my mother’s side of the family made their livelihood, from the seafood industry.  I come from a long line of fishermen.

My favorite line is; "give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him to fish and he will drink for a lifetime (just kidding)."  Lo major de los tiempos…..